Like any asset, there are hundreds of unforeseen risks that are associated with online reputation. A common viewpoint shared by many business executives is that they don’t know how to gauge how virtually explosive different aspects of their business model are. If you don’t know what smoke is, you probably can’t justify cost of fire insurance.

The cost and risk are real.
(Let us use a little example below)

As the size of a business increases, an exponential multiplier of risk is applied to the digital model:

• more consumers increase opinionated reviews
• more employees increase HR related violations
• more marketplace share increases chance of competitive arson
• exposure to social networks increases chance of
  • confidential leaks and privacy disclosure (family, friends, bedroom talk.)
  • ethical misbehavior (executive compensation, regulation violations)
  • employee / x-employee complaints (unions, disgruntled employees)

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