Online reputation management will become more important and much more in-demand function due to the proliferation of sites and ways that people can post information, reviews, etc. about their experiences.
For some companies, including Dell and Comcast, online reputation management becomes part of the customer service function.
In fact, while understanding and working with social networking sites has been the purview of PR departments and their agencies, there will likely be more of a push by sales and customer service departments and HR departments to be in charge of social networking.
In fact, because of media, customer relations and recruiting needs, all three functions (PR, HR and sales) should be working together to maintain and enhance their online reputation.