Digital Tattoos
Digital Tattoos
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Data Mining
I began my search by going straight to Google. When I first started I used "Abby Raser" and had 5,020 results in 0.37 seconds. On the first page, eight out of nine results were actually me. The top results were my profiles at Dance Gallery Chicago (the studio I teach at), Facebook, and a Twitter account my friend made for me. Other results included my sister's wedding registry, my Pinterest account, and an announcement from my college dance company.
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My second Google search I used "Abigail Raser" and had 6,610 results in 0.38 seconds. Here is where I noticed a more professional search result. This included my LinkedIn, my current position at my school, and a playbill for my senior year college dance performance. This search did include more results that were not the real me.
A Deeper Dive
I continued my search by using websites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Nuwber, TruePeopleSearch, and Spezify. When I searched "Abby Raser" on YouTube I only had one result that was me: a video a friend from high school created for her applications to film school and mine for dance programs. On the other sites I used my full name "Abigail Raser" and received specific information such as my age, birthday, address, relatives, and phone numbers. What shocked me during this search was the phone numbers. I knew I could find my cell phone, however, there were multiple numbers listed as well. These included my parents' landline, my grandma's landline (who lives in Minnesota), my sister and dad's cell phone numbers, and an unknown number from Charlotte, NC.
I was not surprised by the information that I found (since most of it is public record). However, seeing all my information in a matter of seconds is still shocking. With how relevant the Internet is in everyday life, it is nearly impossible to have zero digital presence. I think it is important for people to be aware of their digital tattoos and know what anyone can find in a simple search.
Hello Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI love how you opened with how people mention that tattoos are permanent. It's so logical, but yet it is still said. It's kind of like they are in so much disbelief they find the need to say it. Similarly, this could be said for something that is posted online that shouldn't be there in the first place. I'm shocked that through all the results that came on Google were actually you! It was interesting to see how personal and professional results came about depending on how you searched yourself. I too had results of my relatives which creeped me out. I wonder how information is gathered since they know we are related. Also, I agree it is important for people to be aware of what they post and how long it can stay. Great post!
Hi Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI too find it wild to think about how much information is found in a split second! I also find it interesting that it's not just your information that pops up, but family and friends too. When I was doing my search, I found a lot of information about my friends and their social media accounts. I did not find as much information about my family as you did, though. You did a great job of summing up all of the information you collected and where you found it from. Do you see this information changing drastically in the next 5-10 years if you were to do this data mine again?
I'd also go so far as to say young children need to know about the permanence of the Internet.
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