Yes, I Will “Google” You

You are more than the you that you think you are.

You are also who others think you are.

That is a timeless reality.

We have our own identity, but others have their own opinion or perception of who we are too.

We make an impression by our appearance, by our words, by our mannerisms and others sometimes share their thoughts and opinions of you with others.

All of this sharing was deliberate.  Either someone asked about someone else, or someone expressed their opinion about someone due to their experiences.

The sophistication of the internet has changed this.

You and I are now searchable by people that don’t know us or our friends (or enemies).

While Seth Godin wrote a story that inspired these words I am typing, and you probably should read what he wrote, I am taking a different slant with this article.

I do research as part of my work, and that research includes “Googling”.

What and why do I Google?

I will Google your name, your business, and see where those trails take me.  I will look for you on Social Media Networks like Facebook and LinkedIN.  Sometimes I’ll use a different search engine like Bing or DuckDuckGo.  Often I’ll go beyond the 1st page of results.  Depending on what I find I may dig through 10 pages of results.

Why?  I want to have an understanding of who you are.  I want to learn everything I can about your business.  I want to be informed and these days it is easy to search for information online.

By the way, I also expect others to do the same.  I know there are people trying to discover who Scott Howard is.  The one who also goes by ScLoHo.  That’s me.  Depending on the search engine you use, you’ll find plenty of Scott Howard’s that are not me.  I have namesakes that are doctors, police officers, artists, and even a movie character.

If you want to be sure you are finding me, and not one of the other Scott Howard’s , Google “ScLoHo”.

I want to be found online.

You should want to be found online too.

You can try and hide and lock-down your Social Media accounts so they are not public, but that creates a problem.

The problem is that others will control what is said about you.  Maybe not you, but your namesake, which to someone who doesn’t know the difference, might as well be you.

I encourage you to be visible online. This gives you the opportunity to  help others form a realistic perception and even opinion of you before they even meet you.

Want some ideas on how to do this?

Contact me for a few suggestions.  And remember I’ll “Google” you and expect you to “Google” me too.