Schram, Pool lead double MySpace lives?
As many of you probably know, MySpace has a feature that allows users to import their contacts from any number of web-based email clients to enable a bulk search for MySpace friends. If you’re a Gmail user, you probably also know that it stores every email address that’s ever graced the “To” line in a message you’ve sent. So, a few days ago I imported my Gmail contacts into MySpace (they promise not to store the password or sell/spam the addresses) and I found this name listed: JOE. It was a little surprising because I don’t know anyone named Joe. The next surprise came when I saw the email address to the right of JOE’s name: Komo’s resident curmudgeon, Ken Schram (evidently, I sent Schram an email a few years ago to take him up on a Mariners bet he proposed). Schram’s doppelganger “JOE” is listed as a 29 year old female from Seattle. See for yourself. His/her last login was 11/17/05. That’s a pretty long time ago. It’s safe to say the profile isn’t active and Schram is no longer logging in as the girl JOE to stalk conduct investigative journalism. The discovery of JOE made me curious if other local journalists have dubious MySpace account practices. KIRO, King, and Q13 don’t list email addresses on their websites so Komo is as far as I got. Here’s what I found:
- The email address for news tips at Komo (tips@komo4news.com) has an account that seems to be active specifically for searching MySpace.
- Steve Pool’s email address (weather@komo4news.com) returned a death metal band based out of Hollywood. Headline: Fuck Yo.
It’s no secret to anyone who has any experience with online social networks that there is a cadre of users who maintain fake profiles for the sole purpose of keeping track of other users. Journalists, it seems, might actually have a good reason for that practice. That said, does Schram deserve a Schrammie? He’s about as much of a journalist as I am. And if he wanted to keep his MySpace-ing private, why use his very public work email address? If he didn’t care whether it was private, why create a fake persona? Or is he just a big fan of Nancy McKeon?
More importantly, which is Steve Pool’s favorite death metal band? My money’s on Cannibal Corpse but it wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to be a Sepultura guy.
Presumably it could also be that someone who is not Ken Schram gave his email address for some reason.
Certainly possible. But not nearly as humorous.
Also, there’s a cautionary tale in there somewhere. Pool’s profile is obviously not something he has anything to with.
This made me laugh. I love it.
how do you import names from gmail and the like?
thanks!!