Microsoft Canada recently conducted a survey that examines how Canadians are using the Internet and their favourite social networking sites. The survey revealed that on average, we have about seven different personal profiles but most aren’t managing these effectively –putting their online identities at risk.

The survey results took me back to my time at Carleton University when I studied journalism. Armed with a Hi-8 video camera, another student and I decided to make a documentary that examined how the “World Wide Web” would affect television journalism. I’m sure if I could find a VCR to watch this groundbreaking exposé again, we would find it quaint in retrospect.

Back then, the media were still calling the Internet the “Information Superhighway ”. While I don’t think we had the vision to imagine the mechanics of YouTube, Facebook or Twitter , our documentary concluded that the Internet would make the news more democratic; new “prosumer ” technology such as DVD camcorders would make it more accessible for consumers to tell their own stories and the Internet would make the nightly newscast more interactive.

Ten years later, social networking sites have made consumers their own broadcasters. Cell phones with advanced photo and video capabilities have made the user the paparazzi. The ethical standards and editorial filters of traditional journalism are ignored online. As a result, individuals most now think of their online identity or persona in the same way a marketer would manage their corporate brand.

Like it or not, it’s the same for companies. Businesses are finally beginning to realize that if you are not online someone else is in control of the message. Are you happy with the results people get back when they input your name in a search engine? Are you effectively monitoring what bloggers are saying about you? Are you reviewing and looking to implement social media analytical tools to measure and manage your online identity?

If not, why not?