This post is part of the All Women Blogging Carnival, hostest this week by my friend, the fabulously wonderful Mad Goat Lady. Come and play.
Here is David’s question for this week. If you want to join in just answer on your own blog any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so David can follow the progress of the discussion. And the question is;
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Have you ever Googled yourself?
It feels a bit strange answering this.
It’s almost like we’re being asked something rude…
Like, ‘Have you ever had inappropriate thoughts about a priest?’
…I suppose that’s because in answering ‘yes’ there’s the chance you may come across as an arrogant git.
But I’m not an arrogant git, so I’m Ok with this.
When I started blogging in May this year I googled myself just to see if I was the only Jo Beaufoix out there, and it seems I am.
While that’s quite a pleasing thought in itself, it would also make for a very dull post today, as having checked, there are 100 pages of me commenting on other people’s posts, or other people commenting on mine.
Exciting stuff eh??
However, what does happen if you enter ‘Jo Beaufoix‘ in google and press search, is that it says at the top of the results,
‘Did you mean ‘Jo Beauvois’?
How cheeky is that?
I mean, it’s enough to give a girl complex.
Especially as in my head it says it in a really sarky kind of Terry Thomas voice,
“Google: “Jo Beaufoix? Really? Are you sure you mean that old thing? I’d try Jo Beauvois, she’s much more our sort of gal old chap.“
So, I thought I’d see what happened if I put in ‘Jo Beauvois’ and googled her, thinking, well, if it begins her listings with the, ‘Did you mean Jo Beaufoix?’ line I’ll feel a little happier.
But….
It doesn’t??
Gulp.
Why, why does Google have a problem with me?
I’ve always been polite, I’ve never googled anything untoward, I even have google as my homepage goddamit.
I’ve sent extremely thoughtful and generous birthday presents such as chocolates and fine sweet meats for energy, (I mean, well, it must be a very busy life…being Google), and I aways put Google on my Christmas list.
I am at a loss.
I googled Mr B but there was no, ‘Do you mean Mr Beauvois,’ although the first entry had him down as a ‘Worcestershire Farmer and Royal Enfied Big Twin buff’ which made me smile. (I have no idea what a ‘big twin buff’ is, but I daren’t google it for fear of unsavoury findings, oh la la.)
I googled other bloggers who have a name as their blog title, eg. Avery Gray, Napoleon Fantastic, Nelson Galaxy, Miss Despina, Emma Sometimes… and none of them get the, ‘oh my God, are you sure you really want to look at them? Have you thought of these alternatives before you take the plunge?’ line.
So it obviously thinks that Napoleon and Nelson have more realistic names than me, or just prefers them for some reason.
How rude.
The only other thing I can think of is that Google actually loves me, in a deep, meaningful, and well, slightly obsessive way, and is therefore trying to steer any possible rivals in the direction of Ms. Beauvois instead of me.
I am not entirely sure what to do about this matter as I don’t want to invoke any stalker tendencies from google as that could be a probem right??
I mean, it already offers to fill in my personal details in forms for me??
Hmmmm.
As for Ms Beauvois, apparenty she is an ‘elected official in Lees County’, a ‘teacher’s aide’, and a kind of ‘bat‘.
Apart from being a bat, (which, lets face it, would be pretty cool, especially this time of year), that doesn’t sound more interesting than me does it?
Or at least, I don’t sound less interesting than her do I??
Hmmmm.
Am I being paranoid?
Looking for mystery where there is nothing more sinister than perhaps a backhander from Ms. Beauvois to Monsieur La Google to send searches for anyone with a slightly similar name her way??
Well having just done these tests, I have decided that cannot be the case because apparently I am incredibly logical, look, it says it here…
You Are Incredibly logical
Move over Spock - you’re the new master of logic.
You think rationally, clearly and quickly.
A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!
HA!
My mind is like a computer. That means I think like you, you evil search-engine you.
So sort it out Google, or I will remove you from my Christmas list and change my homepage to Beauvois Bat.
So there.
I once found out, to my chagrin, that I share a name with a porn star. To be fair, mine is my actual name, acquired through marriage. Hers is a pseudonym. But still…I hope a potential employer never tries to google me, just on the basis of that alone.
To make things worse, she came to do a show at a strip club in Memphis, where I was on the air at the time. I caught a lot of grief from my co-workers.
Oh, and I’m first AND second, too. I suppose I could think I’m special, but I won’t go that far…
If I type in “CamiKaos” it asks if I meant Caminos.
If I type in “Cami Kaos” it just pulls up way too much of me. Wait no, there can never be too much of a good thing right.
Jen you are sooo special.
And how lovely to have a stripper named after you , hee hee.
If I google myself I come up, as does a not-famous-in-the-least-actress who once starred with Jody Foster in a kid’s movie. I guess I’m pretty special.
If I google ye olde pen name, I get some couture websites.
It asks me if I meant Running With Bulls. As if I live in Pamploma or something…
There are two of me. I’m a little freaked out by this. Especially because the other me? Way prettier. Bleh.
“Rachel Clark is a contemporary folk artist, teacher and lecturer who comes from a long line of sewers, beginning with her great-grandmother…”- Am hoping that refers to the stitching kind of sewer rather than the effluent kind…
Would loooove to do the novel thing, but will be winging my way to Uganda! Yay! Will probably be able to fill a novel with my African exploits when I get back!
PS. Am very envious of Ms B being a bat.
Yeah, I’ve checked and “the other” me’s are just as boring!
Cami, what is a Caminos?
Wait, I’ll google it…
Ahhh, it’s erm, a road. Hmmmm, you are much more interesting than a road.
Thalia’s Child, I’m sure you are more well known than the actress. I bet when she googles herself she thinks, bugger.
Belle, books…bulls…you wouldn’t want to confuse them would you? Tsk. Silly google, it obviousy thinks we’re all idiots.
Kim, there is only one of you. The others are cheap imitations.
Englishmum, when I first read your comment I thought, ’sewers? Eurghhhh’, then I read the rest.
And wow, Uganda. Hope you have a fab time with your sis.
Lori, you are not boring. Not one bit. The others are probably just pants, but you are not.
Well, I’m not first (or close) for “Oh, The Joys” — but Park Rangers? Well… yeah.
Jo..did you ever stop to think that *not* being on Google just may be a very good thing?
Okay, I did it just to be sure, and you’re right. It brings up a heck of a lot of me. Wow! Weird. I mean, cool, but weird.
But, did you know I also wrote an article for the Reggae Times? Neither did I! It must have been an imposter.
When I google my name, lots of them come up, but they are not me. Then the one that is me is a list of attendees at a school meeting, and the minutes got posted on the school web-site…How boring? I also googled my maiden name, and again, lots of sites come up, but none are actually me. I think I’d rather not be out there as someone else! The fifteen-year-old girl is listed!! She placed second in a race recently and that is listed on a track web site.
Ah, Jo, vintage stuff indeed
You and I share the irreverence gene - thank goodness! I reckon Mr B is going to sue you for besmirching his reputation.
Terry Thomas? I REMEMBER Terry Thomas - and I remember being completely befuddled by the fact that he had a hyphen in his name (as well as the famous gap in his teeth)!!
Oh the Joys, hee hee. What more could you want?
MGL, I am there though, but it’s like googe wants to shield the world from me by giving people the choice to go elsewhere before they read me.
It’s sooo rude.
Avery, I would love to read that article.
Mrs Weasley, isn’t it weird when we find traces of ourselves out there in internet land that we didn’t know were there? And yay the 15 year old. What a star.
Hee hee thanks David. And wasn’t Terry Thomas strange, yet funny?
If I google my *real* name, I get lots of hits about myself (more than anyone would ever care to read and more than I would ever want anyone to read) but it’s all decidedly boring.
When I google ‘Leendaluu” it asks me: Did you fall asleep on your keyboard because *obviously* you meant Lendale so you must have hit some letters with your nose. Lendale White is a football player but I am not.
However, when I insist on Leendaluu I have to relive all the inance comments I left on other’s blogs–that is now my new vision of hell. But honestly, at one point, I thought they were sooooo brilliant.
I also find some person claiming I gave them an award and I don’t even know them. Cheeky!
We could beat Google up for you if you’d like. I bet that would stop it sneering at people.
Nasty.
SO I am not alone Lee. It’s so rude to offer alternatives isn’t it? Bad google.
Yeah RC. Give it a swift kick up the pantry door. That should do the trick.
Great post….you always have a way of making things so interesting.
I love it. I do think google might have it out for…..the bastards! LOL did I just say that?
There’s only one Jo Beaufoix, there’s only one Jo Beaufoix!
Corey, ahh thanks. And it’s good to get your anger out sometimes hon, hee hee.
Akela, there’s only one you as well I think, or though it wants to take us to Kulamalu first.
How rude. Tsk.
I google myself everyday - sometimes more than once. It’s becoming a bit of a habit and I feel dirty. Don’t tell.
Your secret is safe with us Napoleon.
OK, so I don’t use my name as the title of my blog, but I did just google CableGirl and it suggested I try Cable Girl instead. Sexy Halloween costumes and cable knit sweaters. lol
[…] Beaufoix presents Go Google Yourself posted at Jo Beaufoix, saying, “Didn’t know which one to pick, but I thought everyone […]
oh my god apparently i’m a donkey girl (http://www.holly-dolly.eu/). i really could have lived without knowing that. i now wish i could go back in time and *not* google myself…..
Jo! i don’t want to be a donkey girl!
god, i wish that was the first time i’d said that in my life.
Great post!
I was going to use my name for the domain of my new photography blog. But mandyjones[dot]com was already taken.
But before I looked for a different domain I thought I would see what this site was like. I got a bit of a shock and decided not to use my name as a domain, because that domain takes me to an adult site, that I wouldn’t want my readers to accidentally land on!
Hi Holly. It’s not so bad… I mean, donkeys are kind of ute, and they have erm, lovely eyes… ;D
Mandy, nooooooooooooooo.
Imagine if you’d never checked…
[…] Go Google Yourself! […]
Cablegirl, hee hee, missed you there somehow.
A sexy cableknit halloween costume is an interesting concept…