A new report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project that looks at reputation and online identity management in the age of social media found that:

More than half (57%) of adult internet users say they have used a search engine to look up their name and see what information was available about them online, up from 47% who did so in 2006.

Young adults, far from being indifferent about their digital footprints, are the most active online reputation managers in several dimensions. For example, more than two-thirds (71%) of social networking users ages 18-29 have changed the privacy settings on their profile to limit what they share with others online.

Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Internet & American Life Project and lead author of the report says search engines and social media sites now play a central role in building one’s identity online.

• Monitoring the digital footprints of others has become more common: 38% of internet users have searched online for information about their friends, up from 26% in 2006.
• People are more likely to be found online: 40% of internet users say they have been contacted by someone from their past who found them online, up from 20% who reported the same in 2006.
• Social networking users are especially attuned to the intricacies of online reputation management: The size of the adult social networking population has more than doubled since 2006, and 65% of these profile owners have changed the privacy settings for their profile to restrict what they share with others online.

When compared with older users, young adults are more likely to restrict what they share and whom they share it with. Those ages 18-29 are more likely than older adults to say:

• They take steps to limit the amount of personal information available about them online: 44% of young adult internet users say this, compared with 33% of internet users ages 30-49, 25% of those ages 50-64 and 20% of those ages 65 and older.
• They change privacy settings: 71% of social networking users ages 18-29 have changed the privacy settings on their profile to limit what they share with others online. By comparison, just 55% of SNS users ages 50-64 have changed their privacy settings.
• They delete unwanted comments: 47% social networking users ages 18-29 have deleted comments that others have made on their profile, compared with just 29% of those ages 30-49 and 26% of those ages 50-64.
• They remove their name from photos: 41% of social networking users ages 18-29 say they have removed their name from photos that were tagged to identify them, compared with just 24% of SNS users ages 30-49 and only 18% of those ages 50-64.

The report is interesting reading given the recent Facebook privacy issues.

The full report can be downloaded at http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Reputation-Management.aspx

(Source: Pro Bono News)

Quick scan of news today revealed a new study linking vitamins to breast cancer. The study  was conducted by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

How would the relevant organisations respond?

First off the rank Blackmores – a leading complementary therapies organisation.  It is noted that they have a response to the study on their Facebook wall  (midday Sunday) – with an engaged and large fan base (4380) this is a great use of a social media platforms for crisis communications.  The link is directed to a response in the Media section of their website which was written April 7 indicating advanced warning of the article but no public response until the traditional media picked up the item (today).

Blackmores also used Twitter to get out their response today (midday Sunday – auto relay from Facebook) – nice work.

I was however suprised to find that their  website was  unavailable (Sunday 2pm)  ‘The Blackmores website is temporarily unavailable‘ .  The homepage should contain at least a simple link to a statement  (their statement is hidden further down in the Media section). While you can get to the Media section of the site and view the statement when clicking on the Chat option on the site it says “Our operators are currently offline. We apologise for any inconvenience. We will be open to chat again on Thursday at 9:30am AEST“.  Thursday does seem a long way away if you need to chat about the study now. Bad luck? bad timing? it is unclear why they say the site is unavailable yet clicking into site links (if you persist) shows otherwise.

Other notable information dissemination opportunities within their website that I would recommend include revisiting the Community section – afterall when a crisis occurs people love to chat!

Within the current community there are sub-communities such as Women’s General Health,  Natural Beauty, Hormone Balance etc…  I would recommend:

• Adding a link to their statement regarding  the study in the Women’s General Health section as this is the relevant sub-community that would be seeking further information and it currently has 2968 members that may be looking for further advice.
• Adding  a general sub community called Topical Issues in the News – this could then encompass content from many of the sections whether it is information on prostate cancer, vitamins, exercise etc. This would then be used not only for this crisis but for future topical issues/crisis communications. This would need to be anchored to the Community Group section i.e would always remain visible on the page to the user.

It will be interesting to see if Blackmores utilises their blog over the coming days and weeks to discuss the study.

It is also interesting to see how The Cancer Council is responding afterall they are the leading authority in this area and one the public would look to for guidance.

The homepage would be obvious place to put a statement but nothing as yet ( Sunday 2.22pm) – their Media Centre section of the website also contains no content even though they were quoted in the traditional media and it is logical that the public might look for additional information on their website.

The Cancer Council Facebook fan page (3123 fans) is also bare (Sunday 2.36pm) yet with a high following it would be a good communication vehicle.

While the Cancer Council are on Twitter and have over 1000 followers there is no response as yet or link to an official statement ( Sunday 2.31pm) yet this topic is being tweeted about today in Australia.

Once again it will be important for the Cancer Council to produce a statement that is linked to their community section called Cancer Connections – This section of the site contains blogs and forums and in the coming days discussion on this recent study is likely to arise. Constant monitoring of this site will be necessary.

In summary, it is early days the traditional media only just broke the story! but so far…

Blackmores are off to a good start with Twitter and Facebook utilised early in the day although improvements on their website and Community section will be needed particularly if and when the story gathers more speed.

The Cancer Council also have all the social media platforms ready to go and large fan bases (i.e. Facebook and Twitter and Community site) yet none have been engaged to deliver their statements even though the organisation was quoted in the traditional media outlets. It will be interesting over the next few hours and days to see how they respond.

IT companies have SLA (service level agreements) for their clients in terms of responsiveness but do social media strategists also have them?

If you are tweeting on behalf of your client (and while this is not ideal  it may be necessary due to the squeeze on marketing depts) do you say how regularly you will tweet ? From a risk management point of view I think an SLA is vital. If someone tweets your clients organisation in an emergency situation who is going to respond? who is expected to respond to that tweet at 11.55pm? what is the understanding in your business about rapid response from a crisis communications perspective? best get that on the table and ensure all parties have clear expectations.

In the ideal world organisations would engage themselves albiet being mentored along the way. It is simpy better that way, the organisations have the deep knowledge to respond internally to situations that arise and employee involvement is vital to engage honestly with consumers and create powerful change within the organisation itself.  Yet, many times clients ask social media marketers to take on the whole kit and kaboodle – devise the strategy and implement the engagement and many times this is indeed necessary.

Apart from the obvious pitfall of the client not being totally involved! what are the logistical pitfalls you have encountered? and what do you think others should be aware of if they undertake this arrangement?