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)

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.

It doesn’t take much for a child to be singled out as a target of bullying. Combine a small point of difference — say, a weak baseball arm or indifferent fashion sense — with a vulnerable streak, and bullies are hot on the trail.

In the case of Justin Verlaine*, the “difference” was having been born and raised in France until age 10, when he began Grade 5 at a Toronto elementary school. “He wore black turtlenecks and crossed his legs,” recalls his mother, Liz Farrell*. “And it didn’t help that he wore his heart on his sleeve.”

Cyberbullying on the Internet
Cyber bullies, cyber bullying, flame mail, hate mail

The Internet provides the perfect forum for cyberbullies, individuals whose aim is to gain gratification from the distress caused by provoking and tormenting others. The anonymity, ease of provocation, and almost infinite source of targets means the Internet is full of predators from pedophiles targeting children to serial bullies targeting … anybody.