What is a polite way of asking your supervisor to NOT put your name on his website?

[reinhard]

So my supervisor recently updated his website and he now lists all his former grad students.

 

I personally don't like my (real) name up on the internet for everyone to search me up, yeah I know, I am too conceited.

 

How do I tell him I don't want my name up on his website without sounding like "I don't like you" or "I don't think my name deserves to be on your website because it is too good for you".

 

Should I ask in person or on email?

[themmases]

You could tell your supervisor the truth, that you're not comfortable with being so google-able. It will probably sound better than anything else you could say.

 

Are you sure you want that, though? When you search for jobs in the future, people will look you up. It's good for them to see something positive about you when they do, like that your supervisor wrote about your contributions on his lab page. I'd even consider this really good, because it's not just something you wrote yourself like a LinkedIn profile. If someone told me they wanted to avoid that (and didn't have a legitimate security concern like a creepy ex), I would probably sympathize with the impulse but find it a little old-fashioned and naive.

[TakeruK]

Definitely agree with the above. In fact, now that you are in grad school, you should start thinking about setting up your own website with your information etc. for other academics to look you up. I know that when I want to find out about someone's work in my field, the first thing I do is google their name + physics (or astronomy or planetary science) and sometimes also their current institution if I know it. 

[juilletmercredi]

^I'm going to third the above two.  In fact, I have even heard it said that some folks get suspicious when they search for you and find nothing.  Bizarre, I know, but as a future academic/researcher/professional you do want to establish an online presence for yourself so that people can look you up and see positive, professional things about you when they search.  Also, it's only natural for people to want to find out more about you and your work.

 

So you probably want your name on your lab supervisor's website, as people will find it when they search for you online and can get to know your work/which lab you are in.  And I also agree with the website advice - one of my original goals this summer was to begin a website for myself, although it'll probably have to wait as I'm busier than expected.

[Eigen]

Fourthed. 

 

It's very common to list former students (grad, undergrad, post-doc) as well as collaborators on the website. It gives you a small, but positive web presence, and that's a good thing. 

 

I've been working on a website I can keep more up to date than our group one, and almost every career workshop I've been to has recommended something similar. 

[Sigaba]

So my supervisor recently updated his website and he now lists all his former grad students.

 

I personally don't like my (real) name up on the internet for everyone to search me up, yeah I know, I am too conceited.

 

How do I tell him I don't want my name up on his website without sounding like "I don't like you" or "I don't think my name deserves to be on your website because it is too good for you".

 

Should I ask in person or on email?

 

You could tell your supervisor that you want to minimize your URL foot print because you are concerned about identity theft. If you know anyone who has been a victim of identify theft, you could use that person as an example and thus minimize the risk of sounding like a tin foiler.

[nugget]

I agree with the above posts as well. But if you are still uncomfortable, would you be alright if instead of having your full name posted your first and middle name initials followed by your last name were up instead?

Edited June 19, 2014 by jenste

[Eigen]

Just curious, if you're worried about your full name being out there and searchable, what about online reprints of publications? Those will have your full name, are searchable, and have your institutional affiliation. 

 

Also, it's not uncommon for review articles to have a picture of the author and a bio of said author. 

[DeleteMePlease]

You really shouldn't worry that people can google you as long as it does not contain personal information.