Part 1
Someone I was helping out in Alberta last month told me he’d researched Nellie Jacobs on Google before calling, and was astonished that more than 11 million sites came up. Since I wasn’t in the habit of checking my own name, I was surprised to hear it, too.
Instead, for years since signing onto Google Alerts, I’ve clicked on links whenever I’m emailed notifications that my name, website and “grading the teacher” were mentioned online.
That’s how I found out that an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher working in Thailand has used elements of the report card in my book Grading the Teacher (published in 1996 by Penguin Books) to improve his teaching.
To read his September 2011 blog post “A quest to become a better teacher: A blog challenge PART 1″, click here.
So, after the call with the Albertan businessman was done, I entered my name on Google-search, and this is what I found:
Click on image to Google-search yourself
Not all the sites are related to me.
Sometimes, the spelling of my name is changed. Other times, my first and last names are separated. Some sites are obituaries for a few dead Nellie Jacobs-oh, my!
There’s an award-winning horse-rider Nellie Jacobs who rounds up cattle. See her doing just that in this video.
Another is a sometimes reviled character in books about the Civil War written by Harry Turtledove. Read about her in his Southern Victory Series.
There’s even one site that offers gold and silver mining stocks, which I think is an appropriate metaphor for the “Mining Your Resources” series of books I’m writing and publishing:
Click on image to go to site.
And yet, many of the 11,700,000 (as of today) sites are linked to me.
These are the result of years spent in the development and cultivating my name, brand, products and services online. Based on my personal research, experiences, and information paid for to “experts”, in this and next posts I’m happy to stimulate ideas and reveal ways that might help you build your own online presence.
I’ve done it by pursuing my different interests. Here’s a visual depiction of those interests-based on my Twitter posts, followers and following-posted on Mirror.me website:
Click on image to see how you are depicted.
Yes, I twitter and tweet (and twirl and swirl).
I’ve learned a lot through my followers and those I follow. Their links have led me to all kinds of knowledge. I’ve connected with fascinating people around the world. I’ve re-tweeted their postings, and they have mine. I’ve supported and promoted their events and products, and they have mine.
There’s a special challenge to getting new followers, and I refuse to pay for it. My aim? To get to a million followers within a year. Ha!!! Only 999,064 to go, as of today.
What are the chances?
For past and future events and their links: go here.
Click here to contact me with questions about becoming an agent for any of my products and services, ordering books for bulk discounts for your organization/business, or to book me for interviews or as a speaker for your group.
A portion of all proceeds will be donated for Kidney Transplantation and Research.
You are welcome to share your experiences, viewpoints, and suggestions in the comment section below.
All the best!
Creatively Yours,
Nellie
Next Post: Building Online Presence: Spilling the Beans 2
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LINKS:
Website: http://www.ignitingimagination.com
Internet Radio Show: http://blogtalkradio.com/igniting-imaginationll episodes are numbered, archived, and available for your listening enjoyment anytime, anywhere.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nelliejacobs
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nelliejacobs
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nelliejacobs
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This is a thoughtful post with a lot going on! It’s always a good idea to Google yourself every now and then to see what your digital footprint looks like. I’m glad you found your mirror.me Reflection and that it mirrored your hard work building connections on Twitter accurately.
As for your goal of building a community of 1 million followers — that’s a big one! I hope some of our features can help you get there, at least part way. In my opinion, it’s best to build a following organically by connecting with people who care about the same things you do. I hope the clickability of your Reflection and mirror.me’s search function can help you make some of those connections! I’ll have to stay tuned to your next blog post to see some of your tips for making those connections online.
Thank you for including us in such a reflective post
We bloggers can be quite passionate about our posts, and it does us good to get any feedback at all. But it’s quite something to get praise for an article. I do give a LOT of thought to what I want to say and how to say it, so thank you so much for your words of support, both in your comment above and in your tweeting this post to your followers. As an artist, I love the visual aspect of your site. It puts everything in perspective. I’m interested to know more about the features you offer that might contribute to a growing community of followers. Please tell us!
Wow, 1 million – that’s a very high goal. I was thrilled to hit 2,000
I agree, don’t pay for them. I did on one commercial account and it was not worth it. Better to connect with those with similar interests and those that you can learn from. I just love Twitter for that.
I can’t wait to check out mirror.me – thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas too!
Aloha! Dropping by to say Hi and Happy Holidays!
Two thousand is a GREAT goal, Lisa.
I like the 1 million number, though. Rock Star status. Thinking BIG…
If you don’t mind bearing with me, in the next few posts after the holidays, I plan to share a lot more links and ideas to build online presence based on my personal experiences.
In the meanwhile, you may want to check out my website for events and links to online interviews covering a myriad of topics: http://www.ignitingimagination.com/eventsmediasupporters.html.
interesting view on the topic. I will follow to see what your finding will be with more time. I like your appproach!!!!
I appreciate your comment, Faustino. So much is written formally about this topic, I decided to do it specifically from my personal experiences and conclusions….I value hearing about other people’s experiences, too. Sharing stories can be quite powerful.
The background design of your blog, while certainly very interesting and creative, was so annoyingly distracting to my eyes, I couldn’t read your blog material. I may be the only one here, but I’d suggest using something that won’t defer the writer from your words.
Thank you, Marla, for letting me know that the background design prevented you from reading the text on this post. I appreciate your opinion and will now take a poll from readers. Question: Does the background design distract you from reading the text? Yes or no? Thank you for your opinion!
when I first visited your website, it did make difficult to concentrate on the text first, at the same time I wanted to find out what is all about. it caught my attention.
If I may suggest I would leave only one colorful picture rather than pattern filled background.
nevertheless your article is great!
LOL, I checked my name on Google and the first couple of pages were me. Then I saw someone with the same name and title said something about trying the KFC double down. Oh, that’s what got my attention because those words would never come out of my mouth. So, it’s not perfect but cool!
Thanks for that article!
Thanks to Marla for pointing out the issue with this blog. Thanks also to Inga for offering your opinion. I did send out a poll throughout my social networks and received feedback that was both pro and con. I decided that if even one person was distracted by the background, I should remove it, which I did-as you can see here.
As to transitionyte, there are many sites that compromise and distort original website text and use people’s names in ways that are not intended. It’s fascinating to see to what degree this is done.