In today’s digital environment, reputation is more important, more pervasive, more unforgettable, and more meaningful than ever before. It’s easy to neglect, abuse, reject, or shred a reputation. It’s difficult to build, sustain, protect, and enhance a reputation. It can happen in minutes, and circle the globe within hours.
On May 30th, 2003 it was reported that Barbra Streisand sued a man claiming an invasion of her privacy because he shared aerial pictures of her Malibu home. Streisand inadvertently attracted more attention to her home by trying to suppress the images. The Streisand Effect is when the action of suppressing something to reduce or remove visibility it causes the opposite to happen. Similar terms include blowback and astroturfing.