Google Profiles Makes it Easier to Find People
Following the news that Google Profiles offers users the option to set up a vanity URL (user your own name, not a long string of numbers to identify your Google Profile - details here), it seems the Mountain View search engine giant also wants to make it easier for others to find proper details about you. Anyone searching for your name using Google Search will now see Google Profile results alongside other results (results that may not be relevant, or might bring up some info your would much rather remain hidden).
"When searching for yourself to see what others would find, results can be varied and aren't always what you want people to see — whether it's someone else with your name, or the finishing time from that 5K you ran back in 2002. We want to make that better and give you more of a voice. To give you greater control over what people find when they search for your name, we've begun to show Google profile results at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages. These results offer abbreviated information from user-created Google profiles and a link to the full profiles. We've also added links so it's easy to search for the same name on MySpace, Facebook, Classmates and LinkedIn,” explains Software Engineer, Brian Stoler.
If you do not have a Google Profile set up, it is quite easy to start one; all you have to do is type in “me” and hit “Search”. You will get detailed instructions on how to set up an account, and in no time at all your profile will be up and running and will appear in the first results page whenever someone will search for your name.
The new functionality is a welcomed one, especially if your name is synonymous to a celebrity’s – in which case simply searching for that name will bring up numerous results that are not related to you, but to that celebrity. This way your profile will appear in the first results page, making it easier for others to access details about your online persona (details that you’ve provided to Google Profiles, details that you are comfortable about sharing online).
"When searching for yourself to see what others would find, results can be varied and aren't always what you want people to see — whether it's someone else with your name, or the finishing time from that 5K you ran back in 2002. We want to make that better and give you more of a voice. To give you greater control over what people find when they search for your name, we've begun to show Google profile results at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages. These results offer abbreviated information from user-created Google profiles and a link to the full profiles. We've also added links so it's easy to search for the same name on MySpace, Facebook, Classmates and LinkedIn,” explains Software Engineer, Brian Stoler.
If you do not have a Google Profile set up, it is quite easy to start one; all you have to do is type in “me” and hit “Search”. You will get detailed instructions on how to set up an account, and in no time at all your profile will be up and running and will appear in the first results page whenever someone will search for your name.
The new functionality is a welcomed one, especially if your name is synonymous to a celebrity’s – in which case simply searching for that name will bring up numerous results that are not related to you, but to that celebrity. This way your profile will appear in the first results page, making it easier for others to access details about your online persona (details that you’ve provided to Google Profiles, details that you are comfortable about sharing online).
