Tesar-Reynes

I came across this Yahoo article How to Protect Your Online Reputation this morning. Forbes writer Amanda Berlin details some nice tips on keeping track of your personal brand on the Web. With all the social networking going on, do you know what image you’re projecting?

Here’s a list of tips she recommends:

1. Google your name
2. Register your name as a domain and with social networks
3. Create a Google Alert for yourself

Searching for yourself is self-explanatory, but make sure to do an image search too. I’m pretty lucky to have a unique name like Roland Cailles. If you have a more common name, consider using your middle as an added moniker. Take advantage of your search results. It’s likely an early step in determining if you’re the right candidate for a job.

As for your Web domain, most of my Web design friends recommend GoDaddy.com. It’s only $13.04 to register your name for two years. Even without Web design skills, you can err on the safe side and register your name with plans to hire a Web developer later.

The same thinking goes into social networking sites. Even if you’re not on Facebook or LinkedIn yet, you may want to register yourself for them. You can always return later to update your profile. Same goes for Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. I’m on Flickr and I don’t even own a camera.

(Tony however, does. He’s taken a multitude of photos you should check out from nearly every terrain type in the world. Here’s his photostream.)

If you’ve never done a Google Alert, it’s pretty easy. You can create alerts for any search term you want. In fact, creating Google Alerts are usually the first steps of any social media campaign. Be sure to use parentheses around your name. Start with a comprehensive alert sent to your e-mail once a day. If you find Google sends you too many items, you can restrict your search results to just news or blogs.

Google’s New Profile Feature

Have you seen Google’s new online profile feature? Check it out. You can list all your social networks in one convenient place, right there on your profile.

What better to way to connect with others than on the world’s most popular Web site? Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft have been battling it out for years because they all want to be the place you congregate to for information. Microsoft and Yahoo may have made some leeway with their merger, but I just don’t see them catching up, at least not when Google keeps making our lives easier. This new online profile of theirs serves as further evidence.

A Little Friday Viral Fun

Let me share a final thought on the Yahoo article. Jason Fleischer, an executive recruiter with the Abacus Group, says it’s cool if you have a Facebook picture of you with a drink in your hand. At the top of this post, for example, I attached a Facebook picture of me at a New Years party with a glass of champagne. It’s New Years. How can an employer look down on me for drinking a glass of champagne on New Years?

“It’s also important in the professional world to show you have a personality. You can always add security to your profile if you’re nervous, but just because you like to have fun doesn’t mean you don’t work hard.”

So on that note, and for a good laugh, I leave with you a YouTube favorite to help you kick-start your weekend. Ladies and gentleman, the immortal “Scarlett Takes a Tumble.”

Happy Friday!