The first big step for many businesses is launching a website and creating a positive online presence. However, with the rise of social media, technology, and new and innovative ways for people to share opinions and experiences come many new problems for brand owners and businesses who must police their image. With the expansion of generic top level domains (gTLDs) and the simplicity of registering domain names, cyber-squatters and cyber-gripers alike can register domain names that consumers accidentally stumble across in their search for the real brand. Even businesses historically built on word of mouth and trust, like auction houses, are taking to the Internet and experiencing attention on national and international levels.
As New Jersey auction house Rago Auctions recently experienced during its planned sale of Japanese internment camp art in April, with increased Web traffic, sometimes comes negative social media exposure. Individuals who were upset over the sale started a change.org petition, and launched a Facebook page to protest the sale of objects they felt more appropriately belonged in a museum. The Web movement came to the attention of former “Star Trek” actor George Takei. When Takei expressed his disapproval, the planned sale received even more publicity. After Takei’s intervention, the auction items were placed in the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. While the preceding example came to an amicable resolution, it draws attention to the fact that businesses with an Internet presence need to be prepared to respond to negative Internet attention.
