Take control of your name in search results

As college graduates prepare to enter one of the toughest job markets in modern times, not only do they need to worry about the normal job seeking advice like keeping their resume short, writing a good cover lettter, never showing up to an interview late, etc.  But now they might need to Google bomb themselves, as Avelyn Austin points out in this excellent post.  Facebook pictures, YouTube videos, or other incriminating evidence might make an employer think twice about hiring you.  Some job seekers may employ the Google bomb tactic (basically trying to manipulate the search engines so more flattering results appear on the first page).

Google itself has come out with a new tool that might help people take more control of their identities online.  Called Google Profile, it lets you "control how you appear on Google and tell others a bit more about who you are."   Google claims that with a Google profile, "you can easily share your web content on one central location. You can include, for example, links to your blog, online photos, and other profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and more."

It will be interesting to see how well Google Profiles rank in Google.  Will a search on a name turn up a Google Profile in the top few results, on top of the Facebook and LinkedIn results that now dominate many name searches?  If so, this might be an excellent way for people to give the world a more organized view of themselves within search results.  Google Profile might be an easier alternative to buying a domain name for yourself and setting up your own website to serve as a hub for your online identity.  (Personally, I'll stick to www.michaelmadej.com as the center of the brand that is myself, but I can see how many people might not want to go to that extra effort.)

I spent a few minutes adding my own profile to Google Profile, just to see how well it works and what kind of information it asks for.  At this point it appears to be pretty sparse, but in time I have a feeling they'll be adding more to this tool.

I still think back to this Wall Street Journal article from a few years ago, about parents picking names that will be easily findable in Google.  Maybe none of this naming stuff will be an issue when these kids grow up though -- perhaps search will be so advanced (or so integrated into everything else we do) that a unique name won't be necessary for Google results.  In reality, I think names will matter less and less as the technology gets smarter at pegging exactly who you are.