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Monday, October 27, 2014

Googling Me


            When I searched for information about myself on various websites, I found the type of information that a geodemographic firm would use. On Whitepages, I found that when I type in my home phone number a map with my house on it shows up, as well as my parents’ names and their age ranges. When I searched my zip code on FactFinder, I found out a lot about my town that I did not even know. In Towaco, New Jersey, there are 5,384 residents, of whom only 36 are African American. There are also only 281 Hispanics living in my town. In addition, the median income is $137,941 and only 3.9% of people are below the poverty line. When I searched myself on Google, I found that my LinkedIn and Pinterest accounts came up. If someone was not friends with me on Facebook, the information they would be able to see is that I attend the University of Wisconsin, my age, and where I have previously worked.

A picture of my dog that comes up if you
Google "Jennie Russnow"

            I think that this representation of my existence is not too detailed or personal, but would be useful to advertisers on the web. You would be able to tell that I come from an upper middle class neighborhood that is not very diverse, and that I am privileged enough to be sent away to college. I have downloaded my Facebook archive before, and that was extremely more invasive and personal than this.

1 comment:

  1. I was also surprised at the data that was readily available for our neighborhoods. I never thought aspects such as neighborhood salary averages were available to the public. Although that data is somewhat interesting, it is a tad scary that that data is out there for anyone to see.

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