Oct

22

A Scary Book

October 22, 2009 |  Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Future of ReputationI stumbled on a scary book the other day while walking the stacks at Harold Washington Library. The Future of Reputation: gossip, rumor, and privacy on the internet brings the dark side of social media, viral videos, and the participatory web to light.

Daniel Solove references dozens of unnerving cases where people on and off the web have been humiliated, shamed, and victimized through the web. Solove talks about laws and court decisions that protect both perpetrators and victims. The book came out a few years before the highly publicized Erin Andrews case, but there were a few other incidents people might remember: The Star Wars kid, Jessica Cutler, or the high school girl wrongly identified as Kobe Bryant’s accuser.

What makes this book scary is that it makes you think about the potentially damaging affects of the internet. Someone you don’t know can snap a picture of you on the street, Photoshop it, and you could be on the cover of a South Korean newspaper in the morning. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Free speech coupled with high-speed internet can be a very powerful tool.

You can read the entire book here.


Comments



2 Comments so far

  1.    Dan Mauller on October 22, 2009 10:11 pm

    I’ve been reading that book for my group project (teaching internet privacy). Scary indeed! To hear Solove tell it, Star Wars kid has been left incapable of functioning in society, after the humiliation he suffered.

    I think to some extent it comes down to control. Star Wars kid never intended for his video to be seen by anyone. Chocolate Rain guy, on the other hand, parlayed his 15 minutes of internet fame into career opportunities: he’s been on various talk/comedy shows, and was even asked to write a jingle for a chocolate-cherry flavored soft drink (Dr. Pepper, if I recall correctly)!

    But as you say, ultimately none of has control of what other people do. I might do a funny dance or something for my friends, be recorded without my knowledge, be plastered all over the internet, and before you know it, I’ll be on the therapist’s couch next to Star Wars kid!!

  2.    Julia Bryan-Diehl on October 23, 2009 10:45 am

    Thanks for posting this Dan! Our group project is about teaching privacy for Web 2.0 and Social Networking applications, so this book should definitely be on our list of required reading. It’s definitely scary to consider all of the many ways that you CAN’T control what content about you goes on to the web, but somehow that makes it even more important to take charge the privacy issues you CAN control.

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