Guide to Stalking Me

Me being me I'm always trying to cut down on the ways people can stalk me. This is such a problem for me. Really. Shaking the stalkers. Paris Hilton, Lindsay & me. We are all very popular people. It is really much to easy to be a successful stalker given the information highway known as the Internet and our need to share every waking moment with our social network "friends."

I've turned off the GPS id on my phone's camera. Did you know, on most cells, if you take a photo and post it on Twitter (for example) people will know where you are since your location is part of the pictures identification? I didn't. Well until I discovered a web site that tracked people via their pics. So OFF went that feature ... as soon as I discovered where it was located within the spiderweb of programs on my iPhone.

I try hard not to "post" info about vacations I'm taking until after I return for fear someone will break into my house and still my Seven Deadly Sins plates (Art and functionality. Very practical. Definitely the first grab by any thief.).

I have privacy-ed up my Facebook page to the point that only a hand few of lucky folks see anything of any importance.

So imagine my horror when NY friends introduced me to FourSquare. This odd "game" allows you to "check in" places while you are there (you have to be there ... your phone GPS has to be within a specific distance of the location). HOW FREAKIN' CRAZY IS THAT? They assured me that it is "big fun." My mind was then blown when Facebook jumped on the stalker bandwagon and launched "Places." One glance at my Facebook feed and I could now tell you a friend was at a sushi place in South Pas or that my cousin was at the bar ... again.

Now here is the part when you get shocked ... I signed up for FourSquare. Lots of reasons but the biggest being I was curious and it turns out companies do use it as a marketing tool (it's true I read about it multiple times in the ad trades) and since I'm in market research I felt I should check it out. My plan was not to ever check in anywhere but I had to start to see how you "play." Then I was addicted and HAD to become mayor of someplace. Any place! You become mayor if you check in more than anyone else at that location over a 2 month period. I think. Honestly I don't know how you become mayor and quite possibly made up that whole 2 month thing.

THEN IT HAPPENED! I became mayor of a McDonald's! MY LIFE WAS COMPLETE ... RIGHT? Wrong. I had a new goal. I HAD TO become mayor of my Bar Method studio. IT HAD TO HAPPEN OR I WOULD DIE ... I HAD TO BE THE MOST DEDICATED BAR METHOD STUDENT THAT IS CRAZY ENOUGH TO "CHECK IN" AT A LOCATION ON A SILLY SOCIAL NETWORK SITE. I HAD TO BE! This week IT HAPPENED! Check out the picture above from my phone.

I am officially now mayor of 2 fast food restaurants and a work out club. Suck on that wackiness FourSquare!

Sigh ... my life is complete. I can now rest easy and stop taking time to check my phone at every location I stop at everyday. Stalking me will no longer be quite as easy.