Your personal reputation should be important to you. If you’re looking for a new career then remember that prospective employers are more likely than ever to conduct some research on the Internet in a bid to find out information about you that your CV doesn’t show. If you ever decide to become freelance or set up your own business then your reputation will become potentially even more important as consumers and businesses are especially likely to look online in order to find out who they are dealing with.

Everything you do on the Internet leaves a trail of some sort. Whether you manage your own website, or you are a member of social networking websites, your name and your reputation will be governed by the pages and comments that appear on these sites. You can certainly manage your own website to ensure that others see information that you want them to but can you elicit the same level of control over other people’s web pages, blogs, forums, and other online comments?

The short answer is no. If somebody wants to post negative comments about you then they can, although they do face legal repercussions if those statements can be proven to be defamatory. However, you can protect your personal online reputation by closely managing the search results that people see when they look for your name. Create positive or informative web pages and blog posts. Add profiles on social networking websites and get involved in discussions relating to your industry or your hobbies and these can eventually take the place of negative posts.