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An increasingly more common phenomenon I’m noticing are friends on Facebook changing their names, making it infuriatingly difficult to identify friends at a glance. The act of changing someone’s last name to a misspelled version of their actual last name, or their middle name can be done for a variety of reasons such as wanting to keep old and borderline inappropriate photos online. Whatever the reason, the singular motivation for this act remains the same: safeguarding your online reputation.

A google search of your name can return link results in a quarter of a second, and it doesn’t take too much digging to find a Facebook page or a personal blog from there. Weblog Freelance Folder recently put out an article about the importance of monitoring and maintaining your online reputation, and details why it’s smart to google yourself every once in a while.

Fortunately, the article provides advice on how to manage your reputation if it is compromised or in trouble. The focus here shifts from the individual towards a business angle, but the actions it suggests apply all the same: ignore it, confront it, or get help.

With many of us soon to venture into the real world and a wealth of personal information on anyone available just a few keystrokes away, precautionary steps are best taken to prevent any compromising situations in the future. I’ve heard of people adopting a second, “professional” phantom facebook page open to the public with basic information regarding career and academic accomplishments without sacrificing the memories and friends attached to the original page. Facebook has a variety of effective privacy settings which can be employed at anytime, and are well worth the short amount of time necessary to set them up.

As the internet is still a relatively new and anonymous technology, it can sometimes be difficult to remember that online actions can have very real repercussions.