Pew Report Highlights Need For Online Identity Management In Google Search Era

"Everyone has this misconception that no one searches for me online," said Bayliss. "They search for other people but don't think that anyone is searching for them. That is a false pretense. People need to understand there are people searching online and they should be concerned about what shows up."

The Pew study, based on a telephone survey of 2,373 adults, of whom 1,623 are internet users, found that 47 percent of internet users "have searched for their own name online, but few monitor their online presence with great regularity." Furthermore, the report says that 53 percent of internet users "have searched online for information about personal and business contacts."

Naymz provides professionals with the ability to enhance their online profile and clean up any bad information so their reputation is not damaged by either "mischaracterization or misidentity," said Bayliss.

A premium Naymz service for $4.95 per month offers visitor alerts so users can see the location and IP address of those searching on their name and no ads on their personal profile page.

The Naymz brand management concept is taking hold, said Bayliss. He said that registration on the site, which was launched in June 2006 is up 6,000 percent in the last year with registration now running in the tens of thousands per month. "The whole idea is to market yourself more effectively," he says. "We think there is huge growth going to happen

Bayliss said personal brand management is critical given that 70 percent of job recruiters Google individuals to check on their online identity. "There is a big problem if what is showing up is not right," he said.

For those that have no online identity, there is the question of losing out on a big opportunity because someone else has marketed themselves more effectively online, he said.

Bayliss predicts that over the next two to five years there will be a "better understanding of what to post online" and more awareness of the need for online identity management. "People are going to take more steps to censor themselves and recognize that if there is some damaging information out there about them that they have to engage in some clean up," he said. "Some users are already accentuating the positive."