If you think privacy still exists somewhere in the online world, google yourself. I guarantee you will pop up in places you never expected, perhaps some you never wanted.

I’m sorry, why does everyone need to know I said this?
It’s the summer slowdown and I have some time on my hands, when I’m not working on this website or increasing my social media presence. Instead of going outside and getting some fresh air, I surf the net. And when I get really bored, I google myself, just for the fun of it. I used to appear in three results. Seriously. Now… I might as well just hand you my social insurance number and tell you to “Take my identity. Please.”
I put my name in quotation marks to eliminate every single Flora, every single Lee and every single Bendit on the planet. The Bendits are limited, but consider how many people have the first or last name Lee. People who aren’t Flora-Lee Bendit still appear under Images. I guess they never got the memo about quotation marks being for exact matches.
Elsewhere, Canada411 and 411.ca are only too happy to give you my home phone number and full address. Very kind of them. Shall I expect you for tea?
If you’re wondering about my marital status, you can find out whom I married and on what day. So now, if you come for tea around my anniversary, I expect at least a card, if not a present. Sculpture is the traditional 27th anniversary gift. I’m a big fan of Scott Troxel.
Are you curious about my child? You can find out where she went to high school. That's what I get for volunteering as Vice-Chair of the Parent Participation Organization and Chair of the Governing Board. I didn’t type the minutes, so don’t blame me for typos.
Of course you want to know how I've rated businesses I’ve dealt with. Check out some of my reviews. Also, see the free plug for an amazing book by Canadian author and poet extraordinaire, Carolyne Van Der Meer, entitled Motherlode: A Mosaic of Dutch Wartime Experience. Don’t forget to pick up her published poetry collections, as well. All the links are right there.
And I’m certain you won’t sleep tonight unless you discover where I got my rescue dog. In fact, you may want a rescue dog from them, too. Follow the link to their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandHelpsGreekStrays. Hurry, this is their last year rescuing Greek dogs from unspeakable cruelty.
Fortunately, you’ll also come upon my professional information, links to my socials and this website. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.
Now I challenge you to see what your name in quotation marks reveals. Post in the comments. I’d love to know. In the meantime, I have to get back to work. Summer slowdowns can pick up so suddenly.
Surf safely!
Yes amazing what comes up, isn’t it? Brilliant idea for a blogpost! And thank you for the plug! -Carolyne