Leaving your footprints in the digital age

I am mildly amazed that some people still don't have much of an online presence. In this day and age, not having a digital footprint seems almost impossible. Yet, I can Google any number of folks who I have known over the years and find virtually nothing about them in cyberspace. No Facebook account. No LinkedIn profile photo. No blog or corporate website information about the person. Not even an old garage band photo. Nothing.

How do people avoid being found online?

Nowadays, if you get a speeding ticket or get married, you could easily show up in a newspaper's digital police blotter or wedding announcements respectively, and thereby be found in an online search. Join the board of your HOA, and you will likely be found online. Or, if you win an award from your alma mater or your civic club, you could be named on an achievements web page or two, and again, be discovered by an old friend, colleague or classmate. It's not difficult. You can be almost completely passive and without any technical skills, an ultra-introvert, and still show up on the Internet. Yet, some people remain ghosts.

In theory, any of these possibilities, and many more, should lead to you being found in a casual Google or Bing search. In essence, unless you've been completely off the grid for the last 20 years and without any friends or associations, there should be some electronic record of your existence, even if it's just a mugshot from your high school yearbook.

Now I know certain people avoid computers like the plague. Not to stereotype, but most of them tend to be over a certain age. Others use computers for work but stay away from social media. Some go to extremes and make sure not to be in the group picture at the end of softball season, fearing it could end up on the the team or league's website. Many folks just want to protect their privacy and won't even shop online. I understand all of that. But still, it's a mystery to me how someone can have no online exposure.

Not having an Web presence probably has its benefits. You don't have to worry so much about identity theft. You can sleep easy knowing no one has hacked your Twitter account or used your photo to play a prank on a friend. You won't get stalked by a Craigslist crazy.

But there is a growing drawback to not leaving any 'Net footprints. Besides not being found by your long-lost love, you may also be sending the wrong message to a potential employer. Companies nowadays want you to feel comfortable with technology. While they might still be tempted to snoop around into parts of your life that could hurt your chances at landing a good job, you're more likely not to be hired because you've shown a reluctance to keep pace with modern ways of communicating. That, in the eyes of some employers, is a liability and evidence that you are adverse to change. In some cases, employers might even think you have something to hide.

So if you're not in a profession that requires a basic digital interaction then I wouldn't sweat it when typing your name into a search box yields zero results. But if you are looking for work that requires a grasp of the way businesses connect, market and sell in the digital age, I would advise that you make sure your name comes up in Google search more than once, preferably in a positive light. I know a lot of this stuff like Facebook and blogging seems like a waste of time, but to be totally invisible can be a detriment.