You're a Nobody Unless You Google Well

If your name does not come up on Google you are nobody according to an article published by the Wall Street Journal.

Today, employers frequently Google their candidate prior to even calling. Interviewers often search to see if what a candidate say on their resume could be verified online. More than 80% of executive recruiters said they routinely use search engines to learn more about candidates, according to a recent survey by executive networking firm ExecuNet. Nearly 40% of individuals have used search engines to look up friends or acquaintances with whom they'd lost touch, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Microsoft Corp.'s MSN unit.

Parents to be are turning to Google to find unique names for their children. They explain they want their children to stand out. Google, John Smith and you will get 209,000,000 searchresults and as people flood the web this is going to be a growing problem.

To increase visibility musicians are turning to unique sites like Gruuve where they can be found. Eg. a search for "U2" on Google is getting very noise but a search for "U2" on Gruuve brings us the band.

For web professionals WebGuild is building its own version on an online directory. People in the web profession can add themselves to the directory and use it as an online biography which they could provide to reporters, employers, for speaking engagements and more.