Every so often I “Google” my name – just to make sure there isn’t anything out there that I don’t know about.
Thankfully, in all the years I’ve been doing this, nothing has surfaced to cause me any alarm. What amazes me though is just how much of my life is out there – articles, Tweets, presentations from previous employment, awards and even testimonials I’ve offered on retail websites. To say I feel a little violated that all of this is swirling around out there would be an understatement.
However, what does surprise me is how much of my personal information somehow found its way onto the Internet. Maybe I’m just naïve.
My home address is there and easily found. My wife’s name, parents, sister and even where I went to school. I was almost expecting to see the kind of underwear I prefer to wear since nothing else seems to be “private”.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Internet is a valuable resource when properly used. But when personal information begins appearing online, it’s just a matter of time before some ingenious, devious member of society figures out how to take advantage of the system – if they already haven’t.
I suggest you all take a moment to “Google” your names. Here’s hoping you don’t find anything you aren’t expecting to see.
George Lundberg once said that, “Information on the internet is subject to the same rules and regulations as conversations at a bar.”
