Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Catfishing; Don't be a Victim

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Catfishing has been around for a while. It was one of the lesser known forms of identity theft, until it got pushed into the spotlight when a star college football player admitted he was victim of catfishing. I recently found out someone I know had been a victim for four years. Recently, someone was posing as him on various social media accounts.

Four years is a very long time to find out that someone has been living your double life without you even knowing it. It seems even longer for that person who had to keep up appearances until he finally slipped up and was caught. This not only affected the victim, but his family as well. Imagine the shock they must have felt when they were told that same person was not him and this has been going on for many years.

Catfishing has gotten so big over the years that the major cable channel MTV has created a television series titled "Catfish". The show is fabricated in some aspects, but it gives real life situations that many victims of catfishing have gone through. The effect of being catfished has a very strong impact, not only on someone's personal life but his or her professional life as well. Imagine losing your relationship with your significant other because of someone posing as you and getting to close with others, which will ultimately cause a rift with you and your partner.

The effect it can have on your professional life can be very damaging. I always talk about being careful when you are posting things on your actual account, but when it is an account you didn't even know was created, that can put the nail in your professional coffin. We know employers are looking at social media accounts more than ever. If you find that you are qualified for jobs, but not even getting so much as a courtesy call then you should check your social media accounts. Make sure that the only accounts out are the ones you control.

Catfishing is the ultimate online reputation destroyer. It is one thing to ruin your reputation yourself or have customers complain, which will damage your reputation a bit. But, when you have someone who you don't know and an account that is out there and being falsely run by someone other than you, it makes you seem helpless. Like I said earlier, you should always check your social media accounts and be absolutely sure that you are the only one who has access and control of them. With identity theft on the rise and social media being a prime target for it, no shortcuts should be taken when it comes to protecting your online reputation.

 There is nothing scarier than not being able to control your online reputation. It is your responsibility to make sure that you can protect yourself against false accounts that can destroy your reputation.

Protecting Your Child From Dangers Online

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Kids today are exposed to more than they should be and it can have a very dramatic effect on them and their futures. Online activity for kids has only increased as time has progressed which means that the risk of them getting caught up in something damaging has gotten greater. Parents must take extra precaution and monitor their children online and try and keep them safe.

The internet can be the ultimate learning tool for kids and young adults as it can provide numerous ways for them to learn and interact with other children across the world. Schools are beginning to implement computer learning classes to give the next generation a head start for their future. Another reason is competition; countries around the world want to produce the best and brightest kids that will soon be leading their country so they introduce them to technology at a young age to stay ahead of everyone else.

Using the internet for educational purposes should not have a restriction on it, learning should not be capped. But when it comes to playing games and when you start to become more social on the internet that is when parents need to step in immediately to lay down some firm ground rules for their children. Before allowing their child on a particular site parents need to review it first to make sure the content is age appropriate. Parents also need to allot time for certain activities, maybe an hour a day to socialize and play games and then you block access to those sites for the rest of the day.

Parental locks are very important as well, cable providers often advertise blocking access to some channels so your kids are not influenced by what they see on them. Controlling what your children see at an early age allows them to still be children they should not be exposed to adult situations at such an early age especially on the internet. Children that see unsuitable situations are more likely to want to engage in some type of bad activity online especially when they get older.

As a parent you have to talk to your children and explain the impact that bad activity can have on their futures. You shouldn't sugar coat anything it is best to be straight with them and tell them how they might not be able to get that job because of something they did when they were young. The younger they are when you have this talk the odds of them not getting caught up in anything will increase because they will always have their future in mind and will be hesitant to mess that up.


Teaching your children about the positives and negatives of online activity can help prevent them from ruining their future before they get a chance to enjoy it.

Choosing an Online Management Company

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You're a business owner who needs to make the right move in order to gain a step over your rivals. The best way going about this is managing your online reputation correctly. There are so many tools and tips that you can research on your own, but if you do have the right amount of time or skills you could end making the situation worse. Many business owners decide to turn around their online reputation when it is too late, do not let this happen to you.

Building your online reputation into a positive is one is not an easy task as mentioned above. If you do not have the time, then consider hiring an online management company in order to get the help that you need. Choosing an online management company is very important in determining what type of success you are going to have. A company that has a reputable name and a history of helping turning around negative online reputations into positive ones should be a key factor on which company you choose.

Centel Media™ should be considered because it has all of the factors that will make your online reputation better. They have professionals that deal with all different aspects of the online world that have an impact on your online reputation. These professionals have dealt with all types of situations and have the experience necessary in order to guide you through the process. Whether you are a business owner or a professional looking to improve your name, consider Centel Media™.

You are always going to need that extra step over your rival in order for you to succeed as a business owner. Many business owners today are now becoming aware of how important your online reputation is, and are hiring an online management company in order to make sure that their online reputation is up to par, or even better than their competition. Waiting for negative content to harm your name is not the best approach. Take initiative to start now because there is no such thing as too early. Even if you are encountering any negative content research on how important online reputation is to your success.

Whether it's hiring an online management company or taking matters into your hands, do the proper research.

Taking Control of Negative Content

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The setup you display for your online business is important when it comes to online reputation. Blogging, links to different criteria are all important factors when it comes to the design or the outlook of your web page. This will help your customers get to the information faster, and therefore they will be satisfied. One important area that should be brought up is the idea of having an area dedicated to customers posting negative content or complaints on your page.

You may think to yourself that this is crazy and would only hurt your online reputation. On the contrary, having an area dedicated to posting such comments will become beneficial. Instead of customers posting negative content on other sites which make it harder for you to control, why not have it on your own webpage. Customers posting their complaints on your website will make it easier for you to respond quicker and more efficiently. Indicating that you care about what your customers have to say regarding your business will help build a positive look. 

Not only does having an area dedicated to negative complaints on your page beneficial for you, but it also helps customers communicate with one another. One happy customer may defend your name against an angry or dissatisfied customer. The goal is to build a positive online reputation when it comes to dealing with the overall setup of your business page. 

Managing your staff should be a priority nobody likes a disorganized business. Make sure your employees are all on the same page, and have the information that customers are seeking. There is nothing more frustrating for a customer then dealing with an employee who does not know what the information that he is seeking. Training is crucial and it should be taken very seriously. You need to know that your employees are honest hardworking people that will not bad talk your company. 

Your online reputation is not something that you should take lightly. Research and involve yourself with different tools and tips that will help build towards building that type of online reputation that you seek. The worst thing you can possibly do is ignore your online reputation completely. Doing so will only damage the type of future you want as either a professional or a business person.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Take a Look

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If you have recently been online on one of the many search engine sites you might have passed a few articles that gave a list of the best and worst brands, best schools and so on. These lists are compiled every year around this time and are the results of thousands of surveys taken throughout the year. One list I neglected to mention really caught my eye. It was a list of the worst companies to work for.

This list included ten companies that we all have heard of and may have used them in the past or we might be using them now. Current employees and former employees were all surveyed based on some questions and when the percentages came back the numbers were very alarming. The one thing I noticed that these companies had in common besides being on this list, was their employees really hated working there and that the companies main objective was completing the sale they could care less about the customer.

Two very alarming trends but most importantly two ways to get your businesses reputation destroyed which is partly done already because you are on this list. My first thought about the companies that made this list - are they aware of this? If they are, what are they doing to change it? Do they even care? Most companies will pay little attention to these types of lists because they feel it doesn't represent what their company means or they are under the impression that they have employees that love coming to work every day.

They might give internal surveys and based on the result of that they would think they are doing a good job when it comes to employee relations and customer relations. Not a good list to go off of because it is very biased and employees might be afraid to speak out fearing they will lose their job. So it is safe to surmise those internal surveys give a false result. The lists that are posted should be a wakeup call to any CEO whose company made that list. It is public and the whole world can see what type of business you're running which will definitely have an impact on stock prices and the board won't be too happy either.

It is time to get help and begin to patch the relationship up between you and your employees. You have to think about the future and recruiting talent down the line. If you're on this list and have not made any types of improvements talent will pass you by without looking back. I have written before about how important employee morale was to the image of a business and that if it is bad the whole company is going down. What you can take from these lists are ways to improve your image by starting in house. You may think no one is watching or reading these lists but judging by the amount of comments left under the article themselves you are severely wrong.


Lists can sometimes be wake up calls, primarily for those who land on worse of the worst list. It is public for everyone to see and eyes will be watching to see if you are taking the necessary steps to make sure you are not on next year’s list.

The Big Bad Wolf

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The wolf walks with a purpose, strong, unmoved and ready to take on any challenge put in front of it. But there is something grumbling behind its back. Yes, it provides a good product and the customer service is OK. It could be better, but customers don't like the way they are handled. It's almost like a Jekyll and Hyde situation. If you catch it on a good day, you will get the best service imaginable but any other day, forget about it.

This is how some people feel when dealing with many big businesses and companies. They are forced to accept the good with the bad until something better comes their way, and they will be more than happy to take their business elsewhere. Keep in mind, we aren't discussing image or reputation yet, but rather, how customers see you as a whole. Eventually, we will get to these other points.

Having worked in retail, the big bad wolf was often times the customer who no one wanted to deal with. This can be because of the way we see them treat our coworkers or based on our own personal experiences with them. Many times, these patrons have been avoided and didn't even know it. I know you are supposed to do your job no matter what, customer service over everything, but at some point you will have been disrespected enough times by this one patron, leading you to refuse to deal with them at all. You would rather suffer the consequences of missing a big commission deal than face belittlement.

Customers can deal with the label of being the big bad wolf; they can always move on and shop some other place-- the opinion of them is based on the employees at that particular store. A business, on the other hand, should not be happy with that label. It doesn't give off a friendly vibe and worst of all, your image and reputation are taking a hit.

While you might be making a good profit now, that will soon change as more and more businesses are being created that will become competition for you. Suddenly, the big bad wolf is realizing its market share is rapidly decreasing and it is losing customers by the boatload. From this point on, the only thing that may save your business is repairing your reputation in hopes this mass exit from your business will gradually slow down.


No matter how big your business gets, if the customers are unhappy, they will eventually move on to a different business. Even if the new business doesn't provide the great quality that you provide, the respect is what matters to them.

Easy to Mess Up, Hard to Clean

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Why is it that the easiest things to destroy are often the hardest things to fix? Maybe it is the way we are making things these days. It is our fault for not carefully constructing and taking our time to put together well oiled machines. Instead, we throw a bunch of big pieces together and hope they will stay strong long enough to be improved. When you end up in this type of situation, there is going to be a big mess for you to clean up.

Sometimes it is something that means the most to us that can be easily destroyed, so it is imperative to keep a keen eye on the prize and make sure nothing interferes with it. You have to stay alert. Once you take your attention away, that is when you will get all types of influences trying to come in and destroy what you worked hard for. The protection method I just described was for protecting your online reputation.

Your online reputation, aside from your business and your profit, is the most important thing to your professional life. One can argue it might be the most important. If your reputation is negative, then your profit is affected as well as your business as a whole. Your online reputation can go from bad to worse to completely destroyed in the blink of an eye. Never say never, but when your reputation is completely destroyed, the likelihood of you coming back is nearly impossible and will take many years to fix. In fact, the next generation of owners might be the ones to improve it.

I'm sure you don't want to leave a mess for the next generation of owners to clean up, because it will be even harder for them to try and operate a business and improve its reputation. Technology is only advancing as time goes on, so if you think it is something in today's world, picture 10 to 20 years from now. Picture how information will be shared and how valuable a good clean reputation will be.

While this is a wakeup call to you, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that you have many options available to you to help repair your online reputation. As I stated earlier, a repair can take a very long time. If you don't do it right, it is only going to set you back 10 steps instead of moving you forward. A company like Centel Media™ is the best option to choose. Centel Media™ does a great job of improving your online reputation and making sure it is protected against any attempted attacks.


No one likes cleaning up messes, especially if a mess involves the online reputation of your business. This mess will take years to clean up if the proper help is not called on.