Imagine my surprise this morning to check my Google Alerts and see my name next to that of Inuvik – a small town inside the Arctic Circle in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Now Google Alerts are really a wonderful invention, such an easy way to track what’s being said about a person or project. I have lots of Google Alerts set up but the most fun is usually my name … there are other Angela Crockers who are academics, lawyers, basketball players and there’s occasionally an Angela who uses a Betty Crocker recipe.
But this Alert stopped me cold as I lived in Inuvik when I was kid. From the snowmobiling on the North MacKenzie River, our house on stilts (as the permafrost made it difficult to dig a foundation), and the midnight sun to the astroturf sunroom in our house, my parent’s shuffleboard triumphs at the Mess and taking a helicopter up to Tuktoyaktuk it was an adventure that shaped some of who I am today.
Now this particular Alert tagged me as a social network listed two other women in the Inuvik online community at 
MyLife had their names listed side by side. I’d like to thank them – Caldwell, Angela Crocker, Stephanie for this wonderful trip down memory lane. Without their participation in social media, I couldn’t have traveled in time today.