Are YOU Making Making The Internet a Better Place?

Have you got your own website? Do you Facebook? Are you actively participating in conversations on Internet forums or Twitter? Are you making lists or Pinterest pins? Do you upload photos to SnapChat or InstaGram or any of the myriad sharing sites? Stop for a minute and assess your Internet presence – Are you making the Internet a better place?

Does your “content” (the stuff you put on the Internet) make the internet a better place? Sure, you may not be a “Mashable” or a “News Limited”, but you are contributing to “the Internet” with everything you put online.

Think about this for a minute, hey!  Every post or page, each comment or reply, every like and tweet and pin and tumbl – is contributing to an Internet of either “great content” or “stuff and nonsense“.

Is your Facebook timeline full of meaningless Meme‘s and re-posted pictures? What about your Twitter account. Are you adding value to the Internet by re-posting drivel?

It’s long been a philosophy of mine to make the Internet a better place with the content that I write and the sites that I promote, the stuff I Pin, +1, Like, Tweet, and list. It’s important (not just for my own reputation, but – because I am a business owner and online marketer) to make certain I associate my name with reputable “stuff”.

Making the Internet a better place is also really important for making Google happy. Making Google happy means writing good content and providing real value to your readers. It also makes your readers happy. Happy readers stay on your website, or want to connect with you – you build trust with these readers by providing them really good “content”.

Google works hard to provide anyone using their services with a safe and positive experience. As a responsible company, Google is committed to protecting children on the internet. Google signed up in December 2011 to join the CEO Coalition to make the Internet a Better Place for Children. They issued a company statement which you can find here.

But I think it goes further than just thinking about children.

Billions around the world are online. Their experiences online help to shape them, help them to form views, opinions and impressions. How does your presence on the Internet get perceived by those internet surfers?

Have you ever stopped and reflected upon what you put out online? Have you ever thought of doing a Google search for your own name or username in inverted commas e.g.: “Sandi Clifford”.  If you take a close look at the search results for YOUR name or YOUR username (and I suggest you do), you might be surprised by the results. My personal results (filtered by Google to present me localized content) produced some interesting results:

• Twitter
• WealthyAffiliate.com
• A Year From Today 7 Smart Steps to Goal Setting that Works
• Pixabay
• Official Poker Rankings (ooh that’s embarrassing – I assure you that was years ago)
• Best Recipes
• SEOquake
• twopcharts.com
• Warrior Forum (I’ll admit I check it out, but I’m not a fan – I think there are too many dubious marketers on there)
• Spring.me
• Blogger
• MuchoListo
• Storify
• Photobucket
• Whoisology
• Dreamstime.com
• iWriter
• Facebook
• RebelMouse
• Forum Special Offers
• TwitterCounter
• SlashKey
• Snack Attack on Pinterest
• Clipzine
• July 08 Parents on Essential Baby
• July “Older” Mums and Mums-To-Be – Essential Kids
• YouTube
• Techie Mum
• Blogging by Lilach Bullock
• Inagist
• Power Leverage Sensei
• Listly Ways To Improve Eyesight

I will admit I’m not proud of being associated with a couple of those sites. Most of them I’m happy to be found on, and I’m proud to be associated with. Imagine if my list was more like this:

Imagine if your reputation was associated with this kind of “content”.

Who’s really looking at the “stuff” I post online? Believe it or not, prospective employers are checking out your Internet activity and tracking down the things YOU put out there. Do you really want a prospective employer to know that you frequent online poker venues and drag races? Or hang out in Slasher forums or post excessively vile stuff on Facebook? What about the images you post online?

The Image results are even more interesting. Apparently I like food and my own face.

I’m showing you the search results from Google, but what would a person find if I opened up my Facebook account to public access? Is your Facebook account full of “content” that you’d be willing to share with your boss or your favorite elderly Aunty? If you can’t say YES, then you need to re-assess what you’re putting out there.

According to Stackexchange, an immense Internet community of users offering good advice and answers to questions:

What “making the internet better” means:

1. Making information that is difficult to find, easier to find;
2. Giving the most correct/accurate information top billing;
3. Keeping time-dependent information up-to-date;
4. Making complicated information more accessible/easier to understand;
5. Reducing conversational noise and other usability distractions.

What “making the internet better” does not mean:

1. “Making the internet better” does not mean that all on-topic content must be preserved, or that all off-topic content must be deleted. Content should be judged on its individual merits.
2. “Making the internet better” is not a popularity contest. What people enjoy and what can benefit them practically are two different things.
3. “Making the internet better” does not mean better for anyone. The potential positive effect for some should be weighed carefully against the potential negative effect for others.
4. “Making the internet better” is not, by itself, a justification of any action. Most rules are created from years of experience with the stated aim of making the internet better; people who make content changes (delete/undelete/edit) in opposition to established guidelines must justify how their actions improve the Q&A site if challenged. List courtesy of: http://stackexchange.com/

What do you think makes the Internet a Better Place? Is your Internet Presence worrying you? Add your comments below to join the conversation.

Where to now? Pick a page!!!!

• Career
• Meet The Founder
• Goal Setting
• Health
• Coping With Difficulties
• Spirituality
• Get Organized
• Family and Friends

Spinrewriter – if you’re struggling to come up with your next blog post, ask SpinReWriter to do a quick re-write of something wonderful you’ve found online. Then you can edit it to your heart’s desire and put your own spin on what was mentioned. Spinning content isn’t underhanded, it’s a great way to re-use good internet articles and put your own individuality into the new article.