Social Networking or: How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Blog

I Googled my name (James Robichaud) the other day out of curiosity.  It turns out that there’s a convicted sex offender that shares my name.  He dominates the first few pages of Google results.  I then Googled “Jim Robichaud”, which is the name I go by.  The page was dominated by an old country singer from Florida who goes by the name Jim “The Fisherman” Robichaud.  The reason I mention this is because people - employers, strangers with whom you come into contact, blind dates, whatever - will use the internet to try to find out who you are.  I heard over and over in school that you don’t want scandalous pictures of yourself online where important people may find them.  It was mostly older people that were telling me this.  Isn’t it just as important to establish a positive digital presence as it is to avoid a negative digital presence?  Isn’t this the obvious corollary?  Why is this side of the very same coin ignored in schools?

I do not know exactly why the creation of a digital presence isn’t taught alongside with how to write a cover letter and resume, but I believe that in these times, a digital presence can be more valuable than either the cover letter or the resume.  What would an employer rather have, a cover letter that could have been proof-read or even ghost written, a letter that is most likely by and large a form letter, or access to a person’s twitter account, Facebook and blog?  Which is more informative?  Which is more interesting?  Which is more fun for the interviewer?  Obviously, since I’m writing this, I believe that the digital presence can be as much or more of an asset than a cover letter and resume. 

Now, aside from interaction with employers, there is a social element here that I mentioned earlier.  Friends, blind dates and co-workers.  People will be Googling you.  There will inevitably be thousands of results for your name.  Now, as I mentioned earlier, the first result for me will be, “James Robichaud - Sex Offender”.  Even though the most cursory of examinations will reveal that this is a different person, do I really want that to be their first impression?  You can’t tell me that this won’t, at least in a subconscious way, make an individual somewhat suspicious of me.  Therefore it is in the best interests of individuals to control their digital presence, just as it is in the best interest of businesses to control their digital presence.  A person has just as much to lose if their “brand” is damaged as a business. 

To summarize, it is in the best interests of everybody to maintain a digital self since one will exist in the form of search results of people sharing your name.  Since you must maintain a digital presence, you may as well make it an asset to you with creative content that accurately depicts you.  As I came to figure this out for myself over the past few years, I came to stop worrying and love the blog.