Blog o' Randomness

For Thing 3 of CPD23, we were asked to look ourselves up online to see what comes up in search results.

I actually egosurf every now and then, just to see what's out there. In the past, it was interesting to see webpages from my old job, over 10 years old, still with my name on them. Some website clean-up was in order there, I think. :) I also used to find, pretty high in my search results, information about a Presbyterian minister with my same name.

Today, things are very different. I have profiles/accounts in all sorts of social networking sites, and they are what comes up now when I look up myself. First result is my Facebook page, 2nd is this blog. Then, in order, there is me on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, SlideShare, MySpace, speaking at Internet Librarian 2011, Vimeo (oh yeah! I forgot I had an account there. Heh.), my Google Profile..

Hey, that next one isn't me! There appears to be a Christa Burns in Portland, OR at Portalnd State University. Cool.

Oh, there I am again. The last search result on this first page is my WebJunction profile.

Page 2 of the search results starts out with me - Flickr, LinkedIn (again?), T is for Training. But then, other Christa Burns' start creeping into my results, and now it's a mixture of all of us.

So, how do I feel about this? Perfectly fine. I put myself out there, on all of those sites, on purpose. Sometimes, just for my own use, sometimes to connect with friends and family, and sometimes for work/professional reasons. Some people keep their personal and professional online personas separate. I don't. For me, it's just too much work to do that. Should I create 2 accounts everywhere? Who do I share what with? What if my work colleagues find out that (gasp!) I went to the zoo??? Really? I can't be bothered. I have a job, but I also have a life. I am not my job, I am Christa. So, you will find me online speaking at library conferences, promoting Nebraska libraries, participating in serious library discussions. You will also find me online playing D&D, visiting my mom, dressed in my Halloween costume, playing with my cats and ferrets.

Mango margarita with jalapeno infused tequila at Mi Casa, Breckenridge, CO. Yum!

And I don't share anything, anywhere, that I won't mind people seeing. It's the internet. People will see, somehow, anything you put online. I personally feel that the illusion of' 'privacy' doesn't really exist on the internet. If you're going to be online, you must understand that people will see you and your stuff. If you have a problem with that, don't put yourself online. Pick and choose wisely. So, you will find a picture of me online drinking a margarita. It's OK, I'm a grown-up, I'm allowed. But, you won't find a picture of me doing a naked handstand on a bar in Cancun. You're welcome.