Cyberstalking: A Growing Problem

Anderson Cooper and Sue Scheff

Do you  know what a Google bomb is?

We are in 2012, if you don't, you should!

A Google bomb could cost you your job, your career, your personal life, and possibly your friends!

So what is a Google bomb?

Google Bomb (n) or “link bomb”: Internet slang for a certain kind of attempt to raise the ranking of a given page in results from a Google search. (Wikipedia)

Don't wait to be hit by one to realize what it means, like I did.

Anderson Cooper recently interviewed me on my experience with a Google bomb.  Like many of you reading this, I didn't know what one was.  Watch here.

It nearly destroyed me!  Especially in today's troubling times, people out of work, the competitiveness of jobs, businesses, etc - people are stooping to all levels to survive financially.  Even if it means ruining others with a few keystrokes!

Order today

Don't let it happen to you! 

To learn more about protecting yourself, order Google Bomb.  It offers tips and advice to help you maintain and polish your online profile.  Co-authored with a prominent Internet attorney, John Dozier Jr., Google Bomb not only offers my story, it offers sound advice that you will understand and use to help you and your kids keep your digital lives safer.

Remember, what goes online, stays online.

What you post today, can haunt you tomorrow!

Sue Scheff: The Internet is a Information Highway - What is your Road Sign?

Are you a parent of a teen starting their college applications? Are you out of work, sending out your resume? Are you a small business owner and find your business is suffering? Are you a professional that depends on your good reputation?

If you have answered yes to any of the questions above, my new book is exactly what you need. Maintaining your online image today is as critical as having a good resume, outstanding application and keeping your offline personality similar to your virtual one.

I nearly lost my organization (Parents Universal Resource Experts), my reputation online was smeared, as well as the invasion on my private life was going viral while I slept. No, not literally slept, however I was not aware of what was slowing turning into what is considered a Google bomb.

One unhappy client, one disgruntled customer or a person that didn’t get the information they wanted, can take a few vicious keystrokes with a click of the mouse and turn your flourishing life into ruins. Your BFF today can turn into your foe tomorrow, or the soul mate you married is now your adversary. The latest source of revenge, is e-venge.

In my recent book Google Bomb, co-authored by prominent Internet attorney, John W. Dozier Jr., you will not only read about my unfortunate experiences, you will receive practical guidance to help you be proactive in protecting your cyber image. You will learn from my experiences and gain knowledge to build yourself an online profile you can be proud of.

Here are some quick tips to start. Remember, the Internet is today’s information highway and your name has a road sign.

1. Sign up for free services and post your resume or other information that pertains to your services, business, profession etc. Some of these services are Naymz.com, LookUpPages.com, Ziggs.com, LinkedIn.com.

2. For teenagers that will be applying for colleges, keep in mind, what you post today can haunt you tomorrow. More and more college admissions are using search engines to research their potential candidates. Take the time to secure your social networking sites and other places you surf. What does this mean? Keep it clean. Don't post anything you wouldn't want to show your parents or your grandparents!

3. Be sure to own your own name. Sign up for free services on Blogs with your name as the URL. Blogger.com and WordPress.com are two that are most frequently used. Try to keep them updated as time permits, however owning them is most important.

4. Set up your Google Alerts. You want to know when your name it being used online. This is another free service that will take you minutes to set up and keep you informed when your name is posted on the Internet. Twilert.com is used for Twitter Alerts. This is another free service to be alerted if people are using your name on Twitter.

5. Buy your domain name. This can be minimum in costs and the return will be priceless. Purchasing your name through GoDaddy or another source, can cost you about $9.99 a year (ie: http://www.suescheff.com/). Building a small website can also be cost effective. GoDaddy offers services to assist you. You may even know someone that can build this for you. Most kids today are very proficient with their technology skills.

Do you feel you don’t have time to sit in front of your computer and build your online image? You may want to consider hiring a reputation management online service. My personal experience is with ReputationDefender. Today there is a large number of them to choose from as the Internet has become our lifeline to information.

Whether you hire a service or do it yourself, the last thing you want to do is ignore your cyber image!

Back to where we started, you do want to get into your college of choice, you want to land your dream job and you want to keep your online profile up to date. Take the steps to make that happen.

For more fantastic and educational information to protect you and your family online, read Google Bomb today. It is priceless!

For more information: Dr. Michele Borba Review, Defamation Law Blog, Foreword by CEO and founder of ReputationDefender, Michael Fertik, Google Bomb book Press Room.

Also on Examiner.com

Sue Scheff: Do you know what Google is Saying About You?

Do you know what lurks online?

Internet Safety has become a priority concern for many parents. Whether you are worried about predators online, or your child’s social networking; don’t forget about your child’s (especially teens) virtual image.

Today more and more colleges and employers are using your name or your child’s name in a “Google Search Box.” They may use other search engines, but Google seems to be the trend and most frequently used.

Years ago I woke up to find myself in the middle of a Cyber-War that I literally thought was simply a nightmare and what I was seeing/reading online had to be a mistake.

It wasn’t! If you can imagine the most horrible things being said about you, including sexual innuendos, anti-semantic remarks, and worse, you will be living what I went through.
My never before told story is finally told in my upcoming book, Google Bomb, The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict That Changed the Way We Use the Internet (Health Communications, Inc. September 2009). People that have reviewed this book are simply stunned, shocked and amazed what can happen to you if you are not aware of your online presence or have a cyberstalker.

Google Bomb will not only go behind the scenes of my 2+ year court battle that vindicated me with a landmark $11.3M jury verdict for damages done to me online (Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy), it will also offer you practical guidance. Have you been slimed online?
What does this have to do with parenting? Your child will be applying to colleges someday, or filling out job applications. Are they aware of what Google is saying about them? For that matter, do you know what Google is saying about you?

Remember, it can take 20 years to build a solid reputation about you, and only 20 minutes for it to be destroyed with evil keystrokes. Whether you have a disgruntled client, a friend turned foe or a relative that didn’t like the reading of a will – you need to be prepared to protect your cyber profile.

From students to teachers, lawyers to landscapers, truck drivers to doctors, stay-at-home moms to career women, teens to grandparents – no one is immune to what lurks online.

For more info: Google Bomb Book, Sue Scheff, Amazon, ReputationDefender Blog, Wit's End Book, EpicCenter Wired.

Also on Examiner.com Order on Amazon Today!!!! Early Release!

Sue Scheff: Steps parents can take to protect their teenagers online reputation

Source: Examiner

By Heather Marlman

As more and more teenagers are taking part in social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace, it’s becoming more and more important for parents to take an active role in helping to protect their teens online reputation.

There are steps that all parents can take to make sure their teenager is playing things smart when they go online both in the text and photos that they post on these social profiles. By taking an active role parents can be certain that the online reputation of their teenager isn’t tarnished.

Talk to your teen

This is a good time to have a conversation with your teenager about their online “image”. Most teenagers are fairly self conscious about their reputation among their peers, however many of them fail to recognize that what may bee seen as cool or funny to their friends is viewed as suggestive or irresponsible to other adults. Remind them that a growing number of college admissions staff and employers are looking at the online profiles of their applicants and using the information they find to base their decisions.

Google your teen

Typing in your teenagers name can sometimes reveal some startling results. Make a point to do a Google search on your teen to find out what information you can find. While your teenager may see this as a form of “spying”, remind them that you are only using the same resources that the entire world has available. If you can find it then so can anyone else.

Join their networks

Not every parent is well versed in the world of social networking but having a teenager often means that it’s time to take a crash course. Create your own profiles on networks such as Facebook and MySpace and add your teenager as one of your contacts. If your teenager uses Twitter, create an account and follow them.

Creating online profiles gives you the ability to let you see what they are posting for the rest of their friends to see. Again, this is not a way of spying on your teenager. It’s a way of creating an open door policy between parent and child.

Encourage adult friends and family members to also add your teen as one of their contacts as a way of further policing the information that they post online.

While these may seem like extreme measures, often teenagers say and do things because they are unaware of the potential consequences. If you find material on any of these social networking sites that you consider inappropriate, make it a point to discuss it with your teenager without being too harsh. Often teens do things that adults may see as inappropriate when they were merely intending to be funny. Discussing the difference in the way things appear to adults is a good way to help shift your teen from the world of being a child to the world of being grown up.

More resources for both parents and teenagers in ways to protect your online reputation will be made available through Project Pro and distributed to high school counselors.

You might also find these articles useful:
What is your teeangers online reputation?
Is your teenager 'sexting'?

Sue Scheff: Managing Your Online Identity

Source: Forbes.com

By Anna Vander Broek

You are who Google says you are.

They say first impressions last a lifetime and increasingly those impressions are made online. Perspective employers Google you. Ditto the cute guy you met at the gym. Your landlord can check out your Facebook friends as easily as your cousin in Kansas City. The bad news is that the Internet has made it nearly impossible to hide your past. The good news is that you can use it to craft your future.

Take Will Lindow. In March, when the 28-year-old Texan decided to ditch his job at advertising giant Omnicon Group to pursue his passion for composing music, he knew the first step in his career change was to redefine himself online.

In order to quickly re-establish himself, Lindow turned to Wix.com, a free (for basic services) Web site which allows users to create flash Web pages. He created a page highlighting his musical talents and ambitions and then sent the link to a few people.

A week or two later Lindow got a response from a director doing a documentary film in Dallas. Now Lindow's scoring the film. He's also working with a local Austin band and last week got a gig doing a theme song for a children's animation film. It's only been three months.

"I reinvented myself online," says Lindow

The first step to getting control over your online identity is Googling yourself. If you don't do it, someone else will. Douglas Rothstein, managing partner of Redstone Partners, an executive search firm based in Manhattan and Cambridge, Mass., will Google ( GOOG - news - people ) potential candidates. "We'll scratch beneath the surface and see what's in the public domain," he says.

Quick Tips: Managing Your Online Identity

Individual Google hits make a difference (no one wants to see those pictures of your knee surgery), but so does the larger story they tell about you. "Treat Google like your résumé," says Michael Fertik, founder of the online reputation management service, ReputationDefender.com. If your first five Google hits highlight your old job as a market analyst it may be hard to sell yourself as a travel writer.

After you know what already exists about you online, start reshaping that information. Establish a purpose. Do you want to use the Internet to find a job or promote a new career? Or do you simply want to keep your online reputation clean in case your Aunt Sally ever Googles your name?

Look at things in context. It's easy to misrepresent yourself through seemingly innocent information if it appears in the wrong place. If you want to build up your career as a beer expert, those Facebook pictures of you double-fisting beers will probably help. But it may not if you're trying to be a kindergarten teacher.

"Know what you want and who you are," says Fertik. This may mean you need to choose what to keep online and what to remove. You don't always show your serious side to your friends or your party side to your boss. The same rules apply online.

If you're unhappy with your Google hits, there are a few things you can do. Think about using a service like Fertik's own ReputationDefender.com, which can help you manipulate your Google results, among other things, pushing positive links higher and negative ones lower. Giant sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will be higher in Google searches, so focus on those sites first.

Creating your own Web site is a great way to give yourself a professional edge and will usually float up to the top of Google hits. Redstone Partner's Rothstein says he strongly advises his clients to create their own Web site. "[Employers] are looking for someone who has taken the time and effort to put together their own professional site," he says. "It shows perspective employers you … will go the extra mile."

Ask for an outside perspective. "Start with your own opinion about how you're presenting yourself," says Fertik. "But then maybe ask a friend or a professional for some insight."

Most importantly, stay up-to-date. A new client to your architecture firm may rather see you can design an office space, not your high school tennis scores.

"Google is now a utility for every life transaction," says Fertik. "You have to keep yourself fresh."