Personal Branding in the age of Google

The previous post reminded me to add one of my favorite blog posts ever via Seth Godin (find him in my list of favorite blogs at right, or via http://sethgodin.typepad.com/).  It's good advice.

Personal branding in the age of Google by Seth Godin


An individual advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper. Three interesting resumes came to the top. She Googled each person's name.


The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking." The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings." And the third? A match came from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier. Three for three.


Google never forgets.


Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.