Joe Spake - Memphis’ Leading Web 2.0 Realtor

I posted earlier this month about Facebook allowing “vanity” URLs for profiles. Millions of users took the opportunity to set them up.

Personalized URLs were also made available for Pages with over 1000 fans at that time. Last night Facebook opened it up to Pages with less than 1000 fans. I have heard the minimum is 50, but there were lots of folks struggling for 100 last night.

If you were sharing your Facebook profile with someone via email for instance, do you think
http://facebook.com/joespake
or
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1269470201&ref=nf
might be more appealing?
If you have a page for your business or organization, why not make it simple. Trade in:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Memphis-TN/Joe-Spake/53186364153
for
http://facebook.com/memphisrealestate (why don’t you visit and become a fan?)

And it’s really easy. Just go to http://facebook.com/username, and you will be guided through the process. Have fun!

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They say on the news that it only takes 25 names on a petition and $100 Fee to run for Mayor of Memphis.  I am contemplating a candidacy.  It seems like a pretty cool part-time job.  And the current Mayor’s real estate business has done  pretty well while he has held office.

So, any supporters?  Or maybe we should all run.  That would make for an interesting race.  I’ll sign your petition if you sign mine.

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Remember in elementary school, the first theme of the year was “What I did on Vacation”?  Katy and I took a much needed few days to visit our friend Jane on Tybee Island, GA.

Things I did on vacation (certainly not a comprehensive list and in no particular order):

1. Itched and burned from tanning bed induced sunburn (Someone told me I should pre-sun for the beach. Thanks, Kelly.)
2. Learned the difference between a swamp and a marsh
3. Dipped my toes in the Atlantic
4. Kayaked in the Marsh
5. Toured Fort Pulaski
6. Went to the Boneventure Cemetery in Savannah
7. Went to the Paula Deen store
8. Lost my Flip, keys and books in the ATL airport
9. Had fun singing and doing music with Jane
10. Sang in a church choir with no rehearsal
11. Ate truly amazing food
12. Cooked truly amazing fresh seafood
13. Discovered Blaze Foley
14. Caught a mouse
15. Let the mouse escape
16. Ate at Wall’s Barbecue and reviewed it on Yelp!
17. Contemplated climbing to the top of the Tybee light house
18. Saw the set of the Miley Cyrus movie currently being made at Tybee
19. Saw the “Bird Girl” statue from “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”
20. Sort of stuck to my diet
21. Enjoyed the company of Jane and my wonderful fiance Katy

Katy and I at Fannie's, Tybee Island, overlooking Miley Cyrus movie set on the beach

Wild Georgia Shrimp (not pond grown) and scallops - I cooked this

Paula Deen seemed happy that Katy dropped by

Dinner on Jane's Deck

Sunset from Jane's deck

Lively Conversation

Tybee Lighthouse

More pictures

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Since this is an anecdotal post rant and not a highly researched news story, I reserve the right not to add links or discourse addressing the policies of the parties mentioned.

The Notification
I was in my car when the phone rang. An out of town number. It was the GAP, asking me if I had a VISA and if I had just made some very large purchases. The nice lady from GAP’s “Research” department verified the last 4 digits of the card number and told me they had screened the order because of the high charge – Over $900 there, and somewhat less at Banana Republic and Zappos (I don’t know how she got that information). She said she had canceled the order and would credit the charges. (thanks, I think), but would not provide me with any documentation about the incident, or who the order was being shipped to. I asked point blank,”don’t you think it would cut down on incidents like this if the cops a SWAT Team showed up at that address to ask a few questions?  Well, she could not give that info to me, only directly to police, and then only if they asked for it through, the GAP’s procedures. The GAP didn’t want any liability, and no, they do not report incidents such as this to law enforcement.  Law enforcement has to go to them to ask for specific evidence.

The Credit Card Company
I called the bank that administers my VISA. As soon as I gave them sufficient ID information, they told me another card would be sent out and the compromised one immediately canceled. I had to ask them about the false charges. They went over the procedure …that i would get a fraud certification….etc. While the customer service rep. was highly professional, I just got the feeling that this is all she does all day-cancel and reissue stolen credit cards. And unlike the last time this happened (less than 2 months ago) she didn’t counsel me to check my credit report, file a police report, or submit a free alert on my records with the 3 credit reporting companies.  It seems that the retailer and the credit card company do not share information (information which, from a layman’s view, could be quite beneficial in finding the thieves  and prosecuting them) with one another either.

The Police
As I have done at least twice in he past for this type of incident, I went to the Union Avenue Police Precinct to file a report.  This time though, the Desk Officer would not take the report.  It seems that you have to have some sort of written proof that the fraud has occurred.  I told them the company would not give it to me (see The Notification above), that they would have to request it.  But they could not request it unless I proved a crime was committed.  Hmmmmm.

Has this crime become so commonplace that retailers, credit card issuers and the police hardly raise an eyebrow when it is reported?  This was a VISA that was only out of my wallet to book flights and hotels.  It has never been out of my physical possession.  Does anyone care how the theives got the number?  Does anyone care about the time spent and the stress involved on the part of the victim?  Can anyone tell me how one can avoid the requirements from online services: retailers, airlines, hotels, business software subscriptions- that I hand over my credit card number.  Oh yeah, some will take an e-check, which only involves compromising your bank account information.

I’ll just wait for my shiny new VISA.

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