Customer Reviews

Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am an internet marketing professional and seem to buy way too many "SEO Books" from Amazon - they all get resold as I lose interest and find nothing inspiring in them.

This book is by far the best read since John Battelle and The Search

For those of you that really want to enhance your online reputation (and don't we all?) this is a must read.

Some great examples of big companies needing "damage repair" after a blog post and some of the ways great companies have repaired their damage.

Let's face it the Internet gives us citizen journalism and all the brutally frank criticisms that can bring from an average Joe.

If you're into online PR and being Radically Transparent you should by this book and unlock the power of your walled garden

David Saunders
Charlotte NC

I've been online for well over a decade and from the very beginning I've been passionate about online marketing. I congratulate myself that fairly early on I identified Andy Beal as someone who could teach me a lot about online marketing in all its guises. He has validated my opinion consistently over the years.

His latest book, Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online, co-authored with Judy Strauss, is quite simply a masterpiece. This is a reference work that is highly informative and immensely valuable even for an experienced online professional. For the rest of us it's a tome that's simply not-to-be-missed.

Managing your online reputation is a fairly new problem. If you've suddenly realized that being pro-active about it is essential, you are on the fast track to success. But how do you manage your online reputation effectively? Beal and Strauss provide you with absolutely the latest and best knowledge to take your reputation management strategy in hand.

Whether you want to establish your brand or counter a smear campaign that's affecting your bottom line, this is definitely THE book for you to buy.

Learn how to use no-cost social marketing tactics to launch yourself as an expert, and see how you can turn negativity around to reflect positively on your business.

You need this knowledge now if you're to stay ahead of the game.

Basically the book describes how to position your company or yourself on the internet. It is partly a "self-help" book, but is also a good vehicle to establish a knowledge base. You will also be able to optimize your ability to hire advisors or subcontractors in the field.

Anyway, in my opinion. every business person needs the fairly basic knowledge about reputation management on the net that is provided in this book. Personal and company reputation and image on the internet are not just going to be essential in the future. It already is. The only question is whether you acknowledge it or not.

There are a number of books in the market in this area each focusing on different aspects of the issues. You can easily find more specialized books on for example SEO (actually the authors recommend some books in this specific area). However, this is the best book with a general approach in this area I have found so far.

The book is easy to read without being too over simplistic. In my opinion the authors' recommendations are based on good judgments. It includes a number of useful examples and references.

I would like to emphasize one aspect with the book which is very rare and indicates an extraordinary self-discipline from both the authors. They do not brag about their own achievements in the area. They are smart enough to understand that any sensible reader would assume they are excellent advisors and teachers in the area! This means that the book also will be well accepted outside the US for example in Asia where I live.

Perhaps many will disagree (not at least the authors), but I think the term "Radically Transparent" which also happens to be the main title of the book is a bit silly. The term indicates that being 100 % open is a goal in itself which is a view I strongly object to. But perhaps it is a fact that any author with some self-respect (I have been there myself!) feel a need to create a new "buss" word. However, as the term is sensibly defined in the book and therefore does not in any way harm the general value of the book.

In my view the book represent an excellent and extraordinary useful vehicle in the area of internet reputation and image management. Geir Lolleng.

I am a former Web Positioner (now they call it SEO) getting back into it, and learned of some very useful specific places and details directing me to go to places I thought I understood for action oriented maneuvers. The author taught me a few tricks in these important and easy to miss spots that had power. As of December 2011 the book is still relevent, and an easy buying decision for 10 or 20 dollars to cull tips. There is one chapter specifically that makes it worth the buy for those of you looking to be given specific things to do, and you are unlikely to have thought of them all. Not pure gold for the professional, but pure silver, and that makes it a must get in a world of high competition where every strategy can spell success or failure.

I gave it 5 stars not because it is the best book I have read in terms of concentrated power, but because what is there is of value. One of the top honors in the gold regard is "Radar" Rob Reyers information at the Search Engine Academy as one of the best places I have found online and his organization interacts with impressive class and sophistication but that is hard to beat from any book. I don't understand why Amazon doesn't sell the local search optimization dvd's he sells yet. You have to look for his site. I will try to review the other SEO books as I go through them, and if any of you with experience find any great spots please let me know or post it.

The book was written by Andy Beal from Marketing Pilgrim and Judy Strauss.

Andy Beal is a SEO and fellow blogger who specialized in social media optimization, reputation management and public relations. He is like Kris Jones a frequent speaker at search marketing conference, such as Search Marketing Expo, Search Engine Strategies and WebmasterWorld's PubCon.

As the subtitle states, his book is primarily about monitoring and managing of your personal, your professional or your company's reputation online where it focuses heavily on using search engine optimization and marketing techniques as tools to accomplish your goals.

It also provides advice and recommendations for how to approach the social media space as a business in order to reduce the risks and possible problems that will arise, if you jump into this area of marketing without being prepared and ready for it.

The power of social media and the benefits your customers and your company can get out from it are a reward that is worth the risks. Yes, it has risks and it is impossible to eliminate all of them, but that does not mean that it cannot be done. Just eliminate the risks that you can eliminate and be prepared for the things that can happen and impossible to prevent for sure.

When I first heard of this book, I thought it would be geared toward only large businesses with big budgets--meaning complicated and expensive. Happily for many small businesses, this is not the case. Radically Transparent contains loads of useful information and much of it is things any company of any size can do today for free. From participating in social networks to starting a company blog, this book shows you the right way to engage in these and other online media.

Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss have laid out a step by step plan for any business or brand, to create, enhance, protect, and even repair their online reputation.

If you have a online or offline business it means you have a reputation. People online will talk about your company, products, and services whether you like it or not. Wouldn't you want to know what they are saying and where they are saying it? You can find out now by purchasing this book.

If you're looking for a comprehensive overview of the Web 2.0 world, to manage your business brand and/or your personal brand, Radically Transparent is a good introduction. However, if you are knowledgeable about these topics, you may find this book basic and repetitious.

The book's tone shifts from colloquial to corporate to academic, and it appears to be a collection of separate blog articles without a well-articulated structure or flow. It offers fresh, valuable case studies that would be suitable for discussion in MBA programs, though there are a number of grammatical and editorial errors, such as run-on sentences.
The book could benefit from a summary of key points and references at the end of each section, and would do well to update recommended URLs via the authors' blog and online newsletter.
Recommended with these caveats.

This book is a must read if you want to take control of your e-reputation.

Andy Beal provided our company with excellent advice. He helped us determine what phrases we should optimize our Web site for and how to capture first page position for those phrases. His book is a comprehensive look at online reputation management, touching on all the areas that are important.

Andy Beal is THE Expert on Reputation Management and Radically Transparent is a must read book! If you are involved in Social Networking or Social Media for Business this is a key component that you need to understand. How do you respond to attacks, especially people that are anonymous? Do you have plan for Reputation Management? Do you know how over reaching can make things worse? What does Transparency really mean?

Great value! Thanks Andy for writing this book!

Martin Brossman
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