Sue Scheff: Sex, Tech and Teens
by Sue Scheff on May 07, 2010
S-E-X, this is one of the most difficult and sensitive subjects parents dread to talk to their kids about, but it is also just as critical. Now let’s compound it with technology and teens and we can create sexting!
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Cosmo Girl have recently released the results of a new survey. Results from this new survey show that 21% of teen girls and 18% of teen boys have sent/ posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves. What is going on with teens, tech, and sex?
Tips for parents from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy include:
1. Talk to your kids about what they are doing in cyberspace. Just as you need to talk openly and honestly with your kids about real life sex and relationships, you also want to discuss online and cell phone activity. Read more.
2. Know who your kids are communicating with. Of course it’s a given that you want to know who your children are spending time with when they leave the house. Read more.
3. Consider limitations on electronic communication.The days of having to talk on the phone in the kitchen in front of the whole family are long gone, but you can still limit the time your kids spend online and on the phone. Read more.
4. Be aware of what your teens are posting publicly. Check out your teen’s MySpace, Facebook and other public online profiles from time to time. This isn’t snooping-this is information your kids are making public. Read more.
5. Set expectations. Make sure you are clear with your teen about what you consider appropriate “electronic” behavior. Read more.
More articles of interest:
Should you read your teen’s diary?
Should you read your teen’s emails and text messages?
Is honestly the best policy?
Not my kid
Nastygrams: Think before you send
In Florida, SafeFlorida.net was created to help prevent cyber crimes, educate parents, assist teens and more in the growing digital cyberspace.
Be an educated parent, you will have safer teens.
Tags: Cell Phone Safety, Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Parenting, Parenting Teens, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sexting, Sue Scheff, Teen Issues, Texting
Sue Scheff: Cyber Rape, Exposing the Psychological Horrors of Virtual Violation
by Sue Scheff on May 05, 2010
As a special guest writer, Tim Handorf has exposed a dark-side of virtual horrors. He asked if I would share it with my readers, and I hope people learn from this.
Cyber Rape: Exposing the Psychological Horrors of Virtual Violation
By Tim Handorf
We all know by now that crimes on the Internet parallel, in many ways, crimes in “real life.” There’s fraud and thefts of all sorts, there’s verbal sexual abuse toward children, and there’s also non-stop internet trolling that has become out-and-out defamation and libel. So if all these crimes are possible in our increasingly invested virtual worlds, then is rape, too, a viable Internet crime?
A case that raised some eyebrows a few years ago occurred on Second Life, a virtual world that has become almost indistinguishable from real life. Companies use it to meet clients, users have actually made significant amounts of real money, and some even devote hours online to building a social network, making love to significant others, and bearing and raising children. Apparently, if you stick with it long enough, using entrepreneurial skills that you would employ in the real world, you can even become a Second Life (and real life) millionaire.
What happens then, when an avatar (a virtual representation of a “real” person, who carries with it all the vestiges from real life—a personality, a reputation, and everything else our social lives may entail) rapes another avatar in a vicious manner? Is this cause for “real life” police intervention? Well in 2007, Belgian police briefly investigated a virtual rape case exactly as described.
Now many think it borders on the ridiculous that the rape of what is essentially a video game character could be anything tantamount to rape in its physical manifestations. However, Maria Korolow in Hypergrid Business, suggests an interesting reconsideration. For those who have never experienced a virtual world, of course the idea seems absurd. However, it is quite astounding the extent to which real people—hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions—strongly identify with their virtual counterparts.
What’s more, behind these “virtual” entities are real people, and they interact with each other (although via Instant messenger, of course) as real people would. So what are we to think when a user has established relationships in a virtual world, thinks herself safe and free to pursue her own virtual interests—whether it be going to a party, attending a business meeting, or having children—and is suddenly, violently, and horrendously “raped” by an avatar who represents a real person? Are the psychological effects of rape in the real and virtual worlds, then, not exactly the same? In a now famous Village Voice article, Julian Dibble explored these questions when a similarly terrifying rape incident occurred in the early virtual reality world LambdaMOO.
Whatever the answer to this question is, I believe that cyber rape, and the extent to which it can be carried out, should be investigated further. As a phenomenon in virtual reality, we should think about its implications, simply because we are immersing ourselves more and more in these worlds as the Internet continues to develop and integrate itself into every moment of our lives.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Tim Handorf, who writes on the topics of top online colleges. He welcomes your comments at his email Id: tim.handorf.20@googlemail.com.
Tags: Cyber Rape, Cyber Slander, Cyberbullying, Cybercrime, Internet Law, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, Online Safety, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Virtual Rape
Sue Scheff: Readers View – Fantastic Review of Google Bomb Book
by Sue Scheff on Jan 18, 2010
Google Bomb: The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict That Changed the Way We Use the Internet
John W. Dozier Jr. and Sue Scheff
Health Communications, Inc. (2009)
ISBN 9780757314155
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (01/10)
First of all, I have to say “Google Bomb” may be the most important book anyone that has Internet presence should read. Owning a number of online businesses myself, I was eager to read this book because I wanted to know more about Sue Scheff’s experience and the successful outcome of a lawsuit. Her case was the first in Internet defamation and landed her $11.3M. But, there was so much more I learned than her story.
Written by Sue Scheff herself, as well as John W. Dozier Jr., a Internet law attorney, “Google Bomb” not only tells of Scheff’s experience with defamation by nasty people but also the emotional trauma she went through. For a site that started off being a helpful site to parents of troubled teens, it ended up smeared all over the Internet as deceptive. The interesting aspect is that the disparaging comments went viral and ended up on the top of the Google search engine. Consequently, potential visitors to Scheff’s site were redirected to derogatory and defaming information.
Dozier’s parts of the book follow Scheff’s comments and experience. They intermingle, giving the reader a fuller understanding of how others can control your site by, for e.g., creating anchor texts on their site but using your information and directing the visitors to their site where the defamatory information exists. Or, in other cases, the anchor texts are used by competitors so the visitors are directed to their sites instead of yours.
Dozier also explains how you can protect yourself against such attacks and gives suggestions of some Internet companies that offer this service. He also goes into copyright violations, cyberstalking, the Striesand Effect, hacking, spamming, and theft of trademarks. As I mentioned before, this could be the most important book you could read. It sure is for me. I used a full container of sticky tabs to mark important information and areas I need to re-read and implement.
“Google Bomb” is highly recommended because it gives you important information of what could happen to innocent people if not protected or on top of matters. Unfortunately there are many laws not in place to protect us on the Internet so we have to take our own responsibility to be cognizant and one way is to sign up for Google Alerts. This book isn’t meant to scare the site holders, but to inform them of what could happen if not aware. Awareness is the key, and by reading “Google Bomb” I can guarantee you will become more aware than you were before.
Tags: Cyber Slander, Google Bomb, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Slander, Online Harassment, Reputation Online Management, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Internet Defamation – Talk Radio
by Sue Scheff on Dec 12, 2009
I was thrilled to be a guest on Traverse Legal Radio this week!
We talked about Internet Defamation and how it can devastate your business and reputation.
Learn more – click here to read the transcript and listen!
Reminder: Purchase Google Bomb book to learn more about how you can maintain your virtual image! Learn from my mistakes!
Tags: Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Gossip, Internet Law, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, Online Safety, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Google Bomb book Receives Glowing Review from Conversations with Moms
by Sue Scheff on Oct 21, 2009
Recently I was interviewed by Maria Melo, Conversatons with Moms, about my latest book, Google Bomb. She wrote an outstanding review, which I am very excited about. Maria decided Google Bomb deserved a two part series, as many know now, learning to protect yourself and your family online has become a priority as the Internet expands and the regulations don’t.
Here is a section of Part 1, and please take the time to read my interview with Maria in Part 2.
Google Bomb Review – The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict
When I first started being active on the internet, I was very naive to the Internet World. I’ve learned a lot in the past year and thought that I truly understood the power of the internet. Until I read, “Google™ Bomb”.
Lets just say that I now feel as though I lived in a cave. I was totally unaware of the true power and damage that the internet can do. I don’t know where I was in 2006 to not have heard of the landmark internet case that won Sue Scheff $11.3 million for defamation of character. The only thing I can think of is that I wasn’t active online and didn’t really pay attention to what happened in the internet world.
When I was asked to review this book, I was curious as to find out what could have happened to Sue to make her have won such a large lawsuit. I had never heard of the term Google™ Bomb and thought it would be an informative read. I HAD NO IDEA JUST HOW MUCH I WOULD LEARN.
I was happy to provide this review if only to spread the word of how vicious the internet could be and in hopes of getting the word out that there are simple things you can do to protect yourself.
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AND INTERVIEW HERE.
Tags: Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Gossip, Internet Law, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, John Dozier, Michael Fertik, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Internet Gossip, Cyber Lies, Online Twisted Truths
by Sue Scheff on Oct 05, 2009
What are they saying about you?
Internet fiction vs Internet fact….
National Cyber Safety Awareness month is a reason for you to take a closer look at who you are virtually.
Many people believe that if they are not online; don’t use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or other social media that you are immune to what lurks in cyberspace.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. There may come a day when you need employment (or new employment), or want to apply to college (even adults), or simply want to join your local community center. Will someone be reviewing your application? Is your resume perfect for a certain position but you are not getting a call? Do you own a small business and your phones have stopped ringing? What does Google say about you?
Let’s look at another angle. Your child is in competitive sports, or your spouse is a member of a prestigious club, or your parents own the local dry cleaners (or any small business), or you are the president of the PTA, etc. Then there is one upset and/or jealous person that feels you are getting too much attention. Or your child gets the lead in a school play while their child was eliminated?
It only takes a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse before your world in your small little town can become virtually incorrect as you are now accused of malicious acts, even harming your child, being an unfaithful spouse or worse. I have received many emails that this is not unheard of, and people’s lives are devastated from others with intent to ruin your life. Afterall the Internet is a extra-large city with limited regulations and no jails.
Be proactive with your online profile. Take the time to insure your reputation. Whether you are a housewife, a parent, a career professional, a student and others – you are not immune to Internet gossip. Years ago gossip was limited to your own geographically area, now it can go worldwide very quickly. A 20 year reputation can be ruined in 20 minutes with a few vicious keystrokes.
Many Internet readers do not take the time to figure out Internet fact verses Internet fiction. Internet gossip can go viral in a matter of minutes, days, weeks and suddenly you have become someone that has the plague and no one wants to be around you or hire you.
During National Cyber Safety Awareness Month take an hour to build your online image. I posted some tips in an earlier article, Internet image: Tips to maintain your virtual profile and image.
For more info: Read my new book, Google Bomb! The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict that Changed the Way We Use the Internet. You may also want to consider an online reputation management service, ReputationDefender.
Also read on Examiner.com
Tags: Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Gossip, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, Love our Children USA, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Praise for Google Bomb Book
by Sue Scheff on Oct 03, 2009
Who should purchase Google Bomb?Every person with a name and reputation which they wish to protect should purchase this book. You don’t have to be a technological titan to understand the examples provided. The take-away knowledge provides you a fighting chance to protect, and when necessary, reclaim your reputation. My adage re family online safety is: “Invest in your family’s online safety, commensurate with the value of your family.” This book’s modest price is asymmetrical to the increased value you’ll experience in your reputation safety quotient.
· Why you should purchase Google Bomb
Google Bomb is road-map clear, no missed exits, nor wrong turns, no questionable advice. It is an arrow in your quiver, so that you may defend yourself and/or prepare yourself should you have the unfortunate experience of receiving the vile ill-will of another via the social media environment in which we collectively exist – you do have a fighting chance.
· How Google Bomb touched me
Only infrequently does a book cause a reader to experience a personal visceral reaction; for me, it’s happened only once before. Google Bomb, the telling of Sue Scheff’s personal story in the recovery of her good name and reputation, is such a book, it moved me, and it will move you. Allow me to explain.
Those who know me well will have immediate understanding why a book which charts the Herculean efforts required to reclaim your good name, reputation and professional stature following the actions of a few to destroy, such resonated with me. You see, once you’ve traversed that road of false accusations, you never wish to replicate the journey again, and you’d wish it upon no one.
When it’s happening it’s surreal and unbelievable. Once the realization you aren’t dreaming hits home, you are either overwhelmed and capitulate, in effect self-declared road-kill or you take inventory of all your resources and deduce your good name and honorable reputation are the only remnants of your life worth protecting. You then take these remnants and use them to form the foundation of your reclamation efforts. Even if your first steps may feel a bit like Don Quixote tilting at windmills, persevere, what journey ever started off with every experience preordained?
I appreciated the description of the pivotal moment when Sue described the last straw, the straw which caused her to stand up and say, “Enough already.” I had complete visualization of her reaction when the miscreants who had been attacking her persona and her company, began attacking her children. I had no doubt her “mother bear” instinct to fight and protect her offspring was fully awake and it was game-on!
Unfortunately, bad things do happen to good people. You strive, perhaps seemingly altruistically to bring goodness to this world and awaken one day to find yourself surrounded by vile and unconscionable accusations. Your mindset describes the event as “stupefying,” you are now seemingly being punished for your good works. Google Bomb describes such an experience, Sue’s experience.
· What to do and how to do it
John Dozier’s insightful discussion of events, throughout the book, is clear and concise – the reader can easily understand the, “why” behind each of Sue’s actions. I found myself rereading and noting the legal and technical strategy employed as Sue’s reputation was reclaimed. I was nodding my head with great satisfaction as those wishing ill will upon Sue and her family were identified, held accountable and brought before the courts where they were ultimately held responsible and duly punished.
· Applicability for businesses and intellectual property
John’s extrapolation of his methodologies to the realm of a small, medium, or large company’s reputation and intellectual property protection is spot-on. My own book “Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost” was stolen within 60 days of publication from my publisher, and then shared via peer-to-peer networks (see my article Secrets Stolen, No Just the Intellectual Property which describes the experience). Plainly spoken, if you have intellectual property, “Have a strategy!” to protect it.
· Reputation Defense
Highlighting the good works of Michael Fertik’s Reputation Defender, was personally appreciated, as it reoriented my compass with respect to his firm – I’ll be re-engaging the company to learn more about their capabilities. My first encounter with Reputation Defender can only be described as “going sideways” and I have no doubt it was an anomalous event – I look forward to learning more from Michael or his staff, as Sue’s experiences described in Google Bomb, clearly show them to be effective.
· Google Bomb’s call to action
I agree with and wish to associate myself with the call-to-action contained in the book. We are all responsible for keeping our shared online community safe. When self-policing and self-control fail, then we do require meaningful laws availed to law enforcement and prosecutors. Laws having backbone and are easily understood and are flexible enough to anticipate evolution of technology are required. In essence our current situation is analogous to having a population center of millions without a “time-out” corner.
In my opinion, we need alignment of state and federal statutes which will hold accountable those engaging in cyber stalking, invasion of our privacy, personal impersonation and character defamation. In the United States, well meaning legislators are acting individually and from the optic of their constituent states – we need federal action. Furthermore, restraining orders need to have appropriate meat attached to their bones, with a need to integrate 21st century technologies – in the physical world 100 feet is measurable, in the virtual world, geographic borders are obscured – lets bring technological audit trails, access controlled environments and filtering into play.
It is no small task to fill the international voids which provide haven for both domestic and international criminal or malevolent individuals to operate with impunity, but instead of describing the difficulty, let’s get started. I’m all in! If we don’t all step up and contribute, then Sue’s story will be the first of many more to come.
· My personal thank you
In closing, I’d like Sue to know I’ve great personal empathy for the angst which she and her family experienced and I commend her for her display of personal courage and fortitude, from her decision to stand up and not take it any more, all the way through the sharing of her story so that others may learn from her experiences. For John, your work speaks for itself, nicely done sir.
Thank you Sue also for your good works both individually and through your Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE); it is clear you are one of the good people, and many families no doubt are grateful beyond their ability to articulate for the assistance you provided. Thank you John for your clear explanations of the legal strategy and steps one can take to protect oneself, you’ve empowered many.
–
Christopher Burgess
Christopher is the senior security advisor within a Fortune 100 company. He is also the co-author of Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost, Preventing Intellectual Property Theft and Economic Espionage in the 21st Century
http://www.secretsstolen.com/
Twitter: @burgessct
This reviewer paid for this book
Tags: Cyber Slander, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Gossip, Internet Law, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, John Dozier, Michael Fertik, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Dr. Michele Borba Reviews Google Bomb Book
by Sue Scheff on Sep 08, 2009
When I read Michele Borba’s Blog post yesterday, I was thrilled and also reminded that my story was very difficult to write, since I didn’t share my inner turmoil of the horror of Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy with many of my friends and family.
Since my victory over Internet Defamation, I have discovered I am not alone. Most victims of Internet Slime are private, fearful and feel powerless and alone. My book is giving these people hope again. Don’t forget to order Google Bomb today, not only for my story, but to learn from my ignorance of the power of the Internet and how to protect your online image.
Google Bomb: The Untold Story of Sue Scheff and Her $11.3M Verdict That Changed the Way We Use the Internet
Are you ready to be google bombed? Why you must read Sue Scheff’s story
By Dr. Michele Borba (Parenting Expert and Today Show Contributor)
First off, a little disclosure: a few weeks ago I admit to being absolutely clueless about Sue Scheff’s infamous defamation case. (I know, I know, my head must have been buried in the sand to miss all the news coverage). When I finally did read her story I realized my ignorance was somewhat of an advantage. You see the only Sue Scheff I had known was a parent advocate, a caring friend, and a woman of impeccable integrity. Once I read the cyber nightmare she endured I knew that if this happened to a person such as Sue with such heart and strong character it could happen anyone. It’s also exactly why you must read Google Bomb. So allow me to introduce you to my friend, Sue Scheff and describe what happened to her with hopes it will never happen to you.
Allow Me to Introduce You To My Friend, Sue Scheff
It all started a few months ago when I began using twitter. I loved the ease of connecting and meeting new colleagues, one of whom was a woman named Sue Scheff. It didn’t take much to recognize from her posts that she cared deeply about kids, had a solid pulse on parental concerns and was always willing to offer help to those who asked. She had that “real” quality that you just couldn’t miss. I learned she had authored, Wit’s End: Advice and Resources for Saving Your Out-of-Control Teen, and founded a well-acclaimed organization, Parents’ Universal Resource Experts (P.U.R.E.) which helped parents find ways to protect their children from destructive influences by educating them about the issues their family faces.
Over time our online relationship became an offline friendship. We talked frequently and in one chat Sue told me her next book, Google Bomb: The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict That Changed the Way We Use the Internet (with John Dozier), was about to be released. I started reading it the moment it arrived and literally couldn’t put it down. I honestly can’t recall the last time I was so intensely moved by a story. It was also the first time I knew Sue had endured what you might call a cyber-nightmare: she had been google bombed.
Google Bomb: Internet slang for a certain kind of attempt to raise the ranking of a given page in results from a Google search. (Wikipedia)
August 2003: Sue Scheff Is Google Bombed
Sue Scheff’s story began on August 2003 when her integrity was first attacked ironically on the very website she created for at-risk teens. The slam was one vicious post from a parent who Sue had tried to help. But within no time that post turned into a full-blown character assassination that went viral. Educational articles and parent resources she wrote to help parents were suddenly laced with unspeakable descriptions defaming Sue’s character. Slanderous posts were now everywhere on the information highway and were impossible to stop, take down or erase. What’s more, if you googled Sue’s name you were detoured from her website and to dozens of porn sites. And the cyber attacks proved deadly offline as well: Sponsors pulled away from her, clients stopped calling, and friends stepped back.
Sue’s reputation as a parent advocate was smeared, her business ruined and her work for children’s destroyed. One woman’s vicious intent to destroy Sue’s credibility and character succeeded with a mere click of a computer key.
Sue’s Fight for Character and Redemption
Sue fought back to defend herself and restore her damaged reputation but at a huge cost—both physically and emotionally. In the next three years I learned she had racked up over $150,000 in legal fees, watched her organization nearly disintegrate, and developed classical symptoms of agoraphobia where Sue could barely leave her home let alone answer her phone. And then hired an attorney and endured a tough legal battle to try and reclaim her reputation.
On September 19, 2006 a Florida jury declared their own outrage and awarded Sue a landmark $11.3 million verdict. That verdict sent a strong warning that destroying lives online would not be tolerated. And right they were.
Cyber attacks have become a growing trend among adults as well as youth and those attacks are destroying lives. The first step to change is knowledge and that’s exactly why I urge you to read Google Bomb. Please read it carefully and then pass it on to others. If this could happen to Sue it could happen just as easily to anyone—including you or your family.
I was on my own person emotional roller coaster reading this book. From complete disbelief: “Is this really the same Sue Scheff?”; to rage: “How could anyone do something like this to another human being!!!?”; to tears: “How did she live through this?” And when I read the final page I actually stood up and cheered. I cheered Sue’s character, grit, and unwavering determination to right a terrible wrong.
Thank you, Sue for having the courage to fight back to defend your reputation and tell your tale. It’s an example to us all.
Aristotle said years ago that the true measure of a person’s character rests in their actions. Your actions speak volumes, my friend.
Michele Borba is the author of 22 books including Big Book of Parenting Solutions which is now available. Follow her on Twitter @MicheleBorba
Tags: Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Cyberbullying, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Law, Internet Safety, Internet Slander, John Dozier, Michael Fertik, Online Image, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Sneak Peak inside Google Bomb book
by Sue Scheff on Sep 06, 2009
Last week was fantastic as Google Bomb book launched into book stores and Amazon numbers were remarkable! The LA Times did a 4 part series leading up to the official release date of September 1st. Here is part one, which is where Google Bomb begins! An engaging and dynamic foreword by Michael Fertik. For those that know me, I have always stated that my attorney, David Pollack vindicated me in a court of law, and it was Reputation Defender that brought my virtual image back to where it was prior the malicious and defamatory attack on my organization, my name and my family.
Part 1
Sue Scheff didn’t expect she’d make enemies when she founded the child and parenting advocacy organization PURE. But someone began attacking her on the Internet, posting enough defamatory statements to compel her to bring a lawsuit. She won $11.3 million in 2006.
In this exclusive preview of the book “Google Bomb,” Brand X brings you the story of what the lawsuit means, Sue’s own perspective and 10 tips to protect yourself online. The series begins today and will continue through Tuesday, when the book goes on sale [on sale now].
We begin with the foreword by Michael Fertik, CEO and founder of Reputation Defender:
Google is not God. Google is not the First Amendment, and it is not the truth. It is a machine. It may be the best machine invented in the past fifteen years, with myriad benefits for human knowledge and collaboration, but it is still just a machine that operates on rules devised by people. For that reason, it is both inherently fallible and subject to deliberate abuse.
It may be amazing that we actually have to say that Google isn’t God or the equivalent of freedom of speech or informational gospel truth. But it is clear that many of us believe that what shows up on the top of Google results is the most important, best, most accurate, most complete, most reliable, and most up-to-date information about the subject we are searching. From what is publicly understood about Google, it seems that the search engine scientists who work there try very hard to make the most democratically valued information rise to the top, on the basic operating theory that the wisdom of the crowd will, over time, tend to favor the best and most comprehensive websites that discuss a particular topic, be it animal, vegetable, or mineral, cabbages or kings.
But despite what may be Google’s best efforts and intentions, the machine gets it wrong at least as often as it gets it right. The errors and omissions of the world’s search engines visit punishing consequences on the victims of erroneous, obsolete, incomplete, or false information. Nonetheless, despite this mixed (and possibly worsening) track record, the rising primacy of Google as the world’s most important data channel seems to hoodwink many of us into believing what we see when it comes up on the top of Google search results. The theory goes: if it shows up on Google, it must be true and it’s somehow the best information about the subject being searched.
It is clear that people make decisions based on what they find in the top positions on Google: multiple visual “heat maps” published on the Internet have shown that the vast majority of Google users look at the top few results and ignore everything below them.
This is important for all of us, as we have become as searchable as the subjects we crave information on. What shows up at the top of Google can make or break our professional lives, our chances at romance, and our ability to get into the school of our dreams. It is far easier to harm someone and destroy their reputation on the World Wide Web than it is to make that person look great or even plain vanilla neutral. Blogs and discussion forums often enjoy more prominence in search engines than newspapers and other edited professional journals. Under the rules of search engines as they exist today, odd blog and forum corners of the Web can be turned into powerful launch pads of interpersonal attack.
There are real-life consequences when someone aims to destroy someone else on the Internet. It’s all too easy to destroy another person on the Web. In cyber-slamming cases, victims are often intimidated into silence because they feel powerless and helpless, and their first instinct is to shut themselves up so that things don’t “get worse.” Sue, a victim herself, is a rare individual because she decided to stand up for herself on the Web, defend herself in the courts and online, and go about protecting herself and others in an assertive way. You may or may not agree with everything Sue and John have written, but we can all agree that the narrative they tell is an important one for the emerging discussion of Internet, speech, and the speech-shaping powers of Google.
Part 2 Do you know what Google is Saying about you?
Part 3 Ready to protect yourself online? OK, let’s get started
Part 4 The top 10 ways to protect yourself from e-venge
Tags: Cyber Harassment, Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Google Bomb Book, Internet Defamation, Internet Gossip, Internet Law, Internet Slander, John Dozier, Michael Fertik, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Google Bomb Book Previewed in LA Times
by Sue Scheff on Sep 01, 2009
The LA Times started last Thursday with a 4 part series on the launching of Google Bomb Book. Today is the official release date! Part one was the dynamic foreward by Michael Fertik, CEO and founder of Reputation Defender. Part two is my turn, and here it is!
Sue Scheff didn’t expect she’d make enemies when she founded the child and parenting advocacy organization PURE. But someone began attacking her on the Internet, posting enough defamatory statements to compel her to bring a lawsuit. She won $11.3 million in 2006.
In this second installment of our exclusive preview of the book “Google Bomb,” (read part 1 here) Brand X brings you Scheff’s story.
Even years later, “Sue Scheff is destroying lives…I want others to know…” still has the impact of a sucker punch I didn’t see coming from the Internet. It was August, 2003 when the first attack on my integrity appeared on a website that focused on programs for at-risk teens, the industry in which I provide services to parents via an organization I founded called PURE. The individual posting was a parent I had actually tried to help after she contacted me for assistance. So, imagine my shock when that first unexpected accusation escalated into a full-blown character assassination.
Threats were made against me and a gang mentality took hold as numerous voices began to chime in. Who were these people? Other than the initiator of the attacks and the website owner, I had no idea. Why did they seem so driven to destroy me and my organization? Again, I was clueless. And I had absolutely no idea how to make this runaway train stop. I didn’t dare make my presence known on the forum for fear of the virtual lynch mob that went after a few well-meaning supporters who tried to intervene on my behalf only to end up like road kill on the Information Highway themselves.
As I continued to watch this whole crazy thing spin beyond damage control, something just as frightening would eventually snake its way into the search engines of Google: If you typed in Sue Scheff it wasn’t my website with educational articles and resources for parents that appeared at first glance. No, because over two pages of initial Google results led to links that took viewers to sites like Sue Scheff’s Red Panties where I was the star of a pornographic discussion. Not exactly what you want your kids or parents to see. As for professional colleagues, they were targets of proximity that risked losing their own credibility unless they kept their distance.
With no other way to defend myself and restore my damaged reputation, in December, 2003, I hired an attorney, David Pollack, who filed a lawsuit in Broward County, Florida against the originator of the attacks. In the next three years I racked up over $150,000 in legal fees and saw my organization nearly disintegrate. I developed classic symptoms of agoraphobia that transformed me from an extrovert who loved working with families, to a depressed recluse who wouldn’t answer the phone and rarely left the home I had mortgaged to the hilt in order to continue litigation.
Victims of Internet defamation and cyberstalking reside in a lonely place in our society. It’s like living in a Leper Colony: Population of One. Make no mistake. This monster is an equal opportunity offender that does not discriminate on the basis of your profession, gender, color, religion, or anything else that we think might set us apart from every other person in life. From lawyers to landscapers, teens to grandparents: No one is immune.
The malicious stroke of a key has become the equivalent of a cyberbullet. Only it’s not just getting fired off into cyberspace, it’s hitting intended targets in very real, physical places. The underbelly of Internet society that aggressively pursues unsuspecting victims, and the lack of legal protection against the invisible trolls who bully and stalk at will, has received a recent spike in public awareness. Good.
We need very real repercussions for violating a reporter’s privacy in a motel room with a peep camera for mass voyeuristic consumption. We need to insist upon a civilized Internet community where good, decent people can no longer be held hostage by a vindictive ex-spouse, a mentally unbalanced customer, or some acquaintance in class that goes by the name of “anonymous.”
After nearly losing my house to pay for my day in court, and nearly losing my sanity as well as my business during the three years it took me to get there, on September 19, 2006, a jury declared their outrage with a landmark $11.3M verdict, a forceful warning that ruining lives with online attacks is wrong and will not be tolerated.
And yet I continue to be stunned by the volume of emails I receive with heartbreaking stories that are as bad, or worse, than my own. The wheels of justice plod slowly in a www.world that moves at the speed of thought, the click of a mouse. So as we continue to wait for the courts to catch up with our virtual reality, do you know what Google is saying about you?
– Sue Scheff and Olivia Rupprecht
Tags: Cyber Safety, Cyber Slander, Cyberbullying, Google Bomb Book, Google Image, Internet Law, Internet Slander, John Dozier, Michael Fertik, Reputation Defender, Sue Scheff
