Update: Trees and Googlegängers

Sometime in the next couple of weeks (probably on April 30th), the tree in my backyard that has been a constant and obvious threat to my sanity will be removed! I’m very excited about this despite the fact that it’s costing my parents… well, a lot. I feel bad about that part, but I’m not in the financial position to help them with it. Maybe after I sell Fallen.

In other, unrelated news, I found this article through Maria Schneider’s blog The Writer’s Perspective. It draws attention to the newly developing hobby of cyberstalking people who have the same name as you. Not necessarily stalking in the creepy sense, but stalking all the same.

At the same time, the acknowledgement of these googlegängers (a play off of doppelgängers, for those of you who missed the pun) could bring about some interesting stories. Angela Shelton, a writer mentioned in the article, has already written a book about finding 40 other Angela Sheltons across the U.S. Her particular story is about the trials and triumphs of overcoming sexual abuse (you can see her website here). This is just one example of the hundreds of stories–both fiction and non-fiction–that could spring from a well like this. Maria Schneider’s blog even exposes a case of merged identity–another Maria’s picture on a page that was supposed to be about her.

So what do you think about all this? Do you see this as a possible well of plots or something we should all let die before it explodes in our face?

2 thoughts on “Update: Trees and Googlegängers

  1. Sera Phyn

    Yeah, I was hovering somewhere between creeped out and fascinated. You can find so much more out about a person through the internet than you ever could in, say, the white pages. And the “research” they quoted (which I have been trained to mistrust until I see the journal it came from) seemed interesting. I kind of want to know how they conducted those tests…

    I hope I sell Fallen, too! And I would love for it to both be published in the UK and to actually go to the UK again myself. I didn't get to see enough of England the last time I was there. London is spectacular, though. And I fell in love with Scotland on that trip. ::dreamy sigh::

    I'll probably put up before and after pictures when the tree is finally taken away. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Vampyr

    That's a little creepy. More than creepy in a way. I don't think I would be able to stalk anyone with the same name as me. To date, I have never met or found anyone with the same name as me.

    I hope you sell Fallen. And when it sells I will be asking you when it comes out in the UK!!

    Good luck taking the tree away!

    Reply

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