Self Stalking

Coming into this search I was excited to see what information was really available about me on the internet. After using the websites provided for us I was surprised by the information available about my phone number and about the places I live. Especially that anyone willing to pay a fee can see all the information about me connected to my phone number. The demographic information is interesting, but it doesn't really disclose anything personal about me.

However, I was more excited to see what would appear when I searched about myself. What was found was not a huge surprise, but disappointing in the context of this search. By that I mean, almost nothing can be found about me, because my name is so common. I tried searching different variations of "Michael Bloom", "Mike Bloom" etc... There are lawyers, photographers, and even an owner of a billion dollar corporation with my name. These people run businesses, and use SEO to get their name up at the top of a Google search. I have to search almost my exact social media accounts for those to come up, and even with that my privacy settings keep me pretty safe. The most information that can easily be found about me is on my LinkedIn, and that makes sense. The purpose of a LinkedIn is to be found by potential employers.

My results in this search were lackluster, but at the end of the day I am thrilled about that. This shows me that since I was "gifted" with such a common name I have more control than most people would about what is shown about me on the internet. If someone in a geodemographic firm was to look specifically for me, they would definitely be able to find my social media accounts, but once they were there they wouldn't see much. I am very happy about my online presence, and how I would be perceived by others, even though the cause for most of that is that it is hard for me to be found in the first place.