Today is “Stop Cyberbullying Day”

PBS Teachers think this issue is so important that they are calling Friday, March 30, 2007 Stop Cyberbullying Day and it has affected enough concerned bloggers to cause a wave throughout the blogging world.

All this due to a recent post on a respected bloggers site Kathy Sierra. Kathy is co-creator of the best selling books Head First series, blogger, public speaker and “is also the founder of one of the largest community web sites in the world, javaranch.com.” She was threatened this week with threats of death which she took seriously enough to prompt her to cancel all her public engagements until she “felt safe enough to leave her house again.” Which according to this article , may not happen anytime soon. Kathy is well known in the tech field and has won various awards for her Java writings, including two from Amazon.com: Head First Servlets was named an Amazon Top Ten Editors Choice for Best Computer Books of 2004 as was Head First Java named to the Top Ten Editor’s Choice for 2003.

Prominent bloggers are speaking out. Scobleizer who runs a very successful tech blog has decided to take the week off, due to increasing uncomfortableness surrounding this situation. He knows Kathy personally and feels this is his way of supporting her. For him to not blog for a week is huge; as he usually posts several articles a day, while his blog receives thousands of hits.

Engtech another tech writer whose blog just reached 1 million hits speaks (congrats by the way) to the effects of adult cyberbullying and is quoted as saying this:

“….. Not being involved in the situation it’s impossible to know the context. Even if someones intent was to be annoying and offensive it doesn’t mean their actions aren’t threatening. I also think that insinuating sexual assault on a woman is one of those things that can’t be considered anything but threatening – especially if it is someone who peripherally knows you in real life.”

One By One Media has a very good response to this issue, as does Michelle Malkin who has detailed cyberbullying for years.

Of course the culprit or so-called offender has indicated that Cyber highjacking is what happen to him and Cyber highjacking is what all this is about. He claims, in no way knowingly to him, did he have any connection to the posts relating to Kathy.

I suppose that would be the smart/easy way out of this dilemma if in fact that is the truth, however this email seems like serious back paddling to me. If you follow the articles linked in those blogs, you will see he also started another site (which has been removed by the hoster) basically claiming, that if she can’t handle the heat, then she should not be in the spotlight.

Does that make this person any less guilty? I really do not know and cannot judge. It seems that in this day and age where the immediate gratification of expressing oneself becomes easier and easier, the Internet provides a scapegoat where online speech can and does get caustic, even for adults. Is the civil decline in discourse simply the price we pay for the advance in technology coupled with the ability to say what we want, to who we want in a fashion that normally we would think twice about if they were sitting face to face?

If cyber highjacking is to be blamed here, then it begs to ask another question: how safe are our accounts, as we live more and more on the Internet?

The icons presented here are courtesy of Scott McLeod with more are available at his site.

Till Next Time …Stay safe…Tags: stop cyberbullying, Engtech, Scobleizer, Scott McLeod, Karen Sierra, Michelle Malkin

Howard Stern Wants You to Vote For Sanjaya!

He has been dubbed the worst singer in American Idol History, but is it possible for him to actually win this contest?

Apparently Howard Stern thinks so. So much so that on his talk radio show, Howard reminds his listeners “to vote for Sanjaya”.

On The View today, Howard’s fiancée Beth Ostrosky, noted that the reason Sanjaya is still around is all due to the fact that Howard reminds his listeners to vote for Sanjaya. Not that anyone is disrespecting Sanjaya’s talent, *cough* saying things like he is cute, appeals to the tween set and has great hair (nice mohawk), but can he really sing and sing well enough to stay on Idol?

Sanjaya has been dubbed the worst singer of all time on American Idol. I think William Hung would beg to differ, but the point is; Why is Sanjaya still around when others who can and did sing better are now gone?

Apparently Howard believes he has enough of a listening base, with enough of a following to change the outcome of the show. At Howard Stern.com Howard has posted instructions on how to do just that: Vote for Sanjaya. Even while on vacation Howard will run air spots to “remind his listeners that American Idol is on tonight, don’t forget to vote. Go to my site to learn how.”

And of course there is always the Vote For the Worst site that has been around since 2004. They claim the site

“was started in 2004 to support voting for the entertaining contestants who the producers would hate to see win on American Idol.”

Then there is The Sanjaya Fan Network Forum where you can talk about all things Sanjaya, American Idol and Vote for the Worst.

We have seen the results from the previous seasons and I still wonder why anyone, let alone Howard Stern, cares about the outcome of A.I.

When America votes, hopefully they are voting for the best candidate and not for some ulterior reason and alternate ending.

Are sites like these powerful enough to sway the vote?

Till Next Time…. Tags: American Idol, Sanjaya, sway the vote, Howard Stern

Tyra Kills Off Models!

And the activists are up in arms about it.

On the recent episode of Americas Next Top Model, the wannabes did a shoot based on a CSI theme of found bodies, dead ones at the scene of their crimes. The models portrayed victims of electrocution, shot in the head, drowning, decapitation, organs stolen, thrown off the roof, poisoned, thrown down the stairs and a victim of a stabbing.

Some are very suspired that Tyra did this shoot because they believe that if her show is to help change the image of young girls everywhere, then why would Tyra do a shoot that clearly is the opposite to that?

In an article on MSN , the president of the New York chapter of the National Organization For Women is quoted as saying:

“Violence against women is such a reality in our society that I certainly don’t need the entertainment industry making entertainment out of it.”

She does have a point to some degree, but I think sometimes we all take this stuff too seriously and are quick to react without being informed. Do you really think she watches the show? Maybe, maybe not but she sure has an opinion about it and was probably never asked if she watches the show. Is she correct? Well….

Your travel Personality!

You are a “Centric-Venturer Traveler“.

You fit between Venturers and Authentics but with a leaning towards the Venturer side. Three out of ten travelers (30%) place in your group, making you one of the largest segments of travelers. You have a broad interest in travel and are more flexible and adaptable than both Authentics and Venturers, with a willingness to sample new destinations.

Unlike Venturers, you prefer at least a modest selection of good hotels before you visit an area. You also favor destinations where you’re sure to find food that can be trusted and an efficient transportation system. But, when over-commercialization sets in, signified by many souvenir shops, the intrusion of fast food outlets, and the diesel smell from too many tourist buses, you will move on.

The great capitals of Europe have long been favorites, but some of these now seem overcrowded and far too expensive. Therefore, when you go to Europe you might visit smaller towns and enjoy leisurely drives through the countryside. And, when you go into villages, you particularly enjoy staying at quaint inns in contrast to well-known hotels.