Using Facebook to Save the World

My day started with the usual Sunday morning ritual.  I got woken up by the dog.  I found some comfortable clothes to slip into for my morning walk and off I went. My destination, Starbucks down the street.  I was dragged almost all the entire way except for a few stops so Flash could release some pressure to his seemingly enormous bladder. So, I got my coffee and took a moment to take a couple of sips before the dragging recommenced.  Today was going to be a great day because I was off to Disneyland to see an old friend performing in a show.

Part two of my Sunday routine, which includes torturing the dog into doing tricks for food and watching some TV, I got ready to meet a good friend of mine so we both could head on over to Disneyland <insert cheer>.  As I walked to my car I saw a credit card laying on the ground.  I had to look twice because frankly, it just looks odd that something of value like that could be laying there on the wet pavement.

You have no idea how hard it is to return a found credit card these days.  I think everyone just expects no good to come to those who loose it and criminal activity to those who find it.  The last time I found a credit card I actually regretted it.  Why? Well when you call a bank to notify them of a found credit card they just want you to destroy it.  First of course they ask you a slew of questions.  I knew that this person was near by so why can’t they just call the person and I hand it over?  Apparently, that is just not an option.  We are just not given the opportunity to be good Samaritans anymore.

If you are on the other side of the fence and you have lost your card, obtaining a new one is a painful process.  You have to monitor the transactions that have taken place, you have to wait for a new card and you have to wait for a new PIN.  It could take a week before you can even see your OWN money!

So with the prospect of this person never seeing his card again I decided to pull out Facebook.  I looked up his name.  I didn’t really know what to expect but I was looking for a matching name and maybe city.  Considering that this is Los Angeles, I figured that even the origin of the profile wouldn’t be right.  There is one other feature I failed to tell and that is that his picture was on the card along with a logo of a sports team.

As luck would have it I found a matching name and photo.  So I thought, what the heck! I am going to send this person a message and see if they respond.  After about 3 hours I got a phone call with an out of state phone number and a remarkably happy person on the other end of the line with the news that his card was safe and sound.

So, after my trip to Disneyland, I called the card owner and bingo! Another life was saved and another card holder reunited with his card.  We can all sleep better tonight.  So I guess what I found so amazing is that I connected with someone I had previous NO connection to.  No third party connection, no friends of friends, no work history in common.  All it was, was a lost card and the willingness to do something good.  To accomplish all of this I used Facebook.  Is there anything Facebook can’t do?