Last week Google launched a new product entitled Google Me.  It is billed as a way to help you to control what people can see if they type your name into Google.  Really though, as referenced in this article, it’s mostly just another way for Google to harvest personal information.  I’d like to expand upon this article: now they will be able to meld your personal life and interests in with what you do and search on in Google.   I actually began to fill out the Google Me form but felt very naked during the process, so I abandoned before completing and saving.

If you are fortunate enough to have a unique name and if you are active online you can typically occupy at least the first page of results.  With the emergence of Facebook, Twitter and just about any other social network, you’ll probably find links to those sources as top listings for your name.  Of course, this also assumes that you have no enemies looking to smear your name.  If you are more active and have a blog, or blogs, or write for a website, you’ll most likely see those links show up as top links for your name. I have a unique name (with the exception of within my family) and occupy the top 30 or so links in the organic listings for a search on my name.  Carlos (del Rio), on the other hand, competes with a great multitude of people with the same name, thus he only occupies 10 or so of the top 30 natural search links (still not bad at all!)

The underlying issue is being able to protect what is being said about you.  I agree highly with this.  There is one random website with a profile for me that shows up in my top 10 or so.  I did not create this profile nor do I wish for it to be there, but even after repeated cease and desist emails it remains.  Fortunately it’s not anything crazy; just a job research website.  However, there is a very valid point to the issue of being able to control what is posted about you.   I guess really you should just keep your nose clean and you won’t have to worry about anything negative being posted about you.

The Google Me profile product would be better if it were guaranteed to be at the top of the results page.  But from what I’ve read, it will more likely show up at the bottom of the search results page. I’m all for not censoring search results, but the flip side to this is that you do run the risk of having negative documentation out there about you.  Fortunately, if you have the resources to do so, you can utilize your own blog, or social profile to combat anything negative that might be out there.  I strongly advise that you Google yourself on a regular basis to see what is there.   Two years ago, I only had a couple links to some articles I write for my college newspaper.  Now every social site that I belong to is listed along with my blogs and etc.  Our lives are going to continue to become more and more transparent as the internet continues to grow and try out new things.