The Blog Reputation Fallout Continues

More from the train wreck that is the public shaming of a group directly and indirectly accused of being behind a campaign of nasty online messages and death threats aimed at blogger Kathy Sierra.

Another of the people surfaced briefly to describe the destruction of his reputation, and explain that he has never posted an anonymous comment about anything, much less the hate campaign against Sierra.

Several reputation management case studies have surfaced this week, and the swarm of accusations hurled at a small group of people by hundreds of angry bloggers across the world is the most riveting of the bunch.

Thanks to Dan York for tipping me off via Twitter to read the note sent to Doc Searls by Alan Herell, aka The Head Lemur:

"just about every online account that i have has been compromised. Most importantly my digital identity and user/password for typepad and wordpress. I have been doing damage control, for my clients. How the fuck i got to be part of this mess is revolting.

"The Kathy Sierra mess is horrific. I am not who ever used my identity and my picture!!

I am sick beyond words over this whole episode. Kathy Sierra may not be on my top 10 list , but nobody deserves this filthy character assaination.

(snip)

"That folks think that this mess is the sort they believe I would do is disheartening.

(snip)

"Whatever credibility I may have had is down the toilet. For this I am profoundly saddened."

I’ve done my fair share of calling people out online without giving them a chance to explain themselves. As satisfying as it may feel, it can cause a lot of pain for the recipient of a group shunning. The upswell of support for Kathy Sierra, and for anyone who feels victimized by online bullies, is really good to see.

It’s unfortunate that several people who were her public critics have been assumed to be the anonymous person or persons who were behind the worst of the online harassment.

There are efforts under way to raise awareness about bullying and online violence (which is mostly threats of violence).  Here are two, and I’m sure there are lots more:  Stop Cyberbullying Day; Zero Violence Blog logo.

Tags: kathy sierra, cyberbullying, bullies, violence, women, the head lemur, alan herell, reputation, character assassination, harassment, backlash, pr

See also:  The Internet Was Built on Bullying, Christopher Locke’s Damage Control During a Blogstorm