"If I choose to make photography my business, my clients will likely be web-savy. If they are web-savy, they will evenutally google me before they make the decision to spend their hard-earned money with me. If they google me... what will they find."
Think about the places you post online. Think about the things you say. If you are presenting yourself as a professional in one place, yet posting in an unprofessional way in another.... what's to stop your clients from finding both...and being confused, or downright put off.
Professionalism should cross all boards and boundaries. Its your reputation.
Hmmm, is that about me? I googled my name and I'm there! Well, so are a LOT of other people with my name.
I get a map of some hair salon, then a listing, then an indentation then my website! Cool!
When I do the shorter version of my name i'm not on page 1..there are many athletes though and a photographer too. I am #2 on page 2 though.
So while I'm not john smith i may not be far behind LOL
With my name, it is definitely something to consider. If I google my name without parenthesis, I am like the first 4 or 5 pages of google returns before you get some weird stuff.
WITH parenthesis, it is even more. Tack photography on the end of it, and well, it's me.
Of course, I don't bill myself as a "professional," either, but I do try to at least be "nice," when I visit places on the web. Silly, perhaps, but nice.
Very interesting point... I go by "Jimmy" (and always have), but if you Google "Jimmy Carter", you'll find EVERYTHING BUT me. So as a professional photographer, I decided to use my first two initials "S J Carter", for several reasons: 1) it's unique, 2) it doesn't distinguish gender, and 3) it was available as a domain. I've checked Google (and a number of other search engines) and found that it is far less common than "Jimmy". Plus, I have found that it has worked to my benefit by "isolating" me from the rest of the crowd (including that "other" guy who shares my name). ;-)
I've actually been pleased with the SJCarter search results and hope to capitalize on them from here on out!
Temperamental artist - the more temperamental the better -the artist that is. The truly tortured ones are great. And hard to live with and get along with. Or so i've been told.
Anyway, back on topic ... I agree to some extent, Cindi. But as someone who's had to hire people, I don't hold their informal Web persona against them if they're goofy. I mean, we all need a place to relax.
Now, if you're an ass in a forum about a particular industry or service, and then try to sell your services in a similar industry, you may be in trouble.
The ones that make me nervous are those who go online to gripe about their customers and giving such specific details that it could be immediately obvious who it is.
That kinda makes me shudder every time I read it.
Fortunately, we don't see it a lot here, but there have been a couple of instances.
The ones that make me nervous are those who go online to gripe about their customers and giving such specific details that it could be immediately obvious who it is.
That kinda makes me shudder every time I read it.
Fortunately, we don't see it a lot here, but there have been a couple of instances.
Oh Karma, take a peek over at ILP.com. They do it all the time. Kills me. I cringe every time knowing that client is likly going to find that post.
I gooogled myself and couldn't find me. There's even an AlexBakerPhotography.com that ain't me. Worse yet, he's better too.
You're lucky. Try having a sex offender web site pop up under your name as the first listing. I don't recall seeing that before when I've googled my name. SOB! At least his middle name is different.
I get some actor who was a vogon soldier in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (that's the entire first page) and someone else's concept art on deviantArt. I need to start typing my name more...
Eric Gamble Photography takes me right to my page...listed number 1 on page one of google...too bad my website is LAME and still needs to be worked on in a major way.
I think I will do that tommorow..
I've worried about this before but you know what, I'm me, and I'm going to do what I want and say what I want. I do not think there is a reason is this world I would pretend to be something I'm not because anything I gain that way, I didn't actually gain, it was someone else, someone else stealing and using my body for their own purpose, even if I get in on the deal it isn't my deal or my terms. So I am staying myself.
I am the man who will never get into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY....
And for this reason alone
"In 1980, despite a disappointing .282 average, he led the Phillies to the World Series and helped them win it for the first time in their history. In fact, in the last game of the series, in the last inning, with the bases loaded for the Kansas City Royals, a fly ball popped out of the catcher's glove but Rose luckily caught it before it hit the ground. If he hadn't caught it, there was a possibility that they could have lost the Series."
Luckily, I don't use my real name, so I'm free to make as big a fool of myself as I want!
:-D
OMG That's not your real name?!?!?! I feel so cheated & lied to. That's okay, though. We have pictures of your wife and your car.... we can find you! ;)
