Sue Scheff - Reputation Defender

ReputationDefender Launches NameGrab

2009-11-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Many of my readers know I am probably one of ReputationDefender’s largest fans. If you have read my recent book, Google Bomb, you will completely understand why.

Back in 2003 I was attacked viciously online. Slime balls of lies, twisted truths and much more. In 2006 I won a landmark case with a jury verdict for damages of over $11M! The jury sent a very clear and strong message – free speech does not condone defamation. Be careful what you post online, it may not only haunt you later, it could cost you a bundle.

After my court room victory, I felt vindicated and like a new person. However what I didn’t realize is that all that ugly stuff online still existed.

My next call-out was to Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of what was, back in 2006, a small new company. He assured me he could help me with my virtual image. As promised, within a few months, I was back to myself both emotionally and virtually.

Since then, I have recommended these services to many people. I receive hundreds of emails of people that are being harmed online. ReputationDefender has grown from the few people I remember, to an entire staff of caring and dedicated people that are there to help you manage your online reputation.

For the record: I am not a spokesperson or sponsor of ReputationDefender. I do not participate in their referral affiliate program and I have never received any gifts or money from them. I am simply a very satisfied client.

Today they announced their latest service, NameGrab. Here is their recent press release. I am confident this is another fantastic asset to their growing and successful business. Read on!

ReputationDefender Launches Online Identity Management Service

NameGrab Allows Users to Control and Protect Their Names Across the Web, Dominate Search Results and Promote Their Personal Brands Online

REDWOOD CITY, CA–(Marketwire – November 16, 2009) – ReputationDefender, the leading comprehensive online reputation and privacy management company, today introduced NameGrab, a new service that allows users to control their online identities and promote their personal brands online. NameGrab’s proprietary technology automates the process of reserving your name across hundreds of social networking sites, thus ensuring both that search results produce the ‘real you’ and that your personal brand is accurately reflected online.In today’s search-dominated world, your high-quality online identity has never been more crucial. NameGrab provides the tools to help you proactively secure that identity by claiming the most important social profiles on the Web on your behalf. Using NameGrab’s innovative technology, you can now:

– Control and protect your name across the Web;
– Own your name on hundreds of social networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter;
– Prevent imposters from posing as you online;
– Dominate search results for your name; and
– Ensure that people find the real you.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of protecting your good name on the Internet. By gaining control over your brand and image across social networking sites, you can ensure that friends, colleagues and potential customers using these powerful online properties can easily find the real you and not someone else,” said Michael Fertik, CEO and founder of ReputationDefender.

“NameGrab is ideal for anyone with a presence online — new college graduates, job hunters, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers and realtors who use the Web for new client leads. NameGrab is the only service that makes reserving and managing your name across social networking sites truly effortless — ultimately putting control of your name back in your own hands, where it belongs.”

NameGrab is also available for businesses looking to improve customer connectivity and efficiently manage their online footprints. NameGrab provides access to all registered usernames and passwords within one convenient, secure location, limiting excess email, and allowing users to easily manage which profiles need content and be alerted to the latest social networks and new profile availability. For more information on NameGrab, please visit: http://www.namegrab.com/

About ReputationDefender

ReputationDefender is the world’s only comprehensive online reputation and privacy management company. Through its suite of services, including MyReputation(SM), MyEdge(SM), MyChild(SM), and MyPrivacy(SM), ReputationDefender helps its customers manage and protect their online information. ReputationDefender also helps customers promote themselves and their businesses online. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, ReputationDefender serves customers in over 40 countries and has been featured in Washington Post and Forbes cover stories, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Follow ReputationDefender on Twitter @RepDef

Visit ReputationDefenderBlog and get involved with the conversation and chat!

ReputationDefender - Parenting in the Digital Age

2009-11-10T07:02:00.001-08:00

I created my organization, Parents Universal Resource Experts in 2001. Many parents contact us for assistance when they are at their wit’s end with their teenager. Parenting has so many more challenges since 2001, with the ever expanding technology that seems almost impossbile to keep up with.

Now bullying has escalated to cyberbullying. Texting has created sexting. For parents, teachers and most adults, we are struggling to keep up. Today I speak a lot about protecting your teens online – what they post today, can haunt them tomorrow. More and more colleges are using Search Engines to research their candidates, do you know what Google is saying about your potential college applicant?

ReputationDefender is the original online reputation management services, and since 2006 they have been helping people learn about their virtual presence. I personally have retained them, and find them to be priceless. Their service to protect your children is also priceless – take a moment to read their recent Blog post. They are always 10 steps ahead of us! As a parent, we need to be there too!

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

Parenting in the Digital Age

By Rob Frappier

It’s 2009. That means that there are children using the internet everyday who were born after the Y2K scare. Am I the only one that finds that fact somewhat mind boggling?In the last decade, the internet has grown exponentially. With the creation of social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook, the internet has become more than a place to seek out information, but to connect with friends. For kids, the development of social networking expanded the school day from 7 hours to 24 hours, replacing the phone as the place where students shared gossip after the last bell rang.

Along with the increased internet usage, came a new problem, cyberbullying. Kids and teens, many no doubt struggling with their own emotional development and maturation issues, used the internet as a tool to reach out and anonymously torment their peers. In the most simplistic cases, cyberbullying leads to depression and anxiety. In severe cases, where abuse is especially virulent and prolonged, it has led teens to commit suicide. Apart from cyberbullying, there’s the danger of your child meeting a cyberpredator online, or, posting inappropriate and reputation damaging information about themselves or your family.

The list goes on and on.

When you have a child, you’re expected to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders for them. In the digital age, that means carrying the weight of the World Wide Web as well. As scary as it can be to think about the dangers lurking online (in addition to the countless everyday worries), it doesn’t do any good to ignore these issues. If your kids have more experience using the internet than you do, that doesn’t automatically mean that they understand the proper way to use it. As in any other aspect of life, your kids need you to help guide them, and with the internet that means setting expectations and abiding by them.

There are a number of ways you can help protect your kids from getting into trouble online. Here at ReputationDefender, we offer MyChild. With MyChild, you can see where and in what context your child’s name appears on the web. Through personalized monthly reports, parents can keep an eye on how their kids are using the web and help head off any potential problems before they spin out of control. Later in the week, I will be offering some practical advice for parents on securing their children’s safety online and protecting their family’s reputation.Being a parent isn’t easy under the best circumstances. That’s why, from our earliest days as a company, we have been committed to making the internet a safer and better place for kids. We show this in our products, and in our work with other leaders in the field, such as the Internet Keep Safe Coalition.

Check back to the ReputationDefender Blog later in the week for more help and advice on raising your children in the digital age.

Follow ReputationDefender on Twitter @RepDef

(I believe in ReputationDefender. I do not receive any referral fees and have never been paid by them. I am simply a satisfied client and Parent Advocate that wants to share information to help other parents.)

Celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month with ReputationDefender

2009-10-03T05:01:00.001-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

By Rob Frappier

October is the Sixth Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, the theme of this year’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month is “Our Shared Responsibility.”
“Our Shared Responsibility” is about individuals taking a pro-active stance in protecting their privacy and security online. Rather than relying on the government or industry groups to regulate how you use the Internet, take it upon yourself to protect yourself online. You should also take some time to teach your children about the Internet and the things that they should and shouldn’t do online.

For some great advice on how to protect yourself and your family online, check out these “Top Tips” from the National Cyber Security Alliance. Of course, here at ReputationDefender, we think about cyber security 365 days a year, so we have lots of great resources you can check out as well. If you’d like to learn more about how ReputationDefender can help you stay safe online, contact one of our Online Reputation Management experts today.

ReputationDefender and iKeepSafe Provide Online Reputation Resources to Guidance Counselors

2009-08-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

ReputationDefender has been working with the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe), a non-profit that works for the health and safety of youth online, to create resources that help guidance counselors educate kids in the US about how their online reputations can keep them safe, and help (rather than harm) their ability to get into college — Download ReputationDefender’s guide to keeping your kids safe online today!

iKeepSafe launched Project PRO (Privacy & Online Reputation) at this summer’s American School Counselors Association annual meeting in Dallas, TX. I’d like to send a special thank you to our reputation agents who contributed their expertise in creating the booklet, DVD and online materials (http://www.ikeepsafe.org/ASCA) that have now been distributed to educators nationwide.

Marsali Hancock, President of iKeepSafe, on the launch of Project PRO:

“What youth post online today directly impacts their future academic and employment opportunities. ReputationDefender has worked closely with iKeepSafe to develop content for school counselors that teaches students how to protect their privacy online, and help students create an online reputation that is an asset rather than a liability. We are grateful for ReputationDefender’s support and for sharing their expertise about managing and building an online reputation that opens doors to future opportunities, rather than eliminating them.”

Concerned parents can also find helpful tips in these materials for ensuring the safety of their kids online, and try MyChild to combat the spread of potentially harmful information about their kids online. As always, we here at ReputationDefender recommend that you keep current with technology, keep communicating with your kids about what they’re doing online, and keep checking on their Internet activity. With a great online reputation, the sky is the limit for your kids!

ReputationDefender and iKeepSafe’s 3 Key Tips for Parents:

1. Keep Current with Technology: Talk to teachers about what forms of Internet safety tools they implement in computer labs and technology classes, consider these safety tools for home use, and stay up-to-date on the capabilities of any mobile devices your child may have.

2. Keep Communicating with Your Kids: Find out who your child talks to online, educate your kids about the permanence of any “digital footprints” they leave behind, limit the use of social networks, and make it a habit to engage your kids in critical conversation—the more you talk to your kids about their online usage, the more they will learn to use digital products in a safe and healthy manner.

3. Keep Checking Your Kid’s Internet Activity: Keep computers in a central public location, check your child’s browsing histories, and limit your child’s computer time—there’s a whole world of outdoor and offline activities where they should be involved!

Follow Reputation Defender on Twitter @RepDef

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik Talks “Google Insurance”

2009-07-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefenderBlog

It’s no secret that people use Google to learn about potential dates or possible job applicants. In fact, it’s practically expected in the digital age. Despite this seeming awareness of how Google search can affect one’s life, however, few people invest in what ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik calls “Google Insurance.”

Just as you have home or car insurance to prevent damage to your belongings, you should also have Google insurance to prevent damage to your personal brand online. In a recent post at the blog Plus&Play.com, Michael Fertik explained some simple ways to protect your personal brand from misinformation on Google.

Register the URLs for your name and variants, and consider creating a blog. The objective here is to own the first 1-5 results that appear on search engines if someone searches your name. I don’t think most people should be bloggers, but having a Google-friendly and SEO-rich blog platform like Wordpress or TypePad that is updated even twice per month as an online journal is worth the investment for having first say in your image.

For additional advice on personal branding in the digital age, make sure to check out the rest of the blog post, which can be found here.

Thanks to the Plus&Play blog for helping spread the word about the importance of pro-active Online Reputation Management.

Sue Scheff: Are you jeopardizing your job with social media?

2009-06-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Source: Baltimore Internet Examiner
By: Chip Dizard

Go to Chip's Home Page

You have heard the horror stories, last year, a North Carolina school district disciplined several faculty members for Facebook content such as personal photos and comments about students. Wired.com reported that an Associated Press staffer in Philadelphia was reprimanded for a Facebook posting that criticized his company.

According to Sharlyn Lauby, president of ITM Group, a human resources consulting firm says "If I can put up pictures of the kids, I can put up pictures from a meeting,". "If I can talk about a recipe I saw with my sister, I can put up an article about something I saw that's work-related. ... People are talking about you, whether you want them to or not. As a company, you need to think about how you want to be positioned."

Companies are now dealing with this dilemma because work and personal lives often collide. Many companies have resorted to blocking social networking sites due to lost productivity and network concerns.

The key for employees to know is that whatever you post online can be used against you. Employers are often checking your online profile as a condition of employment. I had a client recently come to me about a web site link , she consented to do an interview on a major cable network, but it was for a surgery she wanted to keep private. So when you googled her name her employees found out that she had cosmetic surgery. This was something she agreed to with the cable network and it couldn't be taken down. For those people who want to protect their reputation, there are a few companies that will do that for a fee. One that is very popular is Reputation Defender.

Whatever you do, just be wise and trust your gut, if it seems inappropriate it probably is, I always err on the side of caution, especially in the workplace.

The New Facebook Family: Reevaluating Social Media

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

By Adam Tanguay

Over the last few months I have observed an interesting change in the world of Facebook. Where I used to see friends socializing, I now see mothers producing safety-themed wall posts on my friends’ pages. Where I used to see old classmates partying it up, I now see pictures of younger siblings conducting acts better left undocumented. Call it the new Facebook Family.
The evidence of the new Facebook Family is everywhere.

Directly below [above] my friend’s recent post decrying a party-induced headache is his mother’s serene avatar, reminding him politely about the dangers of drinking. Distant cousins who I might not see for years at a time now receive glimpses into my daily life and inquire about personal family matters on a regular basis. It is obvious that there is a new family present in the once esoteric world of social media, and this burgeoning group has drastically altered the core dynamics of our digital space.

As a brash teen with a passion for creative media outlets, I relished my early social media experiences with MySpace, LiveJournal, and Friendster. These digital spaces were exciting because I felt like I belonged to an innovative new web faction separate from popular culture. My grandma didn’t have a MySpace profile and Wal-Mart wasn’t going to post comments on my LiveJournal posts.

But all that has changed. The geeks, hackers, and techies are now shoulder to shoulder with moms and business executives in freshly commercialized social media channels. I even heard Tom Hanks talking about Twitter last night on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. It appears that, as the social media family continues to expand into new domains and infiltrate the general public’s collective conscious, the subculture that spawned it all is destined to quietly slip away into a new corner of the Web.

I believe social media’s move into the mainstream is positive. The amazing benefits of this space are now accessible to everyone. Average Internet users now wield the tools to control their online reputation and identity, empowering average people to explore a world that was once extremely difficult for outsiders to understand.

However, this drastic accessibility shift has also changed the nature of social media. Savvy advertisers and recruiters were successful in early Web 2.0 channels because everything was still relatively “underground” in the eyes of users. Now that your mom Tweets all day long, the edginess early social media marketers once enjoyed has been severely incapacitated.

It is hard to say whether the new Facebook Family has inhibited social media from influencing interactions. However, if our favorite social media sites weaken with an influx of ads, fake-users, and a general loss of DIY spirit, it could signal the death of the industry. I like to remain optimistic. I believe a strong base of users reflecting their true online identities and a spirit of positive interaction will help maintain the integrity of the new family in which we find ourselves.

What do you think? How have you adapted to the new Facebook Family?

ReputationDefender: Bing vs Google vs Yahoo People Search

2009-06-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender

Last week, we wrote about Bing, Microsoft’s latest foray into the search engine market. At that time, the search engine was only open to private users. Today, however, Bing was released to the public, setting the Internet alight with buzz about whether or not Microsoft’s new “Decision Engine” is better than Google at delivering valuable results.

What’s the verdict?So far, the results are mixed.

While many are impressed by Bing’s search capabilities, particularly when compared to its predecessor, Live Search, the prevailing notion is that most people won’t find enough good in Bing to leave Google.

Of course, it is important to note that I said most people and not all people.You see, some users might actually switch their preferred search engine. This is why it is more important than ever for individuals to understand how their online image appears in not just Google, but Bing and Yahoo as well. After all, 30% of all Internet searches are person-related.

So how does Bing stack up against Google and Yahoo for people searching? Let’s check out the results with the world’s most famous PC: Bill Gates. (For a different take on the state of search engines, check out Danny Sullivan’s thoughtful post at Search Engine Land.)

Check it out here: http://michaelfertik.com/news/bing-vs-google-vs-yahoo-for-people-searching/

Is Google the Enemy of the Truth?

2009-05-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefenderBlog

Google has taught the world that great things can be free. More than any other company, Google’s existential and commercial constitution holds that information should be free to Internet readers, in exchange for some amount of advertising revenue.

But even Google cannot give us a free lunch. The costs of this Google-culture shift are appearing, and they are heavy. Newspapers across the country are imploding as they fail to replace lost subscription, classifieds, and print advertising revenue with online eyeballs dollars. Efforts to impose subscription fees on Internet readers have met with protest, scorn, or reader disappearance.

It’s not all Google’s fault. Newspapers–and TV and radio–have been slow to change. Cross-linking among sites, which generates strong search engine ranking, has come only lately to newspaper webpages. Traditional news media have likewise only recently started to make their pages “persistent”–so that they stay up on the web permanently–which adds to search visibility over time. (Both of these “rules” of Internet life were created, basically, by Google.)

But the expectation that “information must be free” is an article of faith among the Internet generation. This is a fatal problem for journalism. Someone has to pay reporters and editors. Online advertising revenue isn’t enough: according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, half of newspaper readers reach their content via the web, but newspapers generate less than 10% of their revenue from the Internet. That’s a formula for impending doom. The media industry is laying off heavily. According to the News Cycle blog, over the past 16 months, 27,000 newspaper employees have lost their jobs. When the economy comes back, some advertising revenue will return, but most of the papers will be gone, and the higher advertising rates won’t be sufficient to bring them back.

True, bloggers and amateur journalists are filling some of the void (see the citation in the previous paragraph). But it doesn’t take a genius to observe that bloggers are simply not subject to the same tenets that the formal editorial process demands. Moreover, the economic threat of liability for libelous publications has long imposed on professional outlets incentives to get their stories right. By contrast, nearly all bloggers have small enough incomes to be judgment proof, or they are anonymous, so the barrier to suing them is much higher. The net result is a lower quality of reporting and fact-finding.

Not all the papers will die. The top five in the US will most likely thrive. This may guarantee excellent coverage of New York, LA, Washington, Chicago, Wall Street, national politics, business, and global affairs. Very local police blotters may continue to blot. But who will cover Newark, St. Louis, Boston with regularity and care? What about the smaller cities? Who will gather sources and data for small stories that later make up the infrastructure supporting the larger, trendline stories that reach across towns, states, and decades?

Hope springs eternal. The new website True/Slant is intelligently mashing up economic features of traditional publishing, Digg, Arts & Letters Daily, and pay-for-play blogging to seek revenues. The New York Times, Boston Globe, and Washington Post are creatively tying long-term subscription revenue to technology hardware purchases in a deal struck with Amazon for discounted Kindles. David Carr recently suggested in the New York Times that the SEC should hire out-of-work investigative journalists to boost their fact-finding powers. News-gathering agencies seem to be considering, at long last, endowing themselves with long-term foundation-style support. Maybe enhanced feature sets like very-first-look breaking news feeds and searchable archive access will yield unexpected sources of revenue: Walter Isaacson has suggested that readers should pay for pieces that are costly to report. Americans find ways to fill vacuums, so there’s always reason for optimism, but, at scale, good reporting needs to be financially incentivized, and we haven’t yet found solutions.

And what happens if the reporting doesn’t get done? The quality of information will decline over time. The relatively good information gathered, analyzed, and published by professional organizations will be replaced with relatively bad information from unedited and consequence-free sources. Google will continue to do what it does best: find and present massive amounts of data to consumers hungry for information. But Google will, increasingly, be finding speculation, innuendo, sloppy reporting, and falsehood. It will not be finding the truth.

Sue Scheff: Kids and Protection Online

2009-05-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

As a parent advocate, I am proactive in helping parents keep their kids safe in cyberspace. One of my favorite services, which I believe is priceless for all families with kids online, is ReputationDefender. I have personally used their services for several years and have been completely satisfied. It is a cost-effective way to help protect your children while they surf.

What is MyChild?

MyChild by ReputationDefender scours the Internet for all references to your child or teen - by name, photography, screen name, or social network profiles - and packages it to you in an easy-to-understand report. Worried about bullies? Concerned that your teens' friends and peers are posting inappropriate materials online? MyChild searches every corner of the Internet for traces of your kids. If you want to help your teen manage their online reputation, but have felt powerless to do so, ReputationDefender is your answer!
Posted by Sue Scheff at 9:25 AM

Sue Scheff: Help ReputationDefender Support Nikki

2009-05-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

When a family loses a child, I can’t even imagine the pain they endure. How they wake up the next day, how they feel, what they feel and how they go on with life. When a family loses a child in a tragic accident it seems it could only compound all the feelings of loss.

On October 31, 2006 the Catsouras family experienced the nightmare every parent fears - losing a teen in a tragic automobile accident.

The accident was the beginning of an emotional roller coaster. If you haven’t heard about this story, it is time to take a moment and help make a difference. Nikki Catsouras, after having a horrific car accident was dead on impact, the scene was described as shocking as Nikki’s head was nearly decapitated.

Can you even imagine as a parent, learning of this? Can you imagine living through this? As a parent advocate and a parent of two young adults now, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what this family has gone through.

What follows next is nothing short of evil, in my opinion. Shortly after Nikki was buried, her parents and sisters still in mourning, the Internet creeped into their lives in the most heinous way. Photo’s of Nikki’s crime scene were posted online! Yes, their daughter’s body, or what was left of it, was going viral! Where is justice? Who in God’s name would do this?

Please take a moment to read “A Tribute to Nikki Catsouras” and sign the petition to help create reasonable protection for personal privacy on the Internet.

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender Blog and Their Articles

2009-05-21T08:37:00.001-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

By Michael Fertik

OLD AND NEW INFORMATION WANTING TO BE FREE

According to Wikipedia, the phrase “information wants to be free” is an “expression that has come to be the unofficial motto of the free content movement.” Much of what we do at ReputationDefender has to do with this concept. Do we as a society and as individuals really want every type of information to be visible to anyone, at any time? Do we want our medical history, phone numbers, old addresses and private photos to be as readily accessible as, say, who played third base for the Red Sox in 1912? (The answer to this question is found below).
I recently read a couple of books that, specifically speaking in one case and broadly speaking in another, illustrate the narrative of information’s wanting to be free (in the sense of freely available), and the potentially history-altering or life-changing consequences that may arrive when it is.

The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls by Hershel Shanks tells the story of the battle to wrest access over the Scrolls, discovered in the early 1950s, from an exclusionary group of scholars who more or less refused to publish or grant access to them for decades. It also offers a precis of the potential religious and historical significance the scrolls, including possible redefinition of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

Even though the Scrolls represented the most significant biblical archaeological find of the 20th century, the scholars who worked on deciphering them declined to publish their findings or even more than very narrowly disseminate facsimiles of the primary materials for a startlingly long time. It was not till Shanks and a handful of others forced the hands of the scholars that the world finally was able to see the scrolls for themselves. Now, thanks to their good efforts and the power of the Internet, together with the work of places like the Library of Congress, we can all see detailed images of the scrolls themselves, at any time, wherever we are in the world.

The publication of the primary material of scrolls has generated a massive bibliography and new fields of scholarship (including one called Qumran Studies, after the location of the scrolls’ discovery). In this case, information really did want to be free, and it took the hard work of a dedicated group of people to make it free.

Still, it seems, there are persistent and, according to Shanks, apparently plausible rumors of other intact Dead Sea Scrolls that are circulating in private hands around the world. The information bound up in these items, should they exist, needs to be set free through their publication, so that a more complete picture of this historical time can continue to be assembled. Even more scrolls are expected to be lurking in caves around Qumran the entrances to which have been covered up by earthquake over the millennia.

Gunther Grass’s memoir Peeling the Onion gets at the theme of information freedom differently. Grass, a Nobel prize winning German author, has been writing for more than half a century, during which time he has been an outspoken literary and activist left-of-center critic of Germany’s Nazi past, of its collective guilt, and of insufficient transparency and penance among the German people for their participation in the Holocaust and in the other crimes of the Third Reich. In the mid-1980s, he attacked President Reagan and Chancellor Kohl for visiting a cemetery than included Waffen graves. He was often described as–and seems to have been comfortable with the appellation–one of Germany’s chief moral authorities.

However, in 2006, it was revealed that Grass had himself been a member of the Waffen-SS. He joined when he was 17. Spiegel Online confirmed the basic facts of this story through the publication of several historical records. Grass published Peeling the Onion that year. While it purports to be a memoir of his life, or at least the first few decades of it, more or less up to the time he started writing The Tin Drum, one can’t help but get the feeling that he wrote it as an apologia pro sua Waffen vita.

In one long stretch of the book–the longest and most detailed piece of it, at least as my memory serves me as I write this–he makes himself out to be a coward (but only just) in World War II. He runs away, he doesn’t know how to use a gun, he fears for his life, he soils himself, he spends time in a POW camp, etc.. It comes across, after all the nouns and verbs, as an attempt to explain away the significance of his fighting for the Reich and his subsequent decades of hiding it. Was he really a Nazi? This seems very unlikely. But it did seem to me that, burdened by his secret and the gap between his public persona and his private history, and perhaps also worried that the information about his past would eventually want to be free, Grass set out to cast it in the most luminous and best-shaped bronze he could.

As a book, Peeling the Onion is also a powerful literary biography of a man who must be one of the most highly literate writers now living. Grass gives us the source material from his life experiences of some of his brightly vivid major and minor characters. I am guessing that the memoir will be used as some sort of key to unlock his novels and plays by Grass scholars for many years to come. I also doubt that Grass’s past will obliterate entirely my own view of his writing (The Meeting at Telgte is outstanding). But in the end, I don’t think I will cherish this memoir.

Two books about information that, we might say, should be free.

(The answer to the question who played third base for Red Sox in 1912 is Larry Gardner. This is the kind of obscure piece of information that becomes immediately accessible on the Internet, through a single search on a major search engine. I’ll be revisiting what we might call the Larry Gardner Theory of the Internet in future writings).

ReputationDefender in Toronto Sun Article

2009-05-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

Source: TorontoSun.com

Becoming web dead

Web content that sullies your reputation can be cleansed

By VIVIAN SONG, NATIONAL BUREAU

It was 3 a.m. when Lori Paris sleepwalked her way into work, ready to anchor the overnight shift at her local radio station.

As always, she went to log into her Facebook account looking for the company of virtual friends at a lonely hour, but was blocked, greeted instead by hostile "error" messages flashing on her screen.

"Then a co-worker who works down the hall ran down asking, 'What do you need help with?" Paris recalled.

While the real McCoy was sitting at her desk in a Toronto radio station, an imposter from England had hijacked Paris' Facebook profile and was pleading for help in her status message.

"Apparently, I was stuck in London and needed $500 to get home," Paris said.

"I had been robbed at gunpoint and had no money to get back."

For the next few days, Paris was fielding frantic phone calls from friends and family who were ready to fork over money.

"I didn't want anyone to get ripped off," she said.

Unlike stories of feckless users who post personal information on public profiles, Paris had restricted access to friends she approved.

She was likely the victim of a worldwide phishing attack earlier this year that used the same ruse of being stuck in London and struck a "small number of users," said Debbie Frost, a Facebook spokesman.

"We're reminding users to be very suspicious of anyone, even friends, who ask you over the Internet to send money."

But users overestimate the security levels of social networking sites and forget that they're for-profit businesses with crude security systems -- not banks, said Avner Levin, the director of the Privacy Institute at Toronto's Ryerson University.

Meanwhile, though identity thieves are creating multiple doppelgangers of people online, an opposite phenomenon has also been surfacing -- scrubbing oneself offline, or web dead.

Companies such as ReputationDefender will scour the Internet and remove unflattering material that could sully their client's online reputation. For example, when a grad student discovered a picture of her half-naked body posted by a bitter ex-boyfriend, she enlisted ReputationDefender's help. The company's strategy is surprisingly simple: They ask the site host politely. They're not a legal team, says founder Michael Fertik, but they've seldom had to resort to legal methods in the 10,000 removal requests made so far.

Not everything is erasable. Official records like court documents and news clippings are immune.

"People are alive to the fact that the web is not their enemy," Fertik said from California. "It's a fact of life and people want to have as much control over it as possible."

But what if you don't have an online profile or e-mail account, as is common among the computer illiterate? Don't be quick to congratulate yourself on preserving anonymity, experts say.

Because unbeknownst to you, you could be identified in a nephew's Facebook family picture.

"The world is changing with social media," Levin said. "People will have to play by a new set of rules. Very little is sacred or within our control anymore."

But that shouldn't mean we get little say in how our information is used, say experts at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic in Ottawa.

"The big criticism of social networking sites is that the terms of use aren't clear," said acting director and lawyer David Fewer. "The benefits are clear, but the cost of engaging in the service is unknown."

Lawyers at the clinic filed a complaint against the networking giant, alleging Facebook's policies violate Canadian privacy law by failing to identify how it collects and uses personal information, and what they do with personal information after users deactivate their accounts.

The policy must be in plain language and refrain from legalese, Fewer said, and clearly spell out privacy settings to its client base, which is made up predominantly of young users.

"The claim that privacy policies take care of everything is an incredible abdication of responsibility," Fewer said.

Facebook officials, meanwhile, maintain the complaint is flawed because it overlooks the obvious: That the data is willingly shared by users.

"At Facebook, we ... believe (the controls) are entirely consistent with both the spirit and requirements of Canadian privacy law," Frost said.

But are we asking too much of a service that, at the end of the day, is a for-profit business and not a government institution?

"We need to be reminded that Facebook is a business and has to make money," Levin said. "There's a strong sense of entitlement to privacy in social media. It's part of a larger sense of entitlement from getting things for free on the Internet like movies, music and software."

When you sign up for a free service, you "choose" to volunteer personal information that's then shared with third-party advertisers -- there has to be an exchange, Levin said.

"People have unrealistic expectations that you can get the best of both worlds. In the real world, something has to give."

vivian.song@sunmedia.ca

Michael Fertik Writes Foreword for Google Bomb! An Explosive New Book!

2009-04-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

Pre-Order Google Bomb on Amazon.com today!

Our society has reached an all-time low. Simple keystrokes can now literally ruin lives, reputations, and cause years of suffering, and require exorbitant amounts of time, money, and sanity to rebuild a life and/or career that has been shattered by cyberbullying, Internet defamation, identity theft, privacy invasion, and so much more. There is even a term that has emerged into our lexicon that describes the practice of manipulating the ranking of web pages: Google Bomb.

Sue Scheff knows first hand about the devastating effects of Google bombing and Internet defamation. Her reputation was destroyed and she almost lost her business because of false and libelous statements about her and her business that went viral. Falling into a deep depression accompanied by agoraphobia, Sue could not escape the abusive attacks from strangers and the paranoia that accompanies such abuse. However, she fought back, and sued the figure head who launched the attack campaign and was awarded a jury verdict of $11.3 million–a case that has set the precedent for a massive debate on Internet regulation vs. free speech and Internet etiquette and safety policies.

Because there is so much to navigate and know about the unknown and mostly unchartered legal territories of Internet usage, Sue has rounded up some of the world’s most preeminent experts on the newly emerging business of Internet law, including attorney John W. Dozier. In Google™ Bomb, Dozier and Scheff offer a hybrid of memoir and prescriptive self-help, as well as a timely call to action that will arm readers with what they can do to avoid falling victim to cyber abuse, rebuild their own ruined reputations, or avoid unknowingly committing a crime against strangers on the Internet.

Written with two markets in mind: those hundreds of thousands of people who are victims of Internet harassment and cannot afford legal council to help clean up their reputations, and those who have built a career, business, and personal reputation and want to be armed with protection and prevention techniques that will help them avoid falling victim to cyber bullies, hackers, e-vengers, and Phreaks.

The true-life story of Sue Scheff’s landmark lawsuit and the lessons she learned coupled with invaluable expert advice from a top Internet legal and reputation defense expert, Google™ Bomb is a heavy-hitting, one-of-a-kind book that will likely spark debate, controversy, and save lives at the same time.

Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of ReputationDefender which is one of the pioneers of Online Reputation Management Services, writes a compelling, informative and engaging foreword. This book is a book that will touch almost everyone that uses the Internet today.

Tweet Tweet! You’re Fired!

2009-04-14T05:52:00.001-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

MSNBC and other mainstream media outlets have picked up on the Cisco Fatty story that involves a woman getting fired for her twitter post. Quoting from the page:

Why waste valuable social networking hours getting yourself “Facebook fired,” when Twitter allows you to humiliate yourself quickly, and in 140 characters or less?

A recent tweet by one would-be Cisco employee proves that when it comes to placing a permanent black mark on your resume via the Internet, Twitter is now the tool of choice. To illustrate, here’s the tweet the now Web-infamous “theconnor” shared with the world:

“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

It wasn’t long before Tim Levad, a “channel partner advocate” for Cisco Alert, shared this open response:

“Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Was “theconnor’s” job offer rescinded? Nosy netizens have yet to suss that out — but they’re doing their darndest to make “theconnor’s” life miserable in the meantime. It didn’t matter that “theconnor” almost immediately set his Twitter account to private and deleted all information from a home page. It was already too late.

Twitter is a great tool to connect people and ReputationDefender supports the emergeant micro-blogging platform. Users should be aware that potential employees are viewing online messages and that the material they post online can both help and hurt their online reputation.

Reputation Defender: A Necessary Service in Today's CyberWorld

2009-04-09T05:14:00.001-07:00

Source: SF Gate - San Francisco Chronicle

Defending reputations may be good business

Defending innocent victims who have been slimed on the Internet is not only a righteous cause, it might be good business. At least that's what VCs who are pumping money into ReputationDefender appear to believe. The 3-year-old Redwood City company, which assists people in removing libelous, egregiously offensive or privacy-invading material from Web sites, is well on its way to raising $5.3 million from investors. "We've had 10 quarters of growth," said CEO Michael Fertik."We're getting more customers, and they're spending more." The current economic climate may have something to do with it.

One of ReputationDefender's services, enabling customer-written resumes to show up prominently on search engines, has proven to be a particular money spinner. "As people are looking more and more for jobs, they are more concerned with what may be being said about them on the Internet," Fertik said.ReputationDefender's investors so far include Maple Investments in Menlo Park and European Founders Fund from Germany.

Read entire article here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/08/BUMC16U3BS.DTL

ReputationDefender Blog: Identity Theft Made Easy with Twitter

2009-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

In case you didn’t already know, Twitter is the latest “it” fad in the world of social media. From Demi Moore’s suicide prevention tweeting to the news of a potential Google-Twitter merger, it seems that not one week goes by without a major news story about the popular microblogging service.

Unfortunately, it isn’t all wine and roses at Twitter. Since the service emerged in 2006, one of the consistent complaints against it has been the ease with which individuals can set up phony accounts in someone else’s name. With such a large volume of users, it is impossible for Twitter to monitor each individual sign-up for validity. This means that someone could send out hundreds of tweets under your name, before you caught on. That’s what happened to Televangelist Robert H. Schuller, whose Twitter problem was discussed in a recent article at MSNBC.com.

From the article:

Televangelist Robert H. Schuller has reached millions worldwide with his weekly “Hour of Power” TV broadcasts, but when it comes to the Internet, he had a high-tech headache: an online impostor.

When Schuller, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral megachurch, recently tried to set up an account on the micro-blogging Web site Twitter.com, he discovered another user masquerading as himself.

[SNIP]
Schuller’s impersonator — who remains unidentified — seemed to know a lot about that history and the preacher’s life, said Nason, the spokesman. The impostor said in his early tweets that he was Schuller’s assistant, but then went on to say he was Schuller himself and even talked about the preacher’s wife, Nason said.

“The content seemed fairly normal for someone like Dr. Schuller to say,” Fayer said. “But in the future you don’t know how they’re going to use that. What if they start asking people to send money and say, ‘Send money to X,Y,Z’?”

The rest of the article details several other prominent phony Twitter accounts including a fake Stephen Colbert and a fake Tina Fey.

While it may not seem like a big deal to some, it is important to note that Reverend Schuller is a very prominent individual with a PR staff dedicated to catching issues like this. For the average person, it could be months before a Twitter fraud is exposed. That is why it is more important than ever for individuals to take full control of their image online and be proactive in Online Reputation Management.

Michael Fertik Discusses Online Reputation Management Services with NPR

2009-04-01T08:53:00.001-07:00

As my new book is getting ready to be released, you can’t ignore the importance of Online Reputation Services and what they can offer to all people - whether it is protecting your children online, maintaining your reputation in cyberspace or simply having a positive online image. These services are priceless and many know my story and my success with ReputationDefender. I feel I have to say, I am not their spokesperson, nor do I receive any referral fees from them, but as a victim and survivor of Internet Defamation, I can personally attest their integrity and concern for keeping you safe in space.

Source: ReputationDefender BlogRecently the CEO of ReputationDefender, Michael Fertik, was featured on NPR - take time to listen to his sound and informational advice.

Click here:http://www.reputationdefenderblog.com/2009/03/25/michael-fertik-discusses-online-reputation-management-on-national-public-radio/ for the link to listen.

ReputationDefender Blog and Face.com

2009-03-29T05:43:00.001-07:00

If you thought that untagged photos of you on Facebook were not going to affect your online reputation, you’ve got another thing coming. According to the New York Times, a new application utilizes facial recognition software to find public, untagged photos online.

From the page:

This one is kinda scary because of how well it works. Face.com’s new Photo Finder application for Facebook helps you automatically discover public photos that you and your friends may have forgotten to tag — and it also lets you track untagged photos of your friends.

Face-recognition technology is itself not new, but Photo Finder’s twist is how it makes use of Facebook’s interface. The social network only shows you photos of yourself containing tags about you — your name and profiled, associated with you in a given photo. Up until now, untagging a photo is how you hide a photo from your Facebook friends — the other option is to use more advanced privacy settings that restrict photo viewing to specific friends, but I’m not sure how many people use that feature.

With Face.com, your friends can bypass such social engineering to directly stalk you, or visa versa as the case may be.

[SNIP]

Sue Scheff: Taking it Offline - Face to Face

2009-03-23T08:45:00.001-07:00

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

Taking it Offline: The Lingering Importance of Face-to-Face Networking in a Digital World

With the rise and blossoming of online networking sites like LinkedIn and ClaimID, many people, especially younger people, are doing the majority of their business networking online. This phenomenon is not anything new, and it has been covered in this blog and elsewhere.

But while it may be easier to sit in front of the computer screen and interact with your peers, it is hard to think that interpersonal relationships can ever be fully fleshed out (if you will) in the digital sphere. Face-to-face networking will never go away. The information on the Internet is not always accurate (although that doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant, according to Google’s algorithms), and there is a lot to be said for looking someone in the eyes.

Today people should try to balance their “new school” digital networking with the “old school” tried and true methods. The approach will literally double the amount of chances a person has to make an impact with a potential employer, and the effort required to do so is not unreasonable (point of fact, until a few years the “old school” method was the only game in town).LinkedIn and other popular business networking sites thrive because they offer an alternative to actually speaking with a fellow networker. The information you put in the profile becomes the equivalent of a hand shake and a greeting. Thus, a user profile, for business purposes, should be looked at as an opportunity to distinguish yourself as someone others want to know and be connected to.There are small and effective steps one can take to achieve this. Focus on brevity. 100 words is enough to grab someone’s attention and establish a positive image. If done correctly, a LinkedIn profile can, for practical purposes, be the difference between just another interview and a job offer. Conversely, a poorly written profile can have you knocked out of the running before you even get started.

Many employers look at LinkedIn as a sort of research tool. A resume can only say so much about a person, and employers are always looking to find out the little bits about a potential employee that are not immediately apparent. This fact has had disastrous consequences for some people whose Facebook and MySpace profiles contain otherwise unflattering images/language/etc. We’ve blogged that story here more than once.

Online business networking profiles are still just a piece of the puzzle, though. A successful blend of the old and the new networking techniques will counteract the deficiencies inherent in both approaches. A human touch in the new digital landscape goes a long way towards maintaining awareness and crafting image, while drawing in more localized business and opening channels previously untapped.

ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik Speaking At SXSW Today

2009-03-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik Speaking At SXSW This Sunday

Michael Fertik will be speaking at SXSW (South By SouthWest) this weekend and addressing the emerging trend of digital narcing. In the information age a variety of forces are shaping a voyeristic digital world wherein companies, individuals and governments can compile data to make more accurate decisions, for good or for ill.

From the NSA warrantless wiretaps to GPS targeted advertisements to monitoring flu outbreaks on Google, it is truly a brave new world.

Check out Michael Fertik and other panel speakers today at 5 if you are in the area.

Sue Scheff: Are you being Slimed Online?

2009-03-11T08:36:00.001-07:00

This week my co-author, John Dozier and I, announced our exciting new book that will be released in fall 2009 from Health Communications, Inc. Then I read this article that I could really identify with. Slimed Online from Portfolio.com.

Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of ReputationDefender, was powerful force in helping these women fight for their online image. As a client of ReputationDefender, their services are priceless - although there seems to be many of these services popping up now, as the demand grows, I feel that in my experiences, the pioneer of these online reputation management companies start with ReputatationDefender.

Our new book, Google Bomb, will be a must read for anyone and everyone that works and plays online. From protecting your online profile and reputation, to keeping your kids safe, this new book is a must have - and can potentially help you from being a victim of wicked and evil keystrokes.

Years ago gossip was limited to a geographically area that you live in. Today gossip goes viral worldwide! Your one former friend is now a foe or a few clients out of years of a reputable business have decided to take revenge via e-venge! Take cover, Google Bomb can help you protect yourself.

Sue Scheff: Features Michael Fertik and ReputationDefender in her Second Book!

2009-03-03T07:01:00.001-08:00

"GOOGLE BOMB - TAKE COVER!" by John Dozier and Sue Scheff

Do you know what Google is saying about you?

Oh yes, it is almost here, my second book! This time around, I am honored to have co-author and Internet Specialist Attorney, John Dozier .

As my story of my landmark case of $11.3M jury verdict for damages unravels - many questions answers, John Dozier will bring us the legal landscape of today's Cyber World - how to protect your online image and maintain a profile you are proud of! Have you thought about Internet Gossip vs Internet Fact? How do you know the difference? Don’t get caught in the web - read Google Bomb!

To compound our dynamic and explosive upcoming best seller - Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of ReputationDefender will be writing the foreword! ReputationDefender is one of the pioneers in managing online reputations and helping keep your kids privacy safe online.

This timely book will offer you tools and remedies as well as a very compelling story that will keep you turning those pages! Remember, a 20 year reputation today can be destroyed within 20 minutes of vicious keystrokes.

Monkeys Don't Fly? Do they? Ahhhh, just wait and you will see - the Internet has become its' own animal. The Internet can be an educational tool - but - it can also be a lethal weapon!

Published by Health Communications Inc. (HCI) - Google Bomb will be released in Fall 2009.

Lawsuit Cracks Open Online Anonymity

2009-02-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

Read entire article here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/Story?id=6960397&page=1

The Law as an Accomplice

Legal experts, however, emphasized that the law protects Web sites like Topix. Even if the comments are considered defamatory by a court of law, Topix has no legal obligation to take the content down.

Defenders of the legal landscape argue that a change could stifle open discussion and free speech. But others maintain that in stories like this, regardless of who emerges, once the veil of anonymity is lifted, it is the law itself that is a co-conspirator.
"The law as it currently stands is an accomplice because it creates no incentive whatsoever for Web sites to review or police themselves from content that is potentially devastating to real people and real lives," Michael Fertik, a lawyer who specializes in online defamation, told ABCNews.com.

Part of the problem, Fertik continued, is that laws that made sense at the birth of the Internet age have not matured. It takes years to redress online defamation problems under the present regime. But, in the meantime, libelous comments easily found through search engines can sideline both personal and professional lives.

Although privacy and free speech advocates worry that changes to the law could "chill" online speech, Fertik argued that "the law can easily catch up without destroying speech."
But until then?

"The law provides the red dye for the scarlet letter," Fertik said. "It provides the ink for the tattoo that people create on Web sites like this."

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender Blog

2009-02-24T06:15:00.001-08:00

Seeking Alpha recently published the Q4 Earnings Call for the financial website TheStreet.com. Despite reporting decreased ad revenues and a loss for the three month period, Thomas Clarke did identify new steps that his company was taking to strengthen revenue and brand awareness. Apart from aggressively pursuing increased advertising revenues, the Chief Executive Officer mentioned broadening available content to site readers early in the call.

Quoting from the page:
Our strategic decision a few years ago to further expand our content sets to include a fully array of personal finance information and application to complement our equity focus will continue to be foundations we build upon. With the launch of MainStreet and BankingMyWay and our relationship with Geezeo, TheStreet.com today provides users with the information they need across the entire personal finance space in one convenient network. In addition, we continue to add best of breed services such as INSWEB, ReputationDefender, and [Money Owl] to allow those interested to take action, further bolstering our performance revenue stream.

ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik recently wrote an article about the online reputational risks professionals, students and companies are now facing. ReputationDefender is proud to be the leader in the online reputation management space and works to mitigate reputational risk online.

Don't Let the Web Kill What You Love by Michael Fertik

2009-02-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

By Michael Fertik

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”

Warren Buffett said that, before the invention of the Internet. Now, in the information age, the statement has never been more truthful. That is why I started a business, ReputationDefender, that is all about protecting reputations.

Your good name, and the reputations of your family, business, and everything you love, is valuable. So, when your neighbor, a customer, or a love interest plugs your name into a search engine, what will they find?

Anyone can come along and slam you online and if that happens, search results for your name might be dominated by negative, incomplete, or even false information. A hostile online comment might represent the uncommon experience of a dissatisfied customer or disgruntled neighbor, but due to the structure of search engines, that single opinion can be greatly amplified and made to look like a universal point of view. You might fall victim to the sniping of an anonymous blogger or even a competitor posing as an angry customer.

It’s not only easy to publish half-truths, innuendo, and falsehoods on the Internet, it’s also easy to make them stick. Many people who publish negative web content know how to make it maximally destructive. Lies, rumors, or memes take flight easily, getting repeated, added to, and generally magnified. Even though some of these narratives are discovered to be false, very few of them get debunked as loudly as they are broadcasted in the first place. As a result, false content often becomes more visible on the web than, say, well-researched articles from reputable news sources. It might seem illogical that bogus speculation can end up dominating searches for you, but that’s how a rumor mill works.

A great strength of the Internet is that it gives everyone a voice. That’s also one of its dangers: it can endow fraudsters and idle speculators with the appearance of authority.

The danger is real. This does not mean you should stop using the Internet. It means that you must proactively establish your accurate and positive presence on the web before there is a problem. You need to maximize your control over what people find about you, before someone else does it for you.

There are options. Companies have developed software solutions for online reputation protection. ReputationDefender, which is now a partner with TheStreet.com network, is my company, and we do just that.

Michael Fertik is the Founder and CEO of ReputationDefender, the online reputation management and privacy company.

Sue Scheff: Hate Websites and Teens

2009-02-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

As someone that is familiar with hate websites/sites since I was a victim of them, they are nothing short of malicious attacks intended to hurt others. I always go back to my favorite Blog about these many types of people who seemingly take pride in harming others, The Top Ten Blogger Personas - The Mobosphere Unveiled by John Dozier. My next book, due out in fall 2009, will cover this subject in detail. Whether you are a business owner, husband, wife, teacher, professional - you need to be aware of your online presence - Internet Gossip vs Internet Fact - how do you know?

Connect with Kids offers some valuable tips for parents to help keep their kids safe in space. Unfortunately trying to keep up with the Internet can be difficult, however we need to communicate with our kids about ugliness that can lurk online.

Source: Connect with Kids

“Hate, unfortunately – it’s a virus. There’s been racism, anti-Semitism. There’s been discrimination against people throughout the ages. The Internet just provides an instant tool and access to it.”

– Deborah Lauter, Anti-Defamation League

By some estimates, 70 million kids are logging onto the Internet every day, and many are viewing sites that are increasingly disturbing.

Jesse Granger, 15, says, “I’ve come across hate websites. There was one about the Ku Klux Klan, and it had a lot of pictures of recent parades and marches.”

Sixteen-year-old Quincy Kelly saw a web site that “was talking about how slaves should be happy that they got brought over to America from Africa.”

Deborah Lauter of the Anti-Defamation League has been monitoring these sites for years. “Hate, unfortunately – it’s a virus,” she says. “There’s been racism, anti-Semitism. There’s been discrimination against people throughout the ages. The Internet just provides an instant tool and access to it.”

It’s also a sophisticated tool, especially in terms of attracting young web surfers.

Lauter says, “Some of the [hate] websites actually have games for children. The websites are attractive visually. There are puzzles, word games – it’s pretty sick when you look at them.”
And kids don’t even have to be looking for them to inadvertently access them.

“A perfect example would be a student doing Internet research and they plug in something as simple as ‘Martin Luther King,’ which is a very typical one. And some of these racist websites will be accessed and a kid could go on and start researching and think what’s there is fact,” says Lauter.

That’s where parents come in, she says, to make sure their kids are aware.

“[Children] need to understand to look at things critically,” says Lauter. “They need to understand that not everything on the Internet or everything they read is the truth.” And as kids become more sophisticated and Internet savvy, they will learn to weed out fiction from fact.
Matthew Burnett, 14, agrees. “If you use your common sense you can see through most of it,” he says.
And 15-year-olds Kelly Raines and Rebecca Turner say, “I think that if people are going to put that on, they’re going to put that on. And it’s just a matter of whether you take it, or like, just be like, ‘that’s stupid.’ I’m not going to worry about that.”

Tips for Parents

The Internet has opened the door to a wealth of information at our fingertips. But it has also brought instant accessibility to illegal drugs, pornography, hate websites and more. It’s important to set guidelines regarding your child’s Internet usage. Consider these important steps from the University of Oklahoma police department:

Learn about the Internet – If you are just starting out, see what information and classes are offered by your local library, community center, schools or newspaper.

Get Involved – Spend time online with your child — at home, at the library or at a computer center in your community. Your involvement in your child’s life includes his/her online life. Your participation and guidance is important to help ensure your child’s Internet safety.

Stay Informed – Learn about the latest parental control tools that can help you keep your child safe online. Stay abreast of what’s in the news about kids and web sites.

Become an Advocate for Kids – If you see online material or practices you do not like, contact your Internet Service Provider (the company that provides you with a connection to the Internet) or the company that created the material. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to help this growing medium develop in positive ways for kids.

According to SafeKids.com, there are steps you can take to help prevent your child from seeing inappropriate content on the Internet. Consider the following suggestions:

In an online public area such as a chat room or bulletin board, never give out identifying information, including name, home address, school name or telephone number.

In an email, do not give out identifying information unless you are certain you are giving it to someone both you and your child know and trust. Think carefully before revealing any personal information such as age, marital status or financial information. Consider using a pseudonym or unlisting your child’s name if your service allows it.

Get to know the sites and services your child uses. If you don’t know how to log on, have your child show you. Find out what types of information the services and websites offer, how trustworthy the information is and if parents can block objectionable material.

Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without parental permission.

Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening or make you feel uncomfortable. Encourage your children to tell you if they encounter such messages. If you or your child receives a message that is harassing or threatening, forward a copy of the message to your service provider and ask for their assistance.
Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can’t see or even hear people over the Internet, it is easy for them to misrepresent themselves. For example, someone who says he/she is an expert in a certain field may actually be a biased individual with an agenda or someone with harmful intentions.

Not everything you read online is true. Be wary of any offers that require you to come to a meeting or have someone visit your house. Also, research several different sources of information before referring to something you read on the Internet as “fact.”

Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use. Discuss these rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to monitor your kids’ compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer. A child’s or teenager’s excessive use of online services or bulletin boards, especially late at night, may indicate a potential problem. Remember that personal computers and online services should not be used as electronic babysitters.

Make computers a family activity. Consider keeping the computer in a family room rather than the child’s bedroom. Get to know your children’s “online friends” just as you do their other friends.

References
Federal Bureau of Investigation
National Center for Health Statistics
SafeKids.com
Smart Parent
The Police Notebook
The University of Illinois

Sue Scheff - Prevent Cyberbullying

2009-01-29T07:31:00.001-08:00

Vanessa Van Petten continues to bring valuable information for parents with today’s teens. This week she has dedicated to helping prevent cyberbullying.

Partners for CyberBully Awareness Campaign:

Thank you to everyone who is already offered to join and spread the word about our anti-cyberbullying campaign here at On Teens Today:

Angeline of MomStyleNews

Vivien Bruss of Cool Moms Rule

Brenda Preston of Safewave
Sue Scheff of Help Your TeensMyrna of TangerineTimes.com
Tara Paterson of the Mom’s Choice Awards and Just for Mom

Karen Pease

ReputationDefender/MyChild

Sue Scheff: Video Reputation Management - ReputationDefender

2009-01-24T05:29:00.001-08:00

Do you feel the need to trust a professional service to monitor your online reputation protect your privacy, and maybe even use for civil and criminal lawsuits? ReelSEO’s Grant Crowell interviews Michael Fertik, CEO of ReputationDefender, about where automated tools are today with monitoring video online, what’s expected to improve with advances in technology, and what are some of the best ways people can go about monitoring and managing their ‘video reputation’ today.

Michael’s Bio

For some background, Michael Fertik’s company profile reads: “a repeat Internet entrepreneur and CEO with experience in technology and law. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. In his capacity as CEO of ReputationDefender, Michael serves on the advisory board of The Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe), a non-profit that works for the health and safety of youth online.”
The following video clip features an roundtable panel discussion about online reputation management with Michael Fertik on “Digital Age” - WNYE/Ch 25 (NYC TV):

http://www.reelseo.com/video-reputationdefender-fertik/

How To Protect, Fix Your Online Reputation

2009-01-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

Jan. 10, 2009

(CBS) Did you ever "google" yourself and find something negative?

It should worry you. Just one negative posting can cost you a job

It's estimated that more than 70 percent of employers do a Web search on job applicants as part of their hiring procedures. More than half of them admit to not bringing someone on board because of negative information they found online.

It could be something you posted years ago, or something put into cyberspace by someone you know - or even a perfect stranger.

What can you do about it?

Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender.com, had some advice on The Early Show Saturday Edition.

Fertik says he started the business two years ago with one person. He now has 60 employees. His service costs about $10 a month.

Fertik told substitute co-anchor Seth Doane that safeguarding your online reputation is “as important as your credit score nowadays. Every life transaction that you have, whether you’re looking for a job, you’re looking for romance, you’re looking for a friend - people are gonna look you up on the Web and make conclusions based on what they find.

"One random, idiosyncratic piece of content about you on the Web could dominate your Google results forever," he said. "It's such an issue: It affects people who are undeserving, people who are sort of using bad judgment, all kinds of different people."

What's worse, legal recourse is murky at best, Fertik observed, saying, "The law hasn't caught up yet with privacy. The Internet has really changed the privacy landscape in a big way and the law hasn't yet caught up with it. It's lagging behind, so far."

Fertik stressed that, "You have to be on top of your (online) reputation. It's not about narcissism. It’s about your personal brand. Especially in a down economy, people are looking you up, they’re making decisions. They're denying you a job unless they find something really good about you on the Web."

He had three key pieces of advice:

First, never let anyone set up your reputation online. Establish yourself online to create a clear and positive image of you. Don't wait for someone else to destroy it. Use what he calls "Google insurance": Create a profile on something like Facebook that's positive and tasteful. Claim the real estate on your name. What is said about you on the Web isn't a function of you living a righteous life: Anyone can say something bad about you. "Write your own history," he recommended.

Second, if there's a problem with your online reputation, you have to find it. Constantly monitor the Web. Search for full names, usernames, etc. Be on top of the game. Go deep into the Internet to Web sites that aren't indexed by Google: "The deep Web - Facebook, MySpace, the pages where the content really starts to generate and become problematic."

"Monitor yourself assiduously," Fertik told Doane.

Third: The longer it's there, the more it spreads and can be archived. If you see a problem, deal with it quickly. Get in touch with people and tell them to stop, in a kind and thoughtful way, without getting a lawyer involved right away. Reach them on a human level. If you want professional help, companies such as ReputationDefender are available. As Fertik told Doane, "Nip it in the bud before it spreads and gets mirrored and replicated. If you can't do it, you want to hire the pros."

If you do find something bad about yourself, how do you get it offline?
"Sometimes," Fertik responded to Doane, "what we do is, we overwhelm the 'bad' with good to make sure that when people look you up, they see what you want them to see, they see your good videos, not necessarily the (bad ones)."

Reputation Defender Official Website On MySpace

2009-01-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

ReputationDefender recently launched their MySpace page.

As the Internet expands through all new Social Networking websites, keep in touch with your own name and reputation. Remember, what you post today can haunt you tomorrow. Parents, take a moment to review ReputationDefender/MyChild - to help maintain your kids online profile.

Reputation Defender - A Response to Social Networking Sites

2009-01-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Source: Cyberlaw Stanford.edu

By: Stuart Soffer

This morning I passed the offices of Reputation Defender in Menlo Park. Intrigued by the name, I checked out their site. Their business scours the web -- social network sites in particular -- for potentially adverse commentary. An additional service works to eradicate offsensive content.http://www.reputationdefender.com

Sue Scheff - Parenting Your Teens In Cyberspace

2009-01-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

Reputation Defender is a priceless service that many parents cannot afford to pass up. As a client of Reputation Defender, I know first hand how it helps keep your online image in line with your real life person and more importantly help protect your child in cyberspace!

Source: Reputation Defender/MyChild

Why should your online reputation matter to your kid or teen?

Teens have always cared about their reputations - their lives revolve around it. Today, the difference is that the Internet defines the reputation of a person.

We search for information about each other constantly. Knowing what's online is part of parenting in the 21st Century because:

26% of college admissions officers use search engines to research candidates164% of teens say that most teens do things online that they wouldn't want their parents to know about. Don't feel powerless any longer.

MyChild is the solution!

Michael Fertik to be Featured on SpotLight Radio

2008-10-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

The Online Reputation Management Industry is booming and ReputationDefender is leading the way. With issues of Internet privacy, cyber bullying, social networking and Internet defamation being featured in mainstream media more than ever, people are finally starting to ask questions about the possible effects of their Internet use.

Listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/spotlight/2008/10/23/Your-Online-Reputation-May-be-Costly-to-your-Future

Sue Scheff: What are your kids saying online about you?

2008-10-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

I read this very interesting Blog today on today's kids and what they can put online about not only themselves, but about their parents! Not excluding other family members.
By Eve Tahmincioglu

Are your Internet-crazed kids sabotaging your job search/career?

Who knows things about you that you’d rather not share with the general public? That you drink two or three martinis every night. Maybe you like to call in sick when you’re really not sick to play basketball with the kids. Or maybe you’re prone to punching in walls when you fight with your spouse.

I’ve written a lot about digital dirt lately. You know, the negative information about you on the Internet you don’t want your boss or prospective employers to see.

Well, here’s a minefield you better keep an eye on — Your own digitally savvy kids that seem to spend every waking moment of their lives sending weird things to eachother on Facebook, or MySpace.

The owner of ReputationDefender.com, Michael Fertick, recently told me of a new phenomenon he’s discovered in his quest to help people everywhere protect their online reputations. The company helps individuals by searching the Internet for bad stuff about their customers and then finding ways to get rid of it. Sometimes it’s as simple as calling a blogger and asking that something negative be removed, and in other cases it requires writing lots of good stuff about a client so it drowns out the bad stuff.

The bad stuff usually comes from disgruntled girlfriends or boyfriends; people criticizing something you wrote or a project you worked on; or maybe you got rowdy at a football game and the local paper wrote about you.

But Fertik was surprised when he discovered a new source for the bad stuff — his customers’ own kids.

Turns out some tweens, teens and even 20 somethings out there are writing about private family matters on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and also sharing their pain on blogs. And they’re naming names.“We’ve seen discussions by kids of parents’ incomes,” he says. For example, ‘Dad makes $75,000 per year’. They also write about their parents’ relationships, “‘Mom and Dad are fighting pretty hard tonight’, of career news ‘Mom didn’t get the promotion she wanted’; and even social habits or qualities, ‘Dad is such a d–k,’ or ‘Dad is a friggin’ alcoholic.’”

Parents shouldn’t be too surprised that their children are sharing this stuff on the Web. Kids have always had to vent about family issues to their friends, but before the Internet, conversations were kept out of the public forum, for the most part.

Fertik’s advice: Talk to your kids and check out their FaceBook accounts now. “Let them know whatever they write is a tattoo that can stain them and you (the parent), possibly forever,” he adds.

We’ve all been so worried lately that our kids may end up writing something about themselves, or sharing suggestive photos of themselves on social networking sites that could end up hurting them when they go out into the job market. None of us thought about what they may be writing about us.

Is there something your kids know that could come back to haunt you?

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender - A Priceless Service

2008-09-27T15:59:00.001-07:00

Reputation Defender has expanded again - Now many people can take advantage of their MyEdge services!
I have used MyEdge for almost 2 years now have been extremely happy with their team of professionals. I was very excited to hear they have recently offered to a wider audience with reasonable costs.
Maintaining your Online Image has become a priority for so many people.

As someone that was nearly destroyed in Cyberspace - I know how critical it is to be aware of what is looming on the World Wide Web.

After winning a jury verdict for over $11M for Internet Damages to my organization, my family and myself online - I will continue to use be a voice for others that are being maligned online - and continue to encourage people to look to the future - and know it will be safer online with services like ReputationDefender on your side.

As a parent advocate, I also suggest parents consider signing up for ReputationDefender/MyChild and start protecting your child's privacy today!

The Internet: Has it become a weapon?

2008-08-18T07:53:00.001-07:00

You have to wonder what possesses people to feel the need to hurt others so malicously.

With all of today's critical issues such as hunger, the war, homeless people etc.... We have a new group of people that simply have too much time on their hands - and take pleasure in hurting others.

E-Venge seems like a good name for it. If you think about it - it is a cowardly act. They hide out behind their computers and just strike their keypads - usually anonymously.

Read through this Blog and you will see that free speech is still in place but it will not condone defamation.

Blogging is fun, the Internet can be educational - but remember, what you post today can come back to haunt you tomorrow. And could be costly to you!

Visit my new updated Podcast website on E-Venge at http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ also review ReputationDefender/MyChild to help protect your children online. Visit http://www.reputationdefender.com/ for more services that could help you and your online profile.

Will Your Online Profile Get You Hired or Fired?

2008-08-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

After reading this recent article on MSN - I can personally relate and can attest to the many emails of victims of Cyber Slander - it is a growing problem and a major concern for anyone that is applying for jobs, college applicants, simply try to run a business - as well as maintaining your virtual reputation.

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1598

With stories like this, is also convinces me without a doubt that services like ReputationDefender are priceless!

Are you concerned about your online profile? Learn how to maintain it!

Free Speech will not support Internet Defamation

2008-08-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Visit http://www.suescheffvscareybock.com/ for more information how this defendant learned the hard way that free speech will not condone defamation or invasion of privacy.The jury sent a strong message with a verdict for damages of over $11M - $5M for punitive - meant to punish.

So when you think about using your keypad to harm someone - think twice.

Remember - Free Speech will not condone defamation!

Impact of Cyberbullying

2008-07-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as children who are bullied in person, such as a drop in grades, low self-esteem, a change in interests or depression. However, cyberbullying can seem more extreme to its victims because of several factors:

Occurs in children’s home. Being bullied at home can take away the place children feel most safe.

Can be harsher. Often kids say things online that they wouldn’t say in person, mainly because they can’t see the other person’s reaction.

Far reaching. Kids can send e-mails making fun of someone to their entire class or school with a few clicks, or post them on a Web site for the whole world to see.

Anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind screen names and e-mail addresses that don’t identify who they are. Not knowing who is responsible for bullying messages can add to a victim’s insecurity.

May seem inescapable. It may seem easy to get away from a cyberbully by going offline, but for some kids not going online takes away a major place to socialize.

Source: National Crime Prevention Council.

E-Venge - Learning how to maintain your Online Image

2008-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

It seems Internet Harassment, Online Slander, Cyberbullying and other abuses in the World Wide Web is growing! I am contacted on a daily basis from victims of today's newest lethal & legal weapon to harm others - keystrokes!

You have to wonder what possesses people to feel the need to hurt others so malicously. With all of today's critical issues such as hunger, the war, homeless people etc.... We have a new group of people that simply have too much time on their hands - and take pleasure in hurting others.

E-Venge seems like a good name for it.

If you think about it - it is a cowardly act. They hide out behind their computers and just strike their keypads - usually anonymously.Read through this Blog and you will see that free speech is still in place but it will not condone defamation.Blogging is fun, the Internet can be educational - but remember, what you post today can come back to haunt you tomorrow. And could be costly to you!

Visit my new updated Podcast website on E-Venge at http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ also review ReputationDefender/MyChild to help protect your children online. Visit www.reputationdefender.com for more services that could help you and your online profile.

Sue Scheff: Don't Be Cyber Bullied

2008-07-01T05:08:00.001-07:00

By Love Our Children USA

Cyber Bullying is social terror by technology ... and it’s on the rise.

When a kid of any age, up to 18 is threatened, humiliated, harassed, or humiliated via use of technology --- this is Cyber Bullying. It’s harmful and it’s dangerous!

This social online terror is used through e-mail, cell phones, pager text messages, instant messaging, Web sites, online personal polling Web sites. It is done by kids deliberately and repeatedly and is used by an individual or group with the intention of harming other kids and teens.

It’s cool to use technology to talk to your friends and make new ones. While most kids use the Internet responsibly, others are using all of this technology to terrorize and Cyberbully!

Cyber Bullying is the perfect way for bullies to remain anonymous.

Cyber Bullying makes it easier for bullies because they are not face to face with their victim(s.)

Read Entire Article here: http://www.loveourchildrenusa.org/kidsteens_cyberbullying.php

Sue Scheff: SAFE EYES - Keeping Your Teens SAFE In Cyberspace

2008-06-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Safe Eyes 5.0 Parental Control Software Receives Parents’ Choice Award

Safe Eyes™ 5.0, the latest edition of Internet parental control software from InternetSafety.com, has earned a 2008 Parents’ Choice Approved award from the Parents’ Choice Foundation. The award is the latest in a series of honors for the parental monitoring software, including two consecutive Editors’ Choice awards from PC Magazine.

“If you think your family’s safety requires Internet filtering and monitoring, whatever level, this program provides an array of options to get it done,” said the Parents’ Choice Foundation in its recognition of the Safe Eyes product. The 30-year-old foundation is the nation’s oldest non-profit program created to recognize quality children’s media, including books, toys, music and storytelling, software, videogames, television and websites.

“This commendation from the Parents’ Choice Foundation reflects the growing concern that parents have over their children’s Internet use as well as the wide range of control choices that Safe Eyes offers,” said Forrest Collier, CEO of InternetSafety.com. “Every child and every family is different, so flexibility is essential. The product lets parents decide how their children use the Internet.”

Safe Eyes is a comprehensive program that enables parents to easily block objectionable websites, control Internet use by length of time as well as time of day and day of the week, block or record instant messenger chats, and block peer-to-peer file sharing programs that may expose children to dangerous material. It also allows parents to limit email use to certain addresses, and receive alerts when children post inappropriate or personal information on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

The software provides broader controls than any other filtering product, including the ability to define which websites will be blocked by category, URL and keyword; receive instant alerts about inappropriate online behavior by email, text message or phone call; and remotely change program settings or view reports from any Internet-enabled computer.

Safe Eyes is also the only program of its kind that can be used in mixed Mac/PC households. A single $49.95 annual subscription covers up to three Mac and/or PC computers with the ability to customize settings for each child and enforce them on any machine. The product’s website blacklist is updated automatically every day, eliminating the need for manual updates. Safe Eyes can be downloaded at http://www.internetsafety.com/affiliate/default.php?id=1044&p=/safe-eyes/.

All Parents’ Choice Awards winners are posted to the Parents’ Choice Foundation website (http://www.parents-choice.org/).

About InternetSafety.com
Established in 1999, InternetSafety.com specializes in providing Internet safety solutions. Its flagship software, Safe Eyes, is the two-time recipient of the PC Magazine Editors’ Choice Award and was rated as the #1 parental control solution by America’s leading consumer advocacy publication. The company’s Safe Eyes and EtherShield products are providing online protection for PCs and Macs in homes, businesses and schools across more than 125 countries.

Sue Scheff: Keeping Your Kids Safe in Cyberspace

2008-06-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

This Press Release is posted with the permission of InternetSafety.com - Visit http://www.internetsafety.com/ for more vital information to protect your children online.

10 Tips For Keeping Your Kids Safe On Social Networks

ATLANTA, GA — May 28, 2008 — June is Internet Safety month. With hundred of millions of teens, pre-teens—and adults—around the world using social networking sites, there’s no better time for parents to be aware of the fun, the benefits, the powerful attractions, and the potential risks that MySpace, Facebook and other similar sites offer their children.

InternetSafety.com, the recognized leader in Internet safety solutions, has assembled a list of practical tips parents can use to ensure a safe networking environment for kids:

Show Interest — Ask questions about how your child’s preferred social networking site or sites work. Kids are generally happy to demonstrate their knowledge if you show genuine interest. You can even ask your teen to show you how to set up your own social networking site—a great way to visit your child’s page and see what’s been posted there.

Encourage Instinctive Responses — Kids often can instinctively do the right thing, which makes them their own first defense against those who may take advantage online. Encourage your children to avoid contact with people they “feel funny about.” Tell them to not reveal anything online they would not want a stranger to know. Limit the posting of pictures and remind them that once something is placed online, it can never be taken back.

Know Your Kids’ Passwords — If your child changes his or her password suddenly and refuses to share it with you, that’s trouble. Insist on knowing how to access his or her accounts—then keep their confidence by not sharing the information with their friends or siblings.

Set Hours for When Kids Can Access Social Networks — Late nights are the favorite time for predators to seek out their adolescent prey. Set firm limits not only for the time of day, but also the total amount of time, that your children may access social networking sites.

Be Aware of Alternate Access Points — Kids don’t have to access their social networks at home. Libraries, friends’ houses, even cell phones make the Internet easy to reach today. Keep up with what’s happening on your child’s social networking page and be aware when changes have been made despite the lack of access from home.

Exercise Your Parental Right to Supervise — There’s a difference between being snoopy and ensuring safe activity. You don’t have to read every last word of a personal message your son or daughter sends to a friend. But you do have the right—and the obligation—to see who your kids are talking to, and to know the general subject matter.

Check for Photos — By clicking on the Windows “Start” button, you’ll find the “Search” tool. Click on “Pictures, Music or Video,” the box next to “Pictures and Photos,” and finally “Search”. Ask your child to identify any photos of strangers, or any other pictures you find questionable.
Install Filtering Software — PC products like Safe Eyes allow parents to block or record Instant Messenger chats, limit email use to prescribed addresses, block objectionable Web sites (including peer-to-peer file sharing programs that often expose kids to inappropriate material), and receive alerts when kids post personal information on social networking sites.

Watch for CyberBullying — Encourage your children to tell you immediately if they are being harassed online. Children also need to know that it is not acceptable to be a party to cyberbullying—or to remain silent when they know others are being harassed. Visit StopCyberBullying.org or StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov for excellent tips and information.
Don’t Lecture — Finally, if you should find reasons for concern, don’t browbeat, insult or condescend to your child. Have a discussion about values and why they are important.

Respect your child but be firm. And most of all, lead by example. Parents have a powerful ability to influence their child’s behavior—and nothing is more powerful than someone who not only talks values, but lives them.

“Parents should never feel that their level of involvement in their child’s social network activity is excessive. Since 1998, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline has logged over 33,000 tips about children being enticed online for sexual acts,” said Shane Kenny, President and COO of InternetSafety.com. “Better that the parent error on the side of intrusion, rather than bear the consequences of doing nothing.”

About InternetSafety.com
Established in 1999, InternetSafety.com specializes in providing Internet safety solutions. Its flagship software, Safe Eyes, is the two-time recipient of the PC Magazine Editors’ Choice Award and was rated as the #1 parental control solution by America’s leading consumer advocacy publication. The company’s Safe Eyes and EtherShield products are providing online protection for PCs and Macs in homes, businesses and schools across more than 125 countries.

# # # #

http://www.helpyourteens.com/
http://www.suescheff.com/
http://www.witsendbook.com/

Sue Scheff - Keeping Kids Safe in Cyberspace

2008-06-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 17th Dr. Paul featured Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation Defender. If you are a parent of a child that surfs online - this is an important Podcast for your to listen to.

From http://parentalpower.wordpress.com/:

Michael Fertik is a repeat Internet entrepreneur and CEO with experience in technology and law. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. His company, Reputation Defender, helps parents to know what is online about their children, and provides services to find and eliminate potentially dangerous or damaging content.June17th Call
On this call, Michael discusses some important information and resources to help parents become more proactive about knowing what is out there about their family, and doing something about it.

Click here to listen: http://parentalpower.wordpress.com/

Sue Scheff - Maintaining Your Online Image

2008-06-17T10:34:00.001-07:00

Reputation Defender has expanded again - Now many people can take advantage of their MyEdge services!

I have used MyEdge for almost 2 years now have been extremely happy with their team of professionals. I was very excited to hear they have recently offered to a wider audience with reasonable costs.

Maintaining your Online Image has become a priority for so many people. As someone that was nearly destroyed in Cyberspace - I know how critical it is to be aware of what is looming on the World Wide Web.

Remember what you post today can haunt you tomorrow!

Sue Scheff: Online Harassment a Growing Concern

2008-06-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

It seems Internet Harassment, Online Slander, Cyberbullying and other abuses in the World Wide Web is growing! I am contacted on a daily basis from victims of today's newest lethal & legal weapon to harm others - keystrokes!

You have to wonder what possesses people to feel the need to hurt others so malicously. With all of today's critical issues such as hunger, the war, homeless people etc.... We have a new group of people that simply have too much time on their hands - and take pleasure in hurting others. E-Venge seems like a good name for it. If you think about it - it is a cowardly act. They hide out behind their computers and just strike their keypads - usually anonymously.

Read through this Blog and you will see that free speech is still in place but it will not condone defamation.

Blogging is fun, the Internet can be educational - but remember, what you post today can come back to haunt you tomorrow. And could be costly to you!

Visit my new updated Podcast website on E-Venge at http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ also review ReputationDefender/MyChild to help protect your children online. Visit www.reputationdefender.com for more services that could help you and your online profile.

Sue Scheff Podcast Website on E-Venge is Updated

2008-06-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Visit http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ for the newly added Rachael Ray Show! The hot topic of Cyber Slander and Online Harassment was discussed. My victory of over $11.M jury verdict for damages proves that free speech will not condone Internet Defamation.

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender Adds New Service - MyPrivacy

2008-06-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

There are hundreds of websites that give away your personal information. Isn't it time you took back control? With MyPrivacy, we watch out to make sure most personal data isn't anywhere that identity thieves, annoying marketers or nosy people can find it. ReputationDefender will scour the web tirelessly to ensure your privacy is protected.

As a satisfied client of ReputationDefender, their new services are keeping up with today' ever expanding Cyber concerns. For parents, ReputationDefender MyChild is a priceless service to protect your child's identity and privacy online.

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender featured on The Cyber Savvy Show

2008-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender was on The Cyber Savvy Show with Erika-Marie Geiss last evening. Listen here: You will learn more about protecting yourself and your kids online.

As a client of ReputationDefender, I am extremely pleased with their services and their expanding realm of services such as MyChild, MyPrivacy, MyEdge and more. In today's ever expanding Cyberworld - a few keystrokes can literally destroy a reputation, a college application or even a getting a potential job.

Since I was nearly destroyed on the Internet - and even with an $11.3M jury verdict for damages that was done to me online, I know the value of a service such as ReputationDefender.

Sue Scheff: Keeping Your Profile Clean

2008-05-21T13:06:00.001-07:00

Keeping Your Profile Clean By Elizabeth Ody

Since winning an unprecedented jury verdict of over $11M for Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy, more and more people are learning about the valuable services of companies like ReputationDefender.

In today's CyberWorld - it only takes a few keystrokes to potentially ruin lives and businesses. I will continue to be a voice to help others and help promote Internet Safety.

Sue Scheff: Internet Defamation, Slander, Harassment and more

2008-05-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Since winning my unprecedented case against Internet Defamation, many people contact me looking for lawyers that specialize in Internet Law.

David Pollack, Miami, FL - was my attorney that won the $11.3M jury verdict for damages. Visit his website at www.davidpollacklaw.com

John Dozier, Washington D.C. and offices in NY and CA- specializes in Internet Law and more. Visit his comprehensive website at www.cybertriallawyer.com

Internet Law is a growing area - and more and more lawyers are learning more about this. Thanks to the new Cyberbullying laws, this can help more plaintiffs take a strong stand against being harassed online without infringing on their first amendment.

If you don't need a lawyer, I continue to recommend ReputationDefender as an alternative or in combination with a lawyer.

(Sue Scheff) ReputationDefender Launches New Personsal PR Service: MyEdge

2008-05-17T05:06:00.001-07:00

As a very satisfied client of ReputationDefender (I am not a sponsor or spokesperson for them) I am very excited about their introduction of their new service that can financially fit many peoples needs - MyEdge.

What is MyEdge?

Take control of your online reputation. Own your search engine results. Harness the power of the Worldwide Leader in Online Reputation Management (ORM) with MyEdge from ReputationDefender. For as little as $99, you can ensure search results display the information YOU want others to see when searching for you on Google and other major search engines.
Personal PR for the Web has finally arrived.

Learn more by visiting www.reputationdefender.com/myedge

I personally have fought Internet Defamation and won an unprecedented jury verdict for damages done to me online of over $11M. With the verdict I was vindicated - with ReputationDefender, I recovered my online reputation to match who I am, not what E-venger's want people to believe.

Sue Scheff - Parents Universal Resource Experts - Parenting in CyberSpace

2008-05-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Internet Safety Websites to help educate parents to protect their children from Internet Predators:

SafeKids.com
Wired Safety
I-Safe
I Keep Safe

For more information on Internet Predators and Teens - Dateline Series - To Catch a Predator. Check your local listings.

Reputation Defender / My Child -- Know what's online about your child before it can hurt them.

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender Launches New Service - MyEdge

2008-05-09T10:23:00.001-07:00

Since signing up with ReputationDefender after winning my $11.3M jury verdict for damages done to me on the Internet, I have proudly spoken out about this priceless service. Even winning my unprecedented case, it didn't eliminate the horrific, malicious defamatory statements online about me.

I retained ReputationDefender and was amazed at how they were able to have my Online image match up with my in person reputation. In a matter of months, my Online Profile was back to normal and I felt like a new person.

Now they have launched their latest service ReputationDefender MyEdge which is a personal PR for the web for you! Now everyone is able to maintain their reputations and most importantly promote themselves and regain their reputation online.

Lastly, I continue to encourage parents to review/sign up for ReputationDefender/MyChild to help maintain their child's privacy online especially in the growing social networks.

I am not a spokesperson for ReputationDefender and I am not in anyway reciprocated for my endorsement of them - I am simply a person that has used this service and believe they are priceless and truly believe everyone needs to protect themselves online today.

Sue Scheff - They Cyber Savvy Show - Erika-Marie Geiss

2008-05-08T04:06:00.001-07:00

What a fantastic show to promote Cyber-Safety. Last night I had the opportunity to be interviewed with Erika-Marie Geiss. It was a great introduction to my book - Wit's End! - although we wanted to do more on Cyber Safety, time ran out! But don't miss next Wednesday night when the CEO of Reputation Defender, Michael Fertik, will be her guest. A must for all parents concerned about their children's safety online.

Click here to listen.

Sue Scheff - Web Safety for Kids - ReputationDefender/MyChild

2008-05-05T08:17:00.001-07:00

Reputation Defender / My Child -- Know what's online about your child before it can hurt them.
A priceless service to insure your child's privacy and safety online!

Sue Scheff - Parent Advocate and Promoting Cyber Safety

2008-05-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

In today's crazy world of Cyberspace - it can be a free-for-all to literally destroy longstanding reputable people and organizations with a stroke of a keypad.

With this, priceless services like Reputation Defender have become in demand.As a client of Reputation Defender, I can personally attest to their remarkable services as well as their compassion to help people that are being harmed via the Internet.

I was a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it - not only because I won an unprecedented $11.3 Million jury verdict for damages, but because I fought back!

I am not a spokesperson for Reputation Defender, but I am certainly a very satisfied client and completely amazed at their dedication to keep the Internet a safe place for everyone.For those that believe that it is about hiding the ugly, think again - Reputation Defender is selective and does their due diligent. I am proud to be their client.

When I went public about retaining this service, it was a difficult decision - but in the end, I realized my voice has helped so many others as well as received the attention of Congress to hopefully make some leglislative changes to promote Internet Safety.

As a Parent Advocate, I am impressed with their latest service - MyChild which can help protect your kids identity and more. With today's tragedies online - as parents we need to take any and all pre-cautions to keep our children safe.

Read more about Reputation Defender.

Sue Scheff - Internet Safety for Kids

2008-04-29T15:00:00.001-07:00

By Connect with Kids

The Internet Generation

Today’s kids have grown up online. Finding their way around the Internet and posting on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook is part of their every day life. But in this online world … What are they saying? Who are they “talking” to? How can we keep our kids safe from danger – both emotional and physical?

Did you know that 70 percent of teens on the Internet have accidentally found pornography on the web; 60 percent have been contacted online by a stranger; another 60 percent have been victims of online bullying; and 45 percent have posted personal information?

The Internet Generation tells of online experiences and stories your kids may not be telling you about this 24/7 cyber- world. You’ll hear insights on setting specific rules, keeping track of kids’ online visits, and talking with them – armed with hard facts and real-life examples – about the very real threats out there.

When it comes to Internet know-how, can parents ever catch up with their kids? Yes.

Watch The Internet Generation and start the conversation with your children about what’s on the Internet – the good and the bad. The Internet is here to stay, and it’s our responsibility to keep kids safe, especially when they’re online.

Sue Scheff: Revenge is a dish best served ... online

2008-04-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

Vengeance websites are giving angry women the chance to expose their ex-partners as love rats. David Smith on the rising tide of ‘e-venge’

Click here for entire article.

As a victim of E-Venge (Sue Scheff) I know firsthand how deadly a few keystrokes can be to a person, a business and in life. I fought back - and won an uprecedented jury verdict for damages of over $11M for malicious and defamatory online comments.

Free speech will not condone defamation - this is not about the first amendment. I will continue to be a voice in promoting Internet Safety without infringing on free speech. My meetings with my Senator and my Congresswoman are the beginning of a long journey towards positive change.

Sue Scheff - Websites Promoting Internet Safety for Kids

2008-04-25T07:23:00.001-07:00

Connect with Kids constantly keeps parents updated on today’s kids and issues surrounding them. Today’s techy generation need even stronger parenting.

Reputation Defender MyChild is a great place for parents to start in keeping their child’s privacy “private!”

Sue Scheff - Internet Defamation - Cyber Slander - Protect Yourself

2008-04-22T13:07:00.001-07:00

After I won an unprecedented jury verdict for damages done to me online of $11.3M - this has brought me into a new chapter of my advocacy.

As a parent advocate, I educate parents on a loosely regulated industry some call - teen help residential programs and schools. After a horrific experience with my own teenager, I become a voice to create awareness to others so they didn't make the same mistakes I did.Now with this new chapter of Internet Abuse and Cybersafety - I have meet with my Florida Senator several times and we just meet with our Congresswoman.

I am very confident positive changes will be made to create a safer cyberspace - help to make people accountable - and reduce cyberbullying through new legislation.My new position has put me in a public light, and I plan on using it to help others.

I am contacted on a regular basis from victims of the Internet harassment as well as many media outlets. This is now a topic that is not going away anytime soon.Visit my Podcasts on E-Venge. My official website is http://www.suescheff.com/

Sue Scheff on The Rachael Ray Show - Hot Topic of CyberSlander

2008-04-17T12:05:00.001-07:00

Sue Scheff continues to be a voice against CyberSlander. As both a victim and survivor of Internet Defamation, she has become a leader in promoting Cyber Safety.

On April 17th Sue Scheff appeared on the Rachael Ray Show talking about Cyber Slander and promoting her upcoming new book - Wit’s End!

Free Speech will never condone defamation. In an unprecedented jury verdict for damages, Scheff was awarded over $11Mfor the malicious and defamatory online comments from a woman that wanted E-Venge.

For more articles on E-Venge - check out http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/. Sue Scheff retained the priceless services of Reputation Defender. If you are a victim of Internet Abuse, take a moment to review the services Reputation Defender has to offer.

If you are a parent, it is important to consider Reputation Defender MyChild to help protect your child online.

Sue Scheff - Reputation Defender A Priceless Service in Today's Cyber-World

2008-04-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

In today's crazy world of Cyberspace - it can be a free-for-all to literally destroy longstanding reputable people and organizations with a stroke of a keypad. With this, priceless services like Reputation Defender have become in demand.

As a client of Reputation Defender, I can personally attest to their remarkable services as well as their compassion to help people that are being harmed via the Internet.I was a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it - not only because I won an unprecedented $11.3 Million jury verdict for damages, but because I fought back!

I am not a spokesperson for Reputation Defender, but I am certainly a very satisfied client and completely amazed at their dedication to keep the Internet a safe place for everyone.For those that believe that it is about hiding the ugly, think again - Reputation Defender is selective and does their due diligent. I am proud to be their client.

When I went public about retaining this service, it was a difficult decision - but in the end, I realized my voice has helped so many others as well as received the attention of Congress to hopefully make some leglislative changes to promote Internet Safety.

As a Parent Advocate, I am impressed with their latest service - MyChild which can help protect your kids identity and more. With today's tragedies online - as parents we need to take any and all pre-cautions to keep our children safe.Read more about Reputation Defender.

Sue Scheff News Articles on Cyberbullying and Parenting

2008-03-30T05:49:00.001-07:00

I created a Blog that I update regularly regarding News Articles on Parenting today as well as the expanding concerns that surround the Internet, such as Cyberbullying.

Click Here.

by Sue Scheff, Parents Universal Resource Experts

Sue Scheff: Five Ways to Defend Your Online Reputation

2008-03-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

True or false, the information people find about you on the Web can have a big impact on your life. Here are five techniques to make sure that what people read about you is good (or at least true).

Click Here

Defending yourself online has became a serious concern for many people. The lack of regulations in Cyberspace means you have to learn to maintain your own Google Image.

As both a victim and survivor of Internet Defamation, I know first hand the toll this can take on a person and their family. I fought back and won an unprecedented jury verdict for damages of $11.3M.

Free Speech does not condone defamation!

Sue Scheff: Teen Internet Addiction

2008-03-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

In today's society, the Internet has made its way into almost every American home. It is a well-known fact that the web is a valuable asset for research and learning. Unfortunately, it can also be a very dangerous place for teens. With social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster, chat rooms, instant messaging, and online role-playing video games, our children are at access to almost anyone. Sue Scheff, along with Parent's Universal Resource Experts™, is tackling the dangers of the web.

Keeping tabs on our teens' online habits doesn't just keep them safe from online predators. More and more parents are becoming wary of the excessive hours their teens spend surfing the web, withdrawing from family, friends and activities they used to enjoy. Internet Addiction is a devastating problem facing far too many teens and their families. While medical professionals have done limited research on the topic, more and more are recognizing this destructive behavior and even more, the potential mental effects it can have.

Though the web is a great place for learning and can be safe for keeping in touch, it is important that families understand the potential risks and dangers to find a healthy balance between real and virtual life.

Find out more about Teen Internet Addiction.

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender a Priceless Service

2008-03-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

As a client of Reputation Defender, I can personally attest to their remarkable services as well as their compassion to help people that are being harmed via the Internet.I was a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it - not only because I won an unprecedented $11.3 Million jury verdict for damages, but because I fought back!I am not a spokesperson for Reputation Defender, but I am certainly a very satisfied client and completely amazed at their dedication to keep the Internet a safe place for everyone.

For those that believe that it is about hiding the ugly, think again - Reputation Defender is selective and does their due diligent. I am proud to be their client. When I went public about retaining this service, it was a difficult decision - but in the end, I realized my voice has helped so many others as well as received the attention of Congress to hopefully make some leglislative changes to promote Internet Safety.

I have meet with my Florida Senator several times and just meet with my Congresswoman - I am confident positive changes will be made to protect people and children in Cyberspace.

As a Parent Advocate, I am impressed with their latest service - MyChild which can help protect your kids identity and more. With today's tragedies online - as parents we need to take any and all pre-cautions to keep our children safe.Read more about Reputation Defender. Click Here.

Sue Scheff and Reputation Defender

2008-03-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

We keep hearing about more and more people searching online for background information on potential new employees, college applicants, or if someone is considering using your business for a service or trade.

Parents need to take the time now with their kids to show them what they create on their MySpace profiles, Facebook, Friendster and other Social Networking sites could potentially effect their future.

We, as parents, need to make them aware of what they put on there today - could effect them tomorrow. Of course, kids don’t quite understand that the future comes faster than they can imagine. After-all, in most cases college is years away! (In reality they are only 2-8 years away - which isn’t that far off, but feels like an eternity to a child).

Take the time to offer examples and show how what they may deem as funny today, could potentially cause embarrassment later. Remember, what is posted on the net today - has the potential of staying there forever!

Teaching your kids to make smart online decisions is now part of parenting our kids today. One service I always recommend parents consider, that is very cost effective, is Reputation Defender MyChild. This service helps monitor your child’s activity that is relevant to their name and privacy.

Another article I found to help parents and offer tips is Colleges and Networking Sites by Connect with Kids. Take a moment to check out the Tips for Parents.

Sue Scheff Podcasts on Internet Abuse

2008-02-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

Check out my new Podcast's website. I will be adding more soon. Internet Slander, Internet Defamation and Cyberbullying is gaining more and more attention. This is a serious concern with today's Cyberspace and I will continue to be a voice fighting for victims of the wild, wild web!

Sue Scheff: Free Speech or Lack of Parenting?

2008-02-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

I was contacted by CNN News in regards to this recent story.

As a parent advocate, I am proactive in helping parents protect their children in Cyberspace - whether it is monitoring their MySpace account - or using other protective measures such as Reputation Defender/MyChild to monitor your child’s privacy - but this story completely shocked me.

How can a parent condone a 13 year old writing about a principal in sexual ways? Where is this coming from? The parent is claiming their son has “free speech” - and they are correct about that, but when your 8th grader is calling someone a rapist or child molester without any substantiated evidence, in my opinion, this could be considered defamation - and as my beliefs continues - “Free Speech does not condone defamation.” Furthermore - the writings of “giving students anal” or “jacking off in my office” - is absolutely disgusting that a 13 year old writes this way. This is my personal opinion.

Read Below:

FEBRUARY 21–The parents of an Ohio boy who was expelled this month for creating a phony MySpace profile that described his middle school’s principal as a child molester have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the 13-year-old’s free speech rights have been violated by education officials. Toader and Marianna Osan claim that their son (who is identified only by his initials in U.S. District Court filings) was improperly booted from the eighth grade at Hillside Middle School in Parma after educators learned of the boy’s creation of a MySpace page for principal Jeff Cook. The MySpace profile, which was headlined “Your Princeypal,” did not carry Cook’s name, but it included his photo and identified him as the Hillside Middle School principal. The since-removed profile, an excerpt of which you’ll find below, listed Cook’s general interests as “giving students anal” and “jacking off in my office,” and named his heroes as Michael Jackson, Adolph Hitler, and Saddam Hussein. For his vulgar online handiwork, “M.O.” was first suspended, and then, on February 7, was informed that he was being expelled (for “malicious harassment”) until June 10, effectively the end of the school year, according to a February 20th court filing. His parents argue that students “disrespecting teachers outside of school is an age-old tradition, and one from which teachers neither need nor deserve protection…It would be naive to think that even the most popular principal is not the subject of student ridicule and parody.” The Osans are seeking their son’s immediate return to school and a judicial order protecting his off-campus speech, which previously included the observation that Cook had an affinity for the Purple Penetrator, a sex toy.

Sue Scheff: Cyberbullying is becoming a serious concern among teens

2008-02-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

More and more news articles, media and others are finally taking Cyberbullying seriously. As both a victim and survivor of being abused in Cyberspace - I know first hand how important this subject is.

Kids today need to be aware of what lingers online as well as take precautions not to feed into Cyberbullys and their tactics of invading a child’s privacy.

As a parent, you can take steps to protect your kids online. Know what they are doing and where they are going in Cyberspace. It is almost as important as knowing where they are going when they leave your house! Take Cyberspace seriously!

A recent news article by the Associated Press is one of many that are bringing this awareness to parents.

I always encourage parents to consider Reputation Defender MyChild to help protect your children online, especially in the social networking sites such as MySpace and others.

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender and MyEdge - A Priceless Service

2007-12-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

In today's crazy world of Cyberspace - it can be a free-for-all to literally destroy longstanding reputable people and organizations with a stroke of a keypad. With this, priceless services like Reputation Defender have become in demand.

As a client of Reputation Defender, I can personally attest to their remarkable services as well as their compassion to help people that are being harmed via the Internet.I was a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it - not only because I won an unprecedented $11.3 Million jury verdict for damages, but because I fought back!

I am not a spokesperson for Reputation Defender, but I am certainly a very satisfied client and completely amazed at their dedication to keep the Internet a safe place for everyone.

For those that believe that it is about hiding the ugly, think again - Reputation Defender is selective and does their due diligent. I am proud to be their client. When I went public about retaining this service, it was a difficult decision - but in the end, I realized my voice has helped so many others as well as received the attention of Congress to hopefully make some leglislative changes to promote Internet Safety.

As a Parent Advocate, I am impressed with their latest service - MyChild which can help protect your kids identity and more. With today's tragedies online - as parents we need to take any and all pre-cautions to keep our children safe.

Read more about Reputation Defender. Click Here.

Rise Above Internet Defamation!

2007-11-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

THE FIGHT AGAINST INTERNET DEFAMATION STRENGTHENS! As attorney's and judges are reviewing these cases, the recognition for action is loud and clear. Fight back - it is your right!

Recently I have personally meet with both a prominent Senator and a Judge. Both were completely astonished at the reckless regard for the truth that lingers on the Internet and agree, it is time to fight back!

Sue Scheff: Continuing to be a voice for those being harmed on the Internet

2007-11-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

It seems the more vocal you become, the more you are attacked.

I know that is true in my case, but it won't stop me from working towards change in the Internet World where people think Free Speech has no limits.

I am a firm believer in Freedom of Speech - I fought and won two jury trials in regards to this very subject. Now I will continue to make positive changes within the Cyberspace community.

More and more attorneys are becoming familiar with the laws and the laws that need to catch up with the change. More and more lawyers are offering to take these cases on contingency - which is a great change.

I recently meet with a Senator and I feel confident (as he does) that there will be a lot more media attention, legal action and more positive movement in this arena to protect people from becoming caught in the net.

As a victim of Internet Defamation as well as a focus of some people's obsession, it is all giving me the strength, power and resources to combat people who want to continue their campaign to ruin myself and others, through new legal resources that have opened up with the vast media attention.

Are you being harmed on the Internet by malicious attackers?

Sue Scheff on Reputation Defender/MyChild

2007-09-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

Be sure to protect your child's online profile and activities. Reputation Defender offers a MyChild service that is in my opinion priceless to parents of teens with active Internet activity.

Sue Scheff on Reputation Defender

2007-09-09T17:34:00.001-07:00

Check out their new website for Reputation Defender and the new services to protect children and families.

Sue Scheff and Michael Fertik on the BBC

2007-07-14T11:04:00.001-07:00

Recently Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation Defender and Sue Scheff, Founder of Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE) were guests on the BBC Talk Radio with Dan Damon. The show was also aired on NPR - National Public Radio to bring awareness of Internet Defamation and how to protect yourself from it.

For more news on this subject, click here.

Sue Scheff - Reputation Defender & MyEdge Bring the Truth to the Top!

2007-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been a victim of Internet Defamation you will know how I felt since 2002.

In 2000 when my daughter was abused in a therapeutic boarding program (Carolina Springs Academy - WWASPS) - I posted our true story online and within months were slapped with a Defamation Lawsuit by the very same organization that hurt my little girl!

They sued me in an attempt to silence me - and would have gladly dropped the lawsuit if I would remove my website. I fought back - after 2+ years of litigation - over $1 Million dollars in legal fees (which was covered by my insurance) - I won in a jury trial! Yes, I won!

Of course, WWASPS appealed - and I won again in the Supreme Court of Appeals!

Now, when you have exhausted your legal avenues to harass someone - it seems the Internet can be used as a weapon, and trust me, it is a powerful weapon.

Suddenly on certain extremist forums, ugly and slanderous lies were being posted about myself, my organization and my children! Although some of these posters were former institutionalized victims, it didn't excuse their blatant lies and false accusations. It is my belief it stemmed from a WWASPS camp.

It was soon realized that a woman, who originally despised WWASPS for the alleged abuse her boys endured at one of their programs - she had no problem accepting $12,500.00 from them! Why? In hopes of incriminating me!

I sued her in an attempt to get her to stop. I sued for defamation and invasion of privacy - and guess who got her a lawyer in Florida? WWASPS! Yes, the very people she accused of harming her kids as well as accepting the $12,500.00.

So now we have come full circle - and I am fighting WWASPS indirectly in my opinion - and for another 2 years of litigation - we go to trial again - and this time, I not only win - I set legal precedence for Internet Defamation! The jury - after hours of deliberation, render a verdict of $11.3M - $5M of it is punitive damages - meant to punish. After the trial, they waited for me in the hall and said they wanted to send a message that ruining lives on the Internet has a price.

Carey Bock Levine, the defendant that defamed me, authored many posts claiming I was a fraud, con, crook and more. This instigated more vicious posts stating I abuse kids, kidnap kids and went as far to say refer to abusive programs! After what my daughter went through, this is nothing short of Internet Defamation with intent to destroy, ruin and hurt others. Thankfully the truth prevailed!

O-kay - so I won 2 trials - emotionally was exhausted from 5 years of litigation and still had to deal with all the ugly posts on the Internet. They just don't go away - they remain in cached files and are always popping up.

A very good friend of mine told me about Reputation Defender. At first, I was skeptical and didn't think it could work. I emailed them - told them my story.

The CEO, Michael Fertik called me personally within a weeks time and told me that they did some research on the damage and was appalled what these people had done to me. I proved my case to Michael Fertik - my organization (P.U.R.E.) has helped literally thousands of families - and we have proudly been a Member of the Better Business Bureau for years.

Could he help me? He said he could, but it would take time - well, I had time, since I had no choice, I needed my online reputation cleaned up to match my true reputation. I worked long and hard to bring my organization to the level of respect we get from many professionals.

Reputation Defender got to work - and within 4 months, with the help of MyEdge, my online life was finally matching up with reality!

I proudly admit I hired Reputation Defender and MyEdge - it was not to hide the ugliness but to let people know the real me and the truth about me!

Thank you Michael Fertik and the entire team of Reputation Defender and MyEdge for bringing the truth to the top!