Your Internet Image: Smoothing the Rough Spots and Creating a Positive Online Persona

When is the last time you Googled yourself? It sounds a little silly, but try it. Google your name. I’ll wait here.

Okay, I can see that you’re back now. What did you find? Are you listed at previous places of employment? Do you see activities and affliations from college? Maybe a few professional organizations? These are all good things.

But what else came up? One writing colleage confessed to me that she shares a name with an erotic writer whose website borders on pornographic. A design colleague revealed on his blog that someone with his same name was attemtping to piggyback on his search engine rankings. Others have been maligned by former coworkers and schoolmates, and some have been targeted by strangers.

Some folks make their own troubles online by posting inappropriate photos, tons of personal information (fights with your mom, your reproductive issues, a rant about that stupid boss of yours), or just not being online at all.

How can you start the new year off with a clean slate in the online world? It may not be possible to eradicate every piece of negative information about you online, but you can make a big difference with these 5 easy steps.

• Delete your own content. That “secret” blog of yours probably isn’t as secret as you think. If you’re just using it to vent, switch to a paper journal, or something stored locally on your computer rather than online for all the world to see.
• Remove incriminating photos. Yes, I’m sorry, but that shot of you stealing the office copier has to go. So do drunk photos, wild party photos, and and crazy make-out photos.
• Say goodbye to MySpace. Even if your page is pristine, you can’t control what your friends are doing, and a great judge of a gal’s character is the company she keeps. Stay connected via e-mail, not comments, “friend”ships, and bulletins. (Others disagree with me, but I stand firm on this one.)
• Request that your stuff be taken down. If you have content or photos that are potentially negative on a site you don’t control, contact the webmaster and ask that they remove it. Be sure to specify the exact conten and its location, and be very, very polite.
• Set up a Google Alert for your name. Google will give you a free e-mail notification every time your name or your busines name appears online.

Keeping your ‘net nose clean is a good idea for both the self-employed and those working for others. Your potential clients and employers will inevitably check you out. Make sure they’re seeing what you want them to see!

If the results of your Google search were woefully slim, consider joining a professional networking site such as LinkedIn to get some career background information about yourself out there for the finding. You may also want to join an online forum or bulletin board in your area of expertise and post some helpful comments on a regular basis. Use your full name in your post signature line for best results. Just be cautious about engaging in harsh debates. What may seem witty when you first say it may turn into a head-slapper a few months down the line.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever found in your online image? Anonymous comments are completely acceptable for this one!!!

Addendum: Great minds think alike!

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

(photo via SXC.hu)

Tags: women and business, woman, business, online image, networking, career search, professionalism, myspace, linkedin, google