OK - So I now realize I'm two weeks behind in blog. Since I haven't had anything to say and we were discouraged at the last mtg. not to blog unless it is something of substance, I haven't done it. But I did make it through the last two weeks of Term 1 and my grades were in on time, so I guess I'm making progress.
However, I do have something to write about tonight, so maybe this will make up for the past two weeks. Further, it is a Friday night at 10pm, and I definitely deserve extra credit for that.
The 10/6/08 issues of Time Magazine had an article entitled "Outsmart your Haters - How to Win the online reputation game". I don't know how many of you have googled your own name or have gone to the site "Rank Your Teacher". Many of you would be surprised to know you are on there. Students at my former HS, Wayzata, were notorious for going to the site. I have been at CHS since 2005 and no one has switched the commentary yet (which if fine, fortunately for me it was positive compared w/other colleagues), so I'm guessing not as many kids in our district know or care about it. However, it brings up some interesting points. As the author noted in the article "unbridled online attacks are wreaking havoc on people's reputations".
I love the story of one Professor who was criticized on RateMyProfessor for being a "rude, disrespectful, pretentious snob" and fought back w/a Web Video on Professors Fight Back. On it I guess he wrote "We're not there to babysit. We're there to train professionals. Grow up."
At our last class we discussed how certain websites get to the top of the google search. I still don't have that answer, however now I know I could go to an online reputation management firm, Reputation Hawk, and for $1,500/month, they can create Web pages that case me in a positive light. Since that fee would eat my entire paycheck, I think I'll pass on that.
However, this was the advice the Time author, Anita Hamilton gave: "Engage on your own - Attacks can lose their sting if you calmly respond to them..Post a reply, create your own site to correct the record or send an e-mail requesting a retraction." Good luck with that folks!
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2 comments:
I have heard of rank your teacher, and last year one teacher looked it up at the Freshmen Center. There were a few teachers profiled, but not that many. I see it as a way that students would write something on when they are angry about a grade or getting caught doing something they were not supposed to. I'm guessing that most students would not take the time to give us a rave review. I never thought about how it could effect someone's reputation. Like the professor you mentioned, grow up ... especially in college. As I have told my students, you don't have to love history, you don't even have to like history, but you do need to pass history. Make the best of the situation.
It is essential that individuals be able to defend themselves from online libel. This includes professors, who are often unfairly maligned by disgruntled students for no good reason. Companies like ReputationHawk help them to do that in a more effective way than they can do themselves.
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