How Can I Protect My Reputation?

I don't pretend to have the answer to this question, and I'm not even sure it's the right question to ask.  These days, if your life and/or career make it necessary for you to be "out there," swimming in the ocean of the Internet with millions of other web-fishes, you're bound to run into one or more sharks from time to time.  So the question is one of damage control and survival.

If you're basically a trusting person, you're even more at risk from the occasional Cyberspace bully.  But I don't advocate shedding your trusting nature in return for jaded cynicism.  Your trusting and somewhat idealistic nature are part of who you are, part of what makes you a genuine and authentic person who can truly be of service to others and the world.

So don't change you.  Just tweak your antennae a bit.  Learn, as you go along doing your thing, what to look out for.  In the meantime, if a shark -- once you've gotten smart to him/her -- tries to make you look bad, remember that those who know you won't believe a smear campaign about you anyway.  I read a line recently that said it perfectly, and I'm paraphrasing here: "Live in such a way so that if anybody were to say something bad about you, no one would believe it."  I just love that!  Those who would believe it... well, you wouldn't want them in your corner anyway!


Worrying about your reputation in this information age is largely a waste of time and energy, unless it reaches the level of legally actionable slander, libel, copyright infringement, etc.  In those extreme cases, of course you'll want to seek appropriate counsel to protect yourself and your work.


But if someone's just being nasty, hey! -- guess whose reputation is really being damaged?  Smart people see through smart alecks, so my advice is.... Relax and enjoy the show!  Above all, don't engage anymore with the person who's harassing you, and certainly don't sink to his/her level by retaliating back.  Take the high road, stay above the fray, and see how fast the bully and his/her tactics fade away.