Why Isn't ReputationDefender Defending Its Reputation and Faceboook App on Facebook?

Yesterday, I heard a sponsorship plug on NPR for a company called ReputationDefender which claims on its website to be "the world's first comprehensive online reputation management and privacy company." I visited the company's website and was intrigued with its offerings. I found this statement on the company's product page particularly enticing: "You can’t manage your online identity unless you know what others can see about you online. Looking on the first page of Google is not enough. Our Reputation Advisors perform a custom search of the far corners of the Deep Web for every reference to you, including over 40 of the biggest social networks. We then monitor the Web every month for additional references to you and deliver them in an easy-to-read update."

I proceeded to download a free ReputationDefender app on Facebook that individuals can use to monitor their Facebook privacy settings. After repeated attempts to get the app to work, I gave up in frustration. Then I visited the app's review page on Facebook and discovered that others have also struggled to make it work. While I realize that Facebook might have changed its site in a way that causes problems for ReputationDefender's app, I was floored that a company that prides itself on defending online reputations has not used its Facebook page to let people who downloaded the app know how to get it to work correctly - especially since the first complaint surfaced on its Facebook page on June 2.

I'll be curious to see whether ReputationDefender notices this blog post in its own online reputation monitoring efforts and swings into action to address the complaints of people frustrated with its Facebook app.

Comments

[Rob_ReputationDefender]

Hi Patrick. Thank you for your interest in ReputationDefender and for trying out PrivacyDefender. We're sorry that the app didn't work for you and we're currently working on improvements.

We sensed an immediate need for this product, so we tried to bring it to market as soon as we could. So far, response has been strong around the Internet with more than 15,000 people having installed the app since it launched.

However, we are aware of the negative reviews of the app on Facebook and we're incorporating all of the feedback we receive into future iterations of the product.

We have been releasing updates -- some to the front-end, some to the back-end -- about once per day since the product first launched.

If a user has a specific issue with the product, they can leave a comment in their review or they can tell us in the discussion board on the PrivacyDefender Facebook page.

Thanks,
Rob Frappier
Community Manager
ReputationDefender

[Patrick Galvin]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the timely response to my post, and I'm glad to hear that you're working the kinks out of your Facebook app as well as using the discussion page on Facebook to address user issues. As you know better than most given your company's focus, it's critical for businesses to engage their customers where they're talking about their products or services in a timely fashion. I'm glad to see that you've just opened the dialogue with your Facebook PrivacyDefender users on Facebook.

With growing frustration regarding privacy issues and social media websites, you certainly have a large potential market. Good luck with your efforts and keep me posted.

Best,
Patrick Galvin