adVision Marketing

When it comes to Google, only 43% of the population can consider themselves ‘Masters of their Domain’.  According to a new Pew Research Study, 57%  of you Google yourselves on a regular basis.  And this number is only expected to go up…

O.k…  Seinfeld references aside, more and more people are Googling themselves because they actually care about their online reputation.  This makes perfect sense…  As more and more information becomes widely available online, shouldn’t you care about how people identify you online?  Even if you claim to have never Googled youself (liar), rest assured others are.  Whether they’re checking you out prior to doing business, looking for your home phone, or really wanting to find that embarrassing photo of you from South Padre, it is happening.

I just now Googled “matt walde”, and found links to my Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts, as well as a few links to blog comments I’ve posted in the past.  Sure, I’d rather show up in the search results as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, but beggers can’t be choosers.  All in all, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve found, and don’t mind that this is how I’m represented online.

Others, however, might not feel as good about what they find.  I recall a time when I was interviewing Pay Per Click coordinators at a previous place of employment, and felt as though we had found a few ideal candidates to fill the position.  However, after Googling them and exploring their MySpace and Facebook accounts (stalker-ish, I know…), I couldn’t help but be turned off by what I found.  Look, I’m no angel.  I’ve had alot of fun in my days, but I would never post compromising photos or private information about myself or my friends online for the world to see.  Grow up or learn to work the privacy controls kiddos…

The lesson learned here is that more than ever, your online identity counts.  Do what you can - Remove those photos from MySpace, and try to shed some positive light on who you are.