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Will the Real Geoff Peterson Please Stand Up?
May 05, 2010
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Craig Ferguson of The Late Late Show on CBS has a robot sidekick, and his name is Geoff Peterson. Hey wait a minute, that's my name! I know this not because I watch his show or am a fan of his, but because Google told me.

About two months back I noticed an unusual amount of "mentions" on Twitter of my name. For those of you not familiar, mentions are references to your name on Twitter and are followed by messages. Well, I have been getting dozens of them at a time referencing a robot skeleton. What? There has been nothing in these messages of my recruiter training or sourcing work, no reference to my recent mobile presentations, no talk about my HR field at all. Just robot skeletons. 

Messages have ranged from questions, to amusing comments to blatant insults. Originally I brushed this off thinking it was a mistake, a joke or just spam in the Twitter community. But after hundreds of these messages amassed on Twitter, I did some investigating of my own. A quick Google search was all it took. I discovered that Craig Ferguson and CBS had chosen my name, Geoff Peterson of all names for a robot sidekick comedy gag on The Late Late Show. CBS is now using my name with accounts set-up on Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets online to benefit the Craig Ferguson show. This has all been too ironic for me, in that the name is spelled Geoff (the uncommon way to spell it) and not Jeff, the fact that the robot has a last name (my last name Peterson) and that the robot has a spiked mohawk (I have a spiked haircut). Coincidence? 



 There are plenty of people currently building great online brands, personas and reputations for themselves with the help of the Internet and social media. Dan Schawbel is a perfect example of someone that comes to mind. Google his name. You won't find any confusion there over who he is. Dan is a personal branding expert. When you Google my name, there is plenty to be confused about now that my name is associated alongside a robot comedy gag on Craig Ferguson's late night show on CBS.
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Welcome to the Opt-In Age (You Have No Choice)
December 02, 2009
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Is it just me, or do you get an obscene amount of spam these days? I'm talking about digital spam (emails, direct messages and texts). It can't be just me! I'm getting unsolicited spam in my email, in my Twitter stream, in my Facebook profile and pages, in my LinkedIn account, even on my cell phone by way of text messages. It's everywhere! I'm getting signed-up and opted-in to everything I come into contact with directly or indirectly. With so much unwaranted, unsolicited and unasked for marketing messages, sale inquiries and junk hitting me every day, it makes me want to jump off the "grid" altogether.

Being in the recruiting industry, I've found that in order to be successful, you have to be open. This means dropping pieces of your digital identity everywhere you go online. My details are now everywhere. You can find my work and cell phone numbers, as well as personal and work emails in social and business network profiles, job postings, user groups, associations and countless other sites. In my experience, you need to find creative ways to attract talent and bring them to you. This means being open and sharing ways to reach out to you directly. Now while this has really helped my recruiting game over the past several years, it has also opened the flood gates for anyone and everyone to reach me. The reality is hundreds pieces of unsolicited spam find me every day. 

Quick disclaimer: I admit that I've been guilty of sending a piece or two of unsolicited email in the past. Who hasn't? I bring this topic up because it has reached an unprecedented level. A great deal of individuals and companies have taken it upon themselves to "opt" anyone within their reach into their messages whether they want it or not.

Here are three specific examples of how we live in the "Opt-In Age" and why we have no choice:  

1. Connections on social and business networks. Belong to a few? I bet you do. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are among the most popular for business or personal use today. These networks are by far and away the best places to grab contact information on you. This is the #1 place I've witnessed spam originating from. Why? Because it's so easy. If you leave your email address on any online profile, know that anyone can simply grab it and add you to their marketing list. It's unfortunate but it happens. I've noticed many LinkedIn members have become very opportunistic, with some putting "fine print" in their profiles. They state that if you connect with them, you are subject to "updates" from them. Updates? Huh? When you become 1st degree connections with another LinkedIn member, they can see your contact information, including your email addresses. Take a look at Chris Shoulet's profile on LinkedIn and see what I mean. Also, don't get me started on the rash of @ and direct message spam flowing on Twitter. 
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