Although I didn’t expect much, I was surprised when almost nothing came up after searching “Jimmy Shen” in Google. I found results of other people with my name on Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn, but nothing that was relevant to me. However, I did find it surprising that my class twitter account showed up, despite the fact that it is privately protected, and I have not even used it actively. Even a Google image search returned nothing, save for a few pictures of random Asians. As a result, I found that I am not that “Googleable” at all, but that is just the way I would prefer it that way. We must be careful about what kind of information gets on the internet because we are now living in a world where it is easy to search for just about anything at the click of a button. Anything from criminal history, to past achievements, to past experiences, can be searched for without your discretion, and that in itself is a scary thought.
With Google being the global internet powerhouse that it is, it has become the go-to site for anyone with questions about religion, philosophy, math, sports, cooking, and much more. As a result, appearing on Google’s search engine can yield many advantageous benefits, due to the fact that so many people use Google daily. However, since so many people use Google, it could also prove to be a bane, rather than a boon to one’s company or individual self. Someone who would want to appear on Google’s search engine would be someone with several accomplishments, or something noteworthy about him or her. This can allow future employers to look up the individual and see what he or she has accomplished in the past. In addition, if one has published a scientific paper, Google will allow that paper to become available to millions of people, thus improving one’s reputation. However, Google’s popularity can also backfire on an individual, especially if he or she has made some poor decisions in the past. Celebrities and athletes have to contend with this issue all the time because pictures of them are constantly being uploaded to the internet. This has spawned controversy on many levels, and has damaged the reputation of many stars, such as Michael Phelps and his bong incident, or Vanessa Hudgens and her nude photo incident. With Google, these photos became available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. However, in the end, Google gets the final call about what appears in their search engine and what does not.
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Let me ask you this. If you were an employer, wouldn't knowing the criminal history of a person you might hire be a good thing? You made it sound like you would rather not let anyone know this sort of information because you said we had to be careful. Also would you say that it would be better if you where googleable and made sure to take care of your image, than pass on being noticed and not display your achievements? The thing about your two examples is that the people actually did the actions. Phelps hit a bong and Hudgens snapped a photo. That is poor image control. Controlling what information and maybe more importantly HOW the information is displayed is a needed skill for being online. Also chances are very small that you could have someone else truly ruin your career. So again I wonder if being googleable is as bad as you think it is...
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that searching criminal history is a bad thing. Yes, I agree that it is a good thing that employers can search for criminal history. However, my main point was just to say that almost anything can be searched, and anyone can search it without your discretion. But yes, I agree that you need to take care if your image if you know that it has the potential to go online.
ReplyDeleteWith the Phelps/Hudgens incident; it is true that they made a poor decision, but everyone makes poor decisions. When they did the things they did, they weren't expecting it to go public. They were private matters that were made public due to the nature of Google and the internet. I never said being googleable is a bad thing; I did mention it has its merits. However, with all the good things, there are potential faults as well.
Your post, especially your last sentence, got me thinking about Google and privacy. I believe Google should allow a user to censor links and results as a way to protect user privacy and rights. I feel that if Google shows a result on the internet, anyone on the internet, anonymously, can request that Google censor a result. However, I feel like Google should request a reason and on certain bases, can review those requests and deny or accept them. If Google feels like it has the same right to display any result at their own discretion, it's only fair its users and fan-base be able to deny that discretion.
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