The most observant of my online friends have noticed my name on Facebook has recently been changed. May be you did but didnt say anything, or maybe you just didnt notice. 😦
Anyways, I changed my Facebook name from “Al LaRose” to “Allen LaRose”. Huge change! And no it does not mean I will no longer being go by the name “Al”. The reason for the change is Google. More accurately my ranking in Google and search engines in general.
Now if you search Google for “allen larose” or “allen larose”, my blog, my Twitter, and my LinkedIn accounts/profiles come up in the first 10 listings. Many would envious, as Google ranking and search engine optimization (SEO) is more art then science and can be difficult to achieve. Or at least I have been told.
Of course if you misspell my name, and oh so many people do…. Of course links associated with me shouldnt show up. And my name gets misspelled a lot:
alan larose, alen larose, alan la rose, allan larose, alan lerose, ellen larose.
I have always been “Allen LaRose“. Sometime shortly after collage, people started calling me “Al”. And I’m fine with being called “Al”. It’s less formal, and I’m not exactly a formal guy. It actually got to a point that only my mother called me “Allen”.
Then a few individuals decided they preferred to call me “Allen“. Always the special ladies in my life. Until they would decide to call me something far nastier, the many variations I will not repeat here.
Then for business I was “Allen“. “Al” away from work and “Allen” at the office. My best guess is this happened because my business cards have always had my full name on them “Allen LaRose, FMA, CIM, FCSI“. Yes the designations are part of name, at least when I am at work.
Could be worse, my mother could have let my grandfather name me… Then I would be “Kiddo”. 😦 That is leaps and bounds ahead of some the nick names I have had: Skippy, Alaroo (Dont ask), Ala-boo-boo.
You can call me “Al” or “Allen“, but online the best way to find me is with “allenlarose“.
Allen LaRose 