TIME magazine has proclaimed their person of the year as “YOU” meaning the rise of user generated social networks that are the backbone of Web 2.0. The proclamation has been seeing the gamut of responses from the real founders of Web 2.0 – the citizen journalists; and just as with main stream media they are either gushing over the award or in the words of Darren (problogger)

For two years running, we’ve seen the myth of “Cyber Monday” reported over and over again as fact. The story, made up by a bunch of marketers, is that the Monday after Thanksgiving, all those turkey-stuffed employees are not so interested in working, and so they’ll log on to the internet from the office and buy holiday presents. Of course, as was noted last year, the Monday after Thanksgiving is traditionally the twelfth busiest online shopping day, not the first.

Online identity theft has become a constant concern in a world of online shopping and bill paying. In the rush to move to the internet age, many companies simply neglected security concerns and the result has luckily not been as bad as it could have been.

‘Tis the season for eggnog, mistletoe and…cyber crooks? It’s unfortunate, but as consumers become more comfortable with online shopping, cyber crooks are getting better about finding newer, sneakier ways to trick them into passing on personal information for their own gain.

Searching the West Side apartment of an identity-fraud suspect this week, authorities allegedly discovered financial records belonging to 91 Major League Baseball players, including White Sox slugger Jim Thome, former Cubs outfielder Moises Alou and star Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez.

David Dright, 38, of the 5200 block of West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, allegedly plucked discarded–and unshredded–loan applications, tax returns and other private documents earlier this year from a trash bin near the Northbrook offices of SFX Baseball, which negotiates contracts for professional baseball players.