Online Reputation Management Blog

Interview with Crisis Communications Expert Wiley Brooks

I am very excited to kickoff a series of monthly interviews with some of the most successful public relations and crisis communications experts in the business.  Our first guest is Wiley Brooks, founder of The Wiley Brooks Company, a Seattle-based crisis communications consultancy.  Mr. Brooks has counseled companies and organizations on crisis communications and issue management for more than 20 years. He began his career as an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor before becoming media relations director of a large healthcare organization. In 1988, he opened his own PR agency. In 1991, Wiley turned his personal professional focus entirely to crisis consulting.

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Inside the Barclays LIBOR Scandal

Even if you’re tired of reading about Wall Street greed and financial fraud, you may want wake up to read about the latest scandal to hit the global banking industry.  Barclays Chairman Marcus Agius, Chief Executive Officer Bob Diamond and several other top executives have resigned following revelations the company manipulated interest rate data.  Barclays was hit with a massive £290 million fine and their reputation is under daily assault in the press.  A report by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods claims that banks may end up paying $35 billion in civil damages.  “This dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scams in the history of markets,” said Andrew Lo, a professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Most people outside of the banking industry have never heard of LIBOR until now, yet it affects each and every person paying interest on a line of credit. LIBOR stands for the London Interbank Offered Rate and it serves as a reference point for the cost of lending for the financial products that we all use, such as car loans, adjustable-rate mortgages, student loans and credit cards. [Read more…]

7 LinkedIn Tips You Need to Know Right Now

LinkedIn is the most powerful professional networking and marketing tool on the planet, with over 160 million members.  However, most people do not use LinkedIn effectively.  Growing the number of LinkedIn connections is only one part of a successful LinkedIn strategy.  Even LinkedIn’s co-founder, Reid Hoffman was quoted in Wired Magazine  discussing how people simply do not use or know how to take advantage of the full potential of the site.

So if you want to get to know LinkedIn and use it for the benefit of your business (and self) here are seven LinkedIn tips you need to know right now:

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How to Stop Internet Defamation

In the age of Tripadvisor, Yelp and other popular online review and complaint sites, postings (often anonymous) can seriously damage the online reputation of businesses from Main Street to Wall Street.  What can you do if you are the victim of libel or slander against your business?

False statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or communicated to others are usually characterized as libel or slander.  Libel typically refers to written statements or visual depictions, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures.

It is possible to sue an author of a defamatory post for libel.  First, you will need to file a lawsuit against the author or “John Doe” – the unnamed author.  Then you must seek a subpoena to obtain the identity (e.g., name and IP address) of the author, if unknown.  Finally, you must obtain a court order that the post is false or defamatory.  You may receive monetary damages (including the potential for punitive damages) and an injunction for the webmaster to remove the offending material.

If this sounds like a time-consuming and expensive venture, fraught with risk and the potential for more bad publicity, it is. [Read more…]