Digital Tatoo/ Data Mine
This was another fascinating assignment. There were somethings I expected to find and a couple of surprises. When I Googled myself, things like my Facebook page, Twitter account and my Blogger information came up. The school I currently work at with my information was also listed. Sadly, both my husband's obituary and my father's obituary were listed as well. In addition, the positions and activities I have done with IEA and the MEA ( Our local union) were also easily found. I can't wonder with my union work information being so easily accessible if that is a good or bad thing. I plan on moving to a new state next year and I hope that my union involvement does not hinder my chances for employment.
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| (Google search image picture) |
When I looked at images from different search engines, pictures were pretty much the same. Most pictures came from my FB page, a fundraiser while my husband was sick or my union work.
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| (Facebook Image search, IEA Page) |
I have, in the past researched myself and my findings were pretty much the same. Sites like Spokeo, Instant Check, Truthfinder, and Peekyou, listed several, if not all of my past addresses. I was married before so all those sites also had information about my first husband and his family. I admittedly did not like that. When I did a search in Radaris, I saw my mother's maiden name, that surprised me. Luckily, I quit using it for password retrievals. I alsodidn't like that when I searched myself in YouTube, music I like to listen to came up. I felt that my privacy was a bit invaded.
Some sites had no record of me at all like Social Mention and Blockshopper. Then there was Pipl, it has some correct and incorrect info like my age and a city I never lived in. What I found funny was that it had a sister of an old friend as someone I would know.
In reflection, I think I need to work on having a more professional presence online. I've been teaching for 18 years and not much about that came up. I have won a grade and co-authored a unit for NGSS. It would have been nice, at least for my ego, to have seen those 2 things come up.
I too feel as if I need to work on having more of a professional presence online. Also, I can't believe that YouTube pulled up the music that you enjoy listening to. It amazes me how much can be tracked by what we search online. Good luck with your move and I can't imagine your union involvement would affect your job search in any way! Although, I know it is scary that prospective employers can pull up items about us we didn't even know existed online!
ReplyDeleteHi Julianne,
ReplyDeleteI will also be more conscious about password retrievals after this blog discussion. This is especially important to teach students right away and other adults who haven't thought about this. It's so easy for individuals to find basic information about each of us with just a few searches.
I, too, should think more about having a professional presence online. I think with my participation now on Twitter, I am working on this.
That's interesting about YouTube pulling up the music you listen to. When I initially heard people sharing this about YouTube, I didn't think this was such a big deal, but then you wonder if people will judge you by the songs they see come up. Does it look bad if a teacher enjoys heavy metal and hardcore rap music?? Again, something to think about...
As you, I was disappointment that many of the good things that I have done were not listed on several (or all) of the websites. It definitely makes me question the quality and validity of the algorithms that are pulled to generate the information. This is an excellent opportunity for us to monitor and update our information to allow all these positives to be displayed.
ReplyDelete