Have you ever 'googled' yourself?

[dmdean]

A recent I/C discussion had me wondering about putting our real names in our discussions and the downside of doing this,( i.e. how easily employers can Google us.) Have you ever 'googled' yourself it is very interesting- almost funnyhilarious .

[GettinMyBA]

Does that mean that you found something on yourself? Most people will. For me, I get a ton of results of two professional surfers... one named Al Merrick and the other is names Kelly Slater. Now, if I sort out all the surfer stuff, I find that somehow I still show up a few times:
- One time with some quasi-directory which somehow associates my name with one of my long-ago previous employers.
- I also show up in a get-rich-quick advertisement. A multi-level marketing scheme I got suckered into. This was close to TWENTY YEARS AGO.

A friend of mine, while he did get the job he was seeking, had an uncomfortable moment with his boss very shortly after being hired.... his boss made a reference to a raunchy college frat party where my friend was completely wasted and passed out. It turns out, the boss (as part of the hiring process) googled him and found the frat party pics (and raunchy story details) on a website that my friend never even knew existed!! Some other party-goer posted the pics on FaceBook.

Instances like this are the reason that I don't put my name online anywhere - you just never know. Oh, and once it's up on the web, it will ALWAYS be there... many search engines (google is one...) have a 'cached' function which allows you to see the information even if it's been removed from the web servers... once something is cached by google, it is literally available for eternity if you know how to look for it.

[gcalvin]

I was an "early adopter" of Linux and interviewed by one of the IT trade magazines back in the mid-1990s. That seems to have made me the second-most-famous Gary Calvin according to Google. hilarious The first is a jazz bassist in the San Francisco bay area. I want to meet him and maybe even jam with him some day.

-Gary-

[larry7crys]

I must admit, I did. Some chess tournament from my high school days pop up but thats about it. I also googled my username and got a whole lot more results. Some posts from this forum mainly and others from yahoo.

[dmdean]

GettingmyBA, No nothing about me personally, yet, but alot of peple with my name. My user name mostly comes back here. It is weird knowing everything is out there. Thanks for the privacy tip.

[StealingDreams]

According to some site I saw once where you could see how many people in the US shared your name there is only one other person in the country with my name. There is a page about him from a newspaper he used to write for but nothing else on either of us.

[Drummerboy]

I found a kid in fifth grade who has our name as his website. Also, there is a lawyer from Canada who has "gained a unique perspective of the legal process". Then there is me at Southern Cadence Press, my website where I sell my book.

[GettinMyBA]

Then there is me at Southern Cadence Press, my website where I sell my book.

So you're a published author? Very nice. I guess it might be expected with A&I Lit and Comp scores like yours!

[Lydia]

I once googled myself and found another young lady with my same first and last name. To make matters worse, her facial features were similar, we both speak the same 3 languages, we are both of the same cultural heritage, and we both lived in Boston (I now live in FL). It was quite freaky, to say the least. The only thing is, I wish I weighed as little as she does...hilarious

[Lydia]

Hey look....my last post promoted me to the position of a "Squire" Hooray!!

Ok ok, i know...but it's late, I'm sleepy, and I've been trying to study for this college math for hours now... Oh I count the days 'til this is over....

Now that I've gone completely of subject on this thread,.....goodnight all! :p