Why You Should Own YourName.com

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With a few minutes on my hands the other day, I did a google search for me, in my area and frankly was surprised at the information which came up. Telephone number, address. I find it all a little creepy. I thought there is something called the Privacy Act. For about $5, anyone can get a complete 'history' on someone.
I'm not a political activist by any stretch. But I'm considering calling or writing my congress person to ask if something can't be done to address this lack of privacy.

Tim B of WA 4:31PM February 22, 2011

Mariam,
Are you aware of ways to specifically optimize SEO using location or other info that would be relevant to career searches?
I just received approval to join BeyondCredentials.com so I have my own personal page now, but I would like be able to make it readily available to as many potential hiring managers as possible. Any tips? Thanks in advance.

Karl Meiners of MN 10:01AM February 22, 2011

Hi Miriam, great advice! Managing your online presence is one of the most important things you can do right now in your job search. Buying your domain name is a good way to make sure you have ownership of your online presence. Having consistent information on all of your online profiles and websites is also a good way to ensure employers find the correct information about you online.

Greg Coyle of DC 10:18AM February 19, 2011

Most people share names with thousands or even possibly millions of other people. How can it possibly be fair that the first person with that name ties it up for possibly the rest of a lifetime? And what's to prevent some idiot in some personnel office from thinking the web site belongs to their dopplelganger who has an application in with them? No, this is fixing a problem that's mostly myth or urban legend. If you're afraid of information about dopplegangers being in the mix then just tell the person you're giving your resume/application to that you expect them to ask you about any information from the internet they think is related to you. And if they somehow make a mistake and you don't get the job, you probably didn't want to work for them anyway...

Rich of CT 12:26PM February 18, 2011