RepEquity BlogRepEquity Blog

LinkedIn, the business-related social networking site, has added 5 million members in the last month, bringing its total users to 120 million. And, by doing the math, that means the site is gaining two new members every second. For more impressive numbers, read the rest of the TechCrunch article.

Twitter brought its number of supported languages to 11 on Monday with the launch of Dutch and Indonesian.

After 11 months, Twitter finally did away with “Old Twitter” this week. It’s unclear how many, if any, accounts were still using the old display, but for comparison, in September of 2010 (when the new Twitter layout was launched) the service was sending 90 million tweets every day. The number of tweets sent each day in July passed 200 million. Boom. Continue Reading…

Asking if an associate or friend is “online” is a thing of the past. You rarely hear: “Hey – are you on Facebook?” Instead, you’re more likely to end a first date or a networking event with a “Hey – I’ll Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn you.” Assuming that your acquaintances aren’t searching for you online is naïve and could even be harmful. Statistics show that many companies will do extensive online research on a potential employee before they’ll extend an offer. Back in June of 2010, we reported that nearly 70 percent of college graduates Google themselves to see what Google returns, an act that is no longer considered vain or unimportant, but a necessary step in monitoring your public persona. Even if you’re not a celebrity or big time government official, we still highly recommend caring for your online reputation. Below, we’ve made it simple: Online Reputation Management in three easy steps.

1. Your identity is already online – make sure you have control.
Just because you don’t actively participate in the online community, don’t assume that your identity is safe. It’s not uncommon for individuals to make fake accounts using real names to post slanderous statements, viruses and worse online. By claiming pages using your real name, you begin building your online brand, be it personal or professional, giving credibility to your name and taking steps in the right direction toward a positive online reputation. Create profiles on sites like Facebook and Twitter (if you haven’t already) as well as LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube and other social media networks. If you’re a business owner, claim the company’s pages on review sites like Yelp, Google Places and foursquare.

If you’re willing to spend a few dollars, we highly recommend buying your name as a domain name (think joesmith.com). That way, if you do ever decide to start a blog or a personal website, you can circumvent the difficulty of obtaining a relevant URL. Using websites like GoDaddy or Domain make the process simple and inexpensive. Consider buying several variations of your name and nicknames while you’re there. Continue Reading…