Protect Your Online Reputation

Some time ago I spoke at a local tourist group (Discover West Norfolk) event and advised the audience to never assume that their business name was safe if they chose to ignore or overlook social media.  As I talked I explained that Norfolk Lavender (an international name if ever there was one) was not @NorfolkLavender on Twitter but was in fact @LavenderNorfolk.  The simple reason for this is that Norfolk Lavender got beaten to it.  In this case it seems that @NorfolkLavender is a harmless and genuine user and got lucky because they were first.

However, on Twitter recently, I responded to a tweeter ID known as @TheCoasthopper only to be warned by another tweep that no-one actually knows who is running this Twitter account!

It seems that The Coasthopper name has been hijacked on Twitter by a person or persons unknown to The Coasthopper operators, Norfolk Green.  As the future of The Coasthopper services is a current hot topic the owner of @TheCoasthopper could potentially cause us all a lot of headaches if they misuse the account.  I certainly hope that Norfolk Green can track them down and gain control of it as soon as possible for all our sakes.