Reputation

One of the more interesting consequences of today’s information society is not just the abundance of information, but the potential permanence of it. I remember companies advertising for browser cleaning products. Before today’s registry cleaning, anti-spyware ones, the software makers focused on maintaining one’s privacy and limited it to one’s personal computer. Google was around, but this was 2002 to 2004 and there wasn’t MySpace or YouTube. The closest sites were those dedicated to funny pictures, and while some of the content parallels what can be found on MySpace and YouTube, the biggest difference is that people who ended up on those sites rarely did so of their own volition. That too me is the amazing thing about today’s profile page sites. People put some of the most embarrassing, damaging information up by choice, because presumably they don’t realize the consequences of such actions.

Today, instead of stories of people being fired or marriages in trouble because of information discovered on their computers, the same is happening, except this time the consequences include not being hired, because of information found on the web. Among the biggest trends to emerge is the web as a universal application. This isn’t a new revelation, or surprising, especially when we consider just how much we rely on applications like webmail to provide us universal access. The same holds true for today’s newer forms of communication, i.e. profile pages. They allow people to maintain relationships and engage in a dialogue with their groups no matter where they are. Many of the users I suspect, are so accustomed to accessing their profile pages from the same computer and interacting with a fairly consistent group of people, e.g. other users of that community, that they forget just about anyone can see their pages. Some might assume that others won’t because of the closed feeling of the sites, i.e. they encourage activity of registered users. Thanks to search engines, though, anonymity is no longer the standard.

People are not the only ones that stand at risk from increased exposure. Businesses are too, with the difference perhaps being that they want exposure. Two of the more interesting stories this past week discuss businesses and obtaining increased exposure on the web. The first is the acquisition by Salesforce.com of a company, now integrated, that lets businesses using the web based software advertise on Google and track ROI. The second involved Google Maps and the announcement that it now offers local businesses a chance to offer coupons. It is a fantastic feature in concept (I haven’t tried it), as it brings Google Maps up to parity with the offline equivalent for local advertising. Coupons and promotions are what help drive customers, not just a sponsored ad saying they exist.

In both cases where increased exposure occurs – with people and businesses – the web acts as the great equalizer. It can just as easily make somebody as break them, and overall size has nothing to do with it. So, while there are amazing and ever improving mechanisms to allow people to live virtually and for companies to become more present, what lacks, though, is a single platform for normalizing the true essence of people and businesses. While certain sites try to tackle this, none in my opinion fully succeed at the basic need, a place where individuals and businesses can store their referrals online. Such a site would mean that the search engines and community profile page data can exist and does not have to work against you. Without any additional context though, employers as well potential customers must use what data they do have, which means they often form an opinion that differs from one of somebody that truly knows you.

Here is where this piece becomes advertorial. DigitalMoses is working on such a site; it’s called RepVine.com. It collects and stores references from people / customers you allow to comment. It’s fully working, but it won’t get high marks from Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, which is why it’s in limited beta and undergoing revisions. I mention it here, because it’s something that I feel the readers of this newsletter could not just benefit from but could help make truly useful. RepVine is not a social network or a popularity contest. It does still include and revolve around the notion of a network though. It’s a site that focuses exclusively on collecting references and having them validated via the community of people you allow to vouch for you. Some people will provide references that are less than helpful, perhaps even less than accurate, but those that know you will get to vote, and ultimately, the right statements will receive the most weight. In the end, what will form is a repository of objective information so that whether you are interviewing for a job, interviewing someone, or looking for a business, you can leverage the network effect of the to date undocumented world of word of mouth.