Why I Search The Internet For My Name

I am here, stuck somewhere in Illinois, enjoying the frost-bite weather of the Midwest. I’m looking outside the dining area’s sliding doors to an enchanting vista of leaf-less trees perched on a white landscape (it’s a golf course). The sun is shining on this peaceful scene and I’m thinking, “Christmas is late this year.” Although I miss the seals and sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, I am enjoying my winter experience.

I have my laptop computer with me. I decide to google and find out what “Lorna Dietz” has been up to. It’s a habit I’ve acquired for the longest time. Googling my name. My family members’ names. My friends’ names. My clients’ names. Why? Because I believe that we need to know what’s being said out there in cyber-space about us. It’s a public relations function that is oftentimes overlooked or ignored.

I’ve also been using the “Google Alert” function for over a year now — and I’m very happy with this useful option. Every time my chosen names pop up, I immediately check out what’s been written about these persons.

Good news and bad news travel quickly in “internet space.” I’ve seen it happen so many times. A good person is pilloried by many internet entries as well as publications that have on-line editions. At first glance, google seekers immediately believe everything that’s being said in the tabloids or “opinion editorials” (OP-EDs) about someone or something. If the persons being talked about don’t have a blog or a website that tells their story, then the negative sting of the internet entries sticks.

I’m pleased to see that my website pops up as the first three entries in my google search. My sister, who is my web-host, has done a marvelous job these past three years. She is responsible for my website’s high ranking. Check her out at http://host.the-protagonist.net/ or http://pinoywebhosting.net/. She has also convinced me to blog more often. Her blog, http://aboutmyrecovery.com/, was chosen as “Winner, Best Website, Blog Category” in the December 2006 Philippine Web Awards. She is the category’s first-ever winner. Noemi Dado, this wonderful sister of mine, is truly my internet guru.

I’m using one of her favorite sites, www.MyBlogLog.com. This user-friendly website is my own measurement tool that gives me data and statistics as proof that my marketing campaigns are working, especially when it comes to driving people to my event calendar at my website. I’m still learning how to use it — but I’m really hooked now.

I want to be able to tell everyone who’s willing to read this: “What a pleasure to write for my own enjoyment!”

Finding postings that had my name on it was like looking at “memory lane.” I saw my personal, professional, social, and community service lives reflected in the postings. There must be some truth to the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Some of these entries reflected the joy and the pain of my life experiences.

Then, I started googling for my maiden name: Lorna Lardizabal.

I found a speech given by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on January 21, 2005 at the Ayala Lagoon, Cebu Business Park, in Cebu City. This certainly brought back a lot of memories about my 3-month stay in the Philippines.

But that is another blog entry.

My recommendation: Don’t allow people to tell the internet public that they know you intimately. You want to provide balance in the information that they receive. Help them weed out what’s true or not true about you and your activities.

YOU have a voice. There are podcasts, blogs, YouTube videos, and so much more.

USE YOUR VOICE!


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