After doing the readings for this week, especially How to Protect Your Online Reputation by Amanda Berlin, the first thing I did was Google myself in a mild panic. In most cases, this probably wouldn't have brought up too much about me specifically. Unfortunately, my name is pretty rare, so most of the first hits on Google were of me.
The good news is, the first hits were my LinkedIn profile. Not a very developed profile at the moment, but I was nonetheless encouraged that it came up first. Next came my Facebook and MySpace pages. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since I haven't used my MySpace in years and I tend to keep my Facebook pretty mild (my uncles, aunts, parents, and grandparents all have profiles too). The bad news is, a rather embarrassing YouTube video came up as well--the only video of me that exists on the web. Nothing too devastating...but not something I'd like prospective employers to see.
If future employers really do web searches on candidates for a position (and according to Berlin's article, they often do), I think I have a bit of image-polishing to do. Any librarian positions I might someday apply for may involve a web search as well as a background check. As a (hopeful) future librarian, I think a periodic checking of my online reputation might be in order.
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