Repost - My Online Identity

As part of my professional upgrading, I am taking some classes at the University of Regina. One of my courses is Computer Science 280 "Risks and Rewards in the Information Society". One of the first assignments was to search for your name on the Internet - here is the result of my search. Kind of interesting. What does searching for your name reveal? Does it say something that puts you in a good light?

Google Search Lloyd Johnston

As a result of searching for my name (Lloyd Johnston) on the Internet, I have come to the conclusion that all of you should properly call me "Your Excellency" as I am the Governor General of Canada. While I am not David Lloyd Johnston, it is a bit freaky as my father's name is David. While to the best of my knowledge, there is no connection between myself and the Vice-Regal, I could see some potential confusion.

The other common choice for a Google search for Lloyd Johnston is actually someone my clients have been asking about. Lloyd Johnston was a Regina-born philanthropist, engineer, and business owner who passed away in December of 2011. When my clients hear that my name is Lloyd Johnston, I am often asked if I am related to this man, to which I must answer no. That said, he appears to have been a great man.

The final major finding is that apparently I'm a blacksmith from Woodville ON where I run a blacksmithing school.

The only listing on the first two pages of the Google search that was actually me, was a public Picassa photo album of some graphics that I used for the Geocaching RACECAR 2010 event that I organized in Regina. One picture was actually a logo designed by a fellow geocacher, and the other was a photo I took for one of my caches that was hidden for the RACECAR event.

Google Search Lloyd Johnston arrested

Doing a search for this would make someone believe I am a murder victim from Michigan. Apparently, my wife, Laura, poisoned me and the dog and was arrested for second degree murder, manslaughter, and practicing medicine without a license. Samples of human tissue were found in the house. What is the difference between truth and fiction? Fiction has to make sense. . .

Google Search Lloyd Johnston Regina

In order to find someone that is actually me, this search turns up one item, my LinkedIn profile which I haven't updated in years. The information is all accurate, but outdated, but nothing I don't want people to know about. Since I'm self employed, I should update this to be more current and make more use of it. However, other results still focused on me being the Govenor General or having died in December after being a well known business owner and philanthropist (According to these sources, I used to own the Travelodge on Albert South).

One other finding that was interesting was that of an RCMP officer, Lloyd  J Johnston (J does happen to be my middle initial) who died in Salmon Arm, BC on July 10, 2011.

Conclusion

My main conclusion is that I am not likely to experience any confusion in my online identity.

In fact, any confusion would likely be to my benefit. However, our Governor General should be careful, as if I get into a highly publicized scandal, it could lead to some brand confusion that affects our Head of State.

Unlike other people, I wouldn't mind more information being out there on me, as it could allow potential clients to find me more easily.