Over coffee with a friend earlier this evening the topic of googling ones self came up. This practice consists of typing your own name in the google.com search box just to see what the internet has to say about you.
My friend has, and does quite regularly I would imagine google himself. I, on the other hand never had. I know Robb googles himself as is evident in Robb of the Day VII. This, as always, led to a split view on how the rest of the world sees things.
We quickly constucted a highly scientific clinical study using text messages and my address book.
I guess I should mention this ahead of time, this study has a error margin of 4%. This is somewhat do to my math skills as well as that we don't how how credible the test subjects are.
27 people were attempted to be surveyed.
62% responded to the question : have you googled yourself.
76% admittedly googled themselves
5% wanted to know why, maybe thinking I'd found some dirt on them.
One test subject said he only did so because his brother googled him.
Another subject offered this suggestion : Yes...fun game google "livius is" 2 c what u've been up 2. I'm usually recovering from heartworm or spaying:-)
....and my favorite response of all : Forever ago when I was naked online.
Turns out my friend Dan was right. The vast majority of people have googled themselves. I'm still not sure why people do it other than having been googled by family members or having been naked online...or whatever the hell that other answer meant.
I hate to admit this but by the end of our highly scientific clinical study, I also googled myself. I'm fairly certain that the 4 guinea pigs who hadn't can probably be added to the list at this point as well.
So if you are in that vast majority share your google stories in the comments section. Let us know why you do it and what you've found. And if you haven't, don't worry, I'm sure my friend Dan already has.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
15 years ago
6 comments:
I have to disagree with vain as the issue. I think it's a matter of personal security and also integrity. Let's say you googled yourself yesterday and "Livius N_ _ _ _ " Popped up with your city and your information and said you were a convicted sex offender in Georgia or something. you'd do something about it.
Or what if Robb has been secretly masquerading as you on the internet with some catchy hippie blog along the lines of "Flip My Liv" Or "Let the Trees Liv" I am sure you'd be greatful for that. Talking about borderline homesexual piercings. Labret Rhymes with gay. Coincidence? I think not.
Also as we discussed yeterday. Job security may come up. For example you made a post of a threatening nature on here and it made it back to people you work with or human resources....wait that's a bad example
Dan rhymes with "molester van". All i'm saying.
Otherwise I agree with you for the most part Dan, goggling yourself isn't necessarily out of vanity, it could be a useful exercise. Self protection and what not.
In my case, it's entirely vain. I want to see pictures of my labret piercing.
Okay, I have never googled myself. However, curiosity got the better of me... Other than my patents, which were about a dozen pages later in the search results, I am officially off the radar. WOOT!
Strangely enough, I was expecting the bible to be the first thing to come up in my search; instead, the band was first, including a wiki. I hate that band… More pointedly, I can’t stand Phil Collins.
So, yeah Dan, my interest in googling myself was because I wish not to be in the internet limelight. I have other, more gratifying, ways of being vain. BTW, I googled “Dan rhymes with” and there’s a MySpace page that spotlights an angst-ridden 18 year-old who calls himself “Dan Rhymes With STFU”. This kid absolutely loooooves Haley Williams from an Emo/Pop Punk band called Paramour. Everything about this kid is taken right out of the “I wanna be a Whiny Emo Fucktard too” handbook. Yikes.
"Dan" rhymes with “bran”, which causes one to be on a “shit can” or “bedpan”. Before you can get started on your retort: “Genesis” rhymes with “Penises”, “Nemesis”, “Anesis”, “Apheresis”, and “Kinesis”. I’m sure there’s more.
Anyway, back to the Whiny Emo Fucktards (WEF’s?). Smithereens, seriously, if you are an outcast, or align yourself with outcasts, that is fine by me. I was in high school. I was that outcast. It sucked for me when Grunge became popular. Suddenly, it was cool to buy shit from Goodwill and Salvation Army, which, at that time, with my financial situation, I could only afford to go to those places. Buying into a look/dress/uniform, however, I cannot condone.
Seriously, an Emo kid claiming that they are an individualist could not be further from the truth. If you can buy your “individualist” uniform at a mall, you have not tried hard enough to be unique. They look like a Post-Punk-Goth kid that was run over by an H&M truck. Additionally, if you are able to buy all of your favorite bands songs on a single compilation album (point and reference: “iTunes Essentials: EMO”), you are not trying hard enough to expand your musical tastes and, again, you have bought into a culture.
Lastly, as the Governor of California would say, “STOP WHINING!” You have not lived long enough to know how cruel this world can be. Put down the razorblades for now, come back to them in a decade or so, and then contemplate on if you wish to expunge that which you call your life.
Genesis perhaps you needed a bowl of bran this morning to help that constipation inspired tanget riddled reply.
what the hell are you talking about?
www.writhingdeath.com/music/Emo.jpg
that was for everyone's entertainment. no that is not me. it's my twin
OK...perhaps I was a tad hasty with the vanity comment.
I am glad to see two fellow commenters getting along so well. Kind of makes me miss Chris.
ha! i love to see the response only when i was naked on the internet forever ago! had no idea it would be online. however it is quite humerous!
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