In class we discussed doing vanity searches on the web. Chapter 8 of The Search also discusses this trend as well. Vanity searching is the action of typing ones own name into a search engine to see what articles come up.
I recently did this on Google. I typed in my first and last name to see what kind of information would come up about me. The first four articles did contain the name "Jessica Erskine", but the persons the articles referred to weren't me. The first two articles were about a Jessica Erskine at the Academy of Visual Arts. The third articles was about a Jessica Erskine who posted on an "ecoustics.com" website. The fourth article with my name was a website that performed searches for business professionals, and evaluated their performances and had some personal details about them.
The fifth article finally pertained to me. It was actually a link to this blog! As you can see, my blog is entitled "Jessica Erskine's Blog" so it would very naturally come up in a search with my name. I found this to be kind of exciting because it really made me see the impact that blogging can have on the information and search world.
The sixth and seventh articles listed also referenced me. The link to my sorority, Delta Gamma, website came up. The website contains a list of all the members of the sorority, and that is where my name first appeared. The website also contains bios of the sisters, so my bio came up as well.
The whole idea that someone could just type in my name on Google or some other search engine, and find out information about me, is a little disturbing. There is nothing that came up that was too personal, but it still makes me a little uneasy. Its just weird to know that information about anyone on the web is so readily available.
2 comments:
Hey Jess!
So I just did a vanity search, too, but my blog did not come up! =( I am thinking that it might if I had my full name in it? Anyway, the first 4 listings were not me, but the 5th was linked to my sorority's webpage! Anyway, just thought I would share. Have a great spring break!
xoxo
Yeah Sharon you should probably change the title of your blog to your full name. I actually did that right before I did my vanity search because I wanted my blog to come up when I did it. I am assuming your sorority webpage came up because your name is on a sort of roster on it, like mine probably.
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