I've always avoided putting my own name into Google, so my heart sank when I saw the task! I gritted my teeth & gave it a go, and as I have a fairly common name did come up with quite a few other namesake librarians! I did have a couple of results on the first page that are me however, but nothing I'd particularly be concerned about from a professional point of view, as I think I have a pretty low online profile.
This has, however, prompted me to think about personal branding, and I recall a conversation I once had about it being just about impossible now to avoid having some kind of online profile - whether we like it or not! Given this, I suppose the next step could be to decide to take an active role in what your profile looks like, rather than leaving it to chance.
I am always very careful about posting anywhere - I use Facebook sparingly & only if I'm certain my kids won't be embarrassed/object to anything I put on there - which I find quite a useful way to think about personal posts! Professionally I use Twitter, but again I'm really conscious of what I put, as I am likely to be seen as representing a particular organisation. Working in a school, we see weekly the damage that spontaneous/thoughtless/malicious posting on social network sites can do, so perhaps this makes me ultra-aware of what I'm doing! I also have a feeling that others, however well they know me, really aren't that interested in the minutiae of my day to day life.
I've asked a colleage to have a look at my blog & give me some keywords as to what it says about my personal branding - will post his suggestions later!
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