"Online" by Brad Paisley - Funny, and True-to-Life

"Brad Paisley - Online"
BRADPAISLEY, YouTube (July 10, 2007)
video (5:51)

There's a sort of frame story, but the lyrics of the song start with:

"I work down at the pizza pit, and I drive an old Hyundai
I still live with my mum and dad...."

"...But there's a whole 'nother me that you need to see:
Go check out MySpace...."

Funny? You bet!

True-to-life? For too many people, probably.

And, yes: that's William Shatner, as the over-age-in-grade geek's father. Rather appropriate, for a "scifi fanatic."

I'd have embedded the music video, but it's "Embedding disabled by request" - which is okay by me: B.P. has a living to make. This 'making of' video is available, though:

On The Set Of "ONLINE"

BRADPAISLEY, YouTube (July 04, 2007)
video (8:06)

MySpace: Another SNAFU, This Time with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan

MySpace is back in the news. This time it's an American celebrity story, with a lesson for the rest of us, and a trashed house in Australia. Articles about the two latest MySpace SNAFUs, and related items:

• "Privacy flaw exposes Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan’s private MySpace photos"
  ZDNet (June 4, 2008)
  • "The recently introduced data availability initiative at MySpace allowing everyone to share their profile data with other community and social networking sites across the Web, has just suffered its first major privacy flaw exposing the private photos of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, prompting Yahoo and MySpace to disable the data availability between the services until they fix the flaw:
  • "Pictures of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan from private MySpace profiles can be seen by anyone on the Internet, thanks to a flaw in a system that helps the social-networking site share information with other Web sites. The incident underscores a new challenge for businesses: Security becomes a multi-front challenge once you start sharing information outside your walls.
  • "Byron Ng — a computer technician who earlier this year found a way to access Paris Hilton’s Facebook page — walked the tech-gossip blog Valleywag through a 15-step process that allows people to see supposedly-private pictures and other information by first logging into Yahoo, which is one of the sites that shares information with MySpace...."
• "MySpace party caused $30,000 damage to Como house"
  The Sunday Times (Australia) (June 4, 2008)
  • "KENSINGTON detectives have charged dozens of teenagers allegedly responsible for trashing a vacant Como house during a wild party which left a $30,000 damage bill.
  • "An intensive month long investigation has identified about 50 revellers aged between 15 and 18 who have been charged with more than 60 offences, including aggravated burglary, criminal damage and trespassing.
  • "Every window in the vacant rental property was smashed, every door was kicked in and rooms were scrawled with graffiti during the April 24 party, which was advertised through MySpace sites and via text messages....
• "What Every Parent Should Know About The Leading Social Networking Sites, Including Facebook, MySpace, Gizmo, HI5 and YouTube"
  Send2Press (June 4, 2008)
  • This article discusses Omni Publishing's new DVD, "A Parent's Guide to Social Networking Sites," to be released June 16. The DVD tells about dangers on social networking sites, with advice about how to avoid them.
• "MySpace sexual assault suit dismissed"
  CNN (May 16, 2008)
  • " NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Federal law gives MySpace.com immunity from a lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl by a man she met on the social networking Web site, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
  • "The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that a Texas girl's family filed against MySpace and its parent company, News Corp. The family said MySpace didn't protect young users from sexual predators.
  • "The appeals court ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 bars such lawsuits against Web-based services like MySpace. A federal judge in Austin, Texas, dismissed the $30 million lawsuit on the same grounds last year...."

There's a lesson or two in this latest MySpace SNAFU has a lesson or two for everyone with an online presence.

A point that should be obvious, but isn't is: The Internet is for communication and information sharing - not for storing embarrassing photos.

It's possible to keep online data secure, although not perfectly: as the occasional news about stolen credit card account information shows. But, good information management and sensible use of technology seems to be fairly effective at keeping secrets secret: so it makes sense to shop online, using a system that's run by people who have keeping credit card data secure as a top priority.

I don't think it makes sense to put your fancy photos on a network that's designed to help others find girlie pictures, not keep them under wraps. I think a lesson of the latest MySpace foulup is: Don't put photos or facts on a social networking site, even in a 'private' section, unless you're comfortable with everyone on the Web seeing them.

To be fair, quite a few people with MySpace accounts don't get their house trashed, and aren't raped, every day. On the other hand, MySpace seems to have more than its share of trouble.

Part of it is size: MySpace has a huge number of members, and with that many people, there will be trouble.

Part of MySpace's problems, I think, is how MySpace manages itself. I have an account there, which I haven't used for months. There are attractions there, but it's not worth wading through the gauntlet of overblown virtual b-girls.

It's not just that they give the place the ambiance of a sleazy singles bar. Whoever set the 'hi sailor' system up didn't bother to make sure that the limited number of photos and names matched each other consistently. That's sloppy.

More about MySpace on this blog:

• "More Bad News For (and About) MySpace"
  (June 1, 2008)
• "Strictly for People Who Can't Stand MySpace"
  (March 5, 2008)
• "Don't Read This if You Love MySpace And the Spacerettes"
  (January 24, 2008)
• "Kiddie Porn on MySpace: A Change of Pace From the Over-Blown Hotties"
  (January 17, 2008)
• "25 Worst Websites: Don't Get On This List"
  (August 29, 2007)

More Bad News For (and About) MySpace

"The Dead Kids of MySpace"
A blog. The blogger's purpose is: "Exposing criminals who have MySpace profiles." (From a BlogCatalog profile.)

No surprises: According to this blog, quite a few MySpace members are criminals - and many of those are pedophiles. I'm no fan of MySpace, but I was surprised at how many are identified - and identifiable - in this blog.

At least these online predators are real people - unlike the improbable b-girls of MySpace. More of my attitude toward MySpace at

• "Strictly for People Who Can't Stand MySpace"
  (March 5, 2008)
• "Don't Read This if You Love MySpace And the Spacerettes"
  (January 24, 2008)
• "Kiddie Porn on MySpace: A Change of Pace From the Over-Blown Hotties"
  (January 17, 2008)
• "25 Worst Websites: Don't Get On This List"
  (August 29, 2007)

'MySpace Suicide' Prosecution, Law, and the Web: Be Careful What You Ask For

Earlier today, I wrote about what seemed a satisfactory development in the case of Megan Meier, a thirteen-year-old Missouri girl who was hounded to death "allegedly" by the mother of a former friend. (Details in " 'MySpace Suicide,' and the Law" (May 16, 2008).)

Now there's a new concern. The approach taken by prosecutors may wind up defining what we're told is routine online behavior as illegal - and give TOS the power of law.

Many people want justice for the death of Megan Meier, but "be careful what you wish for:" This could get interesting.

"Routine conduct at risk with MySpace suicide case"
WFED (May 16, 2008)

"Think twice before you sign up for an online service using a fake name or e-mail address. You could be committing a federal crime.

"Federal prosecutors turned to a novel interpretation of computer hacking law to indict a Missouri mother on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user.

"Prosecutors alleged that by helping create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist, Lori Drew, 49, violated the News Corp.-owned site's terms of service and thus illegally accessed protected computers.

"Legal experts warned Friday that such an interpretation could criminalize routine behavior on the Internet. After all, people regularly create accounts or post information under aliases for many legitimate reasons, including parody, spam avoidance and a desire to maintain their anonymity or privacy online or that of a child. ..."

'MySpace Suicide,' Cyberbullying, and the Law

Bullying, and cyberbullying may not be illegal, but some sorts of online abuse should be defined as a crime. America put laws on the books, making harassment illegal. I think the same could - and should - be done to discourage a repeat of what was done to Megan Meier.

"Woman indicted in Missouri MySpace suicide case"
The Associated Press (May 16, 2008)

"LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Missouri woman was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.

"Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St. Louis, who allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer.

"Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her."

In this case, I'm with FBI agent Salvador Hernandez, quoted in the article. " 'The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses,' Hernandez said. 'Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions.' "

A common theme in discussions of the cyberbullying that led to Megan Meier's death is that there isn't any law against hounding a vulnerable teenager until she kills herself. I'm inclined to believe that. The information technology that makes online communities is new, and we've only begun to develop laws and customs to deal with the new reality.

I'm afraid that, when the dust settles, even the twenty-year-maximum sentence that someone said Lori Drew might get will seem trivial.

But, maybe this will encourage legislators to get off the dime, and define workable laws to protect people from predators like Lori Drew.

There is some good news in this mess. MySpace, a California-based company, says that it's cooperating with American authorities.

Strictly for People Who Can't Stand MySpace

"Am I on MySpace.com" offers a way for FireFox browser users to be warned when they get "stuck inside the sweaty armpit of the Internet."

Personally, I think that is a moderately unfair characterization of MySpace. There are worse places on the Internet. My own perception of MySpace is that's it's the virtual equivalent of a sleazy singles bar with one or two interesting people somewhere in the back, and a morass of pushy b-girls getting in the way.

But, MySpace does seem to be popular.

Norm Duke, Two Bowling Balls, and a Spinning Ball Spare Conversion

"Cool Bowling Strike" "Description: Creative way to knock them all down!"

A brief video, of a sort of novelty bowling act. Norm Duke with a great deal of skill, and two bowling balls, does a 'spinning ball spare conversion.'

And, yes: it's a MySpace video. Although I posted "Don't Read This if You Love MySpace And the Spacerettes," that was not complimentary about MySpace and the spacerettes, I'll readily admit that MySpace has good content.

Don't Read This if You Love MySpace And the Spacerettes

"January 30th is International Delete Your MySpace Account Day"

I try to avoid being negative, but this blogger has a point. I've got a MySpace account myself, so a number of his reasons for dropping MySpace rang true:

"1. You rarely log in to Myspace except to delete spam friend requests from nude webcam girls." (how's "spacerettes" as a term to describe them?)

"6. You visit someone’s profile only to have your eyes bleed because of terrible page layout with non-matching designs and font colors."

"7. Your experience is hindered because of intrusive banner ads that either talk to you or try to reach out and block your view of what you’re trying to look at."

"8. You read yet another news account about how some child predator using Myspace has abducted a little girl or that some hoax myspace account has caused a teenager to commit suicide."

"9. You’re frustrated with the fact that Myspace doesn’t allow you to post your contact info, meaning to contact someone you can only use Myspace’s glitchy Instant Messenger, message/email system, or wall commenting."

And, although this doesn't apply to me, there's:

"3. You’re a girl who constantly gets marriage proposals from random men in the middle east."

What floors me, given my experience with that sleazy pickup bar of a 'social networking' service, is how successful it's been. I suppose it's those improbably hot-to-trot spacerettes.

Kiddie Porn on MySpace: A Change of Pace From the Over-Blown Hotties

"Mom Finds Pornographic Photos Of Local School Kids On MySpace"

Porn on MySpace isn't really news, but this stuff involved some local schoolchildren. And, in Jacksonville, Florida, that's illegal.

It's been a while since I've run into a civil rights group equating the publishing of pornography with publishing opinions on current affairs: maybe this case will shake them out of the woodwork.