Selasa, 18 Desember 2007

Study Highlights Realites of Reputation 2.0 (NewsFactor)

Nearly 50 percent of Internet users have searched for their own name online, but few regularly monitor their online presence with great regularity. Even more people -- 53 percent of Internet users to be exact -- have searched online for information about personal and business contacts.

So says the Pew Internet & American Life Projects "Digital Footprints" report. The report also says that whats online about you could come back to haunt you, especially in job hunting.

"The cumulative traces of our online activity are more visible in the age of Web 2.0," Mary Madden, a co-author of the report, said in a statement. "The more content we voluntarily contribute to the public or semipublic corners of the Web, the more we become not only findable, but knowable."

REUNITING AND REIGNITING

Indeed, more powerful search engines have made it easier to find a match for a personal name search, and the "participatory Web" has made those searches more interesting. The increasing popularity of blogs, YouTube, Flickr, and other similar sites has increased the size of peoples digital footprint, but few adult Internet users have made digital identity management a routine part of their online lives.

According to the report, most Internet users are unconcerned about the extent of the data available about them. Some 60 percent of Internet users say they are not worried about how much of their information is online, while 38 percent of Internet users say they have taken steps to limit the amount of online information that is available about them.

It likely will not come as a surprise to know that recruiters routinely use the Internet to find out what is said online about job candidates. Jo Parente, a legal recruiter at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks PC in Boston, searches for background information on candidates online. She called it "professional research" and said shes looking for something -- be it a blog post, a white paper, or some other information -- that will tell her more about the candidates past experience or interests.

ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

"If I am recruiting a law student and discover through his blog that he is passionate about constitutional law, that may work in the candidates favor," Parente said. "But we might also find negative information, because once someone posts information about you online it can be difficult to get it removed."

Parentes practice is not unusual. About 80 percent of law firms in a recent Association for Legal Career Professionals survey reported they dial up job seekers on Google, MySpace, Facebook, or other online sites. Half the firms described the practice as "standard operating procedure." And about half of the respondents reported that the search results would "definitely" or "somewhat" affect the candidates prospects of getting a job.

Jim McClure, a partner at Essex Partners, a Boston-based career firm, offered a similar take, saying that recruiters are definitely using the Internet as a search tool. "Recruiters should use the Internet as a way to double check resumes or connect with new candidates, and candidates should be careful about what they post," he said.

In light of these new realities, online reputation-management firms such as Reputation Defender and Namyz are springing up with services that aim to bury old information that could hurt a candidates chances in the hiring process.

 
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