The Dark Side of Web Fame
BY JESSICA BENNETT / NEWSWEEK 2/21/08 AT 7:00 PM
In 2002, Ghyslain Raza, a chubby Canadian teen, filmed himself acting out a fight scene from "Star Wars" using a makeshift light saber. His awkward performance was funny, in part because it wasn't meant to be. And it certainly was never meant to be public: for nearly a year the video remained on a shelf in Raza's school's TV studio, where he'd filmed it. Sometime in 2003, though, another student discovered the video, digitized it and posted it online—and Raza's nightmare began. Within days, "Star Wars Kid" had become a viral frenzy. It was posted on hundreds of blogs, enhanced by music and special effects, and watched by millions. Entire Web sites were dedicated to the subject; one, jedimaster.net, was even named one of Time's 50 best sites of 2003. Had that teenager wanted to be famous, he couldn't have asked for anything better. But in Raza's case it became a source of public humiliation, precisely what every kid fears the most.
Razas of the world take n+ote: among the generation that's been reared online, stories like this are becoming more and more common. They serve as important reminders of a dark side of instant Internet fame: humiliation. Already dozens of Web sites exist solely to help those who would shame others. There are sites for posting hateful rants about ex-lovers (DontDateHimGirl.com) and bad tippers (the S----ty Tipper Database), and for posting cell-phone images of public bad behavior (hollabackNYC.com) and lousy drivers. As a new book makes clear in powerful terms, such sites can make or break a person, in a matter of seconds.
"Anybody can become a celebrity or a worldwide villain in an instant," says Daniel Solove, a law professor at George Washington University and author of "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet" (Yale). "Some people may revel in that. But others might say that's not the role they wanted to play in life."
"Dog poop girl" wasn't the public role a South Korean student had in mind when, in 2005, she refused to clean up after her dog in the subway in Seoul. A minor infraction, perhaps, but another passenger captured the act on a cell-phone camera, posted it online and created a viral frenzy. The woman was harassed into dropping out of college. More recently a student at Lewis & Clark University in Portland, Ore., was publicly accused—on Facebook, the social-networking site—of sexually assaulting another student. Normally, such allegations on campus are kept confidential. But in this case a Facebook group revealed his name, with the word "rapist" for the world to see, before the incident was ever even reported to the authorities. The accused teen was never arrested or charged, but he might as well have been: bloggers picked up the story, and a local alt-weekly put it on its cover, revealing graphic details of the encounter as described by the alleged victim, without including the supposed perpetrat ...
The Dark Side of Web FameBY JESSICA BENNETT NEWSWEEK 2210.docx
1. The Dark Side of Web Fame
BY JESSICA BENNETT / NEWSWEEK 2/21/08 AT 7:00 PM
In 2002, Ghyslain Raza, a chubby Canadian teen, filmed
himself acting out a fight scene from "Star Wars" using a
makeshift light saber. His awkward performance was funny, in
part because it wasn't meant to be. And it certainly was never
meant to be public: for nearly a year the video remained on a
shelf in Raza's school's TV studio, where he'd filmed it.
Sometime in 2003, though, another student discovered the
video, digitized it and posted it online—and Raza's nightmare
began. Within days, "Star Wars Kid" had become a viral frenzy.
It was posted on hundreds of blogs, enhanced by music and
special effects, and watched by millions. Entire Web sites were
dedicated to the subject; one, jedimaster.net, was even named
one of Time's 50 best sites of 2003. Had that teenager wanted to
be famous, he couldn't have asked for anything better. But in
Raza's case it became a source of public humiliation, precisely
what every kid fears the most.
Razas of the world take n+ote: among the generation that's been
reared online, stories like this are becoming more and more
common. They serve as important reminders of a dark side of
instant Internet fame: humiliation. Already dozens of Web sites
exist solely to help those who would shame others. There are
sites for posting hateful rants about ex-lovers
(DontDateHimGirl.com) and bad tippers (the S----ty Tipper
Database), and for posting cell-phone images of public bad
behavior (hollabackNYC.com) and lousy drivers. As a new book
makes clear in powerful terms, such sites can make or break a
person, in a matter of seconds.
"Anybody can become a celebrity or a worldwide villain in an
instant," says Daniel Solove, a law professor at George
Washington University and author of "The Future of
2. Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet" (Yale).
"Some people may revel in that. But others might say that's not
the role they wanted to play in life."
"Dog poop girl" wasn't the public role a South Korean student
had in mind when, in 2005, she refused to clean up after her dog
in the subway in Seoul. A minor infraction, perhaps, but another
passenger captured the act on a cell-phone camera, posted it
online and created a viral frenzy. The woman was harassed into
dropping out of college. More recently a student at Lewis &
Clark University in Portland, Ore., was publicly accused—on
Facebook, the social-networking site—of sexually assaulting
another student. Normally, such allegations on campus are kept
confidential. But in this case a Facebook group revealed his
name, with the word "rapist" for the world to see, before the
incident was ever even reported to the authorities. The accused
teen was never arrested or charged, but he might as well have
been: bloggers picked up the story, and a local alt-weekly put it
on its cover, revealing graphic details of the encounter as
described by the alleged victim, without including the supposed
perpetrator's version of events.
Public shaming, of course, is nothing new. Ancient Romans
punished wrongdoers by branding them on the forehead—slaves
caught stealing got fur (Latin for thief) and runaways got fug
(fugitive). In Colonial America heretics were clamped into
stocks in the public square, thieves had their hands or fingers
cut off, and adulterers were forced to wear a scarlet A. More
recently a U.S. judge forced a mail thief to wear a sign
announcing his crime outside a San Francisco post office; in
other places sex offenders have to post warning signs on their
front lawns.
Although social stigma can be a useful deterrent, "the Internet
is a loose cannon," says ethicist Jim Cohen of Fordham
University School of Law in New York. Online there are few
checks and balances and no due process—and validating the
credibility of a claim is difficult, to say the least. Moreover,
3. studies show that the anonymity of the Net encourages people to
say things they normally wouldn't. JuicyCampus, a gossip Web
site for U.S. college students, has made headlines by tapping
into this urge. The site solicits juicy rumors under the
protection of anonymity for sources. But what may have begun
as fun and games has turned into a venue for bigoted rants and
stories about drug use and sex that identify students by name.
"Anyone with a grudge can maliciously and sometimes
libelously attack defenseless students," Daniel Belzer, a Duke
senior, told NEWSWEEK in December.
Regulators find sites like JuicyCampus hard to control. Laws on
free speech and defamation vary widely between countries. In
the United States, proving libel requires the victim to show that
his or her persecutor intended malice, while the British system
puts the burden on the defense to show that a statement is not
libelous (making it much easier to prosecute). A 1996 U.S.
law—Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—
specifically protects the operators of Web sites from liability
for the speech of their users. As long as the host of a site
doesn't post or edit content, it has no liability. (If AOL, say,
were held responsible for every poster, it would quickly go out
of business.)
So, then, what's to stop a person from posting whatever he
wants about you, if he can do so anonymously and suffer no
repercussions? For people who use blogs and social-networking
sites like diaries, putting their personal information out there
for the world to see, this presents a serious risk. "I think young
people are seduced by the citizen-media notion of the Internet:
that everyone can have their minutes of fame," says Barry
Schuler, the former CEO of AOL who is now the coproducer of
a new movie, "Look," about public video surveillance. "But
they're also putting themselves out there—forever."
Shaming victims, meanwhile, have little legal recourse.
Identifying posters often means having to subpoena an
anonymous IP address. But that could lead nowhere. Many
4. people share IP addresses on college networks or Wi-Fi
hotspots, and many Web sites hide individual addresses. Even if
a victim identifies the defamer, bloggers aren't usually rich
enough to pay big damage awards. Legal action may only
increase publicity—the last thing a shaming victim wants. "The
law can only do so much," warns Solove.
Once unsavory information is posted, it's almost impossible to
retrieve. The family of the "Star Wars Kid," who spent time in
therapy as a result of his ordeal, filed suit against the students
who uploaded his video, and settled out of court. But dozens of
versions of his video are still widely available, all over the Net.
One of the bad boyfriends featured on Don'tDateHimGirl.com
also sued, but his case was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.
The accused rapist at Lewis & Clark has also hired lawyers. But
Google his name today, and the first entry has the word "rapist"
in its title. If the "Star Wars Kid" has anything to teach us, it's
that shame, like the force, will always be with you.
[You may wish to include a logo for your consulting
company…]
Memo
To: Northwind Traders
From: Student Name
CC: Instructor
Date: 3/16/2008
Re: Revenue Assessment
Thank you for the opportunity to assess your sales data in order
to provide recommendations for increasing your sales. The
analysis and recommendations below are based on the data you
provided, which covers a period from May 2004 through June
2006. The analysis below is based on this data alone.
Therefore, our recommendations should be tempered by your
5. knowledge of business realities and your market. Please let us
know if we can answer any questions concerning the analysis or
the recommendations provided.
ANALYSIS 1 [Provide a Title for this section – For example,
Salesperson Performance Analysis]
Analysis
[Summarize the findings from your analysis. Provide a chart,
graph,or table to illustrate your analysis. The analysis should
explain the area you analyzed and point out what you
discovered. For example, if you were analyzing sales
performance, you might wish to point out the percentage earned
by the highest and lowest salespersons.]
Graphic
[Copy a graphic representation that graphically depicts the
analysis in your spreadsheet – a chart, pivot table, or other
summary of the data.]
Recommendation
[Provide a recommendation to the company. Based on your
analysis, what might they do to improve sales? For example,
based on salesperson performance, the company might set a
baseline for sales performance and require that all salespersons
stay within that baseline in order to keep your job. This might
motivate better performance.]
ANALYSIS 2 [Provide a Title]
Analysis
Graphic
Recommendation
ANALYSIS 3 [Provide a Title]
Analysis
6. Graphic
Recommendation
SELF ASSESSMENT
From completing the Excel project, I learned … [Explain what
you learned through completing the Excel project.]
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SalesDataCategory NameLast NameFirst NameCountryOrder
DateProduct Unit Purchase Price QuantityDiscount LevelDairy
ProductsBuchananStevenFrance1-Aug-04Mozzarella di
Giovanni$34.8050%Dairy ProductsBuchananStevenFrance1-
Aug-04Queso
Cabrales$14.00120%Grains/CerealsBuchananStevenFrance1-
Aug-04Singaporean Hokkien Fried
Mee$9.80100%ProduceSuyamaMichaelGermany2-Aug-
04Manjimup Dried
Apples$42.40400%ProduceSuyamaMichaelGermany2-Aug-
04Tofu$18.6090%Grains/CerealsLeverlingJanetFrance5-Aug-
04Gustaf's
Kn?ckebr?d$16.8065%SeafoodPeacockMargaretBrazil5-Aug-
04Jack's New England Clam
Chowder$7.70100%CondimentsLeverlingJanetFrance5-Aug-
04Louisiana Fiery Hot Pepper
Sauce$16.80200%CondimentsPeacockMargaretBrazil5-Aug-
04Louisiana Fiery Hot Pepper
Sauce$16.801515%ProducePeacockMargaretBrazil5-Aug-
04Manjimup Dried
Apples$42.403515%Grains/CerealsLeverlingJanetFrance5-Aug-