do adcomms read this forum/your Facebook/etc?

[BlueSwedeShoes]

My name is sort of unique, only two, possibly three, other people I've ever heard of that has the same name. Though one of those people is an artist who had a couple of one-hit wonders (big in Europe at least) so he dominates the google search.

...unless you add my city. In which case they get LinkedIn, academicpress, some random publication listings and my university publication database. And some hits on that artist.

[NineTailedDemonFox]

Can we sue google for this?

My name search revealed my entire history, my old blogspot accounts and youtube videos etc. I was shocked....Will they admit a person running around the house with a camera?

[LifeIsGood]

Googling my name turns up a bunch of not-bad stuff, actually. They can see mostly business-related things, articles I've published, and my running club and race info. My Facebook page is hidden, but my mom is on there with me, so there's nothing too bad anyway. If there WAS anything horrible to be found by searching, I think I'd try to get a lot of other stuff posted to drive the bad stuff to the bottom of the list. I don't know if that would help, but at least I'd feel like I could control a little piece of it.

[This topic reminds me: In promos for the show Rescue Me, Dennis Leary calls the social networking sites "FaceySpaceys" and "TweetiePages." It still makes me giggle.]

Edited January 26, 2010 by LifeIsGood

[LifeIsGood]

Cpaige, don't worry about it. They'll know that there are lots of people with the same name out there, and they'll be able to see that it's not you. For example, on the second page of my Google results, it says I'm a 50-year-old realtor in Miami. Nope.

[On edit: I just saw that at the bottom of page 3 in my Google results, there's a link to the program of a conference I participated in last year. My first academic Google hit! Yay!]

Edited January 26, 2010 by LifeIsGood

[Pamphilia]

Gah. I have mostly wiped any social mentions of myself (real name at least) from the searchable internet, but Googling my name comes up with the Facebook page of someone who shares my age and gender, so a body could reasonably assume that she is I. Only she is a biiiiiiigggg fan of drinking and a big fan of talking about it/posting many drunken pictures. And a big fan of trashy reality shows, apparently.

Rats! Who is this drunken Pamphilia doppelganger?

Edited January 26, 2010 by Pamphilia

[NEPA]

Can I contact adcomms and tell them, "that myspace page isn't me!!! don't think i'm a binge-drinking slut, please!!"

Now I'm convinced they will all reject me because of this.

I don't think you and anxiousapplicant have too much to worry about. It should go without saying from your application and academic dedication that you're not that type of person, and certainly not dumb enough to leave incriminating photos visible during the grad application process. (Although one of my friends was forced to create a Facebook page, even though he hadn't wanted one, to combat someone with the same name who looked like a total jerk. So you both could try to create competing pages. But I don't think it's worth the time.)

Edited January 26, 2010 by rwfan88

[Sparky]

If you Google my first and last names, you get 10+ pages of results of high school athletics--a runner in Michigan and a swimmer in Missouri, one of whom was me.

However, I usually go by my middle name, and if you Google my middle and last names, you get a pile of letters to the editor and a few other testaments to my more incendiary social justice activities and opinions.

My middle name is not on any of my applications.

The Catholic schools don't even get my middle initial.

[mudlark]

People who are going crazy trying to sift through all the grad apps and get acceptances out while managing everyone's funding and talking to prospective applicants on the phone and dealing with the people who are persistent and upset about their rejection and trying to link faculty members with incoming PhDs and setting up campus visits.....

.....WHILE teaching two courses and serving on committees and keeping up their research and conferencing and working on publications.....

......AND maintaining some semblance of a family and personal life.......

.....are really unlikely to take the time to check out what song applicants posted on their myspace.

I agree with the "they're just not that interested in you" posted above. Definitely not worth worrying about!

[piccgeek]

People who are going crazy trying to sift through all the grad apps and get acceptances out while managing everyone's funding and talking to prospective applicants on the phone and dealing with the people who are persistent and upset about their rejection and trying to link faculty members with incoming PhDs and setting up campus visits.....

.....WHILE teaching two courses and serving on committees and keeping up their research and conferencing and working on publications.....

......AND maintaining some semblance of a family and personal life.......

.....are really unlikely to take the time to check out what song applicants posted on their myspace.

I agree with the "they're just not that interested in you" posted above. Definitely not worth worrying about!

Psshhh professors aren't BUSY....*remembering literally running down the hallway with LOR writer on his way to a class to get in a breathless reminder about the LOR due date*

Seriously, it's like my mentor told me in the first round: "They're not losing any sleep over this. Trust me."

[monkeefugg]

Googling my name will retrieve my Master's Thesis and a site about a scholarship I won, with a pic of my professor introducing me at the podium at the ceremony.

and My Facebook is AWESOME

so I hope they'd cyber stalk me

cuz then they'd see my true amazingitude

[Timothy Vallier]

I would always assume the answer to that question is yes.

[MelMcC]

I am not particularly worried about this but I did find it interesting that if you Googled my name my hulu profile shows up on the second page. This, fortunately, is the most embarrassing thing that someone could find about me. Mainly because I am currently work as a shop girl in a tuxedo place and now that my applications are in I have little to do with my time at work, so I watch embarassing amounts of tv drama's. Like I said not really worried but still it would suck for someone to google me and think I am a total loser who just watches tv all day, although at the moment I guess I kinda am. lol

[frogstar]

Actually there's some possibility that adcoms may google your name or find you on the Facebook.

For example the following Prof. checks facebook profiles,  here is his advice to prospective grads:

Clean up your facebook profile

If you google my name, the first 10 results are all about my conference paper, except one facebook profile with the same, but with a very stupid drunkish picture of some guy of the same age as me. 

Edited January 28, 2010 by frogstar

[shaydlip]

Keep this in mind: There are those of us who used this community, and others like it, while applying. Then we got in, and are now graduate students at the places you are applying. We aren't on your committees, but the professors ask us our opinion.

Personally, I google everyone, so if your name is on our prospectives list you can be sure I am looking you up. It's a great way to give your mind a rest before thinking too hard.

[Early]

If you google my name (fairly unique) you get conference papers, and undergrad honors discussion postings from years ago. You also get my facebook. The information on my facebook doesn't worry me but my pictures do. Nothing inappropriate, I just have an 'alternative' look. I have 8 year old dreadlocks and a bunch of tattoos. I'm worried this might turn adcoms off.

[anxiousapplicant]

Keep this in mind: There are those of us who used this community, and others like it, while applying. Then we got in, and are now graduate students at the places you are applying. We aren't on your committees, but the professors ask us our opinion.

Personally, I google everyone, so if your name is on our prospectives list you can be sure I am looking you up. It's a great way to give your mind a rest before thinking too hard.

But that's just the problem cpaige and I are having! How can you be sure you have the right person? I mean, I don't have facebook so I don't know how it works. But just googling a name and getting the facebook account does not show any info about the person beyond their skanky pictures. There is nothing about me on google, I checked, so it isn't fair if people google my name and think some nasty slut is me when it isn't and judge me based on that.

[ridgey]

I'm really surprised at how many people here have implied their Facebook is public. Privacy settings are your friend, for better reasons than in case an adcom member looks you up!

[LifeIsGood]

But that's just the problem cpaige and I are having! How can you be sure you have the right person? I mean, I don't have facebook so I don't know how it works. But just googling a name and getting the facebook account does not show any info about the person beyond their skanky pictures. There is nothing about me on google, I checked, so it isn't fair if people google my name and think some nasty slut is me when it isn't and judge me based on that.

Here's an idea: Set up Facebook and MySpace accounts, with your (sober and intelligent-looking) face, or some other non-offensive image (if you're uncomfortable putting your face out there), and only put academic things on it. In FB, you can choose to show just minimal info, such as your interests or description, and keep the rest private. Then, if they search for you, they'll at least get two options: one skanky drunk chick, and the real you.

[shaydlip]

But that's just the problem cpaige and I are having! How can you be sure you have the right person? I mean, I don't have facebook so I don't know how it works. But just googling a name and getting the facebook account does not show any info about the person beyond their skanky pictures. There is nothing about me on google, I checked, so it isn't fair if people google my name and think some nasty slut is me when it isn't and judge me based on that.

There are other identifiers in your app, such as the university you attended, what year you graduated, etc. Sometimes facebook is a no-win because there ARE so many people with that name, but usually I can find something if I put in your name & the undergrad you attended.

[TMP]

LOL My facebook profile is private that only those in my Networks can search me up. So the person who has my name on Google's search results... if you just look at my undergrad, you'll note that this person didn't go to my undergrad (good thing considering that the picture isn't really attractive!). It took me to the second page to find the real ME.... my universal Amazon book wish list.

Fortunately, those are good books that I'm asking for!

But I'm still fretting a bit about my Skype profile picture for one of the schools as the prof and I talked to each other over Skype (not video)... I actually changed my old picture of me holding my baby cousin not to give any wrong impressions to another picture of just me.

[JerryLandis]

I wish they'd look at my Facebook profile! I'm sure attaching name to face and interests would make them a little more reluctant to reject me. Sure, I have drunken pictures on there, but I don't really think anyone would be rejected based solely on a couple pictures of them having fun without doing anything illegal.

[JerryLandis]

Also, I have a fairly uncommon name, but there are a couple other ladies out there with the same name as me, one of them being a famous opera singer (supposedly). It would be cool if they thought that was me!

[JerryLandis]

Okay, last post. I just googled my name and found a myspace page belonging to someone with the same name - she has all the same interests as me! Freaky! Sounds like a cool gal.

[ridgey]

There are other identifiers in your app, such as the university you attended, what year you graduated, etc. Sometimes facebook is a no-win because there ARE so many people with that name, but usually I can find something if I put in your name & the undergrad you attended.

If you did this for me, you'd find...the phone list for my work place (which also happens to be my undergrad uni). I declare myself Un-googleable. At least to page 20 something - I didn't look any further.

[rogue]

As far as I can tell, no one at any of my prospective schools has googled me. How can I say this with any confidence? Well, I have a website that is my first and last name as the URL (it's not a vanity thing; I do a bit of freelance work and the site hosts my resume and portfolio). I also have a tracker on the site, and I can see where the hits are coming from. I have not gotten a single hit from an academic domain since I sent out my applications, nor have I gotten hits I can't account for (i.e., ones that aren't friends, family or clients/prospects) from any of the cities where my schools are located. And yet, if you search for my first and last name, this is one of the very first sites that pops up. I can't imagine a student or faculty member searching for me and not clicking that link, so I'm assuming they're just not searching.