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diff --git a/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-article.txt b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-article.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c47660d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-article.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +It used to be that those embarrassing photos from the company Christmas party got pinned up by the water cooler for a few hours, you found them and you threw them away. Nowadays those photos find themselves on Flickr and can get a million page views in an hour. How are our future leaders going to lie about college drug use when we have the pictures available on Facebook?
In an age where mistakes can live forever in the spinning disks of an internet server there is, it appears, a need for someone to clean up after us. That is precisely the goal of a new start up, Reputation Defender.
Originally conceived as a way for parents to protect their children from potentially career damaging postings to MySpace or Facebook, the people behind Reputation Defender quickly realized it had a broader appeal. Michael Fertik, one of the founders of Reputation Defender, says, "I don't like the idea that kids and teenagers might suffer lifelong harm because of momentary mistakes. So I started the company. Then it seemed natural that adults might want the service, too. We all make honest mistakes, and there's no reason the Internet should make those mistakes eternally hurtful to ourselves and others."
Fertik has a point, afterall even bankruptcy
Reputation Defender breaks its services into three categories, "My Reputation," "My Child," and "My Privacy." My reputation is aimed at adults and helps to track down and eliminate those momentary lapses of reason that haunt you. My Child is aimed at parents who want to protect their children from the errors of youth coming back to haunt them later in life. The last of these, "My Privacy," is not yet publicly available but according to the copy on the website promises to do something about the "hundreds of online phonebooks and data brokering websites... (which) offer revealing information, including social security numbers, driver's license numbers, home address history, income, marriage and divorce records, email addresses, tax liens, and phone numbers."
Before you dismiss Reputation Defender as just another startup pipe dream consider that Fertik is a graduate of Harvard Law, another boardmember is a former presidential campaign speech writer, and the advisory board includes a Law Professor at Harvard and some MIT graduates. This is not just a clever concept from some teenagers.
For those that dismiss the need for such a service consider that according to CareerBuilder.com, twenty-six percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees.
Using both site scraping robots and good old-fashioned human detective skills, Reputation Defender promises to scour the internet, particularly social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xenga, Flickr and others, for materials that could be damaging to your career, your children's chances of getting into college and yes, even your chances of getting elected to public office.
As for the removal process, Fertik remained vague about the exact means of removing content. He offered instead, "I can say we have codified a series of procedures (that we are continually refining) that are specific to the source, location and nature of the content we are asked to destroy."
But what about me? I posted those pictures of you at the Christmas party because they are funny, it is you, and you *did* do it. Should I be bullied into removing them just because you consider it a mistake? Libel laws certainly apply if I post something about you that is knowingly false, but if the material in question happens to be a photograph does libel still apply? Generally speaking, no. Under the United States law, a statement cannot be held to be libellous if it is true and libel has historically been difficult to prove.
According to Mr. Fertik, "it should go without saying that there are certain types of content that are extremely difficult--and sometimes impossible--for us to get removed. Some clients and prospective clients would like us to get news articles in major publications or court records removed from the Internet. We've had to tell them that these requests are extremely difficult to fulfill and sometimes impossible. Moreover, we consider ourselves sensitive to First Amendment issues, and we are not too keen on the idea of squelching genuinely newsworthy speech." In such cases Reputation Defender offers its clients a full refund.
The line between free speech and libel has long been a contentious debate both in courtrooms and out. But in the end it may not be that serious. Fertik makes an analogy between Reputation Defender and credit reports. "It's useful to have your credit monitored and to be on top of your credit score before there is ever a problem. It's the same way with personal reputation. In the Internet era, everyone needs to know what's being said about him or her (or his or her child) before it's too late."
Celebrities have long employed various companies to track and monitor what is said about them in the press (you didn't really think it was Britney Spears herself suing US Weekly did you?), now you and I have the same option. The sad part is we may need it.
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV2.txt b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV2.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..767c39b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV2.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +The internet is a place where mistakes can live forever -- so publicly that one may feel the occasional need for somebody to clean up after them. A new startup called Reputation Defender aims to do just that.
Embarrassing office party photos, listserv emails outlining casual drug use and blog posts filled with vicious name-calling often threaten the good social standing of the web's 1 billion citizens. Worse yet, such material, posted by a student in a fit of youthful indiscretion, could threaten the author's employability once he reaches the professional world and its army of Google-savvy hiring managers.
"I don't like the idea that kids and teenagers might suffer lifelong harm because of momentary mistakes," says Michael Fertik, one of the founders of Reputation Defender. Fertik and his partners originally conceived of the service as a way for parents to protect their children from potentially damaging postings to social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. However, Fertik quickly realized that Reputation Defender had a broader appeal.
"It seemed natural that adults might want the service, too. We all make honest mistakes, and there's no reason the Internet should make those mistakes eternally hurtful to ourselves and others."
According to CareerBuilder.com, twenty-six percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees, and one in ten has looked on a social networking website.
Reputation Defender breaks its services into three categories: "My Reputation," which is aimed at adults hoping to track down and eliminate those momentary lapses of reason; "My Child," for parents who want to protect their children from errors of youth that may come back to haunt them later in life; and "My Privacy," which helps to remove a client's data from the web's various data brokering websites that store private information such as social security and drivers license numbers, home addresses and phone numbers.
The first two services are offered on the company's site now, but My Privacy is not yet publicly available.
Using both site scraping robots and good old-fashioned human detective skills, Reputation Defender promises to scour the internet -- particularly social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xenga and Flickr -- for materials that could be damaging to your career, your children's chances of getting into college and even your chances of getting elected to public office.
Reputation Defender's advisory board includes a former presidential campaign speech writer, a Law Professor at Harvard and an MIT graduate.
Fertik, who himself is a graduate of Harvard Law school, concedes that there are some types of content which are close to impossible for his company to remove.
"Some clients and prospective clients would like us to get news articles in major publications or court records removed from the Internet," Fertik says. "We've had to tell them that these requests are extremely difficult to fulfill and sometimes impossible. Moreover, we consider ourselves sensitive to First Amendment issues, and we are not too keen on the idea of squelching genuinely newsworthy speech."
In such cases, Reputation Defender offers its clients a full refund.
Fertik declined to offer an exact description of the company's means of removing content. "I can say we have codified a series of procedures that we are continually refining," he said, "and that are specific to the source, location and nature of the content we are asked to destroy."
But what about the content owner? If I posted those pictures of you at the Christmas party because they are funny, it is you, and you *did* do it. Should I be bullied into removing them just because you consider it a mistake?
As Susan Crawford, Associate Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School and specialist in cyberlaw and telecommunications law, points out, "most people will take materials down just to avoid the hassle of dealing with possible litigation."
Most content owners might buckle under the pressure of threatening letters or imminent lawsuits, however professor Crawford went on to point out that if a content publisher feels sufficiently threatened he or she could bring their own lawsuit "seeking a declaration that what they posted wasn't unlawful."
The line between free speech and libel has long been a contentious debate both in courtrooms and out. But in the end it may not be that serious. Fertik makes an analogy between Reputation Defender and credit reports. "It's useful to have your credit monitored and to be on top of your credit score before there is ever a problem. It's the same way with personal reputation. In the Internet era, everyone needs to know what's being said about him or her (or his or her child) before it's too late." However keep in mind that sometimes doing something can have just as negative an effect as doing nothing. As Crawford says, "trying to shut lawful speech down often has negative reputational effects itself."
Celebrities have long employed various companies to track and monitor what is said about them in the press (you didn't really think it was Britney Spears herself suing US Weekly did you?), now you and I have the same option. The sad part is we may need it.
Interesting. It's like a press clippings service with a twist.
It's likely that most people will take materials down just to avoid the
hassle of dealing with possible litigation. This kind of practice
(writing nasty letters threatening suit) has substantial chilling
effects but isn't itself illegal. If the letter is sufficiently
threatening the threaten-ee could (in the US, at least) bring his or her
own lawsuit seeking a declaration that what they posted wasn't unlawful.
But, again, most people will just buckle rather than fight back.
One of the great things about the internet is that it gives each of us a
chance to respond to statements we believe are libelous. Libel law was
designed for an era in which very few actors could be publishers --
because of the enormous costs of distributing information. Libel law
online makes much less sense. This new business is taking a retrogade
approach that may well be popular. But trying to shut lawful speech
down often has negative reputational effects itself, as people keep
finding out.
Susan
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV3.txt b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV3.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f363f69 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleV3.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +The internet is a place where mistakes can live forever -- so publicly that one may feel the occasional need for somebody to clean up after them. A new startup aims to do just that.
Reputation Defender will contact data hosting services and request the removal of any materials -- from embarrassing office party photos to blog posts outlining casual drug use -- which threaten the good social standing of any web citizen willing to pay the company's monthly service fee. Reputation Defender charges between $9.95 and $15.95 per month for their services, depending on the length of the contract.
Michael Fertik and his partners originally conceived of Reputation Defender as a way for parents to protect their children from potentially damaging postings to social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. Furthermore, such material, posted by a student in a fit of youthful indiscretion, could threaten the author's employability once he reaches the professional world and its army of Google-savvy hiring managers.
"I don't like the idea that kids and teenagers might suffer lifelong harm because of momentary mistakes," says Fertik. According to CareerBuilder.com, twenty-six percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees, and one in ten has looked on a social networking website.
Using both site scraping robots and good old-fashioned human detective skills, Reputation Defender promises to scour the internet -- particularly social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xenga and Flickr -- for materials that could be damaging your childrens' futures.
However, Fertik quickly realized that Reputation Defender had a broader appeal.
"It seemed natural that adults might want the service, too," he says. "We all make honest mistakes, and there's no reason the Internet should make those mistakes eternally hurtful to ourselves and others."
Fertik draws an analogy between Reputation Defender and consumer credit reports. "It's useful to have your credit monitored and to be on top of your credit score before there's ever a problem," he says. "It's the same way with personal reputation. In the internet era, everyone needs to know what's being said about him or her (or his or her child) before it's too late."
Reputation Defender breaks its services into three categories: "My Reputation," which is aimed at adults hoping to track down and eliminate those momentary lapses of reason; "My Child," for parents who want to protect their children from errors of youth that may come back to haunt them later in life; and "My Privacy," which helps to remove a client's data from the web's various data brokering websites that store private information such as social security and drivers license numbers, home addresses and phone numbers.
The first two services are offered on the company's site now, but My Privacy is not yet publicly available.
Reputation Defender's advisory board includes a former presidential campaign speech writer, a Law Professor at Harvard and an MIT graduate. Fertik, who himself is a graduate of Harvard Law school, concedes that there are some types of content which are close to impossible for his company to remove.
"Some clients and prospective clients would like us to get news articles in major publications or court records removed from the Internet," Fertik says. "We've had to tell them that these requests are extremely difficult to fulfill and sometimes impossible."
In such cases, Reputation Defender offers its clients a full refund.
Fertik declined to offer an exact description of his company's means of removing content. "I can say we have codified a series of procedures that we are continually refining," he said, "and that are specific to the source, location and nature of the content we are asked to destroy."
If you're a website owner and Reputation Defender knocks on your door, you are technically not legally bound to remove any photos or posts unless they could be considered libelous.
"Most people will take materials down just to avoid the hassle of dealing with possible litigation," says Susan Crawford, an associate professor of law at Cardozo Law School who specializes in cyberlaw and telecommunications law.
"If the letter is sufficiently threatening," says Crawford, "the threaten-ee could bring his or her own lawsuit seeking a declaration that what they posted wasn't unlawful. But, again, most people will just buckle rather than fight back."
Fertik says that his company considers itself sensitive to First Amendment issues, so there is a line that the company will not cross when asking websites to remove material its clients consider damaging.
"We are not too keen on the idea of squelching genuinely newsworthy speech," he says.
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleVfinal.txt b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleVfinal.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..df5d464 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/repdef/reputation-defender-articleVfinal.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +The mistakes you make on the internet can live forever -- unless you hire somebody to clean up after you.
A new startup, Reputation Defender, will act on your behalf by contacting data hosting services and requesting the removal of any materials which threaten your good social standing. Any web citizen willing to pay Reputation Defender's modest service fees can ask the company to seek and destroy embarrassing office party photos, blog posts detailing casual drug use or saucy comments on social networking profiles.
The company produces monthly reports on its clients' online identities for a cost of $9.95 to $15.95 per month depending on the length of the contract. The client can request the removal of any material on the report for a charge of $29.95 per instance.
Michael Fertik and his partners originally conceived of Reputation Defender as a way for parents to protect their children from potentially damaging postings to social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.
"I don't like the idea that kids and teenagers might suffer lifelong harm because of momentary mistakes," says Fertik.
Using both site scraping robots and good old-fashioned human detective skills, Reputation Defender promises to scour the internet -- particularly social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xenga and Flickr -- for materials that could threaten the author's employability once he reaches the professional world and its army of Google-savvy hiring managers.
According to CareerBuilder.com, twenty-six percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees, and one in ten has looked on a social networking website.
After launching the site, Fertik quickly realized that Reputation Defender would appeal to a broader market than just minors and students.
"It seemed natural that adults might want the service, too," he says. "We all make honest mistakes, and there's no reason the internet should make those mistakes eternally hurtful to ourselves and others."
Fertik draws an analogy between Reputation Defender and consumer credit reports. "It's useful to have your credit monitored and to be on top of your credit score before there's ever a problem," he says. "It's the same way with personal reputation. In the internet era, everyone needs to know what's being said about him or her -- or his or her child -- before it's too late."
Reputation Defender breaks its services into three categories: "My Reputation," which is aimed at adults hoping to track down and eliminate those momentary lapses of reason; "My Child," for parents who want to protect their children from errors of youth that may come back to haunt them later in life; and "My Privacy," which helps to remove a client's data from the web's various data brokering websites that store private information such as social security and drivers license numbers, home addresses and phone numbers.
The first two services are offered on the company's site now, but My Privacy is not yet publicly available.
Reputation Defender's advisory board includes a former presidential campaign speech writer, a Law Professor at Harvard and an MIT graduate. Fertik, who himself is a graduate of Harvard Law school, concedes that there are some types of content which are close to impossible for his company to remove.
"Some clients and prospective clients would like us to get news articles in major publications or court records removed from the Internet," Fertik says. "We've had to tell them that these requests are extremely difficult to fulfill and sometimes impossible."
In such cases, Reputation Defender offers its clients a full refund.
Fertik declined to offer an exact description of his company's means of removing content. "I can say we have codified a series of procedures that we are continually refining," he said, "and that are specific to the source, location and nature of the content we are asked to destroy."
If you're a website owner and Reputation Defender knocks on your door, you are not legally bound to remove anything until a judge orders you to -- a scenario that most website owners are keen to avoid.
"Most people will take materials down just to avoid the hassle of dealing with possible litigation," says Susan Crawford, an associate professor at Cardozo Law School who specializes in cyberlaw and telecommunications law.
"If the letter is sufficiently threatening," says Crawford, "the threaten-ee could bring his or her own lawsuit seeking a declaration that what they posted wasn't unlawful. But, again, most people will just buckle rather than fight back."
Fertik says that Reputation Defender is sensitive to First Amendment issues, so there is a line that the company will not cross when asking websites to remove material its clients consider damaging.
"We are not too keen on the idea of squelching genuinely newsworthy speech," he says.
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