• Search Engine Guide , Wednesday, January 7, 2009 1:15 PM

Managing your online reputation has become a hot topic these days. (Unfortunately, it's also not uncommon to read about a CEO or two who has inflated the books to make the company look good.) Blog posts get picked up and tossed from one social media site like Twitter, to Facebook or MySpace -- "and we see companies rise and fall in hours as the social media hordes decide whether to worship or vilify the company of the moment," writes Jennifer Laycock, in part two of a six-part series exploring lessons you can learn from the classic story Pinocchio.

If you're wondering where Pinocchio fits in, Laycock tells us companies becoming involved in conversations online need to succeed with honesty. "Consider Pinocchio and that fast growing tree branch of a nose he had," she writes. "When Pinocchio told a lie, his nose grew longer. The more lies he told, the bigger (and more obvious) his nose (and the lies) became. ... Tell a lie, misrepresent reality or fail to address legitimate concerns and the problem will grow as noticeable and become as much of a nuisance as Pinocchio's nose."

Read the whole story at Search Engine Guide »