First Impressions in the Era of Google, MySpace, and Facebook

Have you Googled your name yet? I recently did, and I was surprised to find myself six down on the first page. Now my name is fairly common. So if I'm that easy to find, how much easier might it be to find someone with a more unique name?

I point this out because so many home business owners and work at home parents are using Facebook or MySpace to promote their business, website, or blog. And sometimes it's easy to forget that whatever you put out there for the world to see should represent you as you want to be viewed by future employers, business associates, and clients.

Social networks can be a great tool for promoting your business or blog if used properly. But you should keep in mind that a prospective client or employer's first impression of you might be the picture that pops up on MySpace, the off-color joke on your Facebook, or the rant about some colleague on your blog.

It's a big world. But the Internet has made it much smaller in a sense. I've had contact with people from China, England, Australia - you name it - because they read and commented on my blog, or I read and commented on their blog. The Internet has made that possible; it's put the whole world at our fingertips. But it's also made it nearly impossible to both have an online presence and remain private.

And once you're out there, you're out there. Google your name and see what first impression you're giving.