I admit it. I “google” people. Twice in work situations like illustrated above.

As the email administrator, I’m often told, “We’re getting a new person. Her name is Penni. Add her to the email system.”

Well, the email system requires a first and last name, so I ask for that, too. Once I have both, curiosity gets the best of me. Google, Google, Google!

The first time this happened was the office manager at my old job. It wasn’t me this time, though. My boss found her Facebook page and passed around to all of the men in the office a picture of her in short shorts showing off her legs. I always felt that was so damned inappropriate.

Can you imagine starting work at a new company where you don’t know anyone and not knowing all of the male employees have already ogled your legs? That’s just the sort of class my old boss brought to the table.

Then the company hired another woman. Once I had her first and last name I went googling. Whiskey tango foxtrot! I found a little more than I bargained for. She had a MySpace page, a Facebook page, and, just a few clicks away, I was able to see that she was an affiliate with a company that sells sex toys. Yikes!

So I knew that about her before her first day.

Now, at my new company, there are two of us that were hired the same day. I googled the other employee’s name and read that her dad died recently of a heart attack.

Unlike Hyppo, however, I didn’t run up to her and blurt it out. But there was one time when we were talking and it almost slipped. In this regard, having information like that is much like telling a lie. You have to remember when you can say it and when you can’t. And I’m not good at things like that.

Perhaps it is better to never Google? The not knowing can actually be quite powerful.