I looked up my name in many forms (full name, first and last, etc) and I find that I do not have much information that pops up using google search. This means I must have a good grasp on privacy settings which is great! I was worried that all my information such as where I live, when I was born, etc. would show up because there are a lot of ‘Brooke Plant’s’ that pop up with all of their information present. I think that would be scary to have all over the internet because you never know who is going to come across that information. I also had a good laugh because a lot of information about plants came up and when I looked at photo’s of ‘Brooke Plant’, there were pictures of various plants, people planting plants, and everyone other than myself. The information that did pop up of m, however, was the links to some of the social media sites I participate in such as twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
I think it is important to post only things on the internet that you do not care if people see because you never know what could happen. I don’t just mean things regarding to being inappropriate, I also mean private information such as where you live, etc.
Brooke's Blog 
I in the same way kind of felt “safe” when none of my personal information popped up when I googled my name. While no information is better than bad information, I wish some positive sites would have come up, such as my blog or about me page! I would like to be searchable by future employers and be able to give them a great first impression and make them want to find out more! Did your blog come up when you searched at all? Too funny about the pictures of plants! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
People are so freaked out when someone uses the internet to find out where you live. Yet, we’ve all had a way to do that for years….it’s called the phonebook. 😉
I think in general, there is more paranoia over information being mishandled over the internet. A few years ago a classroom did a detective activity where they “stalked” people online to see how much information they could find about a few people. I was one of the people being stalked. After the activity, I spoke with the class and yes, they knew the names of my family members, where I lived, what I did for hobbies and a lot about my work. I didn’t find this creepy in any way since I am in full control over what I post and share. I share what I do intentionally. The fact that someone I don’t know knows I like to play golf and have 4 kids isn’t anything I worry about. Many people immediately jump to some strange idea that this somehow invites danger. That’s simply untrue. There really aren’t any examples of this kind of random nefarious activity.
That said, I feel that everyone should be aware and understand the implications of public vs private. There are still many aspects of my life that remain private. Understanding this and using this to our advantage can open many doors and opportunities not available before. As an educator, we need to model this to our future students as well.
Chelsea, I agree, I should have posted that on my blog that I too wish positive things about me would be represented on the internet. My flavours.me account did not show up under my name, nor did my blog.
Dean, that is so true! I guess I never think of it how you put it. I always jump to the conclusion about the dangers that could happen via internet, but that is making untrue assumptions. Like you said, people can look for your address in the phone book, I guess I just think about the world seeing this information as being different.