Googling Yourself

[Adri]

Have you googled yourself? (and did it cause blindness? ;) ) C'mon, fess up. What's the funniest or strangest thing you found when googling yourself? For me: I found out someone with the same name is very into crafts. Yes, yes my name and I are boring. That's why I asked about you *g*

[TuNnL]

There are too many weird things for me to choose just one! I have found several people with the same name as me living separate, very interesting lives — young, old, on the mainland and one who actually lives right here on O‘ahu! I’ve also found websites where my actions were part of the public record, and a blog in which someone wrote about me. It’s always rewarding to discover you’ve made in impact in someone’s life. I won’t go into details, since like many, I prefer to stay anonymous here on HT. But needless to say, I google myself at least once every few months to see what new tidbits come up! :D

[Leo Lakio]

Oh, hell yes. I have a common enough name that there are plenty of not-me listings on the web, as well as several that are mine. There's even been two other people with the same name as mine, in this region, who both worked in the music biz. Two of us (me & a drummer) have listings on All-Music Guide.

[Vanguard]

http://www.vanguard.com

http://vanguard.station.sony.com

:D

[SusieMisajon]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-15,GGLG:en&q=susiemisajon&start=100&sa=N&filter=0

There's only one of me, but I seem to have been busy.

[Walkoff Balk]

I'm probably the only one in the world with my real name. Our last name was told from the old country to be someway be related to each other. Combine that with an Anglo first name, and you get the rare mix. So, your name can't be in the newspaper's police blotter, which they will do in a small town paper even for a DUI.
Employers, credit card checkers, and landlords are just a few that will have access to this easy kind of fast information. So, when someone says, "I don't know you anymore." You could response with, "You should of googled my name."

[Amati]

Googling myself is pretty boring (thankfully), just some contact information related to my employment. I like it that way - I do not want my personal stuff put online "forever", that cannot be retracted. Our HR department includes googling before making a new hire, and simple things that are done online for fun can come back to haunt you (such as casually using incorrect English or spelling). Which is one reason that some of us prefer to not use our real name in HT. I do not want some crack I made or attitude I might have to be following me around online in 10 years. :D

[kani-lehua]

well, i just did it again. googled myself. nothing interesting. just a link to my uncle's site about our genealogy and my father's obit.

[Peshkwe]

Depends on if I google my real name or the 'net nym:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22C.+Maxwell-Hadley%22&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Peshkwe%22&btnG=Search

[TATTRAT]

Wow, nothing too exciting. Found a few old restaurant reviews though, made me smile:)

[sinjin]

Unfortunately I share my name with an infamous racial determinist. A darling of white supremists.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Unfortunately I share my name with an infamous racial determinist. A darling of white supremists.

oh my…:eek: Has that had any r/l repercussion for you?

[sinjin]

oh my…:eek: Has that had any r/l repercussion for you?r/l? Real life? Forgive my ignorance. Thankfully no.

[Bobinator]

I found out that I'm a doctor. So from now on, you can call me Dr. Bob.:D

[turtlegirl]

Wow. Googling myself resulted in:

one girl writes books on cloning.

a girl with a felony warrant for bank fraud.

a senior sales associate.

another 'me' helps kids with science projects.

and finally, the real me popped up, with an unauthorized and incomplete filmography. Meh.

[salmoned]

682 hits. Most interesting - Youngest ever tried for a capital offense? [I swear I didn't do it!]

[lavagal]

I was surprised to find so many women with my name...one is a child psychologist who writes books, one works for a board of education in Florida, one does PR!!! Who knows what else? I find plenty of me with my stories all over the place so that's kinda cool. I need to update some of my material now to reflect the new job, etc.

[Menehune Man]

I checked (for the first time) just now and all that came up was the roster for where I work. The rest were just one name or the other. Boring.

Menehune Man (http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=Menehune+Man&btnG=Google+Search) on the other hand...

[Walkoff Balk]

You gotta represent your name. Wasn't there a documentary about people who share the name of Grace Lee?

[Adri]

I'm veering a little off topic but when discussing self-googling with friends, googling former boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses arose. A lot of my friends have apparently googled not just themselves but former love interests in their lives, just to see what these people have been up to (even if they have no intention of trying to get back together with these people).

[Pomai]

Thinking "outside the box", try searching for yourself on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com). :eek: :D

[lavagal]

Thank gawd that didn't bring anything up!!! Good tip, though. Phew!

[zff]

Ok, this is interesting. There's a guy out there with the same name as me who has a very similar job, the same hobbies and the same interests. What are the odds of that?

[Leo Lakio]

Thinking "outside the box", try searching for yourself on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com). :eek: :DYou won't find me by name, but there's more than a dozen videos out there that include me performing on `ukulele or bass guitar (some with singing).

[Menehune Man]

Ok, this is interesting. There's a guy out there with the same name as me who has a very similar job, the same hobbies and the same interests. What are the odds of that?

That was sooo funny!
Thanks

[Adri]

Thinking "outside the box", try searching for yourself on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com). :eek: :D

I'm with lavagal. Thank goodness nuffin' came up for me! LOL!

[Paul Ogata]

I actually found a smart Paul Ogata! Took a while.

He gave a speech at the Air Transport Research Society World Conference in 2005.

The listing reads:
Paul Ogata and João Batista Camargo Júnior, Universidade de São Paulo, "Hazard Evaluation of Aircraft Collision on Ultra Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches Operation"

I wonder if he ever Googled himself and was deeply disappointed with the waste-of-college-education using his name on the other side of the planet.

[TuNnL]

Most interesting - Youngest ever tried for a capital offense? [I swear I didn't do it!]Nathaniel Abraham (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404EFD8113DF934A25752C1A96F9582 60)? :confused:

[Bob P]

I'm veering a little off topic but when discussing self-googling with friends, googling former boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses arose. A lot of my friends have apparently googled not just themselves but former love interests in their lives, just to see what these people have been up to (even if they have no intention of trying to get back together with these people).

Googling myself brings up my cousin - who has the same name as I and is a wine maker. If you slog through you eventually see me show up around page 6.

As to the ex-google - a few months ago I had a dream about a former gf. Someone I haven't seen in litterally 20 years. On a whim I googled her - and learned she died in a car crash the night before. True story.

[salmoned]

Nathaniel Abraham (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404EFD8113DF934A25752C1A96F9582 60)? :confused:

Hey, that's NOT googling yourself! That's not my name, but with the information provided, it is possible to figure it out. If you do, I owe you a drink.

[Peshkwe]

Hey, that's NOT googling yourself! That's not my name, but with the information provided, it is possible to figure it out. If you do, I owe you a drink.

So you're saying you could be a question for Scrivner's trivia game? ;)

[tutusue]

[...]
As to the ex-google - a few months ago I had a dream about a former gf. Someone I haven't seen in litterally 20 years. On a whim I googled her - and learned she died in a car crash the night before. True story.
Both sad and eerie about you FGF, Bob; the eerie part being the timing of your search.

I received an email just last week from a long, lost friend whom I haven't seen or heard from in at least 20 years. She mentioned she had a dream the night before about my dad and me at a beach we all used to hang out at 30-40 years ago. She had no idea why, after all these years, she had that dream so she googled my dad's name and found the memorial web page I set up for him. On that page is my email addy!

I love it when that happens and it's just one of several.

[zff]

Ok, this is interesting. There's a guy out there with the same name as me who has a very similar job, the same hobbies and the same interests. What are the odds of that?That was sooo funny!
ThanksHuh? Funny? I didn't mean it as a joke. :confused:

Seriously, there's a guy on the mainland with my first and last name who has a very similar job and has the same hobbies and interests. It's uncanny.

[Lei Liko]

My name appears in a few court documents, which really pisses me off.

I knew a girl at UH who went through some domestic issues with a male in her dorm. She falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her and falsely used my name in her statement. I was nowhere near her when this "incident" took place. I remember it happening and that several of my friends were involved, but I myself wasn't, and I let the PI (hired by the defendant) know that.

The case ended up getting thrown out of court because turns out, she lied about it all. Still, I hate having my first and last name associated with all that drama. Hate it hate it hate it.

[cyleet99]

My name is on the NASA Stardust Comet Spacecraft, along with another 1,136,999 other names to travel the universe forever.

I didn't know that.


Wow.


(That impresses me so much I'm not looking for anything else. I will be waiting on the beach for the spacecraft that I know will come looking for me.):D

[acousticlady]

Whew - finally got up the nerve to google myself. Not much there, just work related stuff. There was 2 pages of that though. That surprised me.

[TuNnL]

My name appears in a few court documents, which really pisses me off.

I knew a girl at UH who went through some domestic issues with a male in her dorm. She falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her and falsely used my name in her statement. I was nowhere near her when this "incident" took place. I remember it happening and that several of my friends were involved, but I myself wasn't, and I let the PI (hired by the defendant) know that.

The case ended up getting thrown out of court because turns out, she lied about it all. Still, I hate having my first and last name associated with all that drama. Hate it hate it hate it.Wow that really sucks! I feel you on the dorm dramas. Had a few of my own. I hope the “accuser” made it up to you somehow. Based on the bizarre scenario you’ve laid out, it’s not like she could argue you that she made an honest mistake. Was she mentally ill? I knew at least two dorm residents who tried to jump of the balcony. :eek:

[jmythng]

i have googled my wife, father, son and myself. my sister-in-law found my wife but i never did. since the three of us have the same name the closest i found with that name is related to civil war era names, none of us.
recently the three of us were sent a letter from a police department in another state looking for a man with our same name. he is wanted for various things. none of us have ever been in that state and was wondering what was up.
my dad went to our local police station and asked what the heck was this crap about. apparently the guy was seen in this state. what happened was that the police in that state googled the name and sent out a letter to everyone with my same name and to turn ourselves in.
we were told that we could be arrested if our name came back wanted. now i am a jr. and my son is the third, but that doesn't matter. my dad is tweaking the most, his name is exactly the same as the wanted man
this really is a load of bull dung, SOOOO, this is what the police are now using in their efforts to catch criminals and innocent people can get caught in the cross fire. and like always the innocent have to pay to prove they are in fact the innocent party. nothing new there i guess.
now just for the heck of it i looked in the phone book and found that there is 7 people with my name that live in a 1.4 mile radius from my house, i'm not listed. i wonder how many of them got the same letter. or maybe one of them is the bad guy.

[MrBobHarrisSan]

Funny to find this thread today, I just read a newsletter suggesting job seekers to do the same. Just in case your potential employers are doing the same thing.

Having a relatively common name (and it's not Bob Harris, surprise surprise), it was interesting to find how little of a web presence the real me has (thankfully), and how industrious my shared name amigos have been. I found a judge, a race car driver, several Brits of various walks, writers, a radio host, cricket players, various doctors, guitarists, violinists, and others. Funny thing is that, unlike some of the others to post here, I didn't find anyone remotely like me in any of my life's incarnations. I don't think I've even met someone with my name.

Has anyone tried Googling their phone number? That can be frightening to see how much info comes up and where it shows up.

[weirdhawaii]

haha, I get a picture of my dad, or I get a news article about some guy who burglarized a whole bunch of kona homes

[cynsaligia]

I'm veering a little off topic but when discussing self-googling with friends, googling former boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses arose. A lot of my friends have apparently googled not just themselves but former love interests in their lives, just to see what these people have been up to (even if they have no intention of trying to get back together with these people).

i tell my single friends not only to google potential dates, but to check for them on myspace/friendster etc. and i also tell them to check the state's online court files, which you can access here (http://www.courts.state.hi.us/page_server/LegalReferences/Records/4065D186EB8E10F510757C109C9.html). that way, you know before showing up that the guy who's about to buy you drinks is twice divorced and has had two TROs filed against him, or that the girl whose car you're about to get into was arrested for check forgery and has a history of DUI, for which she went to jail and had her license revoked for the next two years. ;)

back on topic, when eric and i google ourselves by our legal names, we find only work-related stuff, which is exactly how we like it.

[Serenity]

Shoots, I'll byte. (bite)

Yeah, I tried to google myself, (just for fun, now & then) it just leads me to the reunion site, that's it. Other than that, I can't find myself at all. I guess that's a good thing. Atleast no one can track me down. I think, I am not mistaken, in Zaba search, if I was in it, it has a wrong address & wrong phone number listed on it, even with several different last names from my family side & from my father's last name, etc.

I even tried to look myself up in Zaba search, nothing at all. Which is weird (still good), because I looked up my mom, & I found her, & she didn't even want to be in it.

How can one person delete themselves off of the site without having to pay any cost? :confused:

[Adri]

i tell my single friends not only to google potential dates, but to check for them on myspace/friendster etc. /snip

Ah, sad to say I know someone who is currently in a different state from her boyfriend (for college) and she was lonely for him so she googled him and found his MySpace in which he posted pictures of himself with his girlfriend. Only it was not her. When confronted, he admitted he was cheating on her but was also all indignant her "invading his privacy" by googling him (even though he was idiot enough to post that stuff on the internet, under his own name, and didn't even bother to try to restrict access).

[buzz1941]

I have myself on Google Alerts, as that's the best way of discovering if newspaper stories I write are picked up elsewhere.

I ordered a print from an artist on the Mainland yesterday, and he wrote back to say he had looked me up on Google, as he's curious about his customers. So I just Googled myself.

Top hit is a story about Eddie Aikau ten years ago. Then a blank page (!!!) on one of my web sites. Then two pieces of art I did for a modelling web site. Then an Amazon page on a book I wrote. Then generic ZoomInfo and Topix compilations, followed by a goofy model article, and finally, the first page ends with, of all things, a MidWeek picture of me and others in tuxedoes at a Pearl Harbor anniversary event!

[lavagal]

Ah, sad to say I know someone who is currently in a different state from her boyfriend (for college) and she was lonely for him so she googled him and found his MySpace in which he posted pictures of himself with his girlfriend. Only it was not her. When confronted, he admitted he was cheating on her but was also all indignant her "invading his privacy" by googling him (even though he was idiot enough to post that stuff on the internet, under his own name, and didn't even bother to try to restrict access).

CLASSIC & COWARDLY. It is so much easier to break up when you post a photo of yourself with a new signficant other knowing full well that anyone, everyone, and someone is going to google you.

[surlygirly]

My old name is some old lady who wrote a series of really awful books. Now my married name is the same as the lead singer of some semi-famous rock group, and the shortened version of my name is apparently a porn star! But nothing about myself on there. Never thought of YouTube though...

[DosNekos]

kinda off topic, but funny. I was trying to find copies of my old CD cuz it's out of print and the distributor went out of business...so I check Amazon and found one "used - like new" copy going for $50 and one brand new going for $75! COME ON! I mean, it was a good album, but that's nuts...

[Ron Whitfield]

...it may not be all that surreal.

I found this odd.
I saw my old friend, Boyd Coddington, pictured in a magazine holding his new custom made bass and standing with Michael Anthony of Van Halen to whom he was giving the instrument.
I hadn't had contact with my friend in years so I tracked him down at his So. Cal hot rod shop which was near to where we grew up and made the call, stoked that he'd made a big success out of his hobby from kid day's.
Boyd answered, and after a few words it started getting weird and I ended up asking him questions that were answered with 'no'.
Bottom line, there was a mirror image of my buddy Boyd in looks who had the same odd name, same basic age, same interests in hot rods & music, and near the old neighborhood.
It had to be him, but wasn't. He did ask to have "the other Boyd Coddington" call him. Never found him tho, and googling would be horrendous.