The short history of online reputation

E-reputation, online reputation, digital reputation, cyber reputation… All these terms, increasingly present and pervasive today, have only just “come of age.” They convey one same general idea: it was the web that created e-reputation (e-reputation = web + reputation); it’s the web that shapes reputations. The proof lies in the short history of online reputation.

Early 1990s: the web created e-reputation

The first person to speak of e-reputation, and above all to place perceived reputation at the heart of web technologies, was Howard Rheingold. This American critic, writer and teacher, one of the gurus of online social interactions, spoke at the time of “reputation technologies”. For him, Second Life was a good example of e-reputation management . Indeed, each avatar (a character representing a user on the internet and in video games) lived out its adventure in a parallel world, making almost human choices such as eating, dressing or maintaining an active social network… while devising genuine strategies to manage its online reputation through techniques such as monitoring or the creation of virtual content… E-reputation thus emerged gradually as people learned the new technology that is web access.

Early 2000s: e-commerce developed e-reputation

With the rise of online shopping, the term e-reputation appeared in numerous Swiss-German and American studies devoted to the relationship between a seller’s reputation and sales performance on e-commerce sites. The term online reputation thus appeared in the article titled Reputation in an Internet Auction Market by two American scientists, McDonald and Slawson. The authors approach online reputation as a transposition of reputation and as a signal that helps build trust.

But the first to use the term e-reputation were the American scientists Chun and Davies, in 2001, in an article titled e-reputation: The role of mission and vision statements in positioning strategy. They stress the need for organizations to publish their values and “other signs of compliance” on their websites in order to build and strengthen their reputation through the web. That same year, Susan Block-Lieb, an American law professor, examined the building of trust in electronic commerce in an article titled e-Reputation: Building Trust in Electronic Commerce.

From 2006 in France: Google became a pillar of e-reputation

Christophe Deschamps, a consultant/blogger, was the first to speak of the essential management of digital reputation, stating that “digital reputation is the next big thing.” In an article published on ZDnet, Christophe Deschamps warns: “with the runaway growth of the web and the spectacular multiplication of information sources it brings, we will have to find a way to know who provides reliable information and who does not.” Above all, he draws attention to the need to cultivate strong Google rankings, a mark of quality in the eyes of internet users. The word is out: Google is the “all-powerful” force that validates the e-reputation of anyone, any brand, any product…

2009 in France: the media boosted the reach of e-reputation

Historically, e-reputation in France was built through the media coverage (press, TV and radio) of cases such as Kryptonite (taking the “power of internet users” seriously), the 3 Suisses (taking the risk of not engaging in dialogue) and Domino’s Pizza (taking the risk of reacting quickly), and through their consequences (loss of revenue, incidents being remembered and kept visible years later, etc.). These various cases highlighted the importance of taking into account the power of internet users (comments, reviews, ratings and opinions) in the choice of products or services. The internet user is king!

2012 in France: insurers seized on e-reputation

In 2012, e-reputation became a fully-fledged “product,” moving beyond the realm of providers specialized in the subject, as shown by certain insurance offers aimed at individuals. Thus Axa and Swiss Life launched insurance policies covering, among other things, internet-related risks, but above all e-reputation. Under certain conditions, these policies include legal and psychological assistance, reimbursement of legal costs, and coverage of the costs of erasing or pushing any “negative” or even “defamatory” content off the first pages of Google search results.

2014: companies and individuals worry about their e-reputation

Today, reputation has established itself as the number-one risk for 40% of executives, an issue tied to the unavoidable rise of Web 2.0 and social media. Whether you are a company (looking to improve customer acquisition, to retain your customers, etc.) or an individual (looking for a job, showcasing your skills, emerging in a field of expertise, etc.), e-reputation is increasingly pervasive and present in everyday life.

And for three reasons:

• internet access is universal (everywhere in the world and at any time);
• the internet is the go-to place to look for information, and 90% of French people use Google as their search engine;
• the internet and Google have become genuine decision-making tools ( 74% of internet users research on Google before buying a service or product, 68% of recruiters google candidates) in a highly competitive environment.