How to Manage your Online Reputation

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." - Henry Ford

I love this quote. It can be unpacked so many different ways. Your reputation is based on what you've done. You harm your reputation by talking big and not acting. And if we turn the quote around - you can build your reputation on what you've done - that you have control over your reputation.

I'm not sure the last statement has ever been entirely true because you don't really own your reputation. Your reputation belongs to those who are interested in you. In the rapidly expanding world of social media, that seems to be more and more true.

How do you manage your online reputation? One way is to know what's being said about you.

Some really interesting tools have recently come online that allow you to see what's said about you on forums, blogs, twitter, etc.

One cool tool is aptly called Spy. Type your organization's name in the search box and see what comes up - and when it was said.