It's a small internet, after all

A lot of people operate under the assumption that everything thrown onto the internet happens in some sort of void. Usually this amounts to people being incredible asshats to each other and unleashing horrors that would get them arrested in real life. But it also creates a weird sort of dissonance when you release that there are real people in your audience.

I'm being vague, so let's get a little more example-y. So far in the past two months, I've seen that at least three of the bands or books I've reviewed on various sites have found those reviews and posted them on their own sites. Now, I realize that with Google and RSS feeds, it's pretty easy to be alerted every time your name is mentioned on the web. But that doesn't make me any less surprised that they found the reviews. Surprised, and flattered, and a little freaked out. It's a weird mix of emotions.

It's also weird when the tables turn and you find things about yourself on Google. I have the luck (or curse, depending on the situation) that my maiden name and my married name are the same as two semi-obscure celebrities, enough so that you have to tack on some extra words to actually find information on me. But when people can actually Google me, it's created some situations. Once an old roommate found a blog where I'd ranted about her roomie drama, and it started World War III. On a slightly less butthurt note, a few years ago I discovered that a half-assed paper I wrote my sophomore college year for a class on folklore about misheard lyrics had been posted on a couple academic sites as a reference and one "download a paper for $10" site.

So Wenches, have you ever had an interesting experience where the internet collided with your real life?