Humanity is in the beginning stages of an information revolution which is dramatically changing the way people learn about each other. If a person needs to know something about someone, they no longer turn to a private investigator, they turn to Google. This socially accepted behavior has introduced a problem that is unique in the whole of human history.
The internet has allowed the average person to find out about people as though they were next door neighbors, from thousands of miles away behind the warm glow of a computer monitor. In turn, they are judging people based on very limited information assembled from the internet, regardless of the truthfulness of that information.

The forces that are causing this perfect storm on the internet are as follows:

  • People haphazardly socializing on the internet.
  • Companies making tools for people to be able to socialize online .
  • Companies soliciting people to post comments on their sites.
  • People who are in postions to make decisions about people whom they have never met are willing to use information from the internet to reduce risk.

Consider the following.

  • The availability of tools such as blogging software and social networking sites. According to Technorati, a blog indexing company, there are over 14.7 million active bogs and over 70 million blogs in all. As of June 2008, MySpace has over 117 million users and Facebook has over 132 million users. Social networking sites worldwide have over 580 million users and growing at a mind-numbing annual 25% pace. That’s roughly 145 million users per year, or 397,000 per day.

 

  • The growing acceptance of using the internet for socialization by all age demographics. Over 80% of MySpace users are over 18, and the fastest growing demographic of users is the 30-plus demographic.

 

  • The desire for companies to add value to their web presence through web 2.0 technologies.
    Web 2.0 based technologies solicit user involvement in the form of discussion boards, product reviews, and free content hosting. Forrester Research Inc. estimates that corporate spending on Web 2.0 enabling technologies will reach $4.6 billion globally by 2013, growing at a rate of 43%. Additionally, 56% of European and North American companies consider Web 2.0 technologies a top priority for this year alone. All of these Web 2.0 technologies provide an avenue for a person to damage their online image.

 

  • Companies are beginning to require employees to manage the employees’ image on the internet.
    One in ten employees are now required by their employer to market themselves on the internet. One in five employees state that their employers have policies regarding how employees present themselves online.

 

  • Society is willing to use information about you on the internet to make decisions about you.
    In a 2006 study by ExecuNet, 77% of executive recruiters use the internet to research job candidates. Thirty-five percent of candidates were eliminated based on the search results. Similarly, one in five employers are using social network sites in the hiring process. Of those candidates who were screened, 34% of the managers found information which helped them remove applicants from consideration. On the flip side, 24% of managers found content which helped support the hiring decision.

But not to worry,  there is hope.  WhooRu can help you present yourself the way you need to so you can take advantage of the opportunity the internet is providing right now.  Think about it, you have the ability to get  a leg up on the competition.  If people are willing to look for you online, why not help them find you the way you want them to find you.

WhooRu can help you with complete online image management,  Call WhooRu today 1-877-2WHOORU (1-877-294-6678).

As always, be careful out there,

Aaron Francesconi
CEO and Founder of WhooRu

Blog Usage Statistics And Trends: Technorati State Of The Blogosphere - Q4 2006 http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/04/06/blog_usage_statistics_and_trends.htm

Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase their Focus on Cultural Relevance
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2396

Is MySpace an Advertiser Space?
http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3622942

Forrester: Global Enterprise Web 2.0 Market To Reach $4.6 Billion By 2013
http://www.forrester.com/ER/Press/Release/0,1769,1207,00.html

Online identity management and search in the age of transparency
http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Digital_Footprints.pdf

Growing Number Of Job Searches Disrupted By Digital Dirt http://www.execunet.com/m_releases_content.cfm?id=3349

One-in-Five Employers Use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates, CareerBuilder.com Survey finds
http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx