Have You Googled Yourself Lately?
April 2, 2008 · Print This Article
I have just returned from an advanced technology conference. One of the first of its kind in Atlanta for real estate professionals. It was called RETechSouth and was designed for leading Real Estate professionals and teams, like the RKiHomes Team, that understand the impact that technology is having on the Real Estate world. Our goal is to leverage technology and bring it to our clients wherever possible to assist them in buying or selling a home. As a result, we want to surround ourselves with leading experts that have their pulse on the impact of technology in the Real Estate world.
We learned some great stuff from pioneers and industry leaders like Jonathan Washburn and Bob Stewart from ActiveRain, Mary McKnight from RSS Pieces, Rudy Bachraty from Trulia, Kevin Boer from 3Oceansrealestate.com, Pat Kitano from Transparent RE.com, Dustin Luther from 4realz.net and Jason Benesch from Real Estate Tomato.
I was particularly facinated to learn that one of the criteria to be hired by “Google” is that if your name is typed into a Google search and nothing comes up, you don’t get the job! But it doesn’t stop there. Google is now actively used by college admissions offices when evaluating student applications and even on the dating scene to do “a little research” prior to that dinner date…I guess there is no such thing as a “blind date” any more!
A My Space or Facebook page can tell an employer, a college recruiter, and yes, even a Realtor, a great deal about you, your personality, and the friends you hang out with. So, if you haven’t done so lately, “Google Yourself” to find out more about your “on-line image”! Not impressed with what you see? It is time to build your on-line resume, just as you used to work toward building an impressive paper resume!
Great article. Social networks have become huge for the younger age group, in fact when you meet someone out and about it is common to get their MySpace or Facebook rather than their phone number…it is less intrusive and allows for some detective work before giving out a phone number.
I am currently looking for a renter for a room in my house and as part of the requirement I am asking for applicants to provide me with their MySpace or Facebook profile URL’s this way I can go to their profile and see what type of friends they have and learn a little bit about them and if I think they’d be a good fit or not.
I believe there is great value to social networking and creating an online profile or resume for yourself. It is easy to do using sites like LinkedIn, MySpace or Facebook.