Introducing "The S.T.A.N. Plan"

How Much Does Google Know About You?


Not only did I personally see three people today that told me they hadn't seen the Five Fifteen in a week or so .. but it was mentioned in a phone call, a couple of emails, and a direct message. So, I apologize, but I've been rather swamped lately. A couple of new websites, blogs, and still working on creating my media station has consumed my otherwise event less days. So.. let's get right to today's message.

How Much Does Google Know About You?

You hear the stories and you've probably read some of them. In general there are three types of people when it comes to their online profile.
  • They don't care. They have zero security. They are surprised when an advertisement pops up about hair loss. 
  • They care a lot. They don't join Facebook. Very rarely email, and probably will never do anything remotely close to a tweet. 
  • They are on top of it. They know what "The Internet" knows about them. they monitor it at least once every three months just to make sure they aren't on some list of suspected choclaholics. 
I fall in the third category type. But even that didn't keep someone from hacking the Bank's database. Once they saw the balance in my checking account, they felt sorry for me though and made a deposit. After that happened, I have increased the number of times that I look at my profile. As a general rule now, I check it at least once every two weeks. If you follow the links here, you can check yours.

Is It Hard To Understand? 

That depends on you, but I don't think it's too difficult. There are links that explain each part of the data. I'm not going to be covering those in this Five Fifteen. I'm simply going to give you the link to take a look for yourself. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Me On The Web 

No.. not me. You. I called it "Me on the Web" because that's what Google calls it. The first thing you need to do is

  • Login to Google, Gmail, YouTube, or whatever other service you use from Google. (That's the beauty of the Google Platform. Once you login, you can get to all your stuff.) 
  • After you login, click this link : Me On The Web 
  • You'll see three options. Search for Yourself, Stay Current With Web Alerts, and Review your Google+ Profile. Just click on the buttons for each one, and follow the other links!

That's It - That's All There Is To It!

Half the battle in keeping your online information private, is knowing what can be seen. It's hard to know what needs to be hidden, if you don't know for sure what can be seen. Use these reports, and if you have any questions about them, don't hesitate to ask. I'll Try To Do Better I really will. However, I have a private group on Google+ now that is getting much of my focus. If you want to join that group, just send and email to stan@stanbush.net and I'll get you setup. It is private, and hidden...so that's the only way in! Thanks for reading.

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