Egosurfing (also Googling itself , search futility , egosearching , egogoogling , autogogging , self-googling ) is the practice of finding your own name, or a pseudonym on popular search engines to review the results. Similarly, an egosurfer is the person who scours the Internet for his own name to see what information appears. It has become increasingly popular with the rise of internet search engines, as well as free blogging and hosting services. While Google is the most frequently mentioned search engine when referring to egosurfing, other well known search engines include Yahoo and Bing.
The term was coined by Sean Carton in 1995 and first appeared in print as an entry in the Jargon Watch column in March 1995 Gareth Branwyn at Wired .
Egosurfing is used by many people for various reasons. According to a study by Pew Internet & amp; The American life project, 47% of American adult Internet users have done a vanity search on Google or other search engines. Some egosurfs are solely for entertainment, like finding celebrities of the same name. However, many people are egosurfs as a means of online reputation management. Egosurfing can be used to find data spills, unwanted information released to have in the public eye. By searching for your own name in an online search engine, one can take the perspective of strangers trying to find personal information. Some egosurfs to hide pictures or personal information from prospective employers, clients, identity thieves, and the like. Similarly, some use egosurfing to maintain a positive public image and to achieve self-promotion.
Many social networking sites, such as Facebook, allow users to create their profile "searchable," meaning that their profile will appear in search results accordingly. As a result, those who seek to maintain their privacy are often egosurf to ensure that their profile does not appear in search engine results. As more people create online personas, many people find it necessary to carefully monitor their digital footprint, including information they have not yet chosen to share online, such as phone numbers and public records.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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