And I have no privacy…

This age of information and technology is both a blessing and a curse. I just “Googled” myself as I do from time to time to see what’s out there. People, make sure you manage your information! People always tell me that I am paranoid…I would call it intelligent. I block my personal information as much as possible and encourage others to do the same.

As a result of my Google, I found a search result that allowed people to sift through my personal information and, much scarier, locate me. Now, there wasn’t much available outside of the old and random press release for which I served as the contact but there were services that you could pay to dig up info. Information gleened from public records is big money these days. I clicked on one service where people could pay up to $59.95 for all sorts of details. There was even an asterisk that read: Ayoka Blandford will NOT be notified of this search. That- to me- is disgusting and made me feel unsafe.

Hats off to the services that allow you to remove yourself from their sites. You may have to send them a liter of your blood to do so, but at least they offer the option. Most do not, and as a woman who has been the target of a stalker not once but twice in my 38 years, I take it personally. All of our information is readily accessible and nobody seems to have any accountability.

Now that you’ve read this post, Goggle yourself and see what you find.