Opening guest speaker talk at icelolly.com's 2nd #BlogAtTheBeach in Leeds, UK, April 2016. We work hard to build an online presence and make successful connections with audiences, brands and PRs; your reputation can be at risk if it's not protected though, so let's explore strategies and reduce the risk. Get more tips at RockYourDigital.com

1. Rock Your Blog:
Protect Your Brand + Reputation
Kirsten Thompson
April 2016
#BlogAtTheBeach
Heart Padlock by MsSaraKelly | CC BY 2.0

2. Blogs in education: 10yrs+
Travel blogging: 2010
University of Leeds: 9yrs staff development:
• Webmaster for 30+ WordPress sites
• E-learning design + development
• Social media + reputation management strategy +
development
New site > RockYourDigital.com
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/kirstent
Twitter: @KookyTraveller | @_KirstenT
A little about me…

3. Slides will be available online with links to more resources +
linked from my travel blog: kookytraveller.com
I’m not legally trained = I’m not providing legal advice
It’s not possible to cover everything or to go into much detail
I’m not affiliated with any products or services I may
recommend
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy – “choose your own
adventure” J
Before we start…

4. 1. Your brand + digital
footprint

5. Your digital identity =
everything about you on
the web
Verified / non-verified –
both important

6. Who
manages
your digital
identity?

7. This guy?

8. What about
websites like this?
Scraping + merging
identities.

9. What will
you find?

10. Are you feeling lucky?
Think like a search engine – be the
top of your own search results, not
just your blog/niches search results.

11. Use Google Alerts
to keep updated on
what others are
saying about you
(your work, project
etc) on the web. It
won’t search
everything, but can
assist in managing
your digital identity.

12. You can
manage your
digital identity
+ brand, you
cannot control
it

13. 2. Security

14. Who do you trust?
How do you verify who
you are talking to online?
Who do you add on
Facebook?
Who has your mobile
phone number?

15. What else are you
sharing?
WHOIS database
Location services on/off?
Social media privacy e.g.
custom locations
Apps + privacy

16. Ion, Reeder, Consolvo (2015) “...no one can hack my mind”: Comparing Expert and Non-Expert
Security Practices [online]. Last accessed 03/09/15
https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/soups2015/soups15-paper-ion.pdf

17. Consider…
• Fragment your identity: you do not need to manage your
entire digital life via one or two email addresses.
• Check your privacy settings.
• Beef up your security: Strong passwords, 2 factor
authentication + use a password manager.
• “Find my iPhone”
• Be wary of hackers, account cloning, phishing scams, rogue
links.
• Internet security: private networks, VPNs

18. For self-hosted websites:
Use a security plugin
• iThemes
• Securi
• WordFence
Back-up your site e.g. UpDraft Plus, Backup Buddy
Remove plugins and themes that are not in use (keep a
spare theme for emergencies)
Site access: who really needs to be able to login?

19. 3. Compliance

20. “Don’t say (or do)
anything you
wouldn’t on 5
Live.”
Rory Cellan-Jones
Social media = public
Separate personal +
professional, makes each
presence more useful to
your networks
You’re not anonymous on
social media – dangerous to
think you are
Impact of liking, re-tweeting
Personal vs. Professional

22. Do you have
a privacy
policy?
Terms of use?

24. Consider…
• Copyright + IP
• Defamation
• Electronic mail
marketing +
mailing lists
http://roniloren.com/
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/
electronic-mail-marketing/

25. ASA ruling on Mondelez:
https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2014/11/Mondelez-UK-Ltd/
SHP_ADJ_275018.aspx#.VeovxVfF9qp

28. Case: Lord McAlpine falsely accused
Alleged offence: Libel
Case: Twitter users name victim of rape by
footballer Ched Evans
Offence: The Sexual Offences (Amendment)
Act 1992
Case: Social media users circulated alleged
pictures of child killer Jon Venables
Alleged offence: Contempt of Court
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20782257

29. accidentaloutlaw.knowthenet.org.uk

30. Keep
updated
about
online
safety
and the
lawwww.thatsnonsense.com/

31. 4. Develop
your
strategy

32. 1. What will you include in your strategy?
2. What changes (if any) do you need to
implement right away?
3. How will you deal with issues that arise?
4. What do you need to go away + learn more
about?
Homework…J

33. Thank you
Questions?
Kirsten Thompson
RockYourDigital.com | KookyTraveller.com
Twitter: @_KirstenT | @KookyTraveller
April 2016
#BlogAtTheBeach