Online identity management: are you managing your digital footprint?

Posted by: | Posted on: December 26th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in: Ireland, Marketing online, Personal branding, Personal Branding Tips

How confident are you about your online reputation?

Have you ego surfed your personal brand online recently?

Recently published research indicated that nearly one-half of US adult Internet users surveyed have used a search engine to look for information about themselves.

That is more than twice the 22% of users who did so in 2002 according to the December 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project’s “Digital Footprints” report.

The report states that Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint with 47% having searched for information about themselves online.

However, not many people monitor their online presence regularly with just 3% of the respondents reporting that they regularly check their online profile in the search engines and 74% of respondents having checked their profile only once or twice.

From my own research, the results in Ireland and the UK are far less than 47% of people having checked their digital footprint – typically when I ask this question of a group between just 5-10% of people have actually admitted to “Self Googling”.

The report also identified that more than half of US adult Internet users had looked up information about someone else (not including celebrities).  This number is a significant increase of the number of people who were thought to surf the internet looking up other peoples profiles as reported by Business Week in 2006 where they reported that 35% of people check the search engines for other peoples profiles.

So as the year comes to a close, why not invest a little time to ensure that your personal brand online represents what you stand for. Enter your name into the search engines.

  • What shows up?
  • Are you suprised?
  • What actions can you take to ensure that you do not leave to chance your online reputation and personal brand?

And if you are looking for some assistance in building your personal brand online, don’t forget you can contact me for a private consultation where we will develop your strategy and action plan for building a compelling digital footprint that showcases your expertise and does not leave your online reputation to chance.
Source: Pew Internet

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  • http://www.danschawbel.com Dan Schawbel

    I read this too and believe that this number will quickly multiply. Personal branding will become much more relevant in 2008, as reputation management through Google and social networks become significant.

  • Krishna De

    Dan – I personally believe that personal branding has always been relevant – it’s nothing new and successful people have been managing their reputation effectively over thousands of years – it’s just we have a name we can call this now.

    Be it personal branding, employer branding or corporate branding – all areas are increasing in interest for people in business which is great and can enhance shareholder value and success for all stakeholders if managed appropriately.

  • Mark Manton

    I’ve googled myself a few times and have found another with my name has a more established identity on the web. That person is a massage therapist and very much into holistic and alternative health cures. I am an IT project manager. We are very different, but share the same brand (name). How can I best differentiate myself from my namesake?

  • Krishna De

    Mark – thank you for posting the question. Actually there were so many tips that I had for you that we have used your question as the subject for the podcast I record for The Podcast Sisters and we will have it published tomorrow – 28 January at http://www.thepodcastsisters.com

    I do hope you find it of assistance.

  • Krishna De

    @ Mark – just to let you know that you will find the free podcast with tips to help you differentiate yourself online which we recorded it at:
    http://snipurl.com/standoutonlineaudio

    I hope you find it of assistance. Thank you for your question.

  • http://www.krishnade.com/blog/2008/make-sure-your-personal-brand-stands-out-online-podcast/ Make Sure Your Personal Brand Stands Out Online: Podcast – Krishna De: Branding, Personal Branding, Employer Brand, Internal Brand, Social Media Marketing

    [...] In a recent article about managing your personal brand online I asked “How confident are you about your online reputation?” and one of our readers here at Biz Growth News then commented: “I’ve googled myself a few times and have found another with my name has a more established identity on the web. That person is a massage therapist and very much into holistic and alternative health cures. I am an IT project manager. We are very different, but share the same name. How can I best differentiate myself from my namesake?” [...]


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