Online dating

Not everyone will admit that they Google themselves. It can sound kind of vain. But most people really do want to know what's being said about them.

It makes sense. Who wouldn't want to eavesdrop on the collective consciousness? Plus, we know that potential employers, customers and even dates are using it to form opinions about us, so it's smart to find out what the word on the street is.

With any luck, you'll like what you see. For many people, it's a showcase of their most noteworthy accomplishments: awards won, articles written, donations to charity, affiliations with upstanding organizations. Some people's results are dominated by their contributions to social media, including blog posts they've written or YouTube videos they've created (which can be good or bad, depending on what you've put out there).

Unfortunately, for some people, Google unearths unflattering profiles, bad reviews, or even slanderous content. Maybe you crossed the wrong blogger. Maybe you have a more serious PR problem. Heck, maybe you're in the mafia. Sometimes, there's information out there that isn't even true.

If you don't like what you see, at least you'll have some insight as to why you didn't get a second interview or why that girl never called you back. The first step towards improving your online reputation is knowing you have a problem!

What sorts of unexpected things have you found looking yourself up on Google or Bing?

The great thing about the Internet is that you can find out all sorts of interesting things about pretty much anyone. The bad thing about the Internet? You guessed it. We leave a trail of information behind, sometimes in ways we’d never guess.

If you're lucky, Google lists awards you've won, glowing recommendations from happy clients, maybe even an impressive ranking in a marathon or a donation you made to your friend who was walking for lymphoma. But with the good comes the bad, which means not everything out there is complimentary.

We talk about negative content a lot, but what is it? It's those things that might come up in a Google search that you'd rather people not see. It could be unflattering, and it could even be dead wrong. Unfortunately, there's no way for a reader to know the difference.

Some of the more common offenders include:

• Articles. It doesn't take a detective to dig up news stories on the Internet, which means bad press can haunt you for years.

• Negative comments on review sites. A negative review can be constructive feedback. It can also be a total fabrication posted by a competitor.

• Incriminating photos. Thanks (or not) to camera phones, a picture of you singing drunk karaoke could be posted on the Internet and tagged with your name before you've even put down the microphone.

• Blog posts and comments. Blogs give people a public forum to air their grievances at great length, in colorful ways, and without pesky journalistic integrity to hold them back.

• Public records. Most people only have memories of their foolish youth, but some people have misdemeanors, legal troubles or other public records to remind them.

• Your contributions to social media. Sure, it's fun to express yourself with status updates, blog posts, 140-character tweets and YouTube videos. But some posters end up being their own worst online enemy.

In short, anything embarrassing, offensive, unflattering or that you wouldn't choose to share with a stranger at a party is negative content. Sure, your friends might not care, but don’t forget that everything out there is fair game for potential employers, first dates, landlords, loan officers and anyone else trying to form an opinion about you.

So what negative content might someone find out there about you or your company? Wait, don't answer that…

But — have you ever changed your opinion of a business or an acquaintance after seeing negative content?