EVER tried googling your name and been shocked by the results? You are not alone 鈥� in fact, an entire industry has sprung up whose sole purpose is to help people manage their online reputation and gain control over their virtual personas, as we report on page 46.
At the moment, this is a relatively discreet activity, but it鈥檚 not much of a stretch to imagine that individuals could become as preoccupied with persona management as companies are with using search engine optimisation to boost the ranking of websites. And today鈥檚 simple strategies 鈥� such as pollinating links to an approved CV 鈥� are bound to become more complex. Search engines will then have to figure out how to distinguish 鈥渨hite hat鈥� (ethical) from the 鈥渂lack hat鈥� (unethical) efforts to burnish online personas.
Read more: 鈥�Keeping up e-ppearances: How to bury your digital dirt鈥�
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