I would not consider being Google-able as a danger, but I do believe that people should be careful about what information they leave on the Internet. People should take necessary steps to safeguard their information on the Internet. For example, if you have a Facebook account, you should make sure that your account settings are set so that it is only viewable by your Facebook friends. This way if your account comes up on Google, a random Internet surfer cannot look at your Facebook profile. Otherwise, I do not think that the average person should worry too much about being Google-able. When I say the average person, I mean that people should not worry about being Google-able, if they are not a celebrity or any other person of interest. Those people are generally not targeted for their personal information, with some exceptions such as fraud. And for that reason, nobody should ever post any financial information online.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Benjamin Who?
Actually, I am really not that Google-able. When I type my name into Google, I am not on the first page. There are quite a lot of Benjamin Asher's, and I am not surprised to find that a lot of them are Jewish doctors. The only way that I can really get myself to appear on Google is to type the username that I use for everything on the internet, "benasher44." Starting a search using my username on Google pulls up my Facebook profile, Twitter account, some web hosting accounts that I have used for creating websites (assuming I've used their forums for help and advice), and my email address that was used as contact info on a web page on my high school's website.
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ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting, and humorous, that on Google you are more easily found by your online username than your given name. Does this show a trend in our society? Will there be a time when you are referred to as benaher44 instead of your actual name?
ReplyDeleteAt the Unversity of Michigan, we can already see this becoming a reality. In an attempt to optimize everything to the utmost efficiency, I often place my UMID or my uniquename on an exam or paper instead of my given name. Professors and GSIs sometimes do not care about your actual name. Instead, they wish to grade your work and input it into the computer as quickly as possible so they can get to the next paper.
Digital technology, with the help of Google, seems to be bringing people together, but is it more important to be close to a few and know them by Kevin, Michelle, Paul, and Alyssa or to know many by hotmom123, macsrulepcsdrool684, and n00b321?
I think it's a benefit for you that its harder for people to find your information. Because there are so many Ben Asher's, some unauthorized person that wants to find your information will have a very difficult time finding it. If you want someone to find you you can just use your specific username.
ReplyDeleteThe effect of being "google-able" is also relevant when dealing with business. It is no surprise that the Ben Asher's who are doctors come up first when you searched for your name--people in a competitive market can greatly benefit from having their name pop up when searched. Where google can cause problems is in one's personal life, when one's goal is not to maximize visibility but instead to control one's image.
ReplyDeleteI took the same route as you and typed in my username which I use on basically ever site I sign-up on. After doing so, I found a multitude of results pertaining to my various user profiles on the internet; even some sites I have completely forgotten about. It is ironic that this is the case, but fairly understandable. It is ironic because when you search your actual name is Google, you would expect that Google would be smart enough and search for links pertaining to you. Its understandable because Google could not possibly know who is searching without breaching privacy.
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