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First Page Google Nightmare

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Real Estate Agent

Many thanks to George Tallabas for his post  Google your way into your clients minds >> Thanks to Active Rain.  After reading how George had asked a potential client to  go to Google and type in his name to learn more about him before their meeting.

I decided to type in my name to see what was there.  Sure enough it was all over the first page for the most part, thanks to Active Rain.  But then came the surprise.  To my horror, the very last entry on the page was a link to a blog where I had made a comment a few days ago about The 2008 Honda Accord That You Can't Buy.  The problem was not the fact that my comment was showing up, but that it was NOT MY COMMENT.  It was that of the person whose comment followed mine and contained profanity and views that I do NOT share. 

I clicked on the link and searched in vain for a way to delete my comment just to get the trash now associated with me off of the first page of Google.  I finally found a link to send a search concern to Google.  Time will tell if anything will be done...Maybe if I keep on Blogging it will roll on off the first page.  At least I know to continue to check it and make sure the garbage is gone before suggesting someone Google my name.  Who would have ever thought to be careful about what you post, because the next person could say something inappropriate?

Renee L Norton, REALTOR

Keller Williams Realty

 

 

 

 

Comments(8)

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Kimberly Grant
Exit Leon Crawford Realty - Huntsville, AL
Real Estate Agent - Huntsville Alabama
that's horrible!!  It is so important that we maintain a level of professionalism even when we are on the internet.  I hate when really good people like yourself are the victim of things out of their control like this.  I really hope something is done or as you say it rolls off of Google quickly.  We have to be very careful.  I did learn to start reading through some of the comments when deciding whether or not to comment to a post.
Sep 13, 2007 02:16 PM
Renee L. Norton
Birmingham, AL
Kimberly - Thanks for your support.  I never expected anything like the post that followed mine to be on that blog.  If you go to it now, there is a comment that someone else has made about the inappropriateness of the remarks on that blog.
Sep 14, 2007 04:04 AM
Patsy Ittner, Your Premier Broker Selling St. Augustine Real Estate
Little Fox Realty - Saint Augustine, FL
That's interesting, and shows just one of the problems with the internet.  Aside from being larger than the universe, it is fallible, and things can go wrong.  Recourse and remedy are not easy with Google.  They are now a humongous company, fractured in their products, and as far as I can tell, not particularly interested in the little guy.  Good luck with this.
Oct 21, 2007 12:53 PM
Renee L. Norton
Birmingham, AL
Patsy - Thanks.  Google passed the buck and said my only recourse is to get AOL to remove the comment since it is on an AOL news blog.  My thoughts are that AOL is not pulling the comment that follows mine Google is.  Google is not taking responsibility for their mistake.  AOL however, should provide a way or the person posting to delete their own comments whenever they choose, particularly in a case like this.  I appreciate that we can edit our posts here on AR.  My vision is poor (fluctuates...better some days than others) and sometimes I find typos after the fact that spell-check doesn't catch.  I always correct them no matter how old the post.
Oct 21, 2007 01:20 PM
Rene Galvan
RGV Realty - McAllen, TX
Hi Renee, sorry to hear that you are having difficulty removing an inappropriate post by someone else. Hopefully, new threads like this one will have the effect of bumping that one off Page 1. If that post has profanity, Google should be able to remove it from their index, but it may take time. Good Luck!
Oct 22, 2007 03:10 AM
Renee L. Norton
Birmingham, AL
Rene - Thanks,  Google refused to help.  I tried AOL chat and was told I must call.
Oct 22, 2007 03:38 AM
Lucky Lang
Premiere Plus Realty Marco Island - Marco Island, FL
Marco Island & Naples Florida Real Estate

Renee,

It is still there.  And WOW, what a weird discussion thread!  They must allow Junior High School students to participate!

Take care,

Lucky :)

Dec 19, 2007 09:43 PM
Renee L. Norton
Birmingham, AL
Lucky - You are right.  I can be pretty naive at times.  I would have never dreamed my post would have been tied to such trash.
Dec 20, 2007 08:22 AM
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