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Sarah Gawthorne

Office Blog

When I first walked into the CLEO office, I didn’t know what to expect. To say I was terrified of the well-dressed, ultra-cool women working there was an understatement. It was my first mag job - after a journalism degree I started my career behind-the-scenes on the Today Show. Now I spend my days chasing stories, interviewing celebs and writing articles for the mag. And for the record, first impressions aren’t always right - the girls are still really well-dressed, but scary they are not!

Office Blog

Go Google Yourself!

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18 Jun, 2008

I’ve had a moment with search engines this week that I wanted to share with you all. It’s a realisation, actually; that as a non-celebrity you can be saved from having a Wikipedia page erected in your honour (thank God), but can’t escape a Googlersona (that’s short for your Google persona – aka online personality – for those that need my attempt at abbreviation explained). That’s right – I have one, you have one, everyone has one. But is it really a true reflection of what you’re truly like as a person? Worse still, is there anything you can do about it? And, while you might think I’m rambling, I’m telling you straight up that this could be affecting your social life!

Google. What did we do without it? Walk blissfully unaware into a prospective new relationship is what. These days that isn’t so easy. “Googling” a guy you fancy has become about as routine as a morning coffee. You enter his name, cross your fingers and click “I’m feeling lucky”. Then there are those few ignorant seconds as the page loads before you realise that the cute boy you met at the pub last week who wrote his name and number on a piece of paper could quite possibly be – according to Google and adultfilmdatabase.com – an accomplished porn star with film credits such as “Swallow My Pride”, “Just Over Eighteen” and “Dirty Knees Behind the Trees”. Oh no, but he looked so nice? What to do!?

Before you write him off, consider your own sordid internet past – your postings on a Take That fan website ten years ago, a drunken picture on some nightclub’s social pages or that university paper you once wrote about feminists that ended up on a forum with the title “The Vagina Files”. Great! According to Google you’re a drunken, sexually explicit bi-sexual with really bad taste in music. Who’s to say he didn’t Google you? Best you find out what the rest of the world will be seeing when they innocently enter your name and search. Go Google yourself. I dare you!

(And if you have advice for readers on how to clean up your Googlersona then fill us in…. asap).

Sarah G xx

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  • My name “Rob Abdul” for the last 3 years has been my brand name. Google has 3,360,000 results for my name Rob Abdul. I was so proud when my name appeared in Google suggest. It may not sound like much but at least 60 to 80 people Google me a month. It is nice for the Ego, I must admit!
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