By Nathan Chandler
howstuffworks.com
Although search engines provide some sense of order to the Internet, this online frontier is still a wild place. There are billions of people using the Internet, both for entertainment and for professional purposes. Not everyone keeps up his or her professional image in the most effective way.
There are no rules for standard professional behavior online, but there are some basic steps that will make you look more like an expert and less like an amateur, no matter what field of work you're in. It's called online reputation management, and it impacts you and every other working professional.
Whether you like it or not, you probably already have a significant online presence. Between government documents, newspaper articles and self-generated content, it's not hard for others to dig up information about you. And whether those people are potential employers, co-workers or casual acquaintances, it's generally a good idea to put your best foot forward on the Web.
