Hi,
This is the first post of my new blog, as I am off to AdTech SF next week to hopefully gain some traction for OverAd Media and reconnect with some old friends.
One of the big reasons I wanted to start a blog is to explore a wide range of subjects from Reputation Management, The Internet Advertising Landscape, Mobile Advertising to New Technologies and so on.
As I launch this blog and see some posts which surround keywords associated with my name–it seems you really have to be vigulant about protecting your online reputation, as posts on the net can be archived for years and both positive/negative posts can be viewed as fact when often times they are not.
As the founder of one of the original online ad sales rep firms, Cybereps, I always viewed my interaction with clients, advertisers and vendors as reflecting my Pacific Northwest roots–very straight forward and don’t grab at the last penny. What I am learning in my more progressive years is you can’t control what people say or spew on the net–and if you let too much time pass before setting the record straight, you lose.
Since selling Cybereps in 2001, I have been involved with a lot of cool companies. CMBS.com has been a lot of fun, learning about the commercial real estate enterprise software segment, nFinanse which has a market disruptive reloadable VISA card to address nearly 100 million people in the US who don’t qualify for a credit card, a bunch of content websites and so on. I watched first hand how selective negative posts by rouge network marketers can effect a public company called Beyond Commerce. In the case of an investment I made in Hula Direct, a super fast growing innovative media model which followed the Free Standing Insert in Newspapers, I let way too much time pass to address some press which was not accurate. Not smart on my part. What a tough lesson. It seems all the good that you have done in your career can be wiped out by the perception that a Google search result containing inaccurate information can be taken as truth. As I go forward, I will be spending more time looking after my name on the net–the risks are too great.
Looking forward to next week, as it seems the online ad game has a lot of new aggration players and the Moblie segment is finally catching up to Europe. It should be fun to blog about.
Mike Warsinske
mike@overadmedia.com
