Your own reputation is important at every stage of your life. Even as a young adult, reputation can help open the door of opportunity or firmly shut them in your face. As an adult, reputation can become even more important, both professionally and personally.
Now that we live in an age where everyone seems to be connected to everyone else, online image help has become an important focus for many people. The professional implications may be easy to see for many people. However, there are many other ways of dealing with the reality of your own internet reputation, and at the same time improve your life.
For the Safety of You and Your Family
Most people that regularly share information among friends and family on community websites, seldom realize just how much information they give out. This can be true for a family when children are allowed to maintain accounts and web pages that focus on their own activities. Quite often an innocent blog post or public announcement can leave you and your entire family vulnerable. Whether you post a photo of a new gaming system or simply mention an upcoming trip, this can potentially make you a mark for less than honest persons who may use that information to their own advantage.
Your Education and Career
Both college admittance offices and potential employers now perform routine internet searches for applicants. This is illustrated perfectly in the case of Elyse Umemoto, who was crowned Miss Seattle Washington in 2007. As she was celebrating her win, she posed for some pictures with her friends. Umemoto was photographed drinking while wearing her crown; worse, she was eventually photographed posing in her bra.
These pictures were stolen and then posted online; the fallout placed Umemoto in an immediate scandal which had long term implications. She expressed concern over the current crisis but also focused on how it could affect her future. “This could affect my graduate school plans,” she said, “It could affect a potential or a future job.”
Your Reputation
Your reputation can seem like a vague notion until you begin to realize how it impacts every aspect of your life. When you are introduced to someone through a mutual friend in the real world, they may know little about you. But should you connect with the friend of a friend online, they suddenly have access to a wealth of information about you. Depending on the website or platform you use to connect, they may be able to find out your favorite books, movies and pastimes. They may also be able to read the online argument you had with someone during the last election, the one in which you posted some VERY forthright views.
As reputations have become increasingly public thanks to the internet, online image help services have become even more important. This is because an online reputation can affect more than one area of a person’s life and, all too often, people don’t even realize what an impact it can truly have. Companies such as Reputation.com are able to initially assess your reputation and show you how you’re being seen to the rest of the world
By understanding how it can affect everything from your safety and security to your future plans for education, you can work to develop and maintain the kind of reputation that can only help you now and in the future.
Kelly McCloskey writes on a number of different topics in her role as a freelance writer. She has an interest in online privacy and the management of reputations for business clients.
