If You Passed on Today, What Would Google Say?

[ls99]

To paraphrase Clark Gable's character, Frankly my dear google, I don't give a damn.

 

[rk911]

Nothing at all actually, which is how I prefer it. It has lots of stuff about others with my same name. Perfect!

+1

 

[Montecfo]

Despite having a somewhat visible career, i have managed to keep a low public profile. I like it that way.

 

[rk911]

just ggogled my name...lots of folks with the same name but nary a word about me!

 

[USGrant1962]

First, make sure you google yourself in an incognito/private window - otherwise the Googs know who you are and considers that in the response.

For my real name - I share it with a rather famous tri-athlete. I don't do triathlons. No Facebook account so nothing there.

My screen name shows this forum and a couple of computer gaming forums.

That's about it. Boring I guess, which is good.

EDIT - and in google images I just found my picture that links to someone else's LinkedIn account. Hmmm.

 

[Montecfo]

First, make sure you google yourself in an incognito/private window - otherwise the Googs know who you are and considers that in the response.

It is a good sentiment but incognito mode does not make you invisible to search engines.

Best way to stay anonymous is to avoid social media and web disclosures of personal info.

 

[USGrant1962]

It is a good sentiment but incognito mode does not make you invisible to search engines.

Best way to stay anonymous is to avoid social media and web disclosures of personal info.

Of course. But if you search yourself without incognito your results are influenced by your own cookies/identity/logins/past searches.

Incognito shows you what other see when they search for you.

 

[rk911]

First, make sure you google yourself in an incognito/private window - otherwise the Googs know who you are and considers that in the response.

For my real name - I share it with a rather famous tri-athlete. I don't do triathlons. No Facebook account so nothing there.

My screen name shows this forum and a couple of computer gaming forums.

That's about it. Boring I guess, which is good.

EDIT - and in google images I just found my picture that links to someone else's LinkedIn account. Hmmm.

boring here as well. no FB, no Linkd In. i do have a Twitter account i use for NWS weather alerts and so on.

 

[1242Vintage]

I worked in the public sector so a few sites reported my salary and benefits as a matter of public record. And Google pulled up documents that I authored for my employer.

I race bicycles and there are lots of race results scattered across the web from 30+ years of competition. Most times I’m in the middle of the pack, but occasionally hit the podium. And a couple times I hit the ground! And there are a few action photos. Reminded me of decades of good friends and memories doing what I love.

And I got a surprise. I’m named after an uncle and got a newspaper clipping on a 1955 of a collision he was in.

 

[Dalmore]

According to the website How Many Of Me, there are 1,200+ people with my name. I'm hidden pretty well within Google's search engine.

DW on the other-hand makes up the top 10 posts on google.

 

[frank2009]

I also share the name of a famous person. After 5 pages of "ggogling" (is that a word now) I gave up. Suits me fine.

 

[RunningBum]

After 5 pages of "ggogling" (is that a word now)

It's not.

 

[MichaelB]

Googling my name brings up hits for my son, who coincidentally has the same first and last name. . A few photos of him also come up, including one or two that are less flattering. That will be a lifelong issue for people of that generation.

My name is more common in the UK, mostly Ireland, followed by Scotland and England. I get email intended for folks there, as I signed up for GMail early on and have the most common variations of name / initial that seem to be the default most often used. When the originating party looks legit I usually reply and have had some very friendly email exchanges.

 

[RunningBum]

I find an obituary a lot more interesting and informative than whatever google may pop up. If they are well-known enough to have a Wikipedia page, that might be interesting too.

 

[dirtbiker]

I find an obituary a lot more interesting and informative than whatever google may pop up. If they are well-known enough to have a Wikipedia page, that might be interesting too.

My major gripe with obituaries is they rarely have the cause of death. I can't be alone in this, can I?

 

[Gumby]

My major gripe with obituaries is they rarely have the cause of death. I can't be alone in this, can I?

Does it matter? Dead is dead.

 

[JRon]

I googled my name because of this thread and had one surprise - my grandfather’s obit came up because someone clipped it using newspaper.com last year. I had never seen it and found out I share my name with my great-grandfather! My Mom had never told me that and my Dad passed shortly after I was born so I never knew him. Thanks to OP for starting this one.

 

[steelyman]

Does it matter? Dead is dead.

True. Cause of death may also seem to some a violation of privacy.

 

[Aerides]

My major gripe with obituaries is they rarely have the cause of death. I can't be alone in this, can I?

I assume that the bereaved family probably would rather not even put out an obit in these cases, but had to because the deceased was a public figure of some sort, or had in his will he really really wanted it.

But I also assume that cause is either undetermined, under investigation, or something they simply do not wish to share for personal reasons - and that's their business not mine.

 

[Markola]

Who cares? The truth is, no one’s going to remember 50 years afterward anyway.

The first time I heard that as a young person, it was a bucket of cold water. Over the years, however, it’s become a liberating thought.

 

[razztazz]

My major gripe with obituaries is they rarely have the cause of death. I can't be alone in this, can I?

You are not alone. I think the invasion of privacy idea applies to a few cases but really, as was stated in another thread unless it's something embarrassing or it would tarnish their memory, where's the "privacy" issue? And in the past I remember seeing most obits mentioning cause of death then asking for donations in lieu of flowers to a charity related to that cause of death. e.g. heart attack=heart fund, Cancer death=Amer Cancer Society, etc. It was a way of making the cause of death relatable and loosening up the purse strings for a worthy cause. And in this day and age with everybody's everything available everywhere why the modesty about what is, most likely, a pretty mundane cause of death?

If the obit in question is for an 85 or a 92 yr old I don't see it as that relevant. Whether it was a heart attack, cancer, Alzheimer's, complications from diabetes, surgery, whatever, what it really was, was old age.

 

[harllee]

Just Googled myself and there are pages and pages of stuff about me--I am active in the community and in several nonprofits and for some reason it is all over Google. No hiding for me.

 

[dirtbiker]

Does it matter? Dead is dead.

Not really, but most obits I read are from army friends I've lost contact with over the years, but see on facebook. I'm in my late-30s, so most of these are people too young to pass, so I find I want to know why. As was mentioned, if it's someone in their 80s or 90s, I'm not as curious.

 

[Exchme]

If someone has to google me, they don't know me enough to care, so what's it matter what they read?

 

[CardsFan]

+1

If someone has to google me, they don't know me enough to care, so what's it matter what they read?