Inside Dark Networks

This site is owned by Ken Baylor. Not a very common name you would imagine. Strangely enough there are quite a few of them out there. When doing a web search I can come across myself in these links:

http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/press/corporate/2006/20060502_235020_n.html
http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2006/07/do_you_use_wpa_.html
http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/press/corporate/2006/20060801_201826_k.html
http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2161974/mcafee-reiterates-wifi-security
http://www.isaca-london.org/cismjune2005.htm
http://www.technorati.com/tags/Network
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/484169
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kenbaylor
But there are also many other people with the name Ken Baylor:

Ken Baylor who works with acrobatic pilots:
http://www.embryriddle.edu/er/newsmedia/newsreleases/2006/publicity.html
and http://www.erausportaviation.org/news/index.html

Ken Baylor of Republic Services:
http://wasteexpo.com/speakers/Ken_Baylor/index.html
who I ‘think’ has just received an award
http://www.nova.edu/alumni/enews/2006/march/index.html,
but I’m not sure if it is the same one.

Ken Baylor the ‘Hot Rod’ guy:
http://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/customer_statements/flames-fenders-ken-baylor/

Ken Baylor who works in the prison services:
http://www.habitatcolorado.org/images/HFHCOct17News.pdf
http://www.habitat.org/prison/pdf/Correctional_Facility_Background_Info.pdf
and there are links to many Ken Baylors that live in Texas (Baylor is a ‘big’ name in Texas).

but it does have a darker side:

Here’s a bunch of Ken Baylor’s. One had issues with the SEC:
http://www.wdfi.org/newsroom/admin_orders/02_archive.htm
and another (ok TWO Ken Baylor’s) fighting WIPO, and ’sort of’ winning.
Then there’s Ken Baylor the HR guy who (ok I haven’t read the full PDF, but it’s not pretty) who’s actions are extensively discussed in a very long PDF online (sorry..can’t find those links).

So, OK you may ask, what is the point?

THE POINT of my rant

Simply stated there are a number of people with the name Ken Baylor. If you were a recruiter and looking to investigate me, you may be tempted to check out my name with a search engine. You would end up with a very mixed view (assuming you thought we were all the same people). With any negatives (and I found 3 so far), you may just decide to move on to the next candidate. So this ‘digital dirt’ can cause us all real harm, whether it is actually ours or not.

Luckily there is a solution, I have just come across http://www.claimid.com. They are a very small startup and enable you to start claiming what links on the net are yours and which ones are not. They also allow you to climb up higher in the search engines foodchain. It is likely when a recruiter looks up your name on Google, that in to tope ten somewhere is your claim ID page. There you describe who you are, and diferentiate yourself from your namesakes.

I have signed up, and I recommend you do too!