Defamation: Internet Style

Normally, when you hear the term "defamation" or "defamation of character" you are probably thinking of a purposeful act. Someone has purposely set out to injure by publishing negative publicity or worse, making it up and then publishing.

But because of the unique structure of the Internet, "defamation" on the Internet has a much wider definition.

We are an Internet marketing firm that began helping clients with Internet reputation management because we saw an increasing need for these services. In the  time we have been doing this kind of work, we have indeed found cases in which a highly motivated, vindictive individual uses unscrupulous methods to  defame another individual or business.  For the most part, however, the defamation we encounter most often is either inadvertent or caused by individuals who are ignorant of the damage they can cause by publishing recklessly online.  In many cases it is caused by unjustified rage at a vendor by individuals with unrealistic expectations about online customer service.

Of course, a negative search result can damage your reputation whether inflicted on purpose or accidentally.  The difference between purposeful and accidental or negligent defamation is most significant when it comes to fixing the problem.

Internet reputation damage that is caused by inadvertent or negligent publication can be efficiently repaired, even though it may take longer than you would like to do so. However, individual malicious attacks, unless they can be stopped by legal action are much more difficult to resolve for the simple reason that the attacker can keep attacking even after you have taken steps to repair the damage inflicted.

That's why it is very important to analyze your Internet reputation problem carefully before deciding on a solution.  Some problems can be solved with a simple phone call to a social networking site, others with a lengthy SEO campaign to push down negative results, and some with legal action against your attacker. 

Whatever the severity of the damage to your online reputation, the best first step is to analyze the damage and get help to plan the best corrective action.