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September 8, 2016 By Helen Brown 3 Comments
Because it's none of their business
My work computer is my home computer is my work computer. But even if your work computer and your home computer aren't the same one, maybe you use Facebook at work? Or you might order something online at lunch? Possibly you do a little work every once in a while over the weekend or during an evening?
If so, chances are good that on your home computer you'll start seeing, "you might know this person! Want to connect with them?" But the person is someone you met at a work conference.
And then at work you'll see "Moms in <yourtown> do this one crazy thing to find discounts on <thatthingyoujustboughtonline>"
That stuff drives me nuts. You, too?
I don't want to be tracked, notated, analyzed, or have my online existence bugged just as a general rule. Professionally it's not only annoying, it also hampers my ability to do my job well. Because the more I use my computer, the more the artificial intelligence algorithms start filtering out stuff. Or letting stuff in that's patently false.
If you don't believe me, check out this TED talk by Eli Pariser about filter bubbles. It's eye-opening. If you're a professional researcher you're going to understand the dangers pretty quickly. Results that you should be seeing, you're not. And you don't even know it.
So, here's the action plan.
It's simple. Just use a search engine that doesn't track you. It's not about having something to hide or trying to be secretive. It's about using tools that don't inherently take away your best results under the guise of doing you a favor. And PS, it's none of a search engine's business what I search for, anyway.
Last month, Angie Stapleton and I did a workshop on advanced web searching at the APRA conference. We put together a handy cheat-sheet comparing 13 search engines – some that may be new to you and some that will be very familiar. Many are international, so give them a try to get an even wider variety of results. The handout is here on our free Learning Media page.
Does the search engine track you? Does it serve up advertisements? As you use it more, does it learn more about you so it can personalize your results?
Those are some of the questions we ask and answer. Some on the list do, others keep your searching private even while they're giving you direct access to Google results.
Give them a try – and let me know what you think.
For further reading: 8 Search Tricks That Work on DuckDuckGo But Not On Google
Filed Under: Effective searching Tagged With: advanced web searching, prospect research, search engines
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David's career in prospect research began in 2009, as a graduate research assistant at the Shippensburg University Foundation. In 2011, He became a development researcher for the University of Virginia. In 2015, David became assistant director of prospect research at the University of Baltimore, serving for 3 years. Recently, he was the director of development for Trees Forever. David Joined the Helen Brown Group as a research assistant in January 2020. He earned a B.A. in Theater at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Applied History at Shippensburg University. David is a member of APRA and APRA Great Plains.
Kenny has worked in development since 1999 and has been involved in prospect research since 2002.
Prior to joining The Helen Brown Group, he was the director of donor and prospect research at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Kenny is a member of APRA and NEDRA.
Tara first began her career in development in 2002 supporting the Major Gifts department at Simmons College, and ultimately went on to serve as Assistant Director of Prospect Research. Since that time, she has also worked as a Senior Research Analyst at MIT, as Associate Director of Prospect Management and Research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and as Director of Development Research at Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP).
Tara originally joined the Helen Brown Group team in 2007 and served as a Research Associate and ShareTraining coordinator until 2008 – she rejoined the company as a Senior Researcher in 2013 and was promoted to her current role in 2018.
She has been an active volunteer with NEDRA for many years and served on the board of directors from 2010-2016. During her time on the NEDRA board, she served in many different roles, including terms as Vice President, Secretary, Chair of the Website and Technology Committee, Chair of the Volunteer Committee, and as Chair and Editor of NEDRA News. She is currently a member of the NEDRA Bootcamp faculty. In addition, Tara has also been involved as a volunteer with Apra, serving stints on the Membership Committee, Chapters Committee, and Bylaws Task Force.
Angie began her career in development in 1999 at Virginia Tech in Corporate and Foundation Relations and later in prospect research at the University of Connecticut Foundation.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, her experience includes grants management at the University of South Carolina, program evaluation for South Carolina Research Authority and human resources analysis for Nissan North America.
She returned to development in 2007 and worked in various prospect research positions at Vanderbilt University, including Associate Director. She was named Director for Vanderbilt University Medical Center's research office in 2015, and joined The Helen Brown Group in 2016.
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Josh began his career in development as the Phonathon Coordinator at Keene State College. He then worked at non-profit consulting firm Schultz & Williams in Philadelphia.
He started his research career at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Assistant in 2005. He then moved over to the Wharton School of Business, where he became the Associate Director, Research and Prospect Management. Josh joined the Helen Brown Group in 2016.
Josh is also a Colorado licensed Realtor and graduate of Lehigh University.
In March 2017, Kristina joined the Helen Brown Group as a Research Associate. Before joining HBG, she was the Research Manager at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an Associate Manager of Prospect Research at City Harvest, a food rescue organization. Kristina started her non-profit career as a legal assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004. She is a member of Apra and Apra Greater New York. She was Apra Greater New York's Director of Programming from June 2014 to May 2016. Kristina graduated from The University of Chicago and the Bard Graduate Center.
Grace began her career in development in 2001 as Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a Harvard Medical School-affiliated academic medical center.
In 2003, she became a prospect researcher for the BWH principal and major gifts team and spent the next 11 years in various research positions with BWH, culminating as Assistant Director of Prospect Research. She has been affiliated with The Helen Brown Group since January 2014.
Heather began her career in 2002 as a prospect research coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and then moved to Carroll College in 2004.
In 2005, Heather began working on her own as a freelancer and eventually started her own consulting firm, Willis Research Services, in 2007. She joined The Helen Brown Group in 2012.
Heather is a member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and the Montana Nonprofit Association.
Jennifer began her career in development at her alma mater, Wheaton College, where she was an administrative assistant for the major gifts department.
She joined The Helen Brown Group in March 2008. She earned a master's degree in library science from the Southern Connecticut State University in May 2009. Jennifer is a member of APRA and NEDRA.
Rick has been a member of the Helen Brown Group team since 2005. Prior to joining HBG, Rick was director of research at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. Rick has worked in development since 1996, both in prospect research and major gifts fund raising. His experience includes the University of Vermont, Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul's School.
Rick is past president of NEDRA and is a member of and frequent volunteer for APRA.
Mandi has worked in prospect research and management since 2006. She began her development career as a research analyst in development research at City of Hope, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles. From there, she became the manager of prospect development at Huntington Memorial Hospital, a community hospital in Pasadena, CA. Most recently, she was the associate director of prospect research and management at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college in LA.
Mandi has a BA degree in print journalism from Southern Methodist University and a master's degree of library and information science from UCLA.
She joined the Helen Brown Group in May 2019.
Kelly began her career in development in 2008 as an administrative assistant in Major Gifts at Wheaton College.
In 2010, she became a research analyst at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Division of Development & Jimmy Fund as part of the prospect identification team. Kelly joined The Helen Brown Group in 2013.
She is a member of APRA and NEDRA.
Jayme began her career in development in 2008 at the Rutgers University Foundation, where she spent the next seven years, first in prospect management and then prospect research. She spent several years at Monmouth University as their senior prospect research analyst, working with the fundraising staff, university president, and top leadership. She has worked as both a volunteer and consultant for non-profits in the areas of research and writing.
She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Drew University and a master of communication and information sciences from Rutgers University. She is a member of APRA.
Jayme joined The Helen Brown Group in April 2019.
Julie has managed finances for The Helen Brown Group since its founding.
In her spare time, she is an editor for the PBS series Masterpiece at WGBH. Julie was nominated twice for an Emmy award for her work on the PBS show Zoom.
Heather began her career in development in 2001 as a prospect researcher for National Wildlife Federation (NWF). She was with NWF for more than thirteen years, including nearly five years as director of research and analytics. Heather is a former secretary of the board of directors of APRA-Metro DC.
She joined The Helen Brown Group in October 2014.
David began his career in development at The Gunnery school in northwest Connecticut in 2011, where he worked in database management and prospect research. Subsequently, he joined the College of Saint Rose as a development research analyst before leading Albany Medical Center Foundation's prospect research efforts as Associate Director of Prospect Research. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Siena College and is a member of APRA and CASE.
Michele began her career in development in 2012 when she joined the UC Berkeley corporate and foundation relations team as a development analyst. She spent a year and a half at Cal before returning to UC Davis as a prospect analyst. She was with the prospect management and relations team at UC Davis for almost three years prior to joining the research and relationship management team at George Washington University as a Senior Prospect Analyst in 2016.
Michele received her BA in creative writing from Florida State University and her MA in higher education leadership from CSU Sacramento. She currently resides in Northern Virginia, is a member of Apra International, and serves as the social media chair for Apra Metro DC. Michele joined The Helen Brown Group in July 2018.
Angie has worked in development since 2002, partnering with a wide range of nonprofit institutions. She began her professional career at Vanderbilt University in research and prospect development.
She has also worked with a number of community nonprofits in front-line fundraising, grant-writing, and event management. Angie holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a BS in Journalism from Middle Tennessee State University. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a member of AFP Nashville and APRA MidSouth, where she has been active on the executive team.
Maureen has been a part of the non-profit world since 1991. She started out in annual giving at Harvard Law School and continued her career as director of annual/special gifts at UC Santa Cruz.
In 1999 she made the switch from front-line fundraising to serve as director of prospect research/management at Bentley University and in 2001 began her role as administrator for the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester. She became part of the HBG team in September of 2011.
Helen has been a development professional since 1987. Her previous experience includes The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Albert Einstein Institution, Boston College, the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University.
Currently she works with a variety of clients to establish, benchmark and re-align research departments; identify major gift prospects; and train researchers and other fundraisers through on-site and web-based training services.Helen is a former member of the board of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) and is past president of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA). In 2006 she received the NEDRA Ann Castle Award for service to the prospect research community.
Helen is Special Advisor on Fundraising to the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester and is a member of the board of directors of Factary Ltd. (Bristol, UK). She is a member of NEDRA, APRA, the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP), Women In Development, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and Researchers in Fundraising (UK).
Helen is a frequent speaker and has led seminars for a number of professional associations, including Action Planning, AFP, APRA, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), NEDRA, RIF, the Planned Giving Council of Central Massachusetts, the Georgia Center on Nonprofits, the International Fundraising Congress and Resource Alliance.
Helen is also co-author (with Jen Filla) of the book, Prospect Research for Fundraisers (Wiley & Sons, 2013).