Reputation Management Online

Van Morrison is furiously telling the world that his page was hacked and the claims, that he is a father at 64, is completely false. In this day and age a celebrity wanting to hold dear his/her privacy will find things quite difficult.

The Van Morrison website on Tuesday claimed he had become a dad to George Ivan Morrison III at the age of 64. Producer Gigi was named the mother and that the baby boy was the spitting image of his famous father.

“Totally false, its a hoax” say the new reports from Van, who lives with his wife who is the mother of his two children, today. To have hackers break into your website twice in two months and put out false news about you with the right amount of shock value is just what it takes to get even the most reclusive people come out and defend their reputation.

This story asks these questions – “Can you be a famous recluse these days?” Can a celebrity for reasons known only to them pull a Greta Garbo on the public these days? Can someone simply hack into your site and make shocking claims and force you back into the limelight? Granted Van Morrison was not a recluse, but the prospects of getting a JD Salinger out of his house and into the open is going to be the mother of all scoops, right?

Celebrities are lucky people, but unfortunately very vulnerable to attacks from hackers to paparazzi and from malicious web sites to extortion attempts from people looking to make quick money. People in their employment or trust can any day threaten to reveal their secrets to a tabloid. It’s always the proverbial sword over the head situation.

Celebrity reputation management is serious and round-the-clock work. Online reputation management for celebrities is double the trouble. Unlike the new breed of celebritieswho thrive on shock value and planned wardrobe malfunction just to be in the spotlight, celebrities who have cult status can find the world is a voyeuristic place these days.

A reclusive celebrity may just be a thing of the past, stuff of legends even!