Why I google myself every week. Or even more.
Leave a commentMarch 10, 2013 by babraul
Now that I finally have a space to myself, I can tell the world all about my obcesion with self-googling. You may laugh about it, you may think I’m weird, but the truth is that googling my name is something that makes me care about my online profile and about what I write everyday. Every time I make fun of something, every time I write a goofy comment on Twitter or publish a “fun” or “crazy” picture of myself online, I regret it deeply. So much that people think I am embarrassed of myself. Well, dear friends, I can tell you tha tif I was embarrassed of doing something I probably wouldn’t do it. The thing is, we should never forget that once something is on, that is on forever. If today you think last night was crazy and you want to prove it to your ex, your enemies or your not-so-much-loved-ones by posting the drunkest picture online, just keep in mind that can hunt you forever. Am I exagerating? You think? So let me just explain.
It all started when I first had a computer in front of me. I don’t have a common name. My last name is really different, and I can positively say that I am unique and the only person in the world with that name. Isn’t that great? For sure it is. I’m different, I’m special and… so easy to find online. I remember that six, maybe seven years ago, I would google myself to find one or two results. Later, when I started to have a more regular activity online, I would find my name in comments (in other people blogs) and school activities. That is not so bad. But then I grew up. And I forgot that I can erase everything I upload, but I can’t erase anything for anyone. Which means that I am very lucky that the websites where my friends used to blog and I used to comment just disappeared.
On the other hand, some things that once made me proud later don’t. For example, in 2008 I participated in a competition promoted by a newspaper. Since there wasn’t a lot of contestants, later they interviewed me and posted my responses online. By the time I might have felt honored, but now… The picture is still online. And I can say that if I could I would hide it. The participation in that competition (which) I on is not even in my resumé. But there it goes. Every time I google myself, that terrible picture shows up, remembering me of how careful should I be about everyhing I post.
Follow-up story: Your online reputation is worth more than you resumé. (in portuguese)
