Found this on John Battelle’s Searchblog, legal precedent has now been set letting Google searches for a person act as actionable information regarding employment.

That seems to be the crucial part of the ruling here, because it essentially means it’s acceptable for employers (or at least the federal government, as an employer) to check out workers’ backgrounds online. The judges seem to be saying (quite reasonably) that the internet shouldn’t get singled out for special treatment, and that it should be considered as any other research source. Should any communication on the internet constitute prejudicial ex-parte communication, then it should be dealt with as such. The bottom line: just because your boss found out about your past online, it certainly doesn’t mean they can’t fire you.

My new project (still unannounced, but progressing) is an attempt to help people manage their own online “brand”. I’m still kicking around ideas, maybe there is some way to algorithmically generate an “Online Reputation Score”, though it would be nice to have a snappier nickname: Jerk Index? Stalker Score?

[update] I’m thinking maybe Internet Karma – IK [/update]