When Online, Proceed With Caution
August 20, 2008 | Written by Clarke Levidiotis
One might think that a virtual stroll through the labyrinthine alleys of the Internet would be no less dangerous than say, a walk down a construction-riddled New York City block.
Maybe so, but it would serve web users well to be wary of the privacy threats lurking online. Recent evidence shows that accidental leaks of information online are becoming increasingly common. Perhaps the timing of these instances is purely coincidental. Or, perhaps they indicate that the precautions being taken to protect consumers' privacy online are inadequate.
In June, Facebook accidentally exposed the birthdays of some 80 million of the site's members. This might seem like a fairly harmless slip (and I will refrain from commenting on the dubious ethics behind lying about one's age on social networking sites) but it is problematic from a safety standpoint because birthdays are a key piece of information used in identity theft.
Then, this month the Princeton Review unwittingly revealed tens of thousands of students' personal data and SAT test scores. The mistake was not realized for seven weeks.
Even when big companies aren't inadvertantly leaking users' private information all over the Internet, consumers are similarly failing to do a very good job of protecting themselves.
It is somewhat taken for granted that passwords are effective at preserving online safety. Not so! Many, many internet users are guarding their online banking accounts & email accounts with easily-hackable passwords like "12345" and "LetMeIn". Even worse, according to this article in the New York Times, even the best passwords (the ones that are random combinations of letters and numbers) actually do very little to ward off identity theft.
The most uncomfortable part about acknowledging that the current procedures for protecting Internet users are not airtight is acknowledging that there is not really an alternative. Most people share some degree of private information about themselves on the Internet, and until online safety procedures become invincible, everyone is vulnerable.
Comments (0)
| Permalink
Fan Fiction Blogs Will Keep You Distracted Until September
August 5, 2008 | Written by Clarke Levidiotis
In the summertime, when flipping on the TV means exposing oneself to a depressing array of bad reality programs and reruns, obsessive fans of some of the best shows on TV can find comfort on the internet. A small trend of brilliant fan-fiction-y blogs is on the rise, and they will keep even the most fanatical TV viewers entertained until September.
All the Sad Young Gossip Girls is one such blog. Its format, similar to that of Found magazine, features (fictional) notes, lists, forms, boarding school applications, Facebook pages and other pieces of 'evidence' about Gossip Girl characters, with each post extrapolating on a plotline or character. It is truly a masterpiece of fan fiction, and also an interesting extension of the show's premise, which itself revolves around a blog.
Similarly, a crop of Mad Men-inspired blogs have recently begun, all in Q&A format. Each blog is told from the perspective of a Mad Men character: there's What Would Roger Sterling Do?, which quotes the slick, slimy old boss of the Sterling Cooper ad agency, and What Would Don Draper Do?, which dispenses the wisdom of the agency's troubled creative director.
Then, there's What Would Joan Do?, told from the perspective of Joan Holloway, the agency's resident femme fatale/objectified woman. Joan's blog is particularly funny because she (having been around the proverbial block a time or two) is known for often dispensing advice to the office's more naive secretaries. The blog really captures her matter-of-fact tone and is sprinkled with some of her best lines from the show in response to queries like "What's the best cigarette a lady can smoke?"
Even though Mad Men has (mercifully) begun its new season already, the Mad Men advice blogs are still a funny, fun counterpart to the show for die-hard fans. (I maintain this despite the fact that NY Magazine seems to think this trend has already lost its freshness)
The point of these blogs is (like the shows themselves) nothing but frothy, frivolous entertainment. But they do manage to maintain (or perhaps even heighten) fan interest over the long, boring summer, which is no small feat.
Comments (0)
| Permalink
