Technology has become such an intricate part of our lives. We find ourselves checking emails, researching information, watching videos and sometimes gathering advice on the many websites available through the world-wide web. It seems however, that no other internet research tool has made an impact as GOOGLE. Webster’s Dictionary has even added the word as a verb officially making it a part of the English Language. The definition of Google is to look up, to investigate, to explore.
Now, one man Jim Killeen has taken this phenomenon and turned it into a documentary which is currently in production. According to webpronews.com, Mr. Killeen is working on this documentary which traces his story from the day he “Googled” his own name. The information goes on to describe how the filmmaker begins traveling to meet “himself” in many different cities, towns, professions and circumstances. One of the interesting stories was of a Jim Killeen from Tucson, Arizona who was found dead in his home after three weeks of being missing. This story catapults the filmmaker into an investigation and takes him on a journey that includes psychics and a wife that is praying for his “resurrection.”
Googling oneself could be seen as vain, or self serving but how many of us have not wondered and perhaps gone through with putting our name in that little rectangular search box to see what the results would be. I know I have done it a few times myself and have been surprised and amazed at where I’ve shown up. What makes Jim Killeen’s concept interesting in the age of technology is that when he finds his namesakes, he takes it a step further and connects with all his other selves. They say that technology has made things impersonal and created a society of unconnected people but this exercise illustrated by Jim Killeen through film shows that technology can help us find ourselves in many different ways as we search to understand our own journey. There is something inate in all of us that makes us want to find our ROOTS or connect with like minded or similar individuals. Just look at the numbers on AC, a community of content producers sharing their art and establishing networks that might not have ordinarily been possible without technology.
From a marketing perspective, Jim Killeen scores big! What a concept to use this worldwide tool and cinematography as a means of branding one’s own name. You can bet your bottom dollar that by the time this movie hits the big screen it will have established a cult following, creating huge audiences EVERYWHERE. This project is truly an interesting commentary on society and how technology has transformed our lives. It is also pure marketing genius that will be referenced in theory and practice for years to come. Right now, I’m thinking D***, I wish I’d thought about it first! Since I didn’t, I will give kudos to Jim Killeen and congratulate him because “Google Me” is sure to establish him as a household name.
The next question remains, is GOOGLE affiliated with this film? According to a Google spokesperson, they are in no way affiliated with the film but they have heard about it and have blessed the endeavor by giving Mr. Killen permission to use their name. They also worked with Mr. Killeen to explain aspects of what goes into making the search engine such a powerful effective tool.
Personally, I could not wait to see what the documentary looked like so I immediately did a google search to find out if there was a trailer out there. I also wanted to make sure that my information was correct. Well all sources where correct because there it was! When I hit the link and arrived at on the homepage, I was immediately greeted with the filmmaker’s full name in the search box, and a quote below that read: “It all started when I Googled my own name…”
