Ever "googled" yourself? I know I have...so I was surprised when this time the results were NOT what I expected. I suspect this was due to a couple "instructional" factors. When I have googled myself in the past, I don't think I've used quotation marks and I think I've started with my maiden name included. The instructions for this assignment said to "enter your name in quotes" - and to use that as a starting point.
Putting "Sharon Howard" into Google resulted in thousands of hits - but a quick scroll through the first SIX pages revealed not a single "Sharon Howard" that was ME! Even when I added the geographic identifier of "Texas" after my name (quotes here only - not for the search), still NOTHING that was me! There is no shortage of Sharon Howards in the world, that is for sure! (Quite a few obituaries - that was a little disturbing to see!) However, when I switched the search to "images", about halfway down the possible scrolling area was a picture of ME! Something from a school directory and not terribly flattering - but still ME.
Ok. So I know I have a digital presence. I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Blogger. I've been in the newspaper, on tv, and taught at schools with online content. Next step, please. Here are the following results:
"Sharon Howard" Goliad - 190 hits for this search. The first 2 pages of results are MOSTLY me, but after that it becomes more like a scavenger hunt and I'm not a very big part of the remaining results. In fact, by the 3rd page, most of the Sharon Howards are from 50 years ago or more. Like I suspected, most of the results that are me are Facebook posts, school posts, directory listings, and other social media type hits. Clicking on the "images" shows quite a few pictures of me! They aren't all me - but most of them are.
Let's try the other places I've lived as Sharon Howard. (This is as opposed to Sharon Laughlin - my maiden name - which ultimately brings up a result list of many people that are NOT me and a few links to achievements I had during college.)
"Sharon Howard" San Saba - 2290 results. A few of these are me but not many and most seem to be address based. I haven't lived in San Saba since 2009 and did not participate in social media. I did belong to a couple email groups and there are a couple links to those. There are NO images that are me with this search.
"Sharon Howard" San Angelo - 5100+ results. Only a couple are me and are address related. No images. This is a little weird - and possible that if I had clicked through all the results I would have found more, but again, I was not on ANY social media at this time and did not even participate in much email beyond my family/friends/school colleagues.
What if I add my maiden name?
"Sharon Laughlin Howard" - 9 results. 7 are me. There are NO images that are me. Weird.
Here is my takeaway. I definitely have a digital footprint. However, I think that I have limited parameters on the platforms I participate in pretty successfully to keep private the things I want to be kept private. I'm sure someone with really great technology know-how could dig up "dirt" that might be out there. (Good luck! I'm pretty squeaky clean!) But just a simple vanity search is fairly benign and I think that's a good thing.
Putting "Sharon Howard" into Google resulted in thousands of hits - but a quick scroll through the first SIX pages revealed not a single "Sharon Howard" that was ME! Even when I added the geographic identifier of "Texas" after my name (quotes here only - not for the search), still NOTHING that was me! There is no shortage of Sharon Howards in the world, that is for sure! (Quite a few obituaries - that was a little disturbing to see!) However, when I switched the search to "images", about halfway down the possible scrolling area was a picture of ME! Something from a school directory and not terribly flattering - but still ME.
Ok. So I know I have a digital presence. I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Blogger. I've been in the newspaper, on tv, and taught at schools with online content. Next step, please. Here are the following results:
"Sharon Howard" Goliad - 190 hits for this search. The first 2 pages of results are MOSTLY me, but after that it becomes more like a scavenger hunt and I'm not a very big part of the remaining results. In fact, by the 3rd page, most of the Sharon Howards are from 50 years ago or more. Like I suspected, most of the results that are me are Facebook posts, school posts, directory listings, and other social media type hits. Clicking on the "images" shows quite a few pictures of me! They aren't all me - but most of them are.
Let's try the other places I've lived as Sharon Howard. (This is as opposed to Sharon Laughlin - my maiden name - which ultimately brings up a result list of many people that are NOT me and a few links to achievements I had during college.)
"Sharon Howard" San Saba - 2290 results. A few of these are me but not many and most seem to be address based. I haven't lived in San Saba since 2009 and did not participate in social media. I did belong to a couple email groups and there are a couple links to those. There are NO images that are me with this search.
"Sharon Howard" San Angelo - 5100+ results. Only a couple are me and are address related. No images. This is a little weird - and possible that if I had clicked through all the results I would have found more, but again, I was not on ANY social media at this time and did not even participate in much email beyond my family/friends/school colleagues.
What if I add my maiden name?
"Sharon Laughlin Howard" - 9 results. 7 are me. There are NO images that are me. Weird.
Here is my takeaway. I definitely have a digital footprint. However, I think that I have limited parameters on the platforms I participate in pretty successfully to keep private the things I want to be kept private. I'm sure someone with really great technology know-how could dig up "dirt" that might be out there. (Good luck! I'm pretty squeaky clean!) But just a simple vanity search is fairly benign and I think that's a good thing.
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