Heather Foeh

I came across an article last week on the Houston Chronicle website about someone who was obsessed with their Google Twin. (Unfortunately, I can’t link to that article because it’s now offline!) I did a Google search for the phrase “google twin” and actually found a Wikipedia entry about it: A “Google twin” is a person who shares your name, and whose information returns results on Google when you egosurf. There have been some instances of people who become obsessed with their Google twin(s) and their lives.”

So not only do we now have the new term “Google twin” in our lexicon, we also have “egosurf” which cracks me up. But I digress…

When you have a name like “Heather Foeh”, you quite safely do not have a Google twin. There aren’t too many of us Foehs in the world, and so far I haven’t come across another Heather. I can rest safely in the knowledge that when you Google “Heather Foeh” all of the entries you read are about me, me, me. It is a rather lovely, egotistical feeling.

My maiden name, however, is a different story. I was Heather Hunt up until 16 1/2 years ago, and let me tell you, there are plenty of Heather Hunts out there. Including most notoriously, a porn star of French and Pakistani heritage (and yes, I learned her parentage from Wikipedia). I am in the midst of writing a romance novel and have spent quite a bit of time deciding on my pseudonym (even though I haven’t finished my manuscript and have no current publishing prospects), because let’s face it, “Heather Foeh” is not gonna cut it. For one thing, it’s pronounced “fay”. Need I say more? I originally thought about using my maiden name, Heather Hunt, since it has that nice alliteration ring to it. But after finding out about the porn star with the same moniker, I decided that maybe I’d pursue something else. (In case you’re dying of curiosity, I chose Emma Clair.)

So I’m curious. Do any of you, my loyal readers, have a Google twin that you’ve researched? Are you obsessed? Are you perhaps jealous of their Google rank? I’d love to know.