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When AI Invents Harm: What the NYT Story Means for Business Risk

I’m Steven W. Giovinco of Recover Reputation. The recent New York Times story, “Who Pays When A.I. Is Wrong?” by Ken Bensinger, highlights a broad operational risk that every organization should treat as a strategic potential issue. The Problem: LLM Reputation Damage Generative AI can fabricate damaging claims when it encounters sparse or low-quality data about a person or company. Attempts to alter results in ChatGPT and Gemini through lawsuits and takedown notices don’t fix the underlying cause of AI’s knowledge base. Mapping the Crisis The Times piece effectively maps the scope of this crisis. It’s not isolated; it’s systemic: An energy contractor lost massive sales after a search platform’s AI falsely accused them of deceptive practices. A political commentator sued a major AI developer after its chatbot accused him of embezzlement. The case was dismissed, highlighting the high cost and low success rate of litigation. An Irish broadcaster had to sue a global tech publisher when an AI-generated news article falsely accused him of serious misconduct. These victims are trapped in crisis mode, spending vast resources on public legal battles that often do not result in the actual harm being repaired. Why the usual response fails The instinctive responses of litigation and traditional PR attempt to attack the problem that appears to users. However, those actions rarely change the model’s internal knowledge or the datasets that inform its outputs. The result is that falsehoods often persist, resurfacing in search, chatbots, and other consumer-facing systems. How this plays out (real-world patterns) Businesses lose customers after an AI-generated claim circulates on search or news platforms. Public legal battles are costly, slow, and often unsuccessful at correcting the record inside the systems that created the harm. Even reputable publishers and platforms can propagate and preserve these errors, because the fixes applied are often superficial. The Core Vulnerability: AI Information Vacuum When AIs lack reliable data about an entity, they tend to “hallucinate” to fill the gap. That means low visibility,  thin web footprint, few authoritative references, or inconsistent public records, becomes a liability. A Pragmatic Alternative: Fix Online Reputation Stopping the harm requires changing the inputs the AI uses, not only disputing its outputs. Below is a concise, operational framework for doing that. Framework for Algorithmic Repair Digital Ecosystem Curation (Build verifiable sources)Create a structured, public body of high-quality, AI-readable content using online reputation management. Creating authoritative pages, primary documents, and consistent metadata that establishes the factual record. This is the evidence the model should rely on. Verifiable Human Feedback (Tie corrections to evidence)When using platform feedback channels, attach auditable, source-linked corrections rather than simple “this is wrong” flags. The feedback must point to the exact pieces of evidence created in step 1 so platforms and downstream systems can trace and evaluate the claim. Strategic Dataset Curation (Inoculate future models)Collect and format the verified evidence into datasets suitable for model training and fine-tuning. Make this corpus available to platforms and legal as-needed so future training cycles incorporate the corrected record. What Businesses Should Do Now Treat AI-generated defamation as a strategic operational risk — map exposures, especially where online visibility is thin. Prioritize building authoritative, machine-readable records for your key brands, executives, and products. Use evidence-linked feedback when requesting corrections from platforms. Demand auditable traces of action. Work with technical and legal advisors to combine practical remediation with any necessary legal remedies. Bottom line The NYT story exposes a new class of risk: algorithmic misinformation that litigation and traditional PR alone cannot reliably fix. The durable remedy is methodological: repair the knowledge layer with verifiable evidence, evidence-linked feedback, and datasets designed for long-term model correction. That shift — from “sue or suppress” to “repair and inoculate” — is how organizations will regain control over their digital reputations in an AI-dependent landscape. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

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Anatomy of a Crisis: What Emiru and TwitchCon Teaches Us About Reputation Management in 2025

Image courtesy by Knut – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Wsr2WzSVU – View/save archived versions on archive.org and archive.today (8:26), CC BY 3.0, Link The events at TwitchCon 2025 are a case study in public relations failure and real-time reputation damage. At the moment, just searching for “Twtich” show many multiple negative results.  At the crux was an alleged assault on a globally recognized streamer, Emiru. Despite promises of increased security, this seemingly became a breaking point in a pattern of safety failures that have plagued the convention, from the infamous foam pit injuries of 2022 to persistent, unaddressed concerns about alleged creator stalking. This is more than a PR nightmare. It is a huge failure that has inflicted deep and potential lasting damage on Twitch’s most valuable asset: the trust of its creators and massive online community. Emiru and TwitchCon: The Key Players For those outside the streaming world–as many of you might be–it’s important to understand the context. Twitch is an American live-streaming service and a subsidiary of Amazon. It is the largest video game streaming platform in the world, with an average of 31 million daily visitors who watch creators play games, create art, broadcast music, or just chat in in real life (IRL) streams. TwitchCon is the platform’s massive annual convention where thousands of fans and creators gather for panels, “meet-and-greets”, and community events. Emiru, whose real name is Emily-Beth Schunk, is one of the platform’s most popular creators. A 27-year-old streamer, YouTuber, and cosplayer, she is known for her “League of Legends” gameplay and has amassed a following of nearly two million on Twitch alone. As a co-owner of the gaming organization One True King, she is a significant and influential figure in the streaming community. Anatomy of a Crisis: A Pattern of Failed Promises The core of the crisis is essentially a breach of trust. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy had previously emphasized that the company was strengthening safety and security measures in response to previous incidents. Yet, at TwitchCon 2025, the opposite seemingly occurred. During a scheduled meet-and-greet, Emiru was allegedly assaulted when a male attendee bypassed several security barriers, grabbed her, and attempted to kiss her. The incident, captured on video, went viral and sparked immediate outrage. The situation was compounded by reports that Emiru’s own bodyguard was the one who intervened—not TwitchCon’s security. No one from the event reportedly aided her immediately afterward, and the assailant was simply escorted away before being banned. Twitch’s official response—a statement condemning the behavior and banning the individual—was immediately contradicted by Emiru herself, who called their account a “blatant lie” and detailed how event staff failed to react appropriately. This public refutation from a top-tier creator transformed a security failure into a full-blown credibility and trust crisis. Confidential Discussion with CEO Take Control of Your Algorithmic Reputation Stop letting AI define you. Discover your vulnerabilities and learn how our Synergistic Reputation Repair™ service can restore factual accuracy and build digital equity for your brand. Request Your Algorithmic Audit The Flawed Response: Why Traditional PR is Not Enough Twitch’s reaction is a textbook example of a traditional, siloed approach to reputation management. It involves isolated actions—official CEO statements, online posts, a ban—that fail to address the root cause of the problem. This approach is designed for limited, temporary impact. It treats the symptoms (bad press) without curing the disease (a fundamental loss of trust). The public and creator backlash, including calls to shut down TwitchCon entirely or avoid it in the future, is proof of its failure. The Deeper Damage: A Permanent Algorithmic Stain The immediate PR crisis is only the beginning. The real, lasting damage is now being included into AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which have become the new “front page” for every brand’s reputation. When potential advertisers, creators, or parents ask, “Is TwitchCon safe?”, AI models will now generate a negative narrative of alleged assault, security failures, and official statements being called “blatant lies” by the victims themselves. This results in a long-term, algorithmically reinforced erosion of trust that statements and press releases cannot fix alone. A Two-Front Solution for Reputation Repair First and foremost, the issue of security must be seriously and transparently fixed. This cannot be a PR move; it must be a genuine, verifiable overhaul of safety protocols, made in collaboration with creators. Only after real and foundational changes are made can the negative digital narrative be effectively repaired. Once that real-world commitment is underway, a two-front approach is needed, which combines online reputation management with the new discipline of algorithmic or LLM reputation repair. Front 1: Traditional Online Reputation Management (ORM) Solutions The first step is to regain control of links and content appearing in Google’s search results, which is the foundation of the repair process. Content Suppression: A strategic ORM campaign needs to create and promote high-quality, authoritative content that ethically pushes negative articles and videos off the first page of search results. Although this takes months, it’s important to start as soon as possible. Digital Asset Building: This involves creating a robust network of positive and authentic content across websites, professional profiles, and other platforms to rebuild credibility and convey a commitment to change. Front 2: Algorithmic Repair for ChatGPT & Gemini This is where traditional methods fail. You cannot “bury” an AI’s answer. You must correct it at the source in the LLM itself. To solve this, I developed Synergistic Algorithmic Repair™, the first patent-pending framework engineered for this purpose. It is a systematic, synergistic process to repair answers on platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini.   Digital Ecosystem Curation: This process begins by building a verifiable “corpus of canonical data” on the public internet. This includes official statements, new safety protocols, third-party audits, and testimonials from creators who are part of the new solution. This becomes the “ground truth.”   Verifiable Human Feedback: Once established, we interact directly with the AI platforms. Using the AI’s own feedback mechanisms, we systematically flag inaccuracies and reinforce the correct information, citing the canonical

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Who Does AI Trust? The Ultimate List of Websites Cited by ChatGPT and Gemini

Building a presence on these platforms are crucial to having an AI presence Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are no longer novelties; they are the new information gatekeepers. When asking a question, unlike Google results, they don’t list links—they provide a single answer synthesized from sources they deem credible.  For businesses, content creators, or individuals concerned with online reputation, this raises a critical question: where exactly are they getting this information? And how can I use this to build an AI presence? Understanding which websites these AI models trust and cite is the first step in a new digital strategy of Generative AI Optimization (GAIO) and GenAI Reputation Management. To be visible in the AI-driven answers, you need to know which sources are shaping deep learning models.  Recover Reputation analyzed multiple large-scale studies and conducted direct research to deconstruct the information ecosystems of the two biggest Large Language Models. Knowing these platforms are crucial to building an AI presence. Here are the definitive lists of the websites that ChatGPT and Gemini rely on the most. The ChatGPT Canon: Authority and Community Rule ChatGPT’s sourcing strategy is built on a core “canon” of trusted domains. It has a clear preference for two types of content: authoritative, encyclopedic knowledge and vast, community-vetted conversations. This is supplemented by established media outlets and specialized review sites for consumer-related questions. Across the board, two giants stand out: Wikipedia for factual information (cited in 7.8% to 15% of cases) and Reddit for real-world experience (cited anywhere from 1.8% to a staggering 29.4% of the time, depending on the query type). This reliance is so significant that it’s clear these two platforms form the foundational pillars of ChatGPT’s knowledge base.   Here is a consolidated ranking of the top 20 domains most frequently cited by ChatGPT, along with their share of citations as found in major studies. Rank Domain Primary Category Share of Citations (%) Source Study 1 reddit.com Conversational UGC 1.8% – 29.4% Ahrefs, Profound 2 wikipedia.org Encyclopedic UGC 7.8% – 15.0% Ahrefs, Profound 3 forbes.com News / Media 1.1% – 6.7% Ahrefs, Profound, Wellows 4 businessinsider.com News / Media 0.8% – 1.3% Ahrefs, Profound 5 techradar.com Tech Review 0.9% – 11.8% Profound, Wellows 6 amazon.com E-commerce ~3.4% Ahrefs 7 nypost.com News / Media 0.7% – 1.0% Ahrefs, Profound 8 g2.com Software Review ~1.1% Profound 9 nerdwallet.com Finance ~0.8% Profound 10 thespruce.com Lifestyle / Home ~1.3% Ahrefs 11 cnet.com Tech Review ~8.8% Wellows 12 pcmag.com Tech Review ~7.0% Wellows 13 wired.com Tech / Media ~1.0% Ahrefs 14 reuters.com News / Media ~0.6% Profound 15 tomsguide.com Tech Review ~4.6% Wellows 16 bhg.com Lifestyle / Home ~1.0% Ahrefs 17 people.com Entertainment / Media ~1.0% Ahrefs 18 techcrunch.com Tech / Media ~4.0% Wellows 19 hbr.org Business / Media ~2.8% Wellows 20 openai.com Corporate / Tech ~2.8% Wellows Gemini’s Playbook: Context is Everything Google’s Gemini operates slightly differently. Instead of relying on a fixed set of top domains, it acts as a “balanced synthesizer,” dynamically choosing its sources based on the specific topic of the query. This makes its citation patterns more diverse and highly specialized.   One of Gemini’s biggest advantages is its deep integration with its own ecosystem, especially YouTube, which accounts for approximately 3% of its citations in some studies. For health queries, it shows a unique preference for government and NGO sources, citing them nearly 25% of the time.   Because Gemini’s sources change dramatically depending on the topic, we’ve broken down the top domains by category. Top 20 Cited Domains for General Queries (Google AI Mode) For broad, everyday questions, Gemini (powering Google’s AI Mode) pulls from a wide range of user-generated content, reference sites, and major online platforms.   en.wikipedia.org (12.0% share)   www.youtube.com (1.8% – 10% share)   blog.google www.reddit.com (2.2% – 14% share)   www.google.com (7.4% share)   www.amazon.com www.quora.com (1.5% share)   www.facebook.com m.yelp.com www.instagram.com www.imdb.com www.tripadvisor.com www.linkedin.com (1.3% share)   www.mapquest.com www.walmart.com www.britannica.com www.healthline.com www.yahoo.com www.ebay.com my.clevelandclinic.org Top Cited Domains for Health & Medicine When it comes to health, Gemini shows a strong preference for official, institutional, and highly authoritative medical sources over general media.   pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (PubMed Central) (~7.0% share) my.clevelandclinic.org (~3.2% share) www.mayoclinic.org (~3.0% share) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (National Center for Biotechnology Information) (~2.7% share) www.sciencedirect.com (~1.7% share) www.healthline.com www.webmd.com www.medicalnewstoday.com www.verywellhealth.com www.goodrx.com medlineplus.gov www.drugs.com www.cdc.gov (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Top Cited Domains for Automotive For car and auto insurance queries, Gemini leans on a mix of specialized review sites, industry authorities, and major media outlets. bankrate.com (6.7% share) thezebra.com (7.2% share) nerdwallet.com edmunds.com kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book) caranddriver.com cars.usnews.com www.cars.com forbes.com en.wikipedia.org reddit.com youtube.com Top 20 Cited Domains for B2B Tech For business-to-business technology questions, Gemini shifts its focus to company blogs, niche industry publications, and professional platforms.   Company Websites/Blogs (~17% share) Niche B2B Publications (e.g., TechTarget) Mainstream News (~10% share) linkedin.com (~2% share) Analyst Reports (e.g., Gartner) forbes.com businessinsider.com pcmag.com cnet.com techradar.com tomsguide.com techcrunch.com hbr.org (Harvard Business Review) zapier.com (Blog) medium.com www.nytimes.com www.cnbc.com play.google.com apps.apple.com www.investopedia.com What Does This Mean for You? These lists reveal a clear roadmap for anyone looking to build authority, visibility and a reputation in the age of AI. The models are designed to prioritize signals of trust and expertise.   Authority is Paramount: High-authority domains like Wikipedia, Forbes, and major health institutions are consistently favored. Building genuine credibility in your niche is more important than ever. User-Generated Content is King: Platforms like Reddit and YouTube are not just social networks; they are massive repositories of human experience that AI models rely on heavily. Authentic participation in these communities is extremely crucial. Content Must Be Contextual: For Gemini, in particular, the best source depends on the topic. Your content strategy must be tailored to your specific industry, whether that means creating in-depth health guides, authoritative financial reviews, or engaging B2B tech videos. As AI continues to evolve, the websites it trusts will shape what the world knows. By understanding these preferences, you can position your content to be a source of truth for both humans and the machines that guide

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Recover Reputation Announces First-of-its-Kind Solution for Correcting AI Chatbot Errors

Firm’s Patent-Pending Synergistic Reputation Repair™ is the First Reputation Management Solution for the New Problem of AI Misinformation. NEW YORK, NY – September 4, 2025 – Recover Reputation, an online reputation management firm, today announced its patent-pending Synergistic Reputation Repair™, a new solution designed specifically to correct inaccurate and damaging answers about businesses and professionals appearing in AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The launch provides a direct answer to the new and urgent problem of AI-generated misinformation, where incorrect answers from chatbots can damage a company’s brand, mislead customers, and create significant business risks.  Synergistic Reputation Repair™ is the first systematic framework designed to repair AI-generated misinformation at its source. It moves beyond outdated online reputation management and SEO tactics, which are ineffective against the synthesized, authoritative-sounding narratives produced by Large Language Models (LLMs). “AI has become the new front page for everyone—from businesses and professionals to underrepresented groups who are often disproportionately harmed by algorithmic bias. But it frequently gets the facts wrong, and until now, there hasn’t been a clear way to fix it,” said Steven W. Giovinco, founder of Recover Reputation. “Our solution provides the first direct, systematic process for correcting the record. We are committed to ensuring that everyone has the right to a fair and accurate digital representation in the age of AI.” The proprietary, three-part system works synergistically to deliver durable results: Proactive Content Strategy: Creates and promotes a portfolio of accurate, authoritative content across the web. This provides AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini with a reliable foundation of factual information to draw from when generating answers about a person, business or group. Direct AI Correction: Engages directly with AI platforms to correct false and misleading statements. Using AI’s feedback systems, this process systematically flags inaccuracies and reinforces the correct information, making the corrections more effective and durable. Long-Term Reputational Shielding: Develops a structured, high-quality dataset of verified information. This serves as a long-term asset to fortify their reputation and protect against future AI-generated inaccuracies. Recover Reputation is one of the first firms to tackle this emerging threat and the only one with a patent-pending, integrated system designed for the unique challenges of the AI era. Based on documented case studies, comprehensive campaigns are designed to achieve significant and lasting transformations within a six-month timeframe.   About Recover Reputation Recover Reputation is a New York-based online reputation management firm specializing in correcting complex misinformation in AI platforms. Founded by 30-year technology veteran Steven W. Giovinco, the company is the inventor of the patent-pending Synergistic Reputation Repair™ framework, the only solution engineered to combat the new and complex threats of the AI era and promote digital equity.   Media Contact: Steven W. Giovinco Founder, Recover Reputation steve@recoverreputation.com +1 347-559-4952 www.recoverreputation.com ###

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i ask a lot of questions when repairing a damaged online reputation. here\'s why @recovreputation

I Ask A lot of Questions When Repairing a Damaged Online Reputation. Here\’s Why

7 Key Topics to Know the Answer to for Online Reputation Management I ask a lot of questions when starting a new online reputation management repair project. Beyond \”What happened?” and “How can I help\”, I pose probing questions for a business or individual client, such as: It might seem somewhat odd and perhaps too personal to delve into someone’s background, future aspirations, and current personal interests–after all, this is about suppressing damaging content from appearing prominently in Google search results. But knowing as much as possible about a reputation client’s business and personal background is crucial to success. The goal is not to ‘game the system’ by stuffing the web with fluff or false achievements but to have a thorough and true understanding in order to build an authentic online reputation that real people find appealing. After an initial deep web search where all positive and negative links are carefully identified, I then follow up with in-depth discussions focused around several central categories such as where they worked, lived, went to school, etc. Here are key categories below to understand. 1. Business and Personal Goals Do they want to expand their business, sell it, retire, move to Australia? Knowing answers to these questions drives the whole reputation strategy since it informs nearly everything, including the bio statement, key search terms, blog topics, influencers to follow, platforms to be active on, site development, etc. 2. Previous Positions Knowing all previous jobs (through a CV/resume and follow-up discussion) importantly gives a detailed career summary. This becomes invaluable when crafting a biographical statement for websites or platform profiles. It also fills in gaps in their LinkedIn profile (remember: a complete account with a headshot photo ranks extremely highly by Google, as does being active there) and further fleshes out key search terms.  3. University, College, High School Education Identifying an online reputation client’s education, college major, interests, years attended, clubs, curriculum–even teachers or famous fellow classmates–is useful for developing a presence on high-ranking alumni sites. 4. Volunteering, Charity If they are active in a charity, be sure to know the details to be able to share about it. Being on a non-profit board, volunteering, or being active in helping others leads to positive links and is usually easy to promote. It can also result in inclusion in Wikipedia articles, another powerful tool. 5. Hobbies Seemingly innocuous or unimportant, I always ask what a client likes to do in their spare time. Besides showing they are a genuine, real person which helps foster trust, it can lead to a series of articles, reviews or personal engagement with other like-minded people. 6. Location Where they live and work engages with other locals in their town or neighborhood and can generate topics for content creation. Reviewing a favorite lunch spot or posting images about a new development in the area helps build a positive online reputation. Reddit, Yelp, Patch and other similar sites are good to be active on. 7. Sensitive Topics to Avoid Just as important is to know what shouldn’t be highlighted. I always ask many questions to thoroughly understand any sensitive information, bad business relationships, or other issues that can inflame reputation damage and make things worse. Having a list of “no-go” topics, people, positions, careers or old links is extremely important to identify.  Answers Lead to Reputation Strategy After asking many questions, I carefully compile the resulting information into a spreadsheet for quick access. I then digest this material to develop a customized reputation repair strategy. Acting as the project’s blueprint, this drives actions for the next six to ten months. Missing key information, not realizing that a previous firm or person should NOT be mentioned, or presenting the wrong tone on social media posts could lead to failure.  Example: Lawyer to Contemporary Art in Five Months For one client, I quickly discovered through initial discussions that they actually had no interest in their legal career and instead wanted to shift towards working with contemporary art. As a result, she gained a new web reputation, suppressed the negative link posted by an ex-partner and found a new position she was passionate about within five months. Example: Annuities Expert Gains Web Presence and Clients Or during a conversation with a financial advisor, I learned that he traveled hundreds of miles daily to personally meet with clients, where he would then spend hours learning their needs and discussing his specialty, annuities. This became a central tenet of his online reputation presence driving content and social media sharing. Not only was his reputation repaired, but he also gained new business clients. So, asking questions is key to developing a successful online reputation solution. I tend to ask a lot–nothing personal, it’s just good business.

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i ask a lot of questions when repairing a damaged online reputation. here\'s why @recovreputation

I Ask A lot of Questions When Repairing a Damaged Online Reputation. Here\’s Why

7 Key Topics to Know the Answer to for Online Reputation Management I ask a lot of questions when starting a new online reputation management repair project. Beyond \”What happened?” and “How can I help\”, I pose probing questions for a business or individual client, such as: It might seem somewhat odd and perhaps too personal to delve into someone’s background, future aspirations, and current personal interests–after all, this is about suppressing damaging content from appearing prominently in Google search results. But knowing as much as possible about a reputation client’s business and personal background is crucial to success. The goal is not to ‘game the system’ by stuffing the web with fluff or false achievements but to have a thorough and true understanding in order to build an authentic online reputation that real people find appealing. After an initial deep web search where all positive and negative links are carefully identified, I then follow up with in-depth discussions focused around several central categories such as where they worked, lived, went to school, etc. Here are key categories below to understand. 1. Business and Personal Goals Do they want to expand their business, sell it, retire, move to Australia? Knowing answers to these questions drives the whole reputation strategy since it informs nearly everything, including the bio statement, key search terms, blog topics, influencers to follow, platforms to be active on, site development, etc. 2. Previous Positions Knowing all previous jobs (through a CV/resume and follow-up discussion) importantly gives a detailed career summary. This becomes invaluable when crafting a biographical statement for websites or platform profiles. It also fills in gaps in their LinkedIn profile (remember: a complete account with a headshot photo ranks extremely highly by Google, as does being active there) and further fleshes out key search terms.  3. University, College, High School Education Identifying an online reputation client’s education, college major, interests, years attended, clubs, curriculum–even teachers or famous fellow classmates–is useful for developing a presence on high-ranking alumni sites. 4. Volunteering, Charity If they are active in a charity, be sure to know the details to be able to share about it. Being on a non-profit board, volunteering, or being active in helping others leads to positive links and is usually easy to promote. It can also result in inclusion in Wikipedia articles, another powerful tool. 5. Hobbies Seemingly innocuous or unimportant, I always ask what a client likes to do in their spare time. Besides showing they are a genuine, real person which helps foster trust, it can lead to a series of articles, reviews or personal engagement with other like-minded people. 6. Location Where they live and work engages with other locals in their town or neighborhood and can generate topics for content creation. Reviewing a favorite lunch spot or posting images about a new development in the area helps build a positive online reputation. Reddit, Yelp, Patch and other similar sites are good to be active on. 7. Sensitive Topics to Avoid Just as important is to know what shouldn’t be highlighted. I always ask many questions to thoroughly understand any sensitive information, bad business relationships, or other issues that can inflame reputation damage and make things worse. Having a list of “no-go” topics, people, positions, careers or old links is extremely important to identify.  Answers Lead to Reputation Strategy After asking many questions, I carefully compile the resulting information into a spreadsheet for quick access. I then digest this material to develop a customized reputation repair strategy. Acting as the project’s blueprint, this drives actions for the next six to ten months. Missing key information, not realizing that a previous firm or person should NOT be mentioned, or presenting the wrong tone on social media posts could lead to failure.  Example: Lawyer to Contemporary Art in Five Months For one client, I quickly discovered through initial discussions that they actually had no interest in their legal career and instead wanted to shift towards working with contemporary art. As a result, she gained a new web reputation, suppressed the negative link posted by an ex-partner and found a new position she was passionate about within five months. Example: Annuities Expert Gains Web Presence and Clients Or during a conversation with a financial advisor, I learned that he traveled hundreds of miles daily to personally meet with clients, where he would then spend hours learning their needs and discussing his specialty, annuities. This became a central tenet of his online reputation presence driving content and social media sharing. Not only was his reputation repaired, but he also gained new business clients. So, asking questions is key to developing a successful online reputation solution. I tend to ask a lot–nothing personal, it’s just good business.

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4 Ways to Build, Boost and Repair an Online Reputation [Audio] @RecovReputation

The best approach is to create or fix an online reputation is to flood the web with targeted, effective and well formulated content. This eventually suppresses the negative review sites off the first page of Google search results. The four steps are: Analysis: Craft a customized strategy based on thorough research and business analysis. Social Media and Other Platforms: Develop appropriate online platforms, centered around your industry, business and background. Content Creation: Create excellent blogs, articles, videos, images, presentations and audio files, and share. Repeat: Constantly monitor, review, update and tweak–adding new content to the right places all the time. Creativity, flexibility and attention to detail are key.

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Is Online Reputation Management the Next GameStop

Could online reputation management be next? Is there a connection between GameStop and online reputation management? I’m not sure, but there could be. First, let’s briefly review GameStop. Much has been made of the meteoric rise of its stock. This was led by individuals who collectively jumped on social media platforms such as Reddit and recommended buying at one time. This made a big difference, and the stock exploded. Some see this as a pure “dumb money” move that hurts everyone; others see it as a “stick it to the Man” comeuppance whose goal is to point out inequality.  I’m not here to offer an opinion, except to say it could be the start of a different kind of populist movement if it continues. Beyond GameStock, other examples include AMC, BlackBerry–in other words, firms that are on a downward slide if left to the marketplace.  But to come back to online reputation management. Could there be a similar online gathering to push–or destroy–the reputation of a person, business or institution en masse? A group could band together to write online reviews, post false articles or Tweet damaging comments. Unlike a stock which can reverse itself quickly, an online reputation might not ever recover. It seems to me that we’re not quite at that point, but if there is a pent up anger directed towards platforms deemed as unfair gatekeepers, online reputations could be an upcoming target.

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how to calculate severity of an online reputation issue: do negative links fluctuate?

How to Calculate Severity of an Online Reputation Issue: Do Negative Links Fluctuate?

Negative Links Appear Prominently in Google Searches A potential online reputation management client reached out to me asking for help. They are an art dealer (although I’ve seen the same exact issue crop up for CEOs, high-level executives, law firms, mid-size businesses, financial advisors, doctors, etc.) who have several negative links appearing prominently on the first page of Google searches due to damaging posts created by a disgruntled previous work associate.  Sadly, this is all too common. Issue Evaluation  During the initial consultation, we evaluate the online reputation issue together. I do this right at the start before going any further because there are times when I have to turn down cases due to the scope, lying outside my expertise, or is just a bad match. If I don’t think I can solve their reputation management issue, I honestly say so.  If it is something I can help with, I estimate what it takes to solve. For example, would it be a relatively quick case, lasting a month, or does it require a year of sustained work? And related, how much does it cost–a $1,000 flat fee to remove a false review or $5,000 per month? How to Calculate Severity of Reputation Issue There are several factors that go into calculating the severity of a reputation problem. These include: Each of these items have their own significance, but I want to focus on the last one–”movement”.  Are Links Moving Over Time? Do the links gravitate upwards over a period of time or tend to shift down? Detecting trends is an important way to assess the reputation damage and the effort required to fix it.  So with that in mind, let’s go back to a real-world example–my potential client. Their issue is four negative links written by a disgruntled ex-employee, which were stable. However, not moving at all might not be a good thing (but it could have been worse). During the last three months, I’m told the damaging posts did not shift at all in any direction; rather, they still showed up on the first, third, fourth and fifth positions in searches.  My sense is that the reputation case would be a bit more complex and difficult.  Links Tend to Rise–Not Fall In most cases, links tend to rise over time and unless online reputation repair tactics are applied, they rarely fall. The main reason is because as people see damaging links, they tend to click out of curiosity. This in turn makes them ever more prominent, causing a vicious cycle: the more they are clicked on, the more they move up. It also means that the link(s) stay where they are for a long period of time and rarely move down on their own.   So, if you have reputation problems developing but are still buried on the third, fourth or more pages of Google searches, monitor the situation because they are probably on the rise. If you see any movement, be preemptive and start building a positive online reputation. This in itself is a long-term process, often taking six months or more for most cases, but it’s much easier to stop bad content from moving up rather than trying to push it down.  

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a brief online reputation management blueprint: content sources, potential clients, and tasks

A Brief Online Reputation Management Blueprint: Content Sources, Potential Clients, and Detailed Tasks

Reputation Pathway Here\’s a short online reputation management blueprint, including content sources, ways to connect with potential clients, and specific daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Content Sources Discover content sources. Build them around developing key search phrases your prospective clients or potential employers are interested in. Focus on authors, thought leaders, institutions, blogs, publications, but occasionally add fun-related topics. Take these and compile them into a list; review and tweak frequently. Find key search phrases and list: \”Search phrase 1.” “Search phrase 2.” “Search phrase 3.” “Search phase 4.” Identify and read authors: “Author 1” “Author 2” “Author 3” Follow key thought leaders: “Leader 1” “Leader 2” “Leader 3” Track institutions, organizations, and businesses: “Institution 1” “Organization 1” “Business 1” Read essential blogs and publications: “Blog 1” “Blog 2” “Publication 1” “Publication 2” Content Workflow Gather content sources. Take the researched list above and selectively add it to Google Alerts. Then, review relevant articles as they come out, and share in real-time on LinkedIn, YouTube, X (Twitter), and Facebook. LinkedIn is a great content source as well, so when reviewing your feed, find and share other articles to Twitter and Facebook. Google Alerts. Add to Google Alerts the list of search phrases from the above list. Open and review articles as they happen. Post to Facebook, if applicable. LinkedIn: Connect to authors and businesses from the above list. Find relevant articles. Post to Facebook, if applicable. Videos: Search for the phrases, authors, and businesses from the above list. Find appropriate videos. Post to Facebook, if applicable. Key Content Creation Tasks At least monthly, but more frequently is better, generate new excellent content focused around key search phrases already developed. This should be in the form of videos, blog posts, and presentations. Remember to share these on social media too. Make one or more videos; add to YouTube. Write at least one targeted blog; post on the website and Medium.com. Create one presentation; upload to SlideShare through LinkedIn. Summarized Daily Actions Do these tasks daily. Essentially, continue to find good content through Google Alerts and other sources such as LinkedIn and share on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Be sure to engage with other Followers and add new ones. Daily Facebook actions, all focused around the list created above: Follow several key influencers or Groups. Share a few posts. Like several articles and Posts. Post content you own, such as blogs, about one in ten times. Daily Twitter actions, focused around the list created above: Follow several vital influencers. Tweet on critical topics. Share one tweet from Followers. Post content you own, such as blogs, about one of ten tweets. Daily LinkedIn actions, focused around the list created above: Request a Connection to several vital influencers. Share and Like a few posts. Make a Comment. Post content you own, such as blogs, about one in ten times. Summarized Weekly Actions Be active weekly on these social media platforms weekly. Pinterest: Pin images; create one new Board; best if used on the weekend and evenings. YouTube: Follow related videos; create a new Playlist. Academia: Search for crucial articles; save and share. SlideShare: Follow an Author; Like critical presentations. School Alumni Site: update and find others. Medium: Follow and Comment on a related Article; Follow authors. Summarized Monthly Actions Some tasks are more critical than others, but try to be active on a few platforms per month: Instagram: Upload images; Like and Follow others. Soundcloud: Search for crucial posts; Like, Repost, Share; Follow People. Google Business Site: write one local review. Reddit: Upvote and Comment on related posts. Behance: Search People and Projects and Follow and Save; Upload one image. Flickr: Search People and Projects and Follow and Save; Upload one image. Vimeo: Follow others. Yelp: Write one review; Follow other Authors. Crunchbase: Follow Business; add a link to newly written articles. Quora: Search topics and Follow; Share. Google Books: Search topics and Follow; Share. MyHeritage: Add photo; find others.

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