Reputation metrics: a measure of your worth
May 24, 2005
Google, the verb, joined the Oxford American Dictionary last month, 
just as it entered the Oxford English Dictionary a couple of years ago (and will doubtless turn up in the Oxford Papua New Guinea Dictionary in five years time).
Corporate marketers in Mountain View may choke on their jellybeans in dismay whenever their brand is despatched to the land of the lower case. But we all do it.
Want to know if a firm makes great widgets? Google it. Want to know more about a job interviewee? Google him.
A man’s worth is increasingly measured by what turns up on the results page. Companies too. And given their customers might create almost a third of a company’s first page results (Jupiter Research), there’s a compelling argument to keep a close eye on the outcome.
Sit and stay
Remember when people used to say “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”? These days, thanks to a plethora of chat rooms, blogs, forums, reviews, online complaints and - who knows - family websites, we leave a trail of paw prints all over the internet like a pack of Great Danes bounding through a muddy field.
Now, if they are sufficiently motivated, anybody can find out what flavour of Friskies we prefer and who walks us to the park.
David Beisel, a Massachusetts-based venture capitalist, argues we need to monitor our online reputations closely.
As the web moves from merely a reference medium to a true conversational medium, and the tools to post our thoughts and digital content becomes more accessible, the amount of information about individuals will increase. And search engines dedicated to find that information will also flourish.
Not just search engines. How about a new breed of reputation agencies?
Ebay is the oft-quoted example of a business with robust customer feedback. If someone sells you a lemon, you can use the system to blacken their character as effectively as an ex-spouse crying to the News of the World.
Give a dog a bad name
However when it comes to formal reputation systems, the online dating business seems to be leading the way. This is a space where every player has a vested interest in discovering what sort of dog you are. And preferably before you turn up for your blind date carrying a copy of The Daily Chews.
A couple of days ago, the San Jose Mercury ran a piece about the online dating business and mentioned Truedater.
The system works by allowing people to evaluate the truthfulness of the online profiles that others have posted about themselves at dating sites, such as Match.com, Jdate and Yahoo Personals.
Opinity, a San Jose-based firm, another player in this field, is more interesting still as it seeks to extend reputation measurement beyond the dating game and into every aspect of people’s lives. Or at least whenever two or more strangers interact.
An example of where Opinity would be helpful [according to Ted Cho, the founder], involves a person trying to sell a camera at a certain camera-aficionado Web site. Although the seller has no reputation at this particular Web site, he could register his screen names from other camera sites on Opinity, and potential buyers could check his reputation there.
Opinity’s menu includes reputation reports, reviews, ID verification and reputation management and Dave Evans, in his review at Corante, thinks it will prosper, particularly if Opinity forges some strategic partnerships.
He might be right but you need to be pretty determined to get past the registration layers at the beginning. Desperate daters might be motivated; I lost interest after about ten minutes.
My guess is reputation systems will have to evolve into something a lot simpler and user-friendly if they are to be widely adopted.
Dog eat dog
What about the wider business world, where the question of who gets into bed with who can have multi-million pound consequences? How can we find out what sort of corporate dog is after our Bonios?
However else they impact on our working lives, online reputations will have a growing influence on hiring practices.
Back in January 2004 (yes, I googled) Seth Godin wrote an article about the impact of online reputations on the job market in which he pointed out that, in the new networked age, you don’t have to send out references.
They are all everywhere, all the time, whether you want to share them or not.
The thought you cannot escape your past might inspire a wave of paranoia in some but I agree with Godin’s conclusion people should see it as an opportunity to use the spotlight to their advantage, to enhance their own online reputations.
Blogs, newsgroups, professional organizations, and all the rest are perfect for someone who wants to leave a vivid, positive trail. You can choose to use the new tools or to become a victim of them.
Then as new systems evolve to measure reputation metrics, you have a better than average chance of emerging best in show.
Tags: reputation management, online reputations, reputation metrics, search results
Comments
2 Responses to “Reputation metrics: a measure of your worth”
Hi–
Just saw your article. The observations you make are cogent and telling. We are in the midst of an effort to go in the direct you suggest… simplification and strategic partnerships. The reputation management and development part of the online realm is emerging and evolving with great alacrity. We believe end-users who exercise ownership and management of their digital reputations and thus their persistent identities will help lead the way into a more robust future of trust and verification on the ‘net. Bill Washburn
Bill Washburn
Hi–
Just saw your article. The observations you make are cogent and telling. We are in the midst of an effort to go in the direct you suggest… simplification and strategic partnerships. The reputation management and development part of the online realm is emerging and evolving with great alacrity. We believe end-users who exercise ownership and management of their digital reputations and thus their persistent identities will help lead the way into a more robust future of trust and verification on the ‘net. Bill Washburn
Bill Washburn