Self-Googling or searching your own name isn’t an exercise in vanity, it’s something that everyone should do.
Whether you are going for a job interview, giving a presentation to a group of people, or even going out on a date, it isn’t uncommon for people to google your name. What they discover could have a major impact on their perception of you.
Let’s just say that your name is Gus Smith and you are a nice guy, but there is another Gus Smith and he killed a guy back in 96. You might want to be aware of that so that you can diffuse it with a joke or something like that.
Or, maybe your name is Janice Johnson and you had a few years back in college where you went a little nuts. Unfortunately there are a few pictures of you doing a topless keg-stand. You might want to try and reach-out to the people who still have those pictures up and get them taken down.
You have to treat your name as your own brand. Defend it and build it. You can’t cleanse the Internet of everything you don’t want, but what doesn’t know you can hurt you.
Or maybe you have no online identity at all…
The Geek Whisperer 