When was the last time you had a client that didn't have an email address ????
Will be starting in a couple of weeks, the only way to communicate is to call a land line. Let it ring, she sometimes has a hard time getting to the phone.?ÿ
Should be; interesting??ÿ
Excellent question.?ÿ My answer is that I don't know in my case.?ÿ I don't specifically ask that question.
Sure, there are times where the client wants to send something to me or they need me to send them something.?ÿ But, many times there is no communication of that form required.
I would assume almost every client I can think of has had one in the past five to ten years, but that is merely an assumption.
I had a fellow helping me survey for nearly two years who didn't even have a telephone of any kind.
I had no telephone during my first two years in college.?ÿ Paying a telephone bill was an extravagance my wife and I could not afford.
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I have a client that has no email or cell phone.?ÿ I guess it's been since fall that I did anything for him.?ÿ He's actually younger than me so it's not an age thing.?ÿ I've never asked why.?ÿ His wife does have an email address at her work because she has sent me copies of deeds and such.?ÿ I've never sent anything to them through email.
He and his wife have around 2400 acres, give or take 80, full of soybeans, alfalfa and cattle.?ÿ My job for the last ten years or so is to make sure all his kids and their spouses get a survey on the acreages he gives them.?ÿ Most of it, if not all is to build their houses.
I always talk to him after supper from his land line.?ÿ I don't know how it happened, but he calls me on my land line.?ÿ And he's probably the only client that has that number.
I find absolutely nothing weird about any of that.
We've been so swept up in being instantly available, suspicion is thrown immediately when you dont fit the mold the herd occupies.?ÿ Im proud that if you search for me on the web youll be lucky to even find a crumb, not because I'm hiding, but because I just didnt spray the internet with anything and everything I did.?ÿ Land line i finally left behind in 2005 when i was living in hotels full time working and essentially living out of a storage unit until I got married. Its fun to know i almost dont exist.?ÿ?ÿ :)?ÿ
We've been so swept up in being instantly available
I'm not instantly available, because most of the time I don't want to be.?ÿ It's especially easy these days, because I get so many junk calls that if your number isn't in my contacts I don't answer the phone.?ÿ If it's important, leave a message and I'll get back to you, probably today, but maybe tomorrow.?ÿ Unless I'm not interested in your situation, in which case I won't bother to return the call.
If you're a good client or a client with an active job I'll answer your call if it's important enough to me, but mostly I'll let it go to voicemail.?ÿ Most of my clients know that I prefer email anyway, so not many actually call.
Being close to retirement and having all the business I want definitely has its advantages.
if you search for me on the web youll be lucky to even find a crumb,?ÿ
You shouldn't make that statement unless you've actually spent a little time trying.
I was having a conversation about that sort of thing with a casual friend who thought he was nearly invisible. He had gone to the trouble of getting his name hidden on the city's property GIS (I hadn't known that was an option), and had no social media accounts showing his name or with a picture of him. I spent an hour assembling what I could find on him. Unfortunately, he was so shocked at what I found he stopped speaking to me.
Among the things that made it easy were his name being somewhat uncommon, and i already knew his address. I didn't even use his wife's name.
I found an interview he had done with a radio station some years before that defined his musical taste. The only picture was his hand holding a music CD, but if you blew it up you got a good enough picture of his reflection on the CD to recognize him in a lineup.
The GIS links to the assessed valuation.?ÿ I found the deed on line that gave his middle name, wife's name, and of course the purchase date that would indicate when he came to town. I found his mortgage with amount. Some on'line outfit estimates anyone's income and net worth-I have no idea what all sources they use.
The people-finder sites gave his previous addresses in other cities and age. His name was in a list of professionals somewhere, in case I didn't already know that, and from that I could have found his professional licence board (not surveying) listing in three states he had lived in, in case there was confusion with similar names in the generic lookups. If he had any disciplinary actions those would have been visible.
I found a meeting announcement for an atheist group he participated in, when they met at his house. Etc.
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On several occasions non-surveyors have posted questions on this forum while trying to hide their identity, and others and/or I have been able to identify the property from some clue.
In one case a street name was shown, and he picked an unusual user name. That was enough.
The same user name was found on another site where it was mentioned he had just graduated from a certain school, the major subject, and his first name. The list of grads from there revealed his last name. Searching GIS in that city found a similar property on that street that was owned by someone with the last name, probably his father.
There is no escaping.
I have done similar digging for dead people.?ÿ It is totally amazing what you can find if you have a few reliable clues.?ÿ Any odd name really helps, even if it is just a relative of the individual you are seeking.
Last week. Land line, no email, only a street address.?ÿ
Go find me.?ÿ Best part about hiding in plane sight is that it takes nearly no effort.
Think cuttlefish like camouflage.... ?????ÿ
I have nothing to hide.
His mistake was he was trying to hide.
BTW....I do exactly what you do....I can't help but wonder about people and search for anything I can find when I'm interested enough to dive in.
User name=tune name, good for hiding among Google results.
I'll PM my real name.?ÿ You'll find even less.
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The CIA etc. mastered this art.
I'm just painting by numbers essentially.
@jitterboogie Meanwhile I had a friend call me up one day and excitedly say, "I found some of your work emails on the internet!!" I went to look and they were responses to a mailing list run by my company.?ÿ
I'm pretty easy to find on the web due to an unusual first name, participation on FB, usenet, presentations at work-related conferences, etc.
Familysearch.org (genealogy site, run by LDS) now has some records on people's locations. It's more than census records.?ÿ
I do censor what I say online sometimes, but I think it's a losing battle to keep most personal info off the internet.
OTOH (on the other hand), a couple of times now, I've searched and played videos of music groups that are older/not often played...only to hear them on the radio the next time I'm in the car. Were they just...coincidences????ÿ
@jim-frame I had a fun call today. I usually do answer unknown numbers because I have kids and I've had calls from doctors, teachers, schools who have their names blocked. Anyway, here's how today's went:?ÿ
Me: Hello
Male: garble-garble grandma garble
Me: WHAT did you call me??ÿ (I have 2 nine-year-olds, no grandkids)
Male: pause. garble, Melita?
Me: What did you just call me??ÿ
Male: Uh, Melita, grandma.
Me: Who ARE you?
Male: David Kennedy
Me: I don't know any David Kennedy and I'm not your grandma.?ÿ
Male: click
I think the way it goes is after they say "grandma" they want the person to say the name of a grandchild and ask "is that you?"
They say it is and they are in trouble, so could you wire them money?
@bill93 Yep. I could tell I threw him off his game when I queried the "grandma" statement.
Absolutely coincidence..... ;)?ÿ They can't possibly know that much about anyone.....
For WEIW, look up "MAINWAY"?ÿ that's a good primer on how less private we all have become.
