I heard an NPR Technology News podcast the other day that got me thinking. The podcast was discussing how a person might try and repair their online image. The reporter brought the example a local real estate agent, whose distributed flier was mocked in a blog, causing the insult to appear as the first result in a Google search. Obviously, the agent was devastated.

Next interviewed was a web expert, who offers to help repair one’s online image (too dowdy? too racy? a scathing review?). He says to forget about getting anything erased or removed from the internet. Once it’s there, it’s there. Instead, he advises getting busy filling the web with the positive references and activity you do want to have found.

I saw a similar idea again today in Seth Godin’s blog:

You’re going to be on people’s radar a lot longer than you think, longer than you’re going to be at your current job and longer than you might want. The web doesn’t forget.

It’s an interesting thought. The web acts more as a social entity in this sense: your identity is less of an official record, and more of a reputation, for better or for worse.

The Talmud teaches that “a good name is more valuable than good oil”. It’s also very hard to fix once it’s been tainted. As true, or truer, today than ever before.