I have often heard people say, “You should Google yourself and see what it says.” Apparently, a lot of people do this, so I decided to do it, too. Now, I have a simple name that is probably common. It not common like John Smith, but it’s not Engelbert Humperdink, either. With a decently common name, I found a lot of alternate versions of myself.
The first version is a singer who has a MySpace page. Heck, I didn’t even know MySpace still existed. Anyway, he has a list of songs that can be listened to. My favorite is a cover version of “He Ain’t Heavy”.
I don’t know, but I bet a metal kid is kind of heavy.
Another version of me is the executive director of the AIA chapter in New York. Apparently, it is an architecture thing because he is a registered architect.
I hope he designed this because it’s cool, and he has a cool name.
The next version is a lawyer in Sugar Land, Texas. This guy has a long resume filled with numerous awards and a long list of professional organizations. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer. I guess that would have made me an alternative version of myself.
On second thought, maybe they wanted me to have another job. I can’t remember.
There is also a version that is a State Farm agent in Chatfield, Minnesota. I know what you are thinking. That is the most exciting thing you have ever heard of.
Dressing up as a bear might make it more exciting.
Somewhere in the list of alternatives, I found the real me. There I am in all of my glory – historian, lecturer, member of the Rotary, a regular jack of all trades.
Overall, this Googling myself thing was a weird experience because it’s a little strange to read about people with the same name as me. I wonder if there would be an explosion if a couple of us ran into each other. I don’t know about that, but I know that I would hate to be named John Smith. Wait, I would hate to be named Engelbert Humperdink, too.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
My Chinese name is 100% unique. Everything in google under my name is me…It feels like being naked. So I’d rather be you than Engelbert Humperdink…
I’m sure it’s strange to see an entire listing of yourself.
and it’s such a boring version of me.
Boring? I don’t believe it.
I think the real lesson here is: Don’t google yourself. What a uniquely 21st Century admonition.
Thanks for the laugh!
You’re welcome. I guess it could be called modern problems. Of course, that was also a decently funny Chevy Chase movie.
That’s a wonderful idea. Let me try it and see what happens. I wonder why I never thought about things like this before when I was bored. 🙂
Nice post. Your name seems to have some powerful effect though… 😀
Thanks. Boredom can bring about all sorts of crazy ideas.
Dear whoever , as long as you don’t google “Google” because you could break the Internet.(not my line- taken from a very funny show i love called The IT Crowd) cheers
That’s a great line. I’m going to try to break the Internet.
Since my last name is totally made up, my name is utterly singular. (And as an extra bonus, no one can find me on facebook.) However, I am definitely going to have to do this with my maiden name.
It’s definitely an interesting experiment. The people that popped up on my were kind of funny looking. I hope that’s not a complete pattern.
What a funny post! From what I’ve seen of your blog, it’s quite entertaining.
P.S. Take heart! Not all of us in Tennessee are imbeciles. 😉
Thanks for commenting and offering kind words. As a native Tennessean, I know that our state has less imbeciles per capita than the other states.
You’re quite welcome! Ah, well, I’m not a native, but I’ve definitely met an eclectic mix of people.