I was shocked with how much information I could find from just my name and address. It was interesting to see the census demographic and town breakdown. If I were someone building a profile on myself I would have decided that I am from a medium sized town from northern New Jersey and am close to several major population centers.
For me the Google Search was the most interesting part. I remember doing this several years ago and finding very little information about myself. However, I was able to find much more information this time. I found information about myself from UW and also my high school. I also found my name mentioned in a local newspaper and another website about high school athletics.
Also, my Twitter and LinkedIn profiles also appeared. These could provide someone with additional information about me. I don't actually tweet on Twitter and my Facebook profile is limited to non-friends, but my LinkedIn does provide a good amount of information about myself.
This exercise was a reminder that people can find a lot of information from just a name and people need to remember to watch what they put online.
The change you experienced in your online profile over the years just goes to show that even if you are constantly smart about what you post online, over time, it will add up to something useful.
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