By: PAUL DUNAY

Fifteen minutes of infamy is no longer something that gets buried in the sands of time. Google changes all that, making "ruined for life" a very real possibility if the news isn’t all that flattering. Even if you can rebuild your reputation, missteps can cost plenty. They take a heavy toll on businesses, let alone individuals. That means everyone should practice not only corporate, but personal, brand self–defense.

A few weeks ago a friend of a friend contacted me. This person, a well-known and respected marketing executive, shared an interesting situation she was facing on the Web. She awoke one morning, did a vanity search for her name on Google, and found the blogosphere and Internet ablaze with gossip, innuendo and general misinformation about her and her reputation.

So the question quickly became, for her and for any of us: What can a person do to clean this up?

At first, although an avid blogger, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. But I quickly narrowed it down to three strategies: 1) Ignore the buzz; 2) Confront the buzz, and; 3) Bury the buzz.

Ignore the Buzz. But what happens if you’re job seeking? These days, most recruiters check out the Google juice on potential new hires, especially at the executive level. The downside of ignoring bad buzz is that you may be passed over for a great opportunity.

Confront the Buzz. It’s your chance to “set the record straight” should recruiters be looking for you. At least they have a chance to hear your side of the story, whether you do it on your own blog or the very blog(s) carrying the misinformation. The downside is this could inflame the bloggers again and stir up a new host of comments about the existing situation.

Bury the Buzz with new, positive press. Stats show that 96% of recruiters never look past page three of Google hits. So create new articles that get indexed under your name and push the bad news onto page two and eventually page three. Ways to do this include: interviews with you (literally titled “Interview with Mr. X” so it quickly gets picked up under your Mr. X Google search). And think multimedia, because the same goes for podcasts with you. You also can launch new Web presences--Mrx.com, Facebookmrx.com--although these don’t seem as wholesome as having real content written about you.

The bottom line is you have to create a winning media plan that has multimedia and multiple sources of content pointing back to you. There also are services that will search and destroy information on Google concerning you, your child or your brand. Companies like Reputation Defender and Reputation Garage do this for companies and may be helpful with individuals, too.

The more senior and visible you are in an organization, the more vulnerable you are to potentially damaging disinformation campaigns. The scary part is that everyone from recruiters to new hires to clients can and do check you out on the Web. So start taking action now so you don’t have to invoke one of the three strategies above:

1. Monitor your online footprint. Many people rarely if ever check out their search listings. That's a mistake. Check your online presence regularly on all of the search engines. Also monitor online news services, newsletters, blogs, chat rooms and image banks.

2. Build your online reputation before you need it. If you don’t already, begin creating search-engine-friendly content before a crisis arises. Blog, post to other blogs, create a Web site, create online profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). Be active at work and in other activities that will get you mentioned online.

3. React quickly to damaging, inaccurate or slanted content online. Don’t hide if you’re being attacked. Respond authoritatively in the realm of the original content with clear, open messages and factual information. Tell the truth.

4. Be discriminating. If you participate in social networks, be very careful about whom you connect with and what content you post.

5. Appeal to the Web master. Ask Web masters to remove questionable or defamatory content. Frequently they will.

In some ways, Google has thrust us into a new Victorian age. There is little or no anonymity, and rumor and innuendo can spread throughout a community like wildfire. It’s all the more reason to manage your personal reputation proactively and with care.

Paul Dunay is Director, Global Field & Interactive Marketing at BearingPoint, Inc., and another of our new cadre of Brandweek Bloggers. He can be reached at paul.dunay@bearingpoint.com. His personal blog can be accessed at Buzz Marketing for Technology.com