• Could Andy Beal’s Trackur be the Tipping Point for ORM?

    That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the past 72 hours (with minor rest breaks). Online Reputation Management is an industry I bought into a year ago, predicting it would grow to heights that would rival or at least compliment SEO in the realm of public awareness.

    Certain experts in internet marketing and PR have been assisting individuals and corporations with reputation management for a few years now. Guys like Andy Beal, who’s been writing about ORM since his blog began. Lee Odden, is another example of a marketing professional who has combined the practices of public relations, image consulting, and search engine optimization to provide ORM.

    Maybe it’s Andy Beal’s Twitter account. Maybe his blog has matured to the right status. Maybe the Interweb has finally seasoned enough users to deliver viral blow. Assign credit wherever you want; the truth of the matter is still that Andy Beal is in the right place at the right time.

    Andy recently launched Trackur, a reputation monitoring program, and the timing just seems perfect. Enough people have enough problems online that a well publicized program/tool could really make a dent in the public awareness. It’s got the Web 2.0 look and feel. Andy Beal is speaking in multiple venues this year on the subject, raising awareness and educating the public on how to handle a reputation crisis (and prevent one from ever happening).

    Marketing Pilgrim, Andy’s long standing blog on all things Internet marketing, has received a recent boost from Twitter networking and prize giveaways. In fact, the only thing in question now is the product itself: Trackur. Having not used it yet myself, I must reserve judgment for another day and another post. However, even if Trackur isn’t everything you’ve ever wanted, it’s brandable and it’s memorable and, like everything else these days, it can be improved and enhanced over time.

    If I can get my hands on a version of Trackur that lasts more than two weeks, I’ll write up a full review. In the meantime, mind your words, and guard your rep.