Ego Surfing With Preople

By Neville Hobson
Expert Author
Article Date: 2005-03-18

Anyone who writes a blog does a bit of ego surfing now and again. Or even again and again. It's true, isn't it? You know, looking for your name on Google and Technorati to see how many mentions you have.

Checking your site stats to see who's linking to you. Et cetera.

Via Krijn Schuurman, I came across Preople - an intriguing-looking web tool that ranks your name based on a complicated calculation on how many times your name is found in a few search engines (according to the FAQ).

The only trouble is, I don't understand what it means. Take a look at this, which is my Preople ranking based on a one-time visit to the website:



The small print in the graphic says "There are 1,756 names that have a higher Preople Ranking and 16,275 names that have a lower Preople Ranking." Ok, is that a good thing? I guess it is.

But what does it mean? Is it simple to understand and it's just me who doesn't get it? Should I pay any attention to this?

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About the Author:
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.

Neville is a UK-based communicator, blogger and podcaster. He helps companies use effective communication to achieve their business goals. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: NevilleHobson.com.

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