Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies! Hope this finds you all well and happy.
I had the very good fortune to visit with one of those high-school pals who I had not seen in 19 years this past Saturday. It was such fun and the four of us (two other pals who remain here and me) truly enjoyed our catch-up time with our long-lost buddy. The pal who does not reside here has done well, looks fabulous, and apparently has not changed in the many years since high school! What a lovely time we had.
Now then... while that probably isn't really fascinating to any of you, some of the things we talked about could pique your interest... if you are concerned about your privacy and the ubiquitous reach of the internet. Personally, that is something that concerns me.
Most of you know I do not participate at all in Facebook. There are a number of reasons for that. Daniel Lyons, a writer for Newsweek magazine, has written blog posts on May 15th, May 24th, and May 26th of this year that provide some real food for thought about the social network. I seriously suggest you read these three posts if you are a Facebook member. I have had many people tell me, "Oh... I don't really put much on there... certainly not anything I am concerned about anyone seeing." I hear you. But I am afraid you don't understand the full reach of the site and what they "own" even after you may decide to close your account!! Check out this article of February 17, 2009. Sorry, guys. I won't be joining. You can email me, comment on my blog posts, call me, or send a carrier pigeon. I'm happy to respond!
But... this isn't really a post about Facebook. I know. You thought it was. Nope. Our long-lost pal mentioned a site she had visited called Spokeo and was surprised at the amount of information there as well as the inaccuracy of a good portion of it! I had not even heard of it although I am aware there are a large number of sites purporting to carry my "profile" although they actually don't. Most of those link to my public profile with LinkedIn, a business networking site I joined a number of years ago and continue to participate in. Since I choose to publish VERY little information as "public" on that site, there is very little that is carried to the sites trying to pull information from it. I check that periodically.
So, back to Spokeo. I suggest you go there and type in your name, as well as other iterations of it you may have used in the past, and any family members. It did not find me using my full name (first, middle, last) but it did find me using my first name, middle initial, and last name. Interestingly enough, it showed me living at my brother's PO Box in another state!! *chuckle* It would have been funny but it had other information... most inaccurate... posted as though someone might be interested in my astrological sign (which was wrong) or my education level (which was also wrong). Check out what it provides to you after doing so. Copy the URL from the page that has your information. After you have finished spitting out words you don't want your kids to hear you say, go back to the main page, click on the itty-bitty "Privacy" menu item below the phonebook, then paste the URL into the field provided, give them the email you rarely use, type in the code shown, then click on "Remove Listing." That should do it. I have gone back and checked to make certain I do not continue to show up (and I checked the spousal-unit's name again after finding it with mostly inaccurate information and removing it).
I have a few other links you can visit including one that will direct you to similar sites. If you have some time, you might want to check to see how you are portrayed there! :)
http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2010/04/07/spokeo-com-scam.htm
Recent blog posting about Spokeo
http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/spokeo.asp
What Snopes.com has to say about Spokeo
http://www.similarsites.com/sites-like/spokeo.com
Sites indicated as similar to Spokeo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokeo
Wikipedia’s take on Spokeo
Good luck with it. It's just irritating and I am concerned that this information is being taken as gospel or being misused. If you don't think it is important, then please just move forward with your world. I'm just trying to "spread the word" and thank my friend, Liz, for making me aware of this site.
Enjoy your day. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy yourself!!
Until next time...
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