Only bits and pieces

So here I am with only a name and a photo on a passport that’s supposedly mine. Let’s see what Google has to offer…

I must say I am a bit dissapointed. There’s not a single Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social media profile which would be under my name. The links that come up are a bit random actually and don’t give a clear and unambiguous picture of who I am. Two links are about being part of the ceremonial conferment of Aalto University. There’s one link that suggests someone with my name is in the board of a student theatre in Jyväskylä (a town in central Finland). I also find out that some Noora has written their thesis on dog assisted occupational therapy. Someone with my name does the Scouts. There’s also a link to a press release with contact information to a Communications Trainee called Noora. The links on the next page are basically on someone doing student theatre. None of these web pages have pictures, so actually I can’t be sure are they about me or someone with the same name. Probably all of these are not the same Nooras as their occupations don’t match with studies and they seem to be living in different cities (unless they have been moving around).

So, if I’d really lose my memory, I wouldn’t get much from Google. On Facebook, on the other hand, I’d find two profiles under my name, but the profile pictures aren’t ideal for identifying the person in them. But according to the Facebook profiles, there are in fact two Nooras with the same name, one living in Jyväskylä and the other studying and working in the media field (according to her groups). And that’s about it, since the profiles are limited from public. I’m left a bit confused on who I am as Google and Facebook offer only bits and pieces from here and there.

I’m quite relieved I didn’t find anything embarrassing or too personal about myself on Google. I’ve actually adjusted my privacy settings on every social media application so that my profiles don’t come up in search engines. I’ve also restricted the public views of my social media profiles. Maybe I’m a bit paranoid with the privacy issues, because, as we talked in class today, who really cares about what I post or do online. But this way I have a bit more control over what other people see or know about me – at least I want to believe so.

Noora H.