Haha!! I googled carbs in egg nog too and your profile popped up!!!
Here’s the thing. When I first signed up for tudiabetes I used my full name not sure which was the name that would appear on my profile page and which were the sign up fields. Once I figured out my full name was public, I immediately (1) took away my last name, and (2) changed my profile to private from anyone not a tu member. 5 months later when you google me FIRST and LAST name, the first result is still tudiabetes. When the link is clicked my profile does not come up, but it is clear I am a member. Then on later google result pages, comments that I have made on discussions are visible too. Even though I have removed my last name from my account information altogether. I emailed the site administration about this MONTHS ago and never received a response. I’ve been extremely upset about this, and had I known that the FIRST thing that would come up when googling my name is tudiabetes I would have used a fake name completely… which I guess I should have done in the first place. sigh…
Many, many, many people find TuDiabetes by searching for a diabetes related question in Google. So making this whole community private would close this community off from the exact people that could benefit.
I think that members should just be warned to be more cautious about disclosing personal information. When you post on almost any forum, your response is searchable by the general public.
Perhaps as an administrator, Kristin, you could suggest that there be some sort of comment on the sign up page. Something like, “Some members have found that providing one’s first and last name leads to tudiabetes search returns when googling one’s name. If you do not want tudiabetes to appear with relation to your name, do not enter your last name, provide only an initial or nickname.” I think many people are generally wary of disclosing personal information on the internet, but somehow we’ve let our guard down here. I remember that the night (very late at night) I discovered tudiabetes, I was so excited I probably would have provided my social security number had the site asked for it (well, maybe not that far). But I didn’t think twice signing up with my last name.
Just an idea so the community can stay public but so people will be reminded about anonymity. We are responsible for keeping our information private, but maybe a reminder on the sign up page would prove beneficial.
I agree… I think that I found this late one night too and probably too would have given anything to join. I don’t mind that people know that I have diabetes, just my information is limited to the 12000 we have here verses the billions out there…
Sophie,
This is a very good idea. We will incorporate it.
Shane,
If you want your profile page to not be indexed by Google, you can accomplish it by changing your profile page’s privacy settings as explained on this page:
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/how-to-change-your-profile
If you choose to make your profile page visible to your TuDiabetes friends only, it will not be indexable by Google.
thanks for the positive feedback, Manny!
HAHA, I’m glad that you didn’t give the social security number.
I agree that this is a GREAT idea Sophie!
I’ve noticed this, which is why I refuse to use my name or a real picture 
My friend Meg Guiseppi is an executive branding, online identity, and job search strategist. She has an excellent blog and has written about “self-googling” numerous times. Here is one of my favorites:
http://executivecareerbrand.com/online-executive-personal-branding-are-you-digitally-distinct/
No, you are NOT being rediculous!!! I feel exactly the same way. I make some comments on this site because I know others will understand. But I don’t want others outside the D world to see them associated with my name (the comments aren’t bad or negative…just comments that only fellow Ds would understand.)
I actually have seen this as well. I ended up making my profile page “private” so that only TuD members can view it. I didnt want to make it compeltely private bc I dont want to “block out” my TuD friends or seem unapproachable, but I dont want everyone in the world to know about my personal stuff either.
Also did the URL change to include only my short name: “Marps” which is not my first or last name in any way. I’m an author and I do get people who follow me every so often. Don’t want them to know the struggles that I go through, or the ramblings that I make on here.
When I post on here, it’s usually to get something off my chest whereas when I publish works, they are well thought out and open for public viewing. So, no, you’re not crazy Shane. I’m a freak about my privacy and controlling who I let into my private life.
yes! I have seen this, but didn’t realize I could change it so no one could find me. I like it. I also do not like having to explain things to people that I rather not be explaining to. Does that sentence make sense? LOL!
When you go to “My Page” you will see “Settings” on the right hand side.
You can change your full name there.
I don’t have my full name listed anywhere that is public.
You can also select “-----------” for your country, which will remove the requirement for zip code. Then, type in something vague like “USA” for city/state
My TuD profile page is private and only TuD members can view it. You do have the option to make it so only people whom you’ve allowed to be “your friend” can view your profile page. (it’s a lot like facebook)
If you’re a member, you can view my full profile, and I have my name listed in spurts there, but nothing obvious. People outside our network can’t see it.
Facebook you can also make your profile page completely private to the outside world- even to other FB members. I only allow “friends” that I’ve met in real life into my FB world because things on there are really personal to my specific lifestyle and to my family- including pictures and events.
If you didn’t do this initially and google indexed the page, then even though you’ve now changed it, there will still be a cached version that google saved.
This also includes comments that you may have deleted that come up in search results.
Those you that have changed your name and page urls, google your name again and note the little “cached” link by the google search result.
So, thanks to this discussion, I changed my name on my profile here, but a week later when I type my name it’s still showing up on google the first listing is TuDiabetes… any ideas how I can get it to stop popping up?? thanks!!!
Hi Wendella, I think that your last name might still be in the link to your profile page. To see how to change that, click here.
It also might just take some time.
Actually the top result is now…
“Try googling “Kristin Budapest”. tudiabetes is the top result. 
Reply to This · Kristin Permalink Reply by Kristin on December 25, …
[Alexa Traffic Rank for https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/googling-yourself: 220,918] www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/googling-yourself - Cached”