"We Googled You." This was the response to my question to out of state clients who unnerved me by how much they seemed to know about me prior to our first meeting with them six years ago. We were riding together to see homes in a mini-van. At the time, I didn't even know what Google was. But my prospective clients had already scoped me out.
"We Googled You" is also the title of a recent case study, by Diane Coutu, published in the Harvard Business Review about a "fictional character" Mimi Brewsterwho is being interviewed for a job with a major corporation in China. As an exceptionally qualified candidate, Ms. Brewster finds that her Curriculum Vitae on the Google Search engine proves to be more persuasive than her paper version!
The case study enfolds to ask readers to submit their thoughts about how to handle the company's discovery, through a Google Search inquiry, that newspaper reports had reported that Ms. Brewster has been involved in some activities that might be considered "subversive" in intention by the Chinese government & could potentially hinder the company's ability to expand its operations overseas.
The article highlights the fact that privacy on-line is becoming an increasingly hot issue. Employers, concerned about minimizing risk in hiring decisions are going on-line to investigate potential employees. This is occuring in tandem with burgeoning Internet usage.
According to a 2006 report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 69% of all adult women & 71% of all adult men now use the Internet. Almost 83% of individuals between the ages of 18 - 49are now online & 90% of households earning over $50,000 a year use the Internet. 55% of Americans between the ages of 17 - 29 are involved with social networks & 63 % of those with profiles on social networks believe that they could be identified on the basis of the profiles they had placed on-line.
The emergence of rating services for professionals such as rateyourrealtor.com & rateyourmd.com are encouraging individuals to critique the services of the professionals with whom they interact. On both of these services, patients & clients gave their opinions & shared their experiences on the quality of service provided complete with a Star Rating System. As real estate professionals, it is important for us to be aware of these significant developments & to understand how they can impact us as we interview for the job of a home listing or secure a buyer's agent contract.
The Harvard Review magazine published the advise of 4 experts which included a professor of law, John G. Palfrey Jr. who authors a blog at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/palfrey/, Jeffrey A. Joerres, the Chairman & CEO of Manpower, Danah M. Boyd a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkley who maintains a blog at zephoria.org and Michael Fertick, the founder and CEO of Reputation Defender, a company that finds and removes unwelcome on-line content. Here's a brief summary of their recommendations & some thoughts about their relevance to the real estate industry in light of the new nature of on-line investigations into the backgrounds of individuals.
- Recognize that digital information is highly malleable & can be easily manipulated. Don't necessarily believe everything you read on-line. Investigate further. Palfrey thinks we are headed for a really big backlash at some point- there are going to be train wrecks as people who post too much personal information on-line begin to realize the consequences.
- As real estate professionals, most of us are just beginning to participate actively in the arena of social networking. From reading Palfrey's summary, I would conclude that it is important for us to be aware of the far reaching consequences of our on-line behavior & also be careful to withold judgement pending further investigation about what we read about others.
- According to Jorres, "Today, qualified candidates can be Googled out of the contention for a job before they even get a foot in the door for an interview"...Many new high school and college graduates don't truly understand this until they are sitting in a job interview and the HR manager opens a file that includes not only their resume but also their latest blog entries and party photos. Online content is public information, and it is fair game for employers to ask about it."
- As real estate professionals, we should understand that every listing & buyer appointment is a job interview. Several professionals are already using the Internet very effectively to highlight their services to potential clients. This can result in an advantage in a hiring decision if an online presence is well managed & presented. Joerres suggest that professionals invest time in building their web content online to create positive impressions. Being proactive in this brave New World is infinitely more beneficial than not knowing what is being said or being passive. Blogging is an excellent vehicle to build positive online content.
Boyd:
- Ms. Boyd, a veteran of Internet blogging (10 years) has an interesting perspective. She states "Part of living in a networked society is learning how to accessories our digital bodies, just as we learn to put on the appropriate clothes to go to the office." She indicates that the best minds of her generation are involved in social networking & to find "creatives," employers will need to change the ways in which they evaluate potential hires.
- We have become an increasingly narcissistic society and the real estate profession certainly reflects this trend. It's all about ME! Witness the nature of most of our marketing materials, bill boards, personal brochures, personal CD's etc. We seek fame in all sorts of ways, not unlike the popularity and rise of reality TV shows. Our online websites & blogs reflect this on-going evolution in personal & professional development. We are all still learning what it means to be human & to function in cyberspace...learning requires the making of some mistakes. A vibrant presence on-line provides a lot of opportunity for professional interaction & growth as well as exposure to the latest trends.
- "If you Google anyone hard enough, you'll find some dirt. This is the new reality."....Your CV is no longer what you send to your employer - it's the first ten things that show up on Google." Fertik's firm specializes in removing the dirt from your on-line profile. But even he is limited in terms of what he can do to expunge certain types of records. For instance, he would not try to remove unfavorable newspaper articles because in his opinion this would be "bad constitutional practice, and in almost every case, we would fail."
- As real estate professionals we should ask ourselves...Do we know what the first 10 Things which would show up on Google if our names were searched online? It's important to understand that our employers, including those who are seeking to employ the services of a real estate professional will increasingly use this medium to create a more comprehensive profile.
- Fertik indicates that we need to be aware of what is being said about us online. This is more true today as information reaches a much broader audience. One of the easiest methods of being notified of online conversations is to create a Google Alert. An alert can simply be your name or may incorporate titles of recent postings. Either way, you will find that this gives you up to date information about information which you can respond to or correct as appropriate. This is one area in which it is "risky behavior" to be taken unawares.
In the closing of the article, the fictional boss & his wife are having a conversation about why Ms. Brewster's application was denied. "Martha was quiet for a few minutes as she tried to process the news. She didn't think anyone was going to just forgive and forget. "Internet postings are like tattoos," she said, ending the short silence. " They never go away."
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