Who have you Googled?

[Bucky]

Poll question: Who have you Googled?

Googling is an unexplored field of ethical gray area. How far have you gone? How far is it appropriate to go? Do you have any regrets and/or juicy stories to share?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

1. I've Googled some of my law school classmates

Wanted to read about their undergrad exploits. I've also Googled ex-boyfriends to see what they're up to.

My biggest Google coup: Finding out that my best friend in junior high and high school spent 6 months in federal prison and 6 months on house arrest for credit card fraud! She told me she was an attorney, but she was a secretary at a hospital ER!

[crispini]

2. Your name is fair game.

If it's on google, you should know what it says about you. I google myself every now and then just to double-check.

[progmom]

3. wow - i just googled myself

:wow:

way more results than i thought i would get. and a listing with my office phone number is on the first page of results. x(

[TimeChaser]

4. The only thing I've done

is to Google people's phone numbers if I need their addresses.

And I google myself sometimes.

[Wapsie B]

5. I'm a hall of fame athlete!

Cool. I never knew that. ;-)

[Lilyhoney]

6. I can google my real and my DU name. nt

[BlueIris]

7. Oh, man. I haven't had the guts to Google any of my exes,

those little assholes have undoubtedly gotten way more out of life at this point than I have and because they were such jerks, (and in one case, because an ex really benefitted careerwise from my stupid sacrifices) that kills me.

I haven't Googled myself in years. The last time I did though (2001)--you know what was weird? I found nothing. I mean, aside from a bunch of articles I wrote for my college paper that the paper had put online. Absolutely nothing after that. Well, unless you count the woman with my name. There's only one other person in America with my name, who has authored, if you can believe this, a book on Dutch needle point. But other than her--Google doesn't like me.

[Bucky]

12. Back in the day, we called not Googling somebody "not being nosy"

So I salute you and your good manners. But that one guy sounds like a jerk.

By the way, I just googled you, and apparently you are a software company.

[BlueIris]

14. Hee. Thanks.

BlueIris returned some interesting hits the last time I googled it.

[Bucky]

17. So that's not you with the 15-day free trial?

Dang.

[trackfan]

8. I google everyone

but I now have a probelm when I google myself: I have a rare name. There are only 2 of us in the world. The other one is my cousin. He stole about $2,000,000 in some kind of insurance swindle scam, was indicted, convicted/plea bargained, and is now serving time. Needless to say, my name is rather sullied on google.

[BlueIris]

11. Yikers. Has anyone ever gotten you and the cousin confused?

I mean, a potential employer, boyfriend or girlfriend, etc. Seems like that could get awkward.

[trackfan]

18. Not so far - he's in Chicago and I'm in Los Angeles

and he's almost 20 years older. I do worry about it in re a job search - should that come up - as more and more employers do a google search, and I usually am applying for an accounting job, and the articles about him have the term "accounting fraud" in them.

[BlueIris]

9. I'd love it if the people who clicked "I've cyberstalked" would share.

What exactly did you do? I guess you don't have to get too embarrassingly specific but--stalking? Why? What motivated you?

[Bucky]

16. They'll probaly post their responses later tonight.... to your back window

Seriously, I think some people might assume that "cyberstalking" means being too diligent in Goggling someone... like reading their online articles and discussion posts for several hours. Or maybe sending a couple of overzealous fan emails. Real cyberstalking, as I understand it (and I'm probably wrong about this) means using cyber info to track someone down and THEN like going to their house or slashing their tires at work. Freaky illegal stuff.

On the other hand, I can be pretty naive about human nature. Maybe we do have as many as five stalkers in the Lounge.

[BlueIris]

19. I actually live in one of the first states to pass anti-stalking laws,

so the term "cyberstalking" might mean something different here.

[Chovexani]

10. No sex threads!!

:)

[Crazy Guggenheim]

13. A couple of people. One because I thought he was full of shit. The

other was an old friend to look up.

[Eurobabe]

15. myself, frequently

definitely listed. :)