Friday, January 3, 2014

Snapchat's Reputation Disappears Faster than Its Photos

Centel Media, www.centelmedia.com, centelmedia.com  Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Repair, Remove Rip Off Reports
What is one of the biggest goals for any one business in this global market? To thrive and advance in this technologically and economically spinning world. This requires attention to name and brand.  The more successful you are, the more quickly your rivals will try to discredit you. Ask Evan Spiegal and Bobby Murphy, the creative geniuses behind Snapchat. Overnight they have gone from ‘friendly nerds who made it big’ to ‘greedy ingrates who left consumers to hang.’

Snapchat is a photomessaging app that allows users to take a picture or record a video and send their creation to anyone
on a personal list of recipients. The difference between Snapchat and other photo apps, however, is that the user sets a limit for how long the ‘snap’ can be viewed by the recipient, usually between one and ten seconds.  Once the brief time is up, the photo is no longer viewable on the recipient’s device, and Snapchat deletes the picture from its servers. This freedom to send information that supposedly disappears and escapes the fearsome “once it’s on the web it never goes away” mantra immediately gained popularity with the 15-25 age group, and later gained earned even more with the over 30’s.

The minds behind the Snapchat app, CEO Evan Spiegel and tech expert Bobby Murphy, are certainly thriving and advancing. The Snapchat “revolution,” as some have coined it, has taken off. Now worth $2 billion with $100 million invested in its future growth, the Snapchat brand and reputation has unlimited potential.
Or rather, had unlimited potential.

Snapchat is reeling from the revelation that 4.6 million phone numbers and user names may have been taken from their databases and published online because of their poor data security procedures. Worse yet, accusers claim Spiegel was told last week about flaws in the security and did little or nothing to fix them. Maybe he thought his company was invincible to a cyber attack, or maybe he was too busy holiday shopping with his millions. His betrayed consumers don’t know and don’t care. Snapchat’s image as a fun, customer-oriented company with a friendly app has disappeared overnight, and it is faced with the daunting task of trying to repair its image with millions of angry customers.

Understanding your market and targeting an audience is essential in selling products and building your name. Protecting your name and maintaining credibility even in difficult times requires expert assistance. Centel Media™, the leading online reputation management firm, takes on the responsibility of helping big businesses and small companies brand themselves and maintain a strong positive image online. Centel Media™ invests in the reputation of its clients, so your reputation won’t disappear in less than ten seconds.


Chikira Bennett
Creative Writer,

Chris MacEachern,
Editor,


Centel Media

Friday, December 20, 2013

NSA Spying Controversy Reaches Boiling Point

Centel Media, www.centelmedia.com, centelmedia.com  Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Repair, Remove Rip Off Reports
Spying has been a regular part of government work for centuries. But, due to the advances in technology, spying is no longer limited to informants and undercover agents. Love him or hate him, Edward Snowden has opened up the discussion on the morality of how far a government should go to spy on its own people for the sake of protecting them. While he is in essence a whistleblower and a thief, he's also done what he's seen as “the right thing to do.” This has led to widespread coverage of what the FBI, CIA, and NSA do at home and abroad. The latest blow to the program came from a federal court judge, ruling the NSA's spying program to be unconstitutional. He supported his case by saying that the NSA's data collection has yet to stop an attack. This negative coverage is the last thing the NSA wants, but we as a society must take a serious look at the repercussions of such strain on the Fourth Amendment.

In response to major terrorist incidents like 9/11, most governments have opted to keep an eye on their own citizens for threats that may exist. But the major question is if the government actually has to collect data on every single person who has a phone or access to internet service. With the NSA's current system, they have the ability to find an individual's phone and track internet usage if they happen to be persons of interest. This seemingly unchecked power has left many angry at the fact that the government has the ability to disregard privacy laws for the “greater good.” This coverage has been so negative that other countries have been looking into their own spy agencies to confirm that they aren't doing the same.

So much negative coverage is literally going to drive this program into the ground if the NSA doesn't agree to make some changes. In fact, there is so much negative coverage I find myself wondering whether the NSA has been criticized too much. There are ways to alter the program so it doesn't record everything but continues to maintain some semblance of security. This would probably include making all cases, excluding ones with obvious terrorist ties, temporary and deleted after a certain time. This problem can be fixed.

While the NSA has been rightly put under scrutiny, it's overreach is not unsolvable. If your company is being unfairly prosecuted online by competitors or even the public, Centel Media™ can help you get your head out of the ditch. We can supply your company with professional negative suppression services that cover articles, images, videos, and reviews. We'll even counter the negativity with press releases exposing the benefits of your program. The NSA may have a lot to fix and answer to before it gains any respect again, but if your company is facing a similar problem, you shouldn't have to go it alone.


Jonathan Wong,
Creative Writer,

Matthew Shaffer,
Editor-in-Chief,


Thursday, December 19, 2013

An Unholy Alliance Threatens the Reputations of Two Countries

Centel Media, www.centelmedia.com, centelmedia.com  Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Repair, Remove Rip Off Reports
It looks like bailouts aren't applied only to private companies. Ukraine has decided to take a bailout offer from Russia, which has stirred up dissension between the European Union and Ukraine's political leaders. Western authorities were offering an olive branch to Ukraine to join the European Union. But what's most interesting is how this decision affects Ukraine’s image in the eyes of the world. Russia, of course, approves of Ukraine’s actions, but the West now views the country with growing mistrust.

Ukraine was part of Russia's Iron Curtain back in the days of the Cold War, and many in the country have not forgotten that era.  Numerous Ukrainians protested the bailout, seeing it as a return of Russia's sphere of influence in the region. Their concern is warranted given the substantial evidence that Russia's de facto leader Vladimir Putin is seeking to create a coalition government of his own to challenge the economic and political might of the European Union and the United States. Ukrainian citizens want to join with the European Union for the sake of trying to fix their economy and their political system. They view their government as largely corrupt and feel Russia may have pressured the Ukrainian government into accepting the bailout.

But the situation with Ukraine is part of a bigger undesirable picture: Russia versus the world. Many countries view Russia negatively thanks largely to Putin's attempts to control his people through methods that harken back to the militant and dehumanizing practices of the Soviet Union. Putin insists Russia is just trying to maintain its influence and create a buffer zone between their country and potential 'enemies.’  In the process, they have destroyed their image abroad.

Neither the Ukraine nor Russia have stellar reputations in the West right now, but with reformation in policy and proper media coverage, they still have a chance of gaining the respect they so desperately want. If you or your organization is being seen in an overbearingly negative light, you may want to look to Centel Media™ for assistance. We are the leading online reputation management firm today and one of our many areas of specialization deals with negative imagery. We have products which are designed to suppress negative criticism from articles, images, reviews, and video. We believe that every business and individual who has a presence online should have control over the way they are perceived by others. We will give you the best options available to maintain the way you are viewed by the rest of the world.


Jonathan Wong,
Creative Writer,

Chris MacEachern,
Editor,


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

GM Fights to Regain its Good Name

Centel Media, www.centelmedia.com, centelmedia.com  Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Repair, Remove Rip Off Reports
General Motors used to be known as one of the most unreliable car companies in the American market despite its massive size. But they seemed to have learned from their humiliation during the start of the recent recession. Their renewed focus has led them to make important changes. They just achieved yet another historic milestone by naming Marry Barra as CEO, the first woman to run a global automobile company. She also happens to be an engineer, the first engineer to hold the leadership position in about twenty years. This is not to say that the outgoing CEO Dan Akerson did a bad job either: he's overseen the design of several great cars that have revitalized the brand, but there remain more challenges ahead. GM needs to fix their image perception. Being the leader in online reputation management,  Centel Media™  understands exactly what that means and how challenging it can be without professional help.

At some point in its past, GM became too big and had more growth problems than they could handle. But they examined their practices closely and had the courage to make large-scale changes.  The latest decisions have included restructuring attempts in Europe, Asia, and Australia. They have even gone so far as to pull out entirely from some of these areas, ending the billions in losses they have suffered over the years from those locations.  Rival company Ford Motors actually did the same in its return to success not long ago.

As a consequence of being too big, GM's quality decreased.  It wasn't until 2009 when the US government bailed them out did they probably realize how serious their manufacturing and image problems had become. The people noticed too: they quickly turned towards companies like Toyota and Ford as alternatives. This negative public perception contributed greatly to their downfall. Now with the US government exiting as a shareholder, GM has a great opportunity to recreate themselves in the eyes of the world.

It is not often that companies can recover from bankruptcy, and GM should be grateful. If your company needs to improve people’s perception of it, Centel Media™ is here to help. Our top of the line online reputation management services can help you build a positive, trustworthy image. We supply a negative criticism suppression service covering articles, images, videos, and reviews. To promote the good your company has done, we also publish press releases and write Wikipedia articles for you. If you're committed to maintaining a quality company, we are only too happy to help you achieve your goals.


Jonathan Wong,
Creative Writer,

Chris MacEachern,
Editor,


Friday, December 13, 2013

Is the Sound of Music the Sound of Money?

Centel Media, www.centelmedia.com, centelmedia.com  Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Repair, Remove Rip Off Reports
NBC has been in a hole for a few years now. They have had modest hits with several different shows that appeal to niche audiences, but they have not been able to secure a solid identity and viewership. Their latest attempt at breaking out of their rut has worked. Using a famous movie and a lot of advertising, the excellent Sound of Music, they broadcasted a live performance using new actors but retaining all of the classic songs. Audiences responded enthusiastically and beat skeptical expectations, scoring high ratings and almost 20 million viewers, a feat NBC has not managed to achieve on Thursday nights in four years.  They even beat Big Bang Theory for the top network show. Clearly, an identifiable brand and a stellar performance were the winners that night.  At Centel Media™, we understand how strategic marketing and careful reputation management can lead to phenomenal success.

Before the show, critics derided it as nothing more than a desperate publicity stunt. They viewed Sound of Music as one of those American classics that should not be touched because there is no way to improve on it. While that point is debatable, nonetheless the film is a masterpiece of delightful artistry that stands on its own even today. So when NBC wanted to remake it, it was only expected that loyal film fans would react negatively before the new program had even aired.

However, the warm reception to the live musical performance on TV has proven the critics wrong. People do want to see a great performance of a classic, even if it isn't exactly the same as the movie. In fact, rebranding may have been a key reason why the show gained such an astounding audience. While some people only want the original, a creative remake usually motivates many viewers to go out and see the 'improved' version. While people may debate if NBC’s version tops the original, it still manages to stand on its own merits.

Proper advertising of their known brand is what gave NBC the success it needed. If you or your organization needs a professional hand in proper marketing, onlinereputation management firm Centel Media™ has the know-how to get you on the right track. In addition to our classic service of press releases, we also offer products which increase traffic to your website such as Google AdWords optimization, social media optimization, website design, and domain name registration. Be sure to take ample opportunity of all of the possibilities online branding gives in order to increase your sales and profitability.

Jonathan Wong,
Creative Writer,

Chris MacEachern,
Editor,