"It's very difficult to get out and stay out, " says Michael Fertik, chief executive of Reputation.com.

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When chief executive Michael Fertik launched ReputationDefender in October of 2006, its pitch seemed farfetched.

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Even grizzled Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik confessed to being wowed by the self-driving car.

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"Wikipedia has always been a truth tool, " says Michael Fertik, founder of the online PR firm Reputation Defender.

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Think again, says Michael Fertik, the founder and CEO of Reputation.com.

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Michael Fertik owns ReputationDefender, a start-up company that helps individuals and companies manage their online reputation--essentially a Web-centric crisis PR firm.

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The removal of content usually involves polite take-down requests that occasionally escalate into cease-and-desist letters and legal threats when necessary, says the company's chief executive, Michael Fertik.

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"Even when confronted with countless examples of offensive, dumb or clueless content that's gone viral, most people think it just won't happen to them, that what they say isn't significant enough to even get attention, " said Michael Fertik, founder and CEO of Reputation.com.

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