Friday, April 23, 2010

Spokeo is Spooky

One of my facebook friends just posted this website Spokeo. Go ahead...type your name in there and see if you can find yourself.

I found myself and the information was pretty atrocious (at least the teaser info they let you look at for free...you can pay for a full report). It has several pictures, none of which are me. It got that I am single, but says my home is worth over $1 million (yeah, right!) but in a below average neighborhood (makes perfect sense to me!) I also have to go looking for that swimming pool it says I have that I must have misplaced. The lifestyle stuff is hit and miss...some right, some wrong. About what I would expect from semi-educated guessing.

Now the problem is that potential employers are searching online for info. I am not looking for a job right now, but it doesn't take much to see the problem with sites that aggregate information like this that are not accountable for its accuracy. They do have a page where you can request your listing be removed . I have found no way that you can correct your info if for some reason you want to stay listed but have the information, you know, be accurate.

Some people worry about the government becoming Big Brother...while we must be vigilant about that, corporations are effectively and with great stealth doing the same thing.

7 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

I punched in my deceased father's name. This is what I got:

Age: mid 80's
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Zodiac: Taurus
Relationship: Single
Children: Yes
Occupation: unknown
Education: College Degree
Hobbies: Reading
Home Owner: Yes
Residence: Multi-Family Dwelling/Apartment
Length of Residence: 1 years
Est. Home Value: unknown
Neighborhood: Middle Class

If my dad were alive, he would be 92; his zodiac sign was Capricorn; he was married; he didn't have a college degree; if he had a "hobby," it was drinking; and though he did live in a multi-family dwelling, he did not own it. The pictures they posted were of no one I ever saw. What a joke.

kkdither said...

They don't know me... I don't exist. Thank goodness! Kay Dither doesn't exist either... hahahahaha

RWWackoStu said...

Lots on me. I asked for them to delete it.

SER said...

They are off on mine also. They have a couple things right but that's about it...nothing to worry about..

Why Not? said...

They had 2 with my maiden name, but not my married name.. but the two with my maiden name were not me, they lived down in Florida...

Why Not? said...

according to that, my father is Asian, est. home value is 1M+, is in middle management (my father has been unemployed for almost a year now, factory worker all his life), I think they only thing they did get right is that he is married.

Hey, my mother is Asian as well.. here I always thought I was Danish, German and Irish.. hmm.. you learn something new everyday.

Huck Finn said...

Looked up my BIL and got him, AND my sister, their telephone number and that they give to charities. The pictures are just stock pics they use for everyone's profiles. As for me, I don't exist in their system and I'd be pissed if I did.