Puzzle Piece #6: Reputation Monitoring

Social media allows people to voice their opinions to millions of listeners. Wanna know what they’re saying about you? Use the following sites to monitor your online reputation.

• Google.com/alerts. Subscribe for this service via e-mail or RSS, and updates about you or your company can be sent directly to your inbox.

• Technorati.com. This site, according to Schawbel, is the “largest blog search engine in the world.” It can track any blog that links up to yours and send you RSS updates when someone is talking about your company.

• Backtype.com. If searching for your company amidst blog comments is your concern, this is your site.

• Backtracker.com. Discussion boards are a go-to to people looking to vent —and have others share their similar experiences. Get an instant update if you and yours are mentioned.

• Search.twitter.com. The URL says it all: Use this to search for any tweets related to your business.

(They are some of the best, based on the blog post titled “5 Free Tools for Personal Reputation Management” by Dan Schawbel.)

Our fave? Trackur.com. It scours the Internet and provides extras (like charts and filters) that other sites don’t.

And remember, if someone is talking badly about you or your company, instead of simply taking offense and dwelling on negative comments, address them — and take the criticism for what it’s worth: a chance to grow and learn.