Google me again

Do you know the difference between Googling and autoGoogling? Internet search has led to a brand new terminology

Ever since Internet search engines have come into our lives, they have changed the way we think, talk and research. When you want to know something you just “Google” it. It has become a library, teacher, directory and reference guide all rolled into one. It has also introduced a few new terms into the English language. Googling, egosurfing and counter-googling are some samples.

Beware, you’re being Googled!

In the movie Maid in Manhattan, when the heroine’s son asks her a question, she asks him to “Google it”. Google has already entered the English language as a verb that means to perform an Internet search. It’s also sometimes used synonymously with “research”. Googling has also appeared in cartoon strips and TV serials including the highly popular Friends. A search for “googling” on Google gets more than 700,000 results. That shows how widespread the usage has already become.

A very popular thing to do is google people before you meet them. Businessmen do it before they meet clients. Neighbors and old schoolmates are googled and in America, boys and girls google the person they’re about to date.

The exact search is simply got by putting one’s name in quotes. Then there’s the misplaced notion that the more searches a person has on Google, the more important he or she is. But a thing to remember is that not all the information on the Net is authentic. That’s because it’s very easy to put up information in cyberspace without any checks and crosschecks. You’ve to be cautious because many people take it at face value.

Take that ego trip right now

Instead of googling others what if you googled yourself? That would be called autogoogling, or more popularly egosurfing. Some people get a kick out of seeing how many times their name comes up in cyberspace. Popular among top businessmen, famous personalities, writers and journalists. And what do some people do when they are down? Just egosearch to boost their morale!

But what if you’ve zero name searches to your name? Well, that’s quite easy to rectify. Start writing a regular blog and mail the URL to everyone in your mailing list in a bid to popularize it. Leave your comments on every article you read on Websites and participate in all the discussion forums you can. You can even upload your resume on certain career sites that have an Internet search option. That means if anyone searches your name, they can read your resume. Remember, getting published in cyberspace is much easier than getting published in real life. Sometimes you might also get a kick out of knowing how many people share your name and what your namesakes are up to.

Point and counterpoint

The Bel Air hotel in Los Angeles googles first time customers to know about their preferences and give them more personalized services. Both names and addresses are put to the search. Trendwatching.com called this “counter-googling”. (If googling refers to customers checking out a company, then counter-googling refers to the act of companies checking out their customers). With the amount of blogs on the rise, it’s very easy to get hold of a million-strong database of potential customers.

So looks like the Google Global village where everyone in the world can know about everyone else is just around the corner.

(This article appeared in Living Digital magazine in August 2005)

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