Here are two relevant photos that came up when I searched myself on Google!
I did a little Google searching to see what kinds of information I would find about myself if I typed in my name. I found various results depending on what I typed in.
When I typed in my full name, Olivia Christine Bonsen, I didn’t find a ton of information. Some of the accurate links that came up were my name on the 2016 Fall Honor Roll at WSU and a link to my work’s Facebook page (which is a doggie daycare/hotel). The only relevant photo I found under this search was the cover of a “Winter Sports Preview” page done by the local paper in my hometown, the Lynden Tribune. Clicking on this photo took me to a website that had these brochures from multiple different years. I played basketball in high school and have a cousin with the same last name that is still playing, so I found team images with us in it from a few different years.
When I typed in just “Olivia Bonsen,” I found a lot more interesting things. The first link that came up was the link to my Instagram page. My account is private, so you have to have my permission to follow me before you can see my photos. Therefore, I wasn’t able to view my Instagram page unless I was logged in. The second link that came up was to the MaxPreps website, which had the basketball information and stats from my senior year of high school. It showed all of the scores from the games my team played senior year, which was sort of fun to go back and look at (both good and really bad memories). A lot of the links that showed up went back to articles from the two local papers in my home town, the Lynden Tribune and the Bellingham Herald, which were stories about my high school basketball team. One or two of the articles had my name mentioned in it, but most of them was just my name at the bottom with the box score. This is the main result of the pictures I found as well. My Pinterest account showed up, and so did the obituary for my Grandmother who passed away in 2013. None of this information surprised me, but I found it very interesting!
I was a little more shocked when I visited familytreenow.com. This website had my exact name, middle initial, correct age and year of birth. It also had my current address (with a Google maps view, yikes!) and home phone number. I chose to do the opt out process because it was a little concerning that my address and home phone number was so easily accessible on this website!
Overall, this was an interesting experience. After watching Big Data and learning more about it, it’s crazy to think of all the information we have left on the internet every day that we go on it. There is a trail that leads to you, and all you have to do is a little digging to find what you’re looking for.