Erwin Pawn Trade-A-Thon And Facebook Tips

One of my favorite things is bringing you The Erwin Pawn Trade-A-Thon every Saturday morning from 9a-12p.

I know plenty of broadcasters who would never to Trade-A-Thon in a million years.  You see, the show isn't about the host, news of the day, or a forum for political comment.  It's a show totally devoted to your buying, selling, and trading needs.  You got good stuff but no longer want?  Take a chance on Trade-A-Thon.  You'll be surprised how well it works.

It couldn't be simpler.  You call us, tell Porky the call screener what you have for sell or are looking for.  Then we put you on the air and you and I discuss your listing, you give your phone number and in theory, the masses are bombarding your phone to buy that item or to sell you what you were looking for.

THE BIG QUESTION

We ask all our callers a poll question before they give their items.  Sometimes topical, others whimsical, and other times it is asked for no particular reason.

Almost two years ago the edict came down from upon the penthouse offices of our corporate parents.  That edict was all on-air employees were required to have a station and personal Facebook account.

I was among those who swore never to get involved with Facebook.  I didn't see the attraction coming across people I don't want to see or allowing people I'd rather leave behind find me.  And I saw it as a tremendous time waster.

In someway, all of those still hold but for the most part my Facebook experience has been a good one.  I've reconnected with many people I did want to remain friends with but as was common in the days before social networking everyone understood most relationships can't be held forever, whether you want it or not.

For me, that's the biggest benefit of Facebook.  In theory, you can remain connected to people where previously we accepted losing them .  It's completely conceivable that if your are 14 today you have the opportunity to stay connected to the people you friended since you were in junior high.  When you stop to consider that, Facebook is amazing in this regard.

As the audience for News Talk 940 is a little older than our sister stations I surmised we had many listeners like me, who saw no need for Facebook and didn't buy the hype.  But at News Talk 940 we bombard you virtually every hour to join us on Facebook.  I thought it would be good gauge of our audience's participation on Facebook.

Do you have a Facebook account?

Yes 10

No 10

A very rare split down the middle on the poll question.  I always like that because it signals to me it was a good question to ask.  Now I'm not going to tell you it's all gravy on Facebook.  We all have friends that are dormant for weeks and then triggered for whatever reason to spam post junk for two days.  It gets a little aggravating.

RULE #6

Along with the fixed and regular five rules of conduct on the show, I always include a special rule #6.  We read the rules at the beginning of each hour to keep everyone on the same page and aware of how he show works.

This week's rule tied into the Facebook theme.  There are bad people on the internet and Facebook is no exception.  Just like you should stay constantly aware of your surroundings when running, you have to stay continuously aware of suspicious friend requests of overseas hackers attempting to use you to scam money from you and your friends.

I know we all see others friends lists numbering in the hundreds and higher.  This is another quirk of Facebook.  Nobody has real world friends numbering in the hundreds.  It's easy to look at your number of friends and decide to friend whomever comes calling and that can be a mistake.  This week's rule concerned several tips to keep your Facebook account safe and your friends protected from being scammed pretending to be you.

Rule #6 Be wary of accepting Friends requests from people with less than five friends, are living overseas, have an exotic or unusual name, and the big one, don't accept a Friend request from someone you already are Friends with.  The new account was likely built by hackers using the pictures posted on your Friend's page to create the illusion they are someone you know.

There has been a rash of nefarious people creating a false account with another users pictures, attempting to Friend everyone on their list.  Then at some point your Friends get pitched products or a scam in your name.  If you haven't properly informed your Friends they very well could fall for it and lose money.

Guns don't kill people.  The internet doesn't scam you.  People do these things and it's way past time these people are dealt with in a more penal manner.

It's only Monday and I'm already looking forward to another Erwin Pawn Trade-A-Thon this Saturday.  It should be interesting being Memorial Day weekend and many traveling.  We might be short on calls and would really appreciate your call, if you should have a need for this service provided to you courtesy of Erwin Pawn and News Talk 940, KIXZ.