In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about social media in the office, the growth of the reputation monitoring industry, and why one Michigan high school student may not be happy with his newfound Internet fame.

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Online Reputation Monitoring on the Rise

According to Econsultancy’s third annual Online Measurement and Strategy Report, there has been a 9% increase in the number of agencies tracking analytics related to reputation monitoring since last year. This represents the largest increase among all measured analytics in the report. The report also showed how companies are managing online reputation, with 24% using a combination of free and paid tools.

Student Who Slept Through Obama Speech Gains Internet Fame

I think it would be pretty cool if the President of the United States gave the commencement speech at my high school graduation, but apparently it wasn’t interesting enough for one Kalamazoo Central High School student. As detailed in this article for the Kalamazoo Gazette, a video of President Obama’s remarks at the high school shows a boy in the background who appears to be sleeping. Even worse for him, his unintentional act of disrespect has made him a mini-celebrity on Facebook, where a Fan Page set up in his honor has amassed thousands of fans overnight.

While the story is amusing from an outsider’s perspective, I imagine it’s pretty embarrassing for the student who fell asleep. Hopefully, his infamy is only short-lived and he doesn’t have to live with the embarrassment for the rest of his life.

ISACA Study Shows Dangers of Social Media in the Workplace

A new study by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) shows how social networking in the workplace can cause problems for companies. The top five social media-related risks identified in the report were “malware, brand hijacking, lack of content control, noncompliance with rules over recordkeeping, and unrealistic expectations of Internet performance.” Reputation management was also factored into the report.

New Zealand Investigating Google Over Wi-Fi Sniffing

Following the lead of Australia, Spain, Italy, and Germany, New Zealand has announced plans to open a criminal investigation against Google over the company’s recent admission that it collected unsecured Wi-Fi payload data through its Street View cars.

Will Facebook Find Major Success in China?

Facebook is often hailed as the king of social networking sites, and rightfully so with close to 500 million users. However, outside of the United States, Facebook isn’t always the top dog. NPR has an interesting article on how Facebook ranks in terms of global social networking websites and why it is often difficult for American social media companies to succeed in countries like China.