Digital media are already mainstream, mass, ubiquitous…and, of course, forever.  This has profoundly affected how we learn about events, about brands, and about people. Building a global reputation—a global brand—is no longer the sole preserve of multi-nationals with huge advertising budgets. A global reputation can be established by anyone: sometimes inadvertently.

Reputation

Once upon a time, reputations were built, or lost, one person at a time. Only the largest brands, or the most famous people (usually politicians or entertainers: is there a distinction?) had the chance to built a mass reputation.

Reputation was honed over many interactions. There was a chance to fine-tune how we appeared to others.  If we goofed up once, if one interaction went badly, the memory would eventually fade. And it was in the eyes of one, or perhaps a few, that we had erred.

Once upon a time, bygones could be bygones. Memories faded. What’s more, we could easily appear in different ways to different people. The you-at-home-in-private was quite separated from-you-at-play-with-friends, or you-at-work-with-colleagues. As T S Elliot put it: “There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”

On-line Reputation

In the digital world, we interact—almost casually—with thousands, millions at a time. Reputations are made, and broken, in an instant.

In what used to be called private, we browse through the web. Being (probably) physically alone or with a few close friends, we fancy ourselves to be in private. Yet if aren’t careful, we leave mile-wide tracks that are all too public. And all too indelible.

If we aren’t careful, what we think of as private (or what we never really think about at all) becomes public. Globally public. Enduringly public. Digital media have an almost unlimited memory. And an almost unlimited reach. Digital is forever.

Permission

The paradox is that much of the private information that becomes public, we ourselves spilt into the public domain quite intentionally. Our privacy is less invaded than willingly surrendered.

When Facebook asks “What’s on your mind?” or “Relationship status”, many of us willingly share this information with almost half a billion people. The default Facebook privacy setting still leaves these comments in the public domain: searchable by all, and always there. These fragments of our lives, seemingly so innocent at the time, are later apt to return to haunt us.

When corporate recruiters search for us on social network sites, to assess the “suitability of our lifestyles”. When investigators subpoena on-line records to investigate our tastes. Those photos and quips, which seemed so cool, and anonymous at the time, loom suddenly over our future.

Take charge of your digital reputation now

Digital stains on your character are almost indelible. Ask the “dog poop girl”.  She allowed her dog to relieve itself in a subway car in South Korea, and didn’t clean up after. Someone snapped a picture. It was posted on-line. Someone identified her by name. Her infamy spread around the world. She found it necessary to change her home, and leave her school. A Google search for the exact phrase “dog poop girl” reports “about 275,000 results”.

Strong brands are built on a foundation of consistency. Consistency first of the product or service that is being branded. The taste of Starbucks coffee is the same worldwide; as is the ambience of the Starbucks stores; and the service standards received. If the product/service is not consistent, it can’t be branded successfully

Second, is consistency of the physical branding: the logo, the colors, the name, the font, the packaging. All the physical aspects of making the brand distinctive.

When customers are repeatedly exposed to the same product/service, in the presence of the same physical brand, they start to learn to anticipate the product/service when they see the physical brand. That’s when the brand starts to have meaning in marketing sense. The brand itself starts to conjure up feelings within the customer. If the product/service loses consistency, the brand will eventually erode. Although for strong brands this unlearning takes a long time, if the brand was weak it will be destroyed rapidly.

Personal brand

Your reputation—your personal brand—is built in the exact same way. Consistency of behavior, coupled with your recognizable distinctiveness, builds your brand. Every Facebook update, every comment, every tweet builds (or destroys) your brand. Think twice before you use digital media casually: what you do now lasts forever and will, for better or worse, become part of your personal reputation.

This article originally appeared in Bangkok Post, June 16, 2010

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