Alert

As I continue to consider my online presence and how it might impact whatever it is I hope to do with my life, I understand that Google can be my friend, and my enemy. In a world where people can get fired from posting Facebook photos of a party they were at instead of work, you have to do your part to make sure your identity is as respectable as possible. In my case, my future will likely be affected by ability to leverage this blog, my contribution to Talking About Games and my podcasting career. Of course all of these bullet points are online entities that can be found with a simple Google search – but what else will a prospective employer find?

How you conduct your business is up to you, I am not here to tell you how to live your life. By no means am I a boy scout. Even if you know the difference between right and wrong, who knows what some random blogger might say about you. My point is that your online identity is a kind of brand. And as much as you plan to take advantage of that brand, you need to be aware of what your brand’s message is. What will someone find on any given Google search if they use your full name? What will be correct? What will be inaccurate? While there might be a limit to what you can control, the least you can do is be prepared. Enter Google Alerts.

First things first, this works really well if you are already using Google Reader. I know, yet another Google service to promote. I’m not saying it’s the only method to use their alert features, but it makes things a lot easier.

On to the goodies.

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1. Direct your browser to http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en
2. Fill out the dialog box with the desired search term. Your full name might be a worthy candidate.
3. For the final option, “Deliver to”, select Feed and Create the Alert
4. (You will be directed to an Alert manager page.) Click the link to deliver the alert to “Feed in Google Reader”

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…and like magic any time a new alert for whatever search term(s) you desire will automatically hit your Google Reader.

I’m not recommending this as an expert of any kind. And I understand that this post, and what I am recommending is an exercise in vanity. However, in “my line of work”, my online identity carries a lot of weight and I would like to know exactly what my identity is telling those interested. I wouldn’t like to make the wrong first impression. So think about it, give it a whirl, and who knows…you might have a chuckle over what the Internet thinks about you.