Google Yourself

The Merit of Self-Googling

"I think everybody should periodically google themselves."

Joseph Scherger, MD, clinical professor of preventive and family medicine, University of California, San Diego, “Google: Searching for a Reputation,” AMA News, April 23-30, 2007

Google is the greatest innovation ever to hit the Internet. The stock market agrees. Google is far outpacing Microsoft, Yahoo, and WebMD, to name a precious few. And just today Google was rated the world’s top brand, its brand worth $66 billion, more than GE, Microsoft, or Apple.

Accordingly, all of you doctors out there. Google yourselves from time to time to assess where your space in cyberspace.

How?

Simply go to google.com. Type your name in the search box. If you want to know the good news and the bad news about yourself, re-enter your name with modifiers like “kudos” or “sucks.”

If you’re really curious, you might even extend your googling to yahooing or altavistaing.

Google is simple. It’s easy. And information about yourself is just a click away.

I took the advice of Dr. Scherger and the AMA News. I googled myself.

Here’s what I found by typing the following terms into the google search box.

• “Richard L. Reece, MD.” 70 entries going back to when I was editor-in-chief of Minnesota Medicine (1975-1990), covering interviews I conducted for The Physician Executive, profiles of my 4-month old blog, comments onf some the 29 articles I have written for Healthleadersmedia.com, the fact that I had written 345 articles for Physician Practice Options, names and listings of some of my 9 books, contents of some of my recent blogs, and even my phone number.
• “Richard L. Reece, MD, kudos and sucks.” One entry under kudos by Kevin, MD, a leading medical blogger. Nothing, thank God, under “sucks.”
• “Richard L. Reece, MD, innovation”, 36 entries, including a compliment from a leading CME blogger about a “great essay.”
• “Richard L. Reece, MD, innovation-driven health care,” 7 entries, mostly promotions of my book by Jones and Bartlett, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com
• “Richard L. Reece, MD, medinnovationblog.blogspot.com,” 8 entries of the 135 I have entered in last four months.

Based on my googling experience, I suggest you go right ahead and google yourself. You may find everything you ever want to know about yourself as recorded by Google - and maybe some things you don’t want to know.

I close with two couplets:

Google yourself,
See if you’re top-shelf.

Go ahead and self-Google.
It’s no ego boondoogle.