Dirt, Lies & the Internet

The Dr. Phil Show tackles the subject of gossip websites specifically pointing to TheDirty.com which allows users to anonomously submit photos and comments about everyday people.  One guest said she had her picture "stolen" from her MySpace page and posted on the website with untrue comments that negatively affected her and her quality of life.

10 Ways to Protect Your Privacy Online

People can learn alot more about you doing a simple google search then you probably want them to know.  Whether it a potential new love interest or employer, or just some bad person looking to steal your finances or identity, you may want to control the information they are finding.  See the 10 things you can do

Don’t get Dooced!

Dooced is an internet expression meaning to lose one’s job or position because of “objectionable” posts on your website or blog.  And now, what you are doing online may be easier for your employers to find out because a website called Social Intelligence is here to help them!  According to their website,

Social Intelligence offers nearly real-time surveillance of employees’ online behavior [in which they may] criticize managers or coworkers on a social networking site, post questionable photos on a blog, or regularly update personal sites while on the clock.

So before sending something off to cyberspace just remember that it may land in your employee file. 

Woman speaks out about Her Brutal Rape after Her MySpace Pictures are used in a Bogus Craigslist Ad

Sarah, who was brutally attacked because of a bogus ad placed on Craigslist, discussed her ordeal on the Oprah Winfrey Show today.  The Craigslist ad was posted by Jebidiah James Stipe, a former boyfriend, who used her identity and created the ad using pictures- including bikini shots- that were pulled from Sarah’s MySpace page. 


The headline of the ad read “Need an aggressive man with no concern or regard for women. If interested, contact Sarah” and was intended to be used to intent of set-up the fulfillment of a rape fantasy.   


For more info see The Oprah Show website

CommonSense Media: 5 Ways to Combat Unwanted Photos on Facebook

Once a picture is posted online it is difficult to remove it and can have negative consesqunces for the one pictured.   CommonSense Media offers some ideas on how to handle it when pictures are posted by Facebook friends and you want to have them removed.  See List


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