Googling yourself

Type 1 and LADA
#1

Is there a way to avoid being associated with tudiabetes when googling your name? I don’t make it a habit of googling myself, but someone I know was able to see my profile and the few comments I have made after a quick search. This concerns me due to the judgmental society we live in and the accessibility of personal information over the internet. This could also lead to potential challenges when applying for work or nosy acquaintances. I am not ashamed of being diabetic, but I feel that it is up to me to determine who should be privy to this part of my life. I don’t necessarily want to have to deal with, “Dude…you’re diabetic?” because someone was bored one night. Make no mistake, I am extremely grateful for tudiabetes and have found solace in many of your contributions. I just like to believe that this community is a place where we can escape, be ourselves and not have to explain anything to anyone…

Does anyone else feel this way or am I being ridiculous?
Anyone know how many carbs are in a gallon of egg nog?

Merry Christmas!

#2

Yes this is concerning. I am on a couple of other blogs to but haven’t used them in awhile. These data mining engines are neat, incredible, and scary! I suppose it comes down to how one searches, name plus zip code and so on to allow the algorithm of the search to work. That would mean a change in our profiles which I am not crazy about. We need some more technical geeks here on the forum to give us insight what can be done from the technical side for the site.

You still have the problem though if a friend blogs about you or you post on another site you have no control on that one. Facebook and Twitter postings come to mind…ughhhhhh

#3

actually ive had this same problem, i found out about it when about half a year ago some friends told me that they had found me on google and how they had read my profile about me being a diabetic. Like you, im not embarressed about being a diabetic, and these two friends already knew that i was a diabetic but i dont like to talk about my diabetes to friends. I dont like them to know that i struggle every so often, that it gets me down and how it actually really makes me feel (not just my poker face i put on in real life when they ask). So no you are deffinetly not being ridiculous. I made it so that my last name was not on the page in anyway, such as my screen name or profile page link. Other then that i dont know of any other ways to make sure that your page doesnt come up on google searches. After removing your last name, search yourself again and make sure it changed… it sometimes takes a little while :slight_smile: merry christmas!

#4

Shane,

When I googled my first and last name tudiabetes came up as the top result. Google was able to find me because my profile link contained my last name. I contacted the tudiabetes administrators and Manny helped me out with this advice:

If you visit this page (while logged in):
http://tudiabetes.com/profiles/profile/myPageSettings
you can change the URL for your profile page to anything you want.

#5

Thank you for this. People from the past came out of the woodwork; I hope now I’ll be able to
see a difference. I went in and tried changing things and there’s a difference! Whew! Different name! Helmut, I owe you one. Shane, you, too! Great Christmas present.

#6

It would be so nice if people did not mine the internet for information, but they do. I am pretty certain someone does when you interview for a job and given how insurance companies operate…who knows. I began to wonder when I applied for jobs I should have been offered. I googled myelf…and there it was…almost everything I had ever done politically on health care, jobs, environment…etc. The kicker…I worked in healthcare for over 15 years. In any other time…my activities were my own business…done on my time…nothing to do w/ my job… Well…given the explosion of internet use and access…what you do, IS on their radar. I even found pictures of myself that others had posted from events…post-doc work…etc. So…a nosy person could find out a lot about me! phone, picture, one even had my address because I testified in WashDC!! I talked to a computer tech friend of mine and he said…NEVER use your real name, picture, address, birthdate, etc. I do not want to be paranoid…but, you have too:)

#7

Address and age are very easy to find out: www.zabasearch.com

#8

I feel the same way and I avoid this by not using my last name or full email anywhere on diabetes websites.If you avoid using your last name, you should not be searchable.

#9

Try googling “Kristin Budapest”. tudiabetes is the top result.

#10

True (I didn’t realize this), but my main concern is employers. I think that they would Google my full name. When I am looking for a new job, I will probably remove a lot of personal details from my profile. Thanks for the heads up Helmut!

#11

Hi Patricia, I retired out as a detective after 32 years as a cop. In the old days it was lot of gum shoeing to get deep background on someone, now its a click of the mouse. Yes it can be used for good and it solved many cases using it but I was alarmed how many criminals where using for the bad. In one of our services you could even get data from pizza delivery for names addresses and cell phones. The amount of business selling their data bases is phenomenal. Hell, even my own state sells their drivers license data. You have to request it not to be and send them a form. Data mining is something Congress needs to get regulated. I agree with your friend, use phony names addresses where applicable.

#12

This is of course of great concern. Most people here have no idea how they are exposing their identity and information for all to see. I just finished reading a book called “Google Bomb” (http://www.amazon.com/Google-Bomb-Verdict-Changed-Internet/dp/0757314155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261768149&sr=8-1) about a woman who worked on childrens issues and was cyber attacked, destroying her efforts and personal life. Fortunately, for her, she got her day in court, but most don’t.

I choose to not directly reveal my identity in this group, to the dismay of some. I know that this makes it difficult to determine who I am and what my credibility is (my photo does not help). Trust me by the established path of how I behave on this board and understand I limit my personal information to protect myself, it is not a statement of how much I trust you all.

But, of utmost importance, realize that what you say on this board lives forever and can be used against you.

#13

Shane,

Glad you raised this. I had no idea. I Googled & there I was with my full name & address from a comment left on a Tu D member’s page. She offered to send me coupons & I gave my address. I deleted that comment.

I also removed my town from my profile & just listed the state.

Thanks!

#14

Wow…thanks for bringing this to our attention. I agree with other posters – although not ashamed of beign Diabetic, it is very private to me and I want to feel safe making the comments that I do here on this site. I was troubled to see , when googling my real name after changing it in my profile here, that the top ten things on my name are comments I’ve left on TuDiabetes, even groups I joined that I thought were “members only/ private” eek.

Good reminder, too, about other social networking sites. I certainly would NOT want my boss or potential boyfriend to read some of the stuff I post on FB… !!!

#15

Shane , I have googled my name in the past and am glad you did bring this up to awereness .I don’t have the concern about prospective employers reading my history , however there are lots of other nutty people out there, who plane to use any type of information . We have been there with Credit card problems .I did change some of my profile on this board .
Thank you.

#16

Gerri,

How did you manage to remove your town? I cannot change my profile unless I enter a ZIP code.

#17

Hi Helmut,

I wasn’t asked for zip code. Hmmm. Maybe because I didn’t delete the whole thing & just removed the town & left state?

#18

All I can enter is ZIP code. There is no choice of entering text.

#19

How strange. I had no problem. I went through the link you gave.

#20

I suspect that the ZIP code question was introduced after you signed up.