The Reputation Economy

Michael Fertik and David C. Thompson

Audiobook length: 15m 14s

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Part of the ERL: Privacy Reading List

A brave new world in which everything you say and do is recorded and analyzed in real time is closer than you think. To succeed in what Fertik dubs “the Reputation Economy,” we need to understand how our data is scored and take proactive steps to optimize our digital footprints.

The Bottom Line

A brave new world in which everything you say and do is recorded and analyzed in real time is closer than you think. To succeed in what Fertik dubs “the Reputation Economy,” we need to understand how our data is scored and take proactive steps to optimize our digital footprints.

I. Introduction

Personal reputation has been valuable currency since the earliest days of human civilization, but it used to be something that you earned gradually, was limited to a small geographic area and lasted only as long as memory. Today, virtually everything we say and do is being recorded, stored and analyzed. Moreover, these practices are so new that legislation has yet to catch up, leaving the bulk of this data collection and analysis largely unregulated.

What does this mean for us? How should it affect our behavior? How do we make the most of our reputation currency now that it is being digitized and distributed? Founder and CEO of Reputation.com Michael Fertik has long been a leading voice in conversations about the future of digital privacy and online reputation management. Together with David C. Thompson, he wrote a book that paints a vivid, if unsettling, picture of a near future in which we might be offered VIP treatment at a hotel because we demonstrated brand loyalty on Twitter or passed over for a job because we ill-advisedly blasted our boss on Facebook.

Reputation matters more than ever, says Fertik, meaning we need the best tools to build and manage our digital reputations going forward if we are to maximize their value.