Most of us were raised in a world where information is static and fixed. If you’re a later generation physician, information lived in places like libraries, textbooks and encyclopedias. Where it landed, it sat. Not so much anymore. And that has real implications for our digital footprint.

Information is now linear and lives in a stream. The good news is while that two thousand word ranty review from the angry patient is giving you fits, it’s likely that its place in the public eye is short-lived. Today’s news is tomorrow’s page 5 filler on Google.

Sounds good, right? But (and it’s a big but) that goes for both the good stuff and the bad stuff.

Your digital footprint is like a beach ball in the cheap seats at the baseball park: you have to keep hitting it to keep it in the air.

Welcome to the always-moving information stream where your digital reputation never sleeps.

Image modified from James L.W. on Unsplash