Do you have an Internet identity?

One weekend, my wife informed me of her attempt to 'Google' her name - only to find out that she discovered another person with a similar name. What's worse, her namesake had a police record somewhere in the U.S. (the Google search engine did search globally). Aside from that, zip... nada... nothing else follows.

Feeling a slight sense of frustration, she then did the same action, this time, to my name, and discovered that I did indeed have some mentionable comments in the internet - though not in a notorious vein.

Mildly surprised, and now curious, after having my wife tell me this, I did the same search - just to see what she meant, and likewise see what she saw. It was then and there that I; long time user of the PC, and advocate for the internet and its access to free information, realized that I actually had an Internet identity... something that I never came around to consciously building.

More so, this particular internet identity is not, at all, my doing... as other individuals whom I've come to have met and got acquainted with would, perhaps, have mention me in passing - either through a blog or an article they'd have written, and, thus added individually (but not consciously in any collective way) to the picture of just who 'Butch Syyap' is. Great huh? All these people unconsciously forming a picture or profile of someone.

Now, before I go any further, let me also say that I'm no slouch in being an active participant to the internet-backed virtual forums. I happen to be a 'vocal' member in avengersforever.org, a comic fan's forum. Then there's the five email addresses I maintain - of which four are personal, while one is officially business-centric, a Friendster account, plus another from Gmail, - and all this can be seen as resulting into my having a decently enough established identity in the 'net'. Guess those social networks I've joined were good for something.

Now, you see, these are all actions controllable by 'moi' so any accolades written there may not necessarily present itself in an 'unbiased' manner. After all, even if I mention all the superlatives to myself here, who'd believe it? Unless, of course, there were proof alongside such superlatives.

On the other hand - a Google search cares not for what has been written about someone, nor by whom - it covers all angles in its search... so long as it can associate your name with (or to) something. Its unbiased, and the other articles it may dig up in its search could be describing an entirely different person - and sometimes, specially if you, or your name, happens not to be as unique as you'd like to think you are, then it could be a different person. But what if its not? What if you are mentioned in a very different light? What would have to be done? Lucky for me, this was not the case.

It was definitely a surprise to see some articles - seemingly written 'ages' ago - yet still timely after all these years - and to help further mold my internet image, by populating my three blogs with past articles that I have written in several newsletters... at some latter date, that is. It definitely should help boost my Internet identity.

Here's a brief rundown of things my name search had turned up:

Avengers Forever articles - I had contributed to more than a dozen write-ups. Basically talking about Marvel heroes, and analyzing their heroic lives, I've also commented on, or analyzed key comic events happening in their universe.

AEGIS Campfire tales - a Role Playing Gamer's site, specifically built to share memorable and enjoyable feats in the world of dice thrown, paper-based games - all this while imagining a different world, and how one's character would interact in such world.

I Saw, I Speech, I Conquered - a blog by an aspiring (as of this writing anyway) Toastmaster, who then collects his speeches and relates how he prepared for each project; what feedback was given him; and what he felt about these feedback

Toasthost.org - lists out all the Toastmasters International, District (Philippines) membership - and I happen to be listed in this database.

Other than those listed above, the rest of the entries I see are no longer associated with me... so, aside from this, I, likewise, have two or three major sites to my credit - yet, since they do not mention my name, they are thus not recognized, hence, not included.

What, exactly, does this Google-search show me at a glace? What would someone's first impression of me be?

I can pass as an Analytical Writer..., I am a Toastmaster and I have been part of at least one Role Playing Game group at one time or another.

Is this good, or bad? I'd have to go with 'good' since there is an absence of anything bad associated in the list.

So... there it is. I've an internet identity.

Cool!

In an ever growing world that is the internet, this simple Google search proved I exist... and this process may, at some time in the future, be a record for historians to note; or for sociologists to analyze.

This internet identity can be a glimpse into the person I am, and can likewise be a link to who I might have influenced or left an impact with; who I strove to help or coached to help themselves.

In a weird sense - I see this internet identity as part of my legacy - and now that I'm more aware of it, I'll likewise strive to make sure it stays great. How so? Two ways... (and this is, by the way how a person with a not so negative identity can turn things around)

1) contribute more write-ups, and/or...
2) positively influence others - so should they blog about said experience that they had shared with, or listened to (talks I've given), it will come across as valuable lessons or techniques they felt worth writing or commenting about.