ReputationDefender
Press Room

Note: Editorial by ReputationDefender Founder and CEO, Michael Fertik

You may not yet have heard but Google recently announced the development of a new advertising program starring you.

It's called "Shared Endorsements" and essentially, it means that your reviews, recommendations, and other activities online may be displayed via ads, including potentially using your profile name and your photo as visual accompaniments.

In the digital carnival, you are now the barker, a shill, as well as the main attraction – at least, that's what some would have you believe. The reality is much more nuanced.

In some ways, Google is not doing anything differently than other Internet media giants. In one sense, it's playing catch-up with Facebook. It's attempting to accelerate its ad revenue by leveraging your personal data to help its advertisers target consumers more effectively.

That data is quite valuable and something we often give up – to varying degrees – when we use "free" services like Gmail, Google +, or any number of no-cost applications.

You may be perfectly okay with that – which is great. Or you may be absolutely, unequivocally opposed to it. The point is that everyone has a different level of tolerance and comfort when it comes to personal disclosure. Some prefer to hold the reins of privacy quite taut. Others may take great satisfaction in becoming a micro-celebrity in a new endorsement economy, touting expertise in areas they're uniquely qualified to promote. Call it your fifteen minutes of Internet fame.

The tricky part comes with really understanding just what could be revealed about you. It's not yet totally clear how this will work for individuals in practice. Just imagine some possible scenarios. What if you write an anonymous review on your gynecologist while logged in to your Google account? What if you order bladder-control products for an aging parent? Or if you +1 your company's competitor because you're thinking about getting a job there? Picture the assumptions that could be made about you – correct or not, they can potentially impact your personal and professional lives.

All companies exist to provide something of value that generates value in return. The nice thing about Google's "Shared Endorsements" is that the company seems to have done a good job of making it straightforward to opt out. In a way, it's also a step toward the "Reputation Economy," in which your reputation is useful to the marketing of products (though I wish there was a clear upside for you in these endorsements!).

But in the spirit of being privacy-friendly, I would have loved to see it set up as a program you have to choose to opt in to participate. Then, Google could be assured that the people who participate are doing so with full knowledge, consent, and enthusiasm. Perhaps the returns generated would be even greater. I also wonder if there's room for Google and other Internet behemoths to make you a beneficiary of any transactions that result from the use of your data.

Now wouldn't that be something to write home about? 

Original article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/cybertruth/2013/10/29/how-google-is-using-your-privacy-catch-up-to-facebook/3286505/

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

Potential customers are increasingly turning to dozens of review websites to view others' opinions before trying a new product or service. According to two recent Nielsen studies, 85 percent of consumers polled go online for information and reviews about local businesses, and 70 percent of consumers said they trusted online reviews. 

We spoke with Michael Fertik, founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based online reputation management company ReputationDefender, to find out how business owners can take control of their online reputation today.

1. Ask customers for an honest review.
If a business has been around for several years, it's doing something right, as evidenced by repeat customers, Fertik says. "Collect real tips from real customers," Fertik suggests. Don't pay for reviews (that's unethical), but make it as easy as possible for customers to review your business. Have a laptop available near the register and ask customers if they'd mind writing a quick review about their experience.

2. Don't obsess over social media – unless, of course, you want to.
Most businesses don't need to spend a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter, Fertik says. If you run a cupcake shop, Facebook makes sense because you can list flavors of the day and the product is something people want to talk about. If you own a tree cutting business, Facebook doesn’t do as much for you, Fertik notes.

At minimum, Fertik suggests business owners set up Twitter and Facebook pages with their business' logo and contact information, and treat them as digital business cards. If you do want to engage in social media, don't worry about constantly promoting your business on your Facebook page or Twitter feed. "Include information about the industry or articles of interest to customers; you want to keep the conversation going, [but you] don't have to promote, promote, promote," Fertik says.

3. Think before you respond to hostile criticism.
"Be very careful before you respond to a hostile critic [on a review site]," Fertik warns. You may not want to respond at all. "If you respond, respond only if they're getting a specific set of facts wrong." It can be hard to resist responding to negative feedback, so before deciding what to do, take a breather. Fertik says the best course of action is to ask customers for honest feedback and get them to review your business over a period of time.

4. Set up Google Alerts.
Small businesses can benefit from setting up Google Alerts, Fertik says. Google Alerts are free e-mail updates sent to your inbox any time your search terms are mentioned on Google. Fertik suggests setting alerts for your name, your business’ name, and any way people know your business. For example, if your name contains common search terms like "Bob's Best Towing," add the location to narrow your results so only the most relevant ones appear.


Original article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/printthis/229365.html

Image credit: massive.pr

Google is the latest Internet giant to turn its users into unpaid pitchmen, using recommendations of one person to sell products to their friends and connections.

Starting Nov. 11, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)  will roll out “shared endorsements,” which post the names of Google+ social networkers and Gmail users and, in some cases, even their photographs to all manner of products and services they’ve shared using Google’s +1 button, which is similar to Facebook’s “like” button. These testimonials could appear on Google Maps as restaurant reviews or alongside results within Google’s search engine. Google+ users who allow their +1 recommendations to be viewed publicly will have to change their settings to prevent their profile from being used in virtual advertisements. “It reflects a new wave of marketing,” says Josh Blackman, assistant professor at the South Texas College of Law. “But the company is often the only one who benefits.”

People may want to think twice before becoming one of Google’s legions of unpaid endorsers, legal and privacy experts say. Publicly endorsing a favorite movie or restaurant is one thing, Blackman says, but following or liking a marriage counseling services or bed bug exterminator could reveal far more than you intended. What’s potentially embarrassing or damaging for a person’s reputation, he says, can be a lucrative source of business for companies. Some 68% of people trust word-of-mouth recommendations or “earned advertising” from other consumers, according to a 2013 global survey by market research firm Nielsen, up from 61% in 2007. Consumers also put less trust in ads appearing in newspapers (61%), magazines (60%), television (62%) and radio (57%).

Endorsements are not always so easy to spot, says Michael Fertik, CEO and founder of ReputationDefender, which works to keep consumers’ web use anonymous. A cautionary tale: Fertik recently met with an executive of a Fortune 500 company who publicly listed a sexual aid on her “wish list” of her favorite e-commerce site. Two of the world’s biggest online marketplaces, eBay and Amazon, have “wish lists” — things people earmark with the intention of buying at a later date. The “wish list” default settings are private on eBay and public on Amazon. “Privacy settings don’t take into account the types of products you might be interested in buying,” Blackman says. When used properly, he says “wish lists” can be a great way to give friends and family a hint about birthday gifts.

Although participating in endorsements is optional, privacy settings vary in their complexity. Google’s “Policies & Principles” links to a “shared endorsements setting,” giving users the option to uncheck a box that automatically allows shared endorsements. (If Google+ users already restrict their actions to friends, that privacy setting will roll over to shared endorsements.) Amazon provides a two-click privacy setting: go to “wish list” and “manage this list” to choose between public, shared (where a link can be shared with a specific audience) and private. Facebook’s “sponsored stories” respect users’ Timeline privacy settings, while social ads only have two privacy options: “no-one” and “only my friends.” (Facebook learned the hard way: Last year, it agreed to pay $20 million in a class-action suit for using user’s information for advertising without seeking their permission first — the fine worked out as $15 per claimant.)

Of course, it’s difficult to put a price tag on consumer endorsements. “If someone with a degree in finance recommends a bank, that affects the quality and value of that endorsement,” says Greg Portell, a partner in A.T. Kearney’s Communications, the media and technology practice of management consultancy A.T. Kearney. Refer-a-friend policies offer a guide to their value: Groupon offers $10 in savings to those who refer a friend to the daily deal site — and the friend buys their first deal, while DirecTV offers customers $100 in bill credits for customers who recommend a friend. Given the power of consumer endorsements, Portell believes online searches themselves will eventually be accompanied by messages like “Your friend John is searching for a search in Hawaii, you should too.”

Original article by Quentin Fottrell, MarketWatch: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-gives-everyone-an-endorsement-deal-2013-10-16?link=MW_latest_news

Photo credit: Stanislaw Tokarski, Shutterstock.com

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.

How do you bring a vision to life?  Michael Fertik talks innovation and entrepreneurship at the 2012 Blouin Leadership Summit.