Who are you on-line?

Like you I've been experimenting with a lot of free and low cost Internet tools to support my business and personal life.  Plus, since I'm in the business of evaluating emerging Internet tools I create a lot of accounts that languish.  I'm also one of those people who have multiple business identities and that complicates my on-line identity even more.  The result?  I ended up looking like a real mess on-line.  How about you?  Take it from me, it's a good idea to role play as a member of your on-line audiences and get a feel for what people in these audience groups see and learn about you on-line and then...fix it!  Here is what I suggest.   

1.  First, do a thinking exercise.  Think about how well you and your business are represented on-line.  Take some notes on what you think.  An example might be: My on-line presence is good enough.  Friends, family and business customers can find me and my business on-line using Google search; they understand what I do and can contact me.  I don't have to be embarassed by my on-line identity in front of any of my various on-line audiences.

2.  Do a Google search on your name and/or business name.  Do you find yourself?  Your business?  If so, what exactly do you find?  (If not, that's a different article!) Let's say that you find your Linkedin profile, your Biznik profile, your Twitter profile and your Facebook page all listed at the top of the search results.  Click on each link and read what you find.  What do you think?  Do your profiles on each of these sites align to tell a meaningful story about you and your business?  Do you want your customers and clients to see all of this about you?  If so then youre doing well.  If not then you need to take some action.   You may need to update your profiles, maybe devise a better permission strategy, remove some content, update contact information or change your photos.

3.  The next time you are with a Facebook friend or family member ask them to do a Google search on your name and your business name.  Do they find you?  What did they find?  What do they think of what they found? Are you happy with what they see?  If not, you need to take some action.  Make a to do list right then and there.

4. The next time you are with a trusted client or customer ask them to do a Google search on your name and on your business name.  Do they find you?  What did they find?  What do they think of what they found? Are you happy with what they see?  If not, you need to take some action.  Make a to do list right then and there.

You get the picture.  If you know, I mean really know first hand, what your different audiences learn about you by looking for you on-line, it will help you understand how to plan that experience so that it suits your purpose. 

Oh, and try this cool application called All of Me:  http://www.allofme.com.  You will be able to search on your name or business name and see Internet content related to your name or business displayed along a timeline showing when it was posted.  

All of me is really fun.  I learned that there are several Cynthia DuVal's and that I was mentioned in a couple of books I knew nothing about!  I also found a dead old website that I still don't know how to get rid of; when I figure that out, I'll let you know.