Google Me Now

Way back in the early 2000s, I remember telling an old friend about feeding names of people I'd lost touch with into Google to see what I could come up with. I got a number of interesting hits that way, letting me know what a handful of people were up to. "I never thought of putting someone's name into Google," my friend said.

The world has come a long way since then. Somewhat later, I read somewhere or other that "vain" people Google themselves. If that's so, I'm vain, because I Google my name every few months to see what will turn up. Googled with quote marks around both names, I get several hundred listings, though many of those Google calls similar, and so they are. That's no surprise, really, considering that I write for on-line magazines frequently. What surprises is that not all the articles I've written on line turn up.

Second-order uses of my name also turn up, such as this. If only I had a nickel for every such use. Why, I'd have maybe $20.

The other day I did a bit of self-Googling and I ran across a pdf in Chinese that includes my name -- in a footnote. Two footnotes, actually, citing a story I'd written about a real estate investment vehicle. The pdf was product of Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, a consultant and outsourcing specialist.