Google Me

I'm so sorry this blog is late. I've been trying to keep all my balls in the air, and lately that has been increasingly hard to do with all these job interviews. But ironically, this ties into this weeks topic, which touches on reputation -- both my own and the firms that I've been interviewing with.

Brushing up your resume, dressing the part, and trying to sell yourself at all these job fairs are all part of creating your personal brand. It's about translating your reputation in the class room, in your previous jobs, and in your activities. All of these you have relative control over. What's scary about your online reputation is that there seems to be less control, despite how limited your Facebook profile is. Pictures your friends post from that "wild" party can turn up. My friend interned at a law firm where part of her job was to search AU applicants on Facebook. I'm definitely trying to be more aware of what information I put on the Web. And, what information is put up about me.

Also, I can definitely tell that firms "Google" me, because they always ask about these two things - "The Office of Business Communications," and my scholarship through the "Former Agents of the FBI Foundation." The Former Agents of the FBI always draws intrigue - "Wait, you were in the FBI?" "No, my grandfather was...."

Anyway, on the other side. It's been difficult to find out the employer's reputation. Yea, they all have websites, but they all basically say the same thing. I've found it extremely odd how in interviews some will bash the reputation of other firms.

So, I would say that now - more than ever - its difficult to manage your reputation. At least on your own. And I guess this is where companies like ReputationDefender.com come in.

Who do you believe?

So for my Capstone class, we had to pick a company and identify a strategic problem. Since we couldn't do Apple, our group decided to do one of their competitors - Meizu.

Meizu, is the Apple clone of China. Since this is a relatively new company, and well, from China, there was very little information given by the company about the release of their iPhone look-a-like -- the miniOne. But there was an abundance of blogs speculating on everything from launch date to product features. Though these blogs were very helpful finding the general consensus on this product (the blogging community seems to embrace the iPhone rip off), I found it hard to decide what was credible. With the launch date for example, I ended up citing information I found in a news article rather than the dates listed in these blogs.

This ties in this Scoble and Israel's chapter on "Direct Acccess." Blogs are valuable tool for companies, especially executives, to create a direct line of communication. Eliminate the third party to protect accuracy. I wish Meizu had a corporate blog...maybe they do but it's not translated. Anyway, I just wanted to add that yea, the news messes up. But I think if you were to poll the general public, people would say that major newspapers, news channels, and radio shows are more credible and accurate than something found on a blog. There's still a lack of trust involving the Internet. Also, I think people don't know necessarily where to find these blogs either. TV, papers, and radio require very little from the audience but to watch, read, or listen. Blogs on the other hand, I think there is more of a search.

Though an official corporate blog is of course going to be credible, what does a company do about all the unofficial blogs? What about the wealth of inaccuracies, misrepresentation, and biases on the Web?

The Virtual Consumer

So apparently I’ve been living under a rock. I’ve never heard of Second Life (SL), the virtual reality game where you can live a second life in a virtual world. To be completely honest, I think that real life is hard enough - paying real bills, finding time to interact with real people, and working numerous real-life jobs. But with all that said, I think, if anything, this is such a fascinating marketing tool.

Of course marketing has used all the tradition media outlets – newspaper, radio, magazines and TV. But with Americans, particularly teenagers, spending hours on end in front of their computer, and with the popularity of Tivo, corporations need to find another way in. This accounts for the spark in internet advertising. This is why Facebook is getting offers for some $900 million. There is huge advertising potential. So I’m really not surprised that corporations have used Second Life as a marketing tool, creating virtual stores that sell virtual products for Liden dollars.

This article does a good job of explain the corporate presence in Second Life:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/secondlife/index_01.htm

Though I can see this marketing application, I’m not sure if I can see how effective this is as an e-learning tool for the arts, social sciences, law, psychology, archeology, or even as a training tool for corporate culture. This Second Life seems more like an entertainment thing for bored kids and adults that are spending all there time online. It reminds me a lot of the Sims, which can be so fun, but time consuming to play. How people act in a virtual world and in real life are entirely different. Second Life and the anonymity of the Internet give users the option to take on a second persona, and do things they typically wouldn’t do. So to rely on this virtual world as a research or training tool, I question how effective this is.

I’ve never played Second Life, so I’m really curious to hear if anyone has a personal experience. What role do these corporations play in SL?

Bloggers: A Force to be Reckoned With

So during my last post, I toyed with some of the challenges of having a corporate blog.

In the BusinessWeek article “Blogs will Change your Business,” it mentions how this blogosphere is basically turning traditional media on its head, which is really crazy to think about. Think about it. Anytime you wanted to have your voice heard, you had to call the news channels or your local newspaper. With the growth of the blogging world, there are millions of “news” channels. As I’ve learned, it takes two minutes to open up a BlogSpot account. With some strategy, you can make your blog more viewable by linking to other blogs, and using Technorati. Consumers now have more power than ever to make their voice heard. Likewise, companies have less control over what’s being said about them, publicly.

Business Week says it best: “How does business change when everyone is a potential publisher? A vast new stretch of the information world opens up”

I guess it’s a “if you can’t beat them, join them,” kind of thing. Ignoring the blogosphere will only do you harm. You want to know whats being said about your company. Though so many companies have caught on to the blogging trend, I think they ignore the biggest opportunity of having a blog - to facilitate communication with their customers. Companies need to use these blogs not just to inform customers on new products or up and coming events, but to address the concerns and needs of their customers. It can’t just be a one way street.

Check It Out

I've been commenting on the following blogs relating to Social Networking...

Tim's Blog

Seppo Joe

Failure At Its Best

Making Sense of Corporate Blogs

To be completely honest, I first had difficulty seeing how social networking and blogging went together. Especially, having an employee blog about the good, the bad, and the ugly seems like airing out your dirty laundry, not to mention a legal headache. I couldn't quite see the positive applications in the business world. But, a few pages into "Naked Conversations," the connection has become much clearer. Blogging is essentially a forum for discussion, innovation, communication, etc. Its a way to get people talking about your company and your product.

Blogging is also a way to put a face or a human voice to a corporation. Tying things back to my last post, nearly everyone has had a horrible customer service experience. Having a representative from the company to post honestly about their products and services perhaps is the answer to our prayers. But, such honesty seems to be extremely rare in corporations.

Reading "Naked Conversations," I was shocked at their suggestion to even link to your competitors. This seems like suicide. But on the flip side, blogging honestly and sincerely builds trust, understanding, communication and relationships with your customers. Perhaps humanizing the big, bad corporation is really what's important. Corporations make mistakes all the time, but are never quick to apologize or explain.

With all that said though, there still seems to be a very fine line with what a company blogger can say legally, and what's really appropriate to post. Perhaps this is why there's been such hesitation for companies to enter the blogosphere.

Customer Service could benefit from Social Networking

I've had so many frustrating experiences with companies such as Comcast to Verizon, even the American University administration. Reading the "Practical Guide to Social Neworks," I couldn't help but think of how all these places would benefit from a nice look at their social networks.

There have been so many times that I've called a Call Center and the person on the phone is absolutely no help. Most of the time they don't have the authority or the knowledge to remidy my problem. Or, the person only has a script of technical solutions. My favorite from Comcast: "Did you try turning off the cable box and turning it back on." A lot of these service companies tend to have a very routine response.

It seems that a lot of these service companies would benefit from expanding their network, and having more connectors. For example, Comcast's Customer Service could have more of a connection to the technicians.