Reputation
management and
monitoring
Sam Ladner, PhD
MESH 2008

What is a “reputation?”

The Looking Glass
Self

I wonder if
she likes my
1. We imagine how we outfit.
appear to others.

That’s a
really great
tie. She 2. We imagine how
thinks I’m
shallow. others judge that
appearance.

Oh you think
so? I didn’t
even look
when I put it 3. We react to that
on.
imagined judgment.

What the…? This is no way to
manage a reputation.

The Online Self

1. Hidden
Online sources lack
contextual cues we take for
granted in the off-line world.
The New Yorker
The digitization of word-of-mouth: Promise and
challenges of online reputation systems
C Dellarocas - Management Science, 2003

!!!!!
!? ??
$$
!!?$
2. Digital
!!$
Online interactions are easily
broken down, re-arranged,
“mashed up” and aggregated.

3. Proliferating
a. 48% of North Americans participate in
social computing
b. 30% of Americans of have posted
online ratings
c. But! The average Canadian spent
35% more minutes talking on the phone
on 2003 than in 1997
Forrester Research; Statistics Canada

“Measurement is...the
assignment of numerals
to things as to
represent facts.”
S. S. Stevens. 1946. “On the Theory of
Scales of Measurement.” Science. Vol 103.
No. 2684

Ceci n’est pas un
réputation.

s=√Σd2/n-
1?
How do you measure an z = 1.96
online reputation?

Reputation Measurement Options
Are we being How are we Can we
judged? being respond to
judged? that
judgment?
Social media
analytics
✔ ✔
tools
Social media
observation
✔✔ ✔✔
tools
Social media
response
✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔
tools

Reputation Measurement Options
Are we being How are we Can we
judged? being respond to
judged? that
judgment?
Social media
analytics
✔ $
tools
Social media
✔ ✔
observation $$$
tools
Social media
response
✔ ✔
$$$ ✔
tools

• Technorati
• Digg.com
Social media analytics
tools • Del.icio.us
• Google Trends
• ePinions.com
• Web analytics

What are
people
saying?
How
reputable are
the people
talking?
What kinds of
media are
people
posting?

Analysis still
required!
No
aggregation

Authenticity
Some
aggregation

Are we How are we Can we
being being respond to
judged? judged? that
judgment?
Technorati
✔ ✔
ePinions
✔✔ ✔
Google
Trends
✔
Web
analytics
✔
Delicious
✔
Digg.com
✔✔ ✔

• Neilsen Buzz
Metrics
Social media
• Cymfony
observation tools

10th most
Most frequently
frequently
mentioned
mentioned
Nostalgic
Health references references

Are we How are we Can we
being being respond to
judged? judged? that
judgment?
BuzzMetrics
✔✔ ✔✔
Cymfony
✔✔ ✔✔✔

• Umbria
• TruCast
Social media response
tools

Segmentation
analysis
Brand
mentions

Reputation
sentiment
Blogger
targeting and
tracking

Are we How are we Can we
being being respond to
judged? judged? that
judgment?
TruCast
✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔
Umbria
✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔

• Systematic
• Develop standard
metrics; stick to them
• Regular
• Measure at
Best practices consistent intervals
• Governed
• Assign accountability
for metrics
• Create a task force

….?
Conversation !....!!

Sam Ladner, PhD
samladner@mac.com
http://designresearch.wordpress.c
om