Avatars, online personas and suchlike

[Trek420]

I have trouble coming up with creative stuff, like names. On the other hand, when I've Googled my name - I could be me, here in the Big Easy, or a wine grower in California (not me). Maybe I could switch places with the other BMcCasland?

I just Googled my first and middle name and came up with my own homepage, the part with family bio, family tree (helloooo vacation in Monaco!! ), archived donation pages for rides I've been on, rides I've donated to .... oh well. So much for the anonymity of the internet

[mimitabby]

yeah, but YOU know your middle name, I don't.

[Trek420]

yeah, but YOU know your middle name, I don't.

But if I just Google (and since when is that a verb?) my first name I get links to a German porn star

[Mr. Bloom]

My persona is "me"...but I'm still careful with that. If I google "me", I'm all over the internet:

• Full Name: 14 hits including public filings that reveal my income for the world to see , membership on the board of a national organization, and other bona fides and accomplishments
• Casual Name: Fortunately, there are about five other folks in america with the same casual name...two attorney's, a business owner, a disney imagineer, and a basketball player. So, they have stuff that dilutes the ease of "finding me". But, if you know what you're looking for, you'll easily find residuals of our family website (even though I've taken it offline), the non-profit boards I'm on, non-business press releases that I didn't know I was quoted in , church committees I served on 10 years ago!, and directions to our house

So, by going through this exercise, I'm convinced that privacy is something that requires ACTIVE PROTECTION, since plenty will happen WITHOUT ANY EFFORT.

[kelownagirl]

My persona is "me"...but I'm still careful with that. If I google "me", I'm all over the internet:

• Full Name: 14 hits including public filings that reveal my income for the world to see , membership on the board of a national organization, and other bona fides and accomplishments
• Casual Name: Fortunately, there are about five other folks in america with the same casual name...two attorney's, a business owner, a disney imagineer, and a basketball player. So, they have stuff that dilutes the ease of "finding me". But, if you know what you're looking for, you'll easily find residuals of our family website (even though I've taken it offline), the non-profit boards I'm on, non-business press releases that I didn't know I was quoted in , church committees I served on 10 years ago!, and directions to our house

So, by going through this exercise, I'm convinced that privacy is something that requires ACTIVE PROTECTION, since plenty will happen WITHOUT ANY EFFORT.

I googled "Mr. Silver" and got all kinds of info!

[Mr. Bloom]

I googled "Mr. Silver" and got all kinds of info!

Yeah, but did you google my full name: Mr. Golden Sterling Silver, IV

Did you know that Silver's first name is "Hi Yo"...?

[Zen]

You mean that isn't you playing the accordian? I'm crestfallen.

Before Surgery, (or BS)

Yeah, but did you google my full name: Mr. Golden Sterling Silver, IV

Did you know that Silver's first name is "Hi Yo"...?

I thought your real name was Max Power.

[boy in a kilt]

I don't have a picture because I hate having my picture taken. Gir likes having his picture taken so I used his.

I don't use my real name because I don't want to. Might be hearing from Bruno about my name sounding like an Irish fish and chips Pub or something.

If I google my name, I get two or three hits that relate to me, all of which relates to some research I did in college and a paper I co-wrote (both are painfully boring).

As far as stealing my identity, the US Government has done more to ensure that happens than anything I can possibly manage. At some point, government carelessness has enabled the theft of records containing my entire military record up to 2006 and my employment info while I was a federal employee. If someone got their hands on that, they could re-create me better than I could.