My Phone Is A Stranger Magnet

The last few days have definitely got me wondering if someone has an eerily similar number to mine. I have had two different conversations with two completely random numbers thinking I am someone named, Marcia. Unless people are gathering across the nation to prank me, I really don't know how to properly handle these kind of text messages. You are probably wondering what I am talking about...

I don't want to just say, "Wrong number." I think I could have way more fun with these messages than that! 

Saturday Conversation

(502) Area Code: Kentucky

502-***-****: Apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living? Answer honestly this time ;) 

(10 minutes later)

Me: I go to school, eat lots of food, and watch a lot of Investigation Discovery shows. But thanks for the compliment. 

502-***-****: What? 

Me: You asked me what I did for a living other than being sexy and I told you. 

502-***-*****: ...this isn't Marcia is it? 


After that, I decided not to respond. I really wish I would have now because I could have had a great conversation going. 

Tuesday Conversation

(707) Area Code: California 

707-***-****: Hey, what's up?

(No response)

707-***-****: I already talked to ya but I'll be voting at that time, so I can't go. Sorry gurl! 

Me: I'm sorry, I feel rude. Who is this? 

707-***-****: Kasey? 

Me: Kasey who? I don't think I know a Kasey.

707-***-****: OH STOP IT! You know exactly who this is. 

(No response) 

15 minutes later...

707-***-****: Yeah, this is the wrong number. Sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine. Got the number mixed up. 

Wednesday Conversation 

I have to admit Wednesday's conversation was by far the longest one I held, mainly because I was trying to tell this Jared character that I was not Marcia (if that is who he thought I was). He never really gave me a clear indication that that was who he was trying to reach. This man/boy was very vague. Our conversation took a turn at the end though; a turn I completely did NOT want to take. 

(330) Area Code: Ohio (at least it's in the same state this time) 

330-***-****: Yo, what you doing? 

Me: I am at work. Who is this? 

330-***-****: Jared... 

Me: Jared who?

330-***-****: Jared *****, the only one you know? 

Me: I don't know you, I think you have the wrong number. 

330-***-****: No i don't. I just txted u eariler and u responded. 

Me: ?? If you are trying to reach a Marcia, we have similiar phone numbers and this is not hers. 

330-***-****: i c. 

(No response) 

330-***-****: Y u answer when I text u then? 

Me: I said I was working and then asked who you were. 

330-***-****: Wut is your name then? 

Me: Dolores. 

330-***-****: o i c 

-End of conversation (that day)-

Today's Conversation 

This just happened while I was at work. My phone buzzed in my bag and I was expecting a text from a friend. Much to my surprise, it was my new-found friend Jared! (I had to write a blog post now!) 

330-***-**** (Jared): Yo

Me: Still not Marcia. 

330-***-****: I kno. I want 2 know who u r. 

Me: Dolores. 

330-***-****: i kno. Last name? 

Me: (after googling) Farder  (Note: I didn't want to be too graphic) 

330-***-****: r u on Fb? 

Me: No. I'm a little too old for Fb. 

330-***-****: how old r u 

Me: 67 

(No response) 


I think this last conversation has to top all of the others. I am just shocked a stranger who I don't even know tried getting to know me and asked me for my first and last name. I feel like a predator was in my midst! That's why technology is scary...

I am not sure how my phone became so popular. I used to just get texts from close friends and not more than maybe four conversations a day, but now my phone is getting hit up from all over the nation! 

No, I don't have my number on my Facebook or any other social media outlet. That would be just silly! However, someone is either pranking me all the time or has almost the same number as me. Whoever this other person is, they need to learn how to give out their number correctly. I'm sorry I don't know you Kasey and I am not Marcia. Girl, give your number out the right way (don't use my number as a rejection hotline)!

I will admit though, it's been great entertainment for me! 

Who is this? How did you get my number? 

Community Relationships--How My Internship Helped Me

In Katie Paine's book, Measure What Matters, I think Chapter 9 stuck out to me with the six steps to measuring relationships with communities.

The six steps were as follows: 

1. Agree upon solid measurable goals tied to bottom line
2. Define publics
3. Who or what are the benchmarks
4. Set audience priorities 
5. Choose measurable tools
6. Analyze data 


When I read these steps, they instantly reminded me of my library internship I had the summer of my junior year of college. I was set to help with a summer-long weekly community event. The event was a series of outdoor yard concerts called, "The Brown Bag Series". They had numerous artists and genres for the event as well as food stands for people to enjoy.

The first meeting I sat in on, the first question my boss asked was, "Who are we trying to target in this series?"

Parents and children of the community were the main target we were trying to reach. We had to figure out a way to reach out to the community--and I think we did in many ways.

How we mapped out our event: 

Step 1: We agreed upon the goals we were trying to reach. We wanted to get publicity for the event to parents, children, and day cares to get more children involved since that was the music we were generally playing. 

Step 2: Our publics = children, parents, and older patrons (we eventually discussed that older patrons enjoyed the series as well) 

Step 3: We focused on how where the location of the concerts would be that would get the most attendees and how we would change plans in case of a weather change. Primarily, we focused on what needed to happen to make sure the concert went on no matter what. 

Step 4: We discussed ways to measure our performance for the series--we set up a survey that patrons could take after attending (primarily parents). We also tried to get a good head count each time to track how many attended week-to-week. 



I think the six steps are tied into the four steps we focused on during our Brown Bag concert series. The library always tried to tie in the community with their events, so I believe I had a great experience creating relationships with community members while advertising for this event.

Social Media's "Knucklehead Of The Year"

As many people know, Hurricane Sandy struck our East Coast last week pretty hard. States suffered power outages, horrible weather, and damage. While checking out updates on the conditions of Hurricane Sandy, I kept reading about this infamous "fake account" called, @ComfortablySmug. 

Apparently, this Twitter account began circulating fake images and completely false reports about New York City's standing during the hurricane. 

This image can be found on CNN.com

Some tweets I read are as follows: 

• BREAKING:Soon we will all be dead, and you will wonder why you spent time typing out 140 char messages instead of calling your mother who loves you
• BREAKING: Governor Cuomo is trapped in Manhattan. Has been taken to a secure shelter
• BREAKING: Coney Island Hopstial Is On Fire http://t.co/Kr3LoPjq

These are only a few tweets @ComfortablySmug tweeted that was sent out and retweeted by thousands of users. The account eventually gained a following of over 6,800 users--some from across the world. Not only did this account create panic in many users across the world, but it also created a lot of attention I don't think the user intended on having originally. 

Want to know the kicker of this whole thing? 

It was just reported that Shashank Tripathi is the author of the tweets and account. Who is Shashank Tripathi? Well, he is campaign manager of Christopher R. Wight, the Republican candidate for the U.S. House from New York's 12th Congressional District for this year's election (ouch). After this report was released, the account immediately sent a tweet issuing an apology to New York citizens. 

Courtesy of BBC news 

I went back and checked the account today and it is still up, but hasn't tweeted anything since the apology--and of course, I had to figure out what happened to Mr. Tripathi...

He resigned! Of course he did, what did I expect to happen? 

I knew social media could ruin careers if used incorrectly, but it still baffles me that an "anonymous" Twitter account could cause so much chaos. Not only that, but it amazes me that nothing on social media is technically "anonymous" anymore. 

I think it is completely crazy and baffling at the same time! 

What do you guys think of anonymous Twitter accounts?