The fun in googling yourself

While looking at some old pictures that I posted to Picasa, I wondered if any of them would come up in google image search of my name. I didn't expect so, but I tried it anyway to see if what was there. I didn't find any actual pictures of me, but I did find this old "reader's respond to military hazing" article on theonion.com referencing my name.

I just about fell off my chair. I just love the onion.

I would have found an actual picture of me, if I used a relevant picture of me on this blog instead of my favorite childhood cartoon.

Have you ever "googled" yourself? If you have a fairly unique name, it can be fun to find places you can be found on the web. If you haven't done it before, it is probably a good idea to know what is out there just in case someone else is looking for information about you (oh, and as a somewhat related aside, if you didn't know already, don't give bile a permalink).

Public commitment

I'm not a huge NBA fan, but something I always thought was great was the story of why Gilbert Arenas wears the number zero. Here is an adidas commercial that tells the story. If you are not familiar, the first line of the video explains it best:

"The reason I wear zero is because, it lets me know what people thought of me, you know, in high school, in college, and in the NBA. So every time I look and put on that jersey, it lets me know that I need to go out there and fight everyday."

Now, if you follow sports news, you'll know that Gilbert has gotten in significant trouble recently, and that has made me remember this story, and I really do love it. Instead of letting those around him influence what he could do, he used their doubt to help inspire him to achieve his goals.

Public commitment is very powerful. People are much more likely to follow through with what they say when said publicly. Gilbert Arenas may not have directly set his goals publicly, but he did put it out for all to see and live up to.

You may not be able to put your goals on your chest, but you can make them more visible. Try posting to twitter/facebook/your blog, or bring them up in conversation with your peers. In regards to groups and teams, public commitment can be used to help make members follow through on what is expected of them and make them more accountable.

So do you have anything to share? Let's hear it.