Simply put, Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the process of influencing what and how people think of a company or individual when searched online. Character is who you are, reputation is what other people think you are. Since nowadays your reputation is based mainly on what artificial intelligence systems portray, Online Reputation Management provides a sense of balance to combat outdated or distorted information.
If done ethically, Online Reputation Management gives you a certain control over how you are perceived online. Unfortunately, Google seems to have embedded a bias in the system, which in many instances gives negative content greater ranking ability than it deserves. Online reputation management enables a degree of message control specifically tailored to your needs.
Google’s main source of revenue is advertising. Why should such a company be the lone arbiter of our reputation? Google itself is suppressing content on the internet, and it is not the only one. Some degree of censorship and blacklisting is probably necessary; we are not disputing that, but “when Google’s employees or algorithms decide to block our access to information about a news item, political candidate or business, opinions and votes can shift, reputations can be ruined and businesses can crash and burn.” The New Censorship.