My first real internet spat was when…

…I convinced my wife to hit publish on this article about Redfin.

I’m reminded of this today because Marlow just picked up on the fact that the founder of Redfin just started a new site with information/resources for people with mental health problemsMindSite.

The connection between these stories is that despite the fact that David Eraker left Redfin two years ago, that original spat is still the #1 result on a Google search on his name. I would feel guilty over that fact (I’ve met him a few times and he’s not a bad guy), but the reality is that unless we’re active using the internet to build up our own brand online, there’s always a danger that other people will define our brand for us.