CYBERSPACE – Admit it. You’ve done it. We all have. Ego surfing, or as it’s more commonly referred to, “googling yourself” is the practice of typing your name into a search engine to see what results pop up.Often, the results may be inaccurate, or contain outdated or completely irrelevant information.
A new website called ZoomInfo.com, is now offering web surfers a measure of control over what information is displayed in those search results.
ZoomInfo’s database holds individual web profiles of about 25 million people, summaries of information taken from the web. The service was launched on Monday and allows surfers to search for their profile and change it for free.
“With us, you have the ability to … present yourself how you want to be presented,” said Russell Glass, ZoomInfo’s director of consumer products.
According to CBS News Technology Analyst Larry Magid, there is a real possibility of errors. “One good thing about this service is that it’s possible to edit your profile. That’s a way to correct the record in case of erroneous material.”
“Some call [ZoomInfo] an invasion of privacy but I think that horse is already out of that barn,” added Magid. “All this site does is collate publicly available information that’s already out there.”
Internet privacy and security expert Richard M. Smith said the new service seemed like snooping. He warned this could create a perception problem for ZoomInfo. “Nice people don’t snoop on their neighbors,” he said.
Preston Gralla, co-author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Internet Privacy and Security, said “Just because [the information] is publicly available, it’s still difficult for anybody to put together. Just the act of collecting all this information, you could consider it an invasion of privacy.”
The information on ZoomInfo is derived from public web pages. Court records, password-protected sites and private sites are not included in ZoomInfo’s search.
Chief Executive Jonathan Stern insists the company is doing the same thing as other popular search engines such as Google or Yahoo. Additionally, ZoomInfo filters out irrelevant information which produces better results.
People want information about others for work and for personal reasons, said Stern. “Trust is very important and information is what builds trust,” he said.
People can also choose to have their profile deleted from ZoomInfo, company officials added.
Formerly Eliyon Technologies, ZoomInfo is a privately held company with 60 employees. They currently offer a pay service to help businesses and recruiters use the internet to find new employees. Among their customers are 20% of the Fortune 500, including Google Inc., American Online and Microsoft Corp.
Stern said the “people search” option is aimed at increasing site traffic and building a brand recognizable name, whereby hopefully boosting subscription sales.
ZoomInfo can’t erase any information on the internet, but they claim to offer surfers a way of compiling an accurate web profile with relevant information, which should be among the first to be displayed in search results.
A credit card is required to register and change a profile on ZoomInfo, though there is no charge for the service. They don’t guarantee the accuracy of the information posted, but clearly notes the source of the information added.
Smith voiced skepticism over ZoomInfo’s ability to accurately filter information between people when compiling profiles. The result could be more inaccuracies floating around the internet, he said.
But Chris Sherman, editor of the industry newsletter Search Day, disagrees. The company’s technology has a reputation for being sophisticated and accurate, he said. No one does people searches particularly well, which means that ZoomInfo has a chance to become a leader in that niche.
“If they do it right, they’ve got the opportunity to become a trusted source,” Sherman said.
