In a commentary in The Observer, a media company chief creative officer talks about how young users of “the confessional media” will never be able to “take it back” the way today’s politicians, celebrities, and other grownups can. “The bulk of them use their MySpace and Facebook entries for self-advertisement, social networking and the generally raw process of growing up and working out their … [Read more...] about Non-private pasts
Risk & Safety
Spam: Fact of life?
That’s how Americans are beginning to view it, apparently. A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that US Net users are becoming more resigned to having spam in their in-boxes, and parents will be glad to know that porn spam is on the decrease. The Associated Press reports that “37% of US email users say they are getting more junk in their personal email account, about half … [Read more...] about Spam: Fact of life?
Classified-ads abuse
This unnerving story could involve any classified-ads service on the social Web. A woman who apparently wanted to “get back at her aunt” for being unfair to her mother placed an ad in Craigslist.com “inviting the public to ‘come and take anything you want’ from the [aunt’s] house,” Scripps News reports. The public did, and the woman has been charged with “one count each of second-degree burglary, … [Read more...] about Classified-ads abuse
Social Web’s complexity: Illustration
The story on WhosaRat.com, though not about youth, clearly illustrates how complicated the user-driven Web is. The site - whose mission is to out “rats” (informants or what judges call “cooperators”) by publishing court records – is a lot like a social-networking site. It “offers biographical information about people whom users identify as witnesses or undercover agents. Users can post court … [Read more...] about Social Web’s complexity: Illustration
Defaming site: 3 teens accused
The profile, which was online for four days in February, impersonated the father of a classmate of one of its alleged creators and “featured a confederate flag and racial slurs,” the Carlisle (Penn.) Sentinel reports. The town police chief Alan Houck said he wasn’t sure why the kids created the MySpace page but thought they might’ve decided to “smear the family name” because of a disagreement with … [Read more...] about Defaming site: 3 teens accused