Summary. When a non-profit organization engages in social action, we think of it as activism. When a business engages with society through advertising, we simply call it marketing. Yet, activists exist in all areas of society including companies and they are leveraging their positions to impact the world in positive ways.

Among the leadership of Liberty Mutual there apparently are some people who had the brilliant idea of using advertising as a carrier signal for delivering a positive social message. For example, in radio broadcasting, it’s possible to send an HD FM radio signal with music that also includes embedded data that can provide information about the current song such as artist and song title. In the same way, advertising can tell the public about a product or service, while at the same time conveying a message that is designed to have a positive impact on society.

The Responsibility Project. Liberty Mutual has launched an initiative called The Responsibility Project. Below are videos from their advertising campaign about living responsibly. The general theme is that people who see acts of kindness, generosity, caring, giving, and responsibility, will feel compelled to do the same. What’s really powerful about this advertising campaign is that it offers an almost documentary presentation of the world from a God’s-eye-viewproint in showing how kindness can spread quickly. It’s alarming to realize that stress and unpleasantness can spread just as quickly. The multiplayer effect depicted in these videos demonstrates the impact that each person has in the world.

“Living authentically is living effectively.” ~ Greg Johnson

There’s a philosophy today that’s become the mantra of many people.

That philosophy is “Fake it ’till you make it.”

The general premise behind the “Fake it ’till you make it” belief system is that if you present yourself and your organization or business as big and successful, you will attract successful associates and be more likely to gain customers, and everyone’s respect. Once that happens, then you will soon attain real success and won’t need to fake it anymore.

The problem with the “Fake it ’till you make it” way of life is that it simply isn’t genuine, honest, or authentic. Some people “make it” but somewhere along the way they forget how to be real and genuine. So, they continue to be fake even after they make it.

There’s also a chance that you might not “make it” with the level of success you’d hoped for (e.g. having a multi-million dollar home on the beach). If you never “make it” or become satisfied with your level of success, then you’ll end up spending your entire life faking it. Your entire life will have been just a façade.

“Faking it” takes time, money, attention, and focus away from who you really are and what you really need to be doing to succeed. Faking it doesn’t add substance to your life. Instead of spending money on fancy clothes and a nice car that you can’t afford, invest time and money in yourself and your business. Then you’ll build up the foundation for real success rather than the image of success.

Steve Jobs was one of the first very visible CEOs to wear blue jeans at world-wide press conferences and keynote presentations. His attire reflected a departure from the traditional business expectation of wearing a suit and a tie to impress others. Yet, because of the “content of his character” and the innovation of his products, he gained followers and customers.

“When you live authentically, you already have made it.” ~ Greg Johnson

Summary. This page provides guidelines for evaluating friend requests on social networks like Facebook. While this document refers specifically to Facebook, these guidelines apply to just about any online social network.

Background. Some online discussion boards and special interest groups are moderated to filter out fake requests to join. This helps eliminate spammers and hackers. However, with social networks like Facebook, you become the moderator to your own online presence. The social network culture of Facebook creates some peer pressure to have a large number of friends. Presumably, the more friends you have, the more popular you are. For this reason, some people are inclined to accept all friend requests that come their way.

Dangers. There are many potential dangers in accepting friend requests from people you don’t know.

1. Trust. By signing off on the person (or social network malicious software robot), you are telling your genuine friends that this person is okay — making it more likely that your friends will accept this person and have their accounts vandalized by them.
2. Privacy. A person (or automated virus-like program) posing as a genuine friend can create chaos for you and those who genuinely are your friends and family. They can scour your profile for personal data with the intent of using personal information to guess the answers of your login security questions for Facebook or other sites.
3. Phishing. Because people generally trust their friends more than strangers, they are more likely to follow links and postings on their wall. However, these links can be to malicious websites with viruses or phishing schemes. A recent malicious automated campaign ravaged its way through Facebook appearing to be genuine posts from “friends” — such as, the person you accepted a friend request from, but you didn’t really know them. The posts were enticements to visit another website used to get names and passwords.
4. Stalking. For those concerned about privacy and stalking, it’s important you know who is being granted access to your Facebook data. Letting an unknown, but seemingly benign person become your friend is basically allowing anyone in the world to have access to your data. Remember that your “private” facebook photos, data, and posts could easily be copied by any fake friend and then reposted to public websites, or used to build up the personal information databases used by hackers.

For these reasons, it’s important for all Facebook members to really check the authenticity of friend requests. We are the police of our own social network world. Not only is it important to “keep it real” with regard to our own user account, but also it’s important to ensure our friends are real as well.

Friend Approval Guidelines. Here are some general guidelines to help you think about the legitimacy and authenticity of Facebook requests.

1. Make Contact. Perhaps the easiest and quickest way to determine the authenticity of a friend requests is to simply write the person and ask them how they know you or found you. Ask them what your shared interests are and why they are friending you. If the requests is an automated hacker robot or malicious person, they likely won’t respond.
2. View Their Profile. Find out a little bit about the person who is asking to be friends. Does their profile seem genuine and authentic? Do their friends look genuine or fake? Are they posting to their own wall, or is theirs a zombie account (setup only for the person of hacking). Does it appear to be someone you’d actually want to be friends with?
3. Shared Friends. Is this person a friend of someone you know? If not, be a bit more leery of accepting the friend request. Even if they are a friend of someone you know, you shouldn’t just accept the friend request without further investigation. Since many people just accept friend requests without any thought, it’s likely the person who appears to be a friend of a friend really isn’t.
4. Avoid Automation. When you join Facebook, and at anytime after joining, you can upload your address book from one or more popular online email services and social networks. When you do this, invitations are sent out to those people. The invitations look like they are personally sent from you. The invitations will ask the person to be a friend. You may end up with friends you don’t really know. Depending on how your email service or program works, it may have harvested email addresses from every email message you’ve ever received. As a result, you will have unwittingly launched a huge bulk email marketing campaign. Everyone you’ve ever written or who has ever written you will get an invitation, and then numerous annoying reminders to join Facebook as your friend. People will think you are stalking them by sending repeated requests. You won’t even know this is going on until you get a few angry emails from people saying, “Stop emailing me about joining you on Facebook!” If you’re the kind of person that burns a lot of bridges along the way, the automated friend request system will reconnect you with everyone you’ve ever upset.

Just following these four simple rules will ensure that your Facebook friends are genuine. This will make your online experience more authentic and safer for you as well as your friends and family.

Summary. The song What About Now by Daughtry has been hugely popular for it’s inspirational and motivational message about making a difference in the world.

At a time when the world is in crisis on a large-scale level as well as down to the individual level, this video paints a picture of the challenges we face, yet it also presents hopeful solutions and images of people who are making a difference in the world.

Video. The music video (below) has had over 3 million views. Use the volume control as needed to adjust the sound level. You can click the [x] in the upper right corner of the advertisement in the video to close it and move it out of the way.

Lyrics. Below are the lyrics to What About Now by Daughtry.

Shadows fill an empty heart
As love is fading,
From all the things that we are
But are not saying.
Can we see beyond the stars
And make it to the dawn?

Change the colors of the sky.
And open up to
The ways you made me feel alive,
The ways I loved you.
For all the things that never died,
To make it through the night,
Love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you’re making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it’s lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it’s too late,
What about now?

The sun is breaking in your eyes
To start a new day.
This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace.
Shadows fade into the light.
I am by your side,
Where love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you’re making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love, it never went away?
What if it’s lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it’s too late,
What about now?

Now that we’re here,
Now that we’ve come this far,
Just hold on.
There is nothing to fear,
For I am right beside you.
For all my life,
I am yours.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you’re making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it’s lost behind words we could never find?

What about now?
What about today?
What if you’re making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it’s lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it’s too late,
Baby, before it’s too late,
Baby, before it’s too late,
What about now?

Summary. The song How to Save a Life by The Fray was influenced by band member Isaac Slade who worked as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. The song was the title song for the album How to Save a Life.

The song has sold over two million downloads. The music video of the song (below) has been viewed over 10 million times. It is one of the fifth longest charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100, at 58 consecutive weeks.

Music Video. The music video of the song (below) shows images and videos of troubled youth combined with words and other images that convey how delicate life is. The green caterpillar shown here on the piano keyboard is juxtaposed to the image of a butterfly elsewhere in the video. You can click the [x] in the upper right corner of the advertisement in the video to close it and move it out of the way.

Lyrics. Below are the lyrics to How to Save a Life by The Fray.

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it’s just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you’ve told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you’ve followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he’ll say he’s just not the same
And you’ll begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life

Summary. This document provides insights about difficult vocations and careers.

Difficult Jobs. Some careers require more of a sacrifice than others, and depending on the vocation, a person may need to toughen up to succeed. Jobs that are physically or emotionally intense and demanding include:

• debtor asset collection or property repossession specialist
• emergency medical technician
• law enforcement officer
• military service person
• paramedic
• sport athlete such as boxing, football, martial arts, rugby, or soccer

Sports Comparison. The intensity and rules of some workplaces are similar by comparison to the rules of sports. For example, a football linebacker plays by certain rules, but if that same person is on the basketball court, they would be thrown out of the game for tackling a player. Similarly, someone working as collections specialist needs to be demanding, assertive, and unwavering because their job success depends on it.

Respecting Vocational Skills. When you view a vocation as if it is a professional sport, then its possible to respect people for their vocational skills in the same way you respect a football player. In general, society doesn’t admire demanding and assertive behavior. Yet, “on the playing field” for some jobs, it’s possible to admire behavior that might otherwise be a turn off. For example, a kind, patient, forgiving, and empathetic collections specialist who is skilled at being a good listener probably won’t succeed, at least not with that kind of behavior “on the field” of their vocation.

Vocational Sacrifice. Those who work in vocations that require a certain toughness must sacrifice or at least restrain the natural human desire to be empathetic and caring. This is a kind of sacrifice that needs to be respected and appreciated.

Understanding Vocational Differences. Below is a comment by Gregory Johnson regarding understanding the diversity of vocational differences.

“My job primarily involves helping people with computer problems, but sometimes I’m asked to provide advice or assistance in other areas of life. So, my work requires that I be caring, considerate, gracious, non-judgemental, kind, sensitive, empathetic, soft spoken, patient, a good listener, and attentive to details. We’re all born with the capacity for these things at some level, but to really develop these traits and skills requires self awareness, and it requires an intentional persistent effort and desire to grow. When I meet people in professions that require a certain toughness, I admire them because of what they have to give up to do their work. It’s a sacrifice. Yet, even if people are blunt and demanding, or seemingly abrasive, I can admire those traits if the person has cultivated them to be effective at their job. If someone is passionate about what they do, and skilled at it, it’s hard not to respect them.” ~ Gregory Johnson

Summary. Traditional advertising typically places a product or service at the center of attention. However, a new approach to advertising has become more common where the primary message of the advertisement is about values and virtues that inspire and motivate people toward a hopeful future. This kind of media is a fusion of advertising and social activism.

The photo shown here is from the Wavin’ Flag Coca-Cola Celebration Mix music video that became hugely popular during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The new mix sponsored by Coca-Cola features youth playing football (soccer). The video and song are available through the Apple iTunes music store, and viewable below. Click here for the Wavin’ Flag video on YouTube if it doesn’t show below. You can click the [x] in the upper right corner of the advertisement in the video to close it and move it out of the way.

Summary. The British Invasion is back, but this time it’s a Food Revolution rather than a music revolution.

Watch Now. To watch the show now, visit the official ABC Jamie Oliver Food Revolution page.

The leader of the Food Revolution is celebrity gardener and chef Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s Food Revolution web page offers more information, including a petition you can sign. His show launch comes just following a hotly debated healthcare bill in the U.S. Congress. Following the 6-part series two U.S. generals who were former chairs of the Join Chiefs of Staff declared obesity to be a threat to our national security. [source]

Television Show Review. Jamie Oliver is not only a chef, but a gardener. On his cooking show, the viewers are sometimes taken from the garden into the kitchen. His emphasis on fresh ingredients is central to his food philosophy. Those unfamiliar with this context may not understand astonishment and disgust he has when learning more about American food. In this first episode, Jamie descends upon the small town of Huntington, West Virginia.

He chose that town because it is statistically considered the most unhealthy city in America. Yet, despite it’s reputation as the sickest town in America, Jamie says, “I’ve spent 18 months traveling around America, and this town looks and feels like any other. Yes, this area has some of the tip-of-the-iceberg of problems, but it’s only 2 to 3 percent away from the national average. The reason I’m passionate to do this program is because this is about the whole of America.”

He’s not singling out these people, but a broader problem in America. [source]

As depicted at the very beginning of the show, Jamie’s attitude and somewhat awkward diplomacy seems to result in a very negative reaction from the community. While he certainly has good reason to feel that he’s above most people’s culinary abilities, this unfortunately comes across a bit  too strong.

Review. Below is a review of the show by Gregory Johnson.

I like Jamie and respect him a lot. I wanted to like him in this show, but I couldn’t help but wince a few times at his apparent lack of self awareness and/or sensitivity to how he was coming across to these people who just didn’t have a clue about what he was preaching. He brought one woman to tears in the show when he told her that she was killing her children with the food she was feeding them. That seemed a bit harsh to me.

The show does bring up some really good points. I was reminded of similar shows like Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation. Jamie’s approach brings an entirely new slant on the issue and possible solutions.

After watching the entire first episode, and reflecting on the show a bit more, I thought about how Jamie is a gardener and it seems he is approaching his Food Revolution from a gardener’s mindset. A gardener looks at a problem like soil that is crusted over. It needs to be broken up and tilled thoroughly before new seeds can be planted. Jamie’s abruptness and seemingly disruptive style are apparently his way of breaking up the soil first, and then beginning the labor of planing fresh seeds and watering this garden that is his dream of a nutritional revolution in America.

At one point in the show, Jamie makes a genuine connection with a local Pastor. It seems that Jamie and the Pastor are in similar roles, both trying to make a change in people’s lives and sometimes it takes some drama and abruptness to inspire people toward the change that’s needed. Pastors and gardeners have similar professions; they both involve planting seeds and watering the soil. Throughout the show, Jamie seems inspired in his own life and mission by the faith of those around him.

Jamie’s primary challenge in the first show is to provide a school lunch program that will not only meet nutritional requirements, but also be appealing to children.

At the end of the first episode, the outlook seems quite bleak. The tension during the show is similar to an episode of Kitchen Nightmares.  To borrow a line from the movie Wag the Dog, not even Peter Rabbit could get out of this one. We’ll see how Jamie does as this show progresses. ~ Gregory Johnson

Video Review. In the video below, Gregory Johnson discusses the first episode of the show, and he also shares about a school kitchen that serves hundreds of people daily with fresh, organic, vegetarian food.

Learn More. To learn more, click the banner below to visit Jamie’s website.

Summary. This document addresses the safety, security, and authenticity problems arising from anonymity on the Internet.

Benefits of Anonymity. Anonymity has some benefits to the individual and the community, such as:

1. Creates a Sense of Security. Some people feel more secure when online if they can be anonymous. Concerns about stalking or unwarranted retaliation can be alleviated simply by deleting an account.
2. Offers Privacy. People wanting to get advice in a public forum about a private issue can do so without concern of disclosing who they are, or the others involved.
3. Promotes Freedom of Speech. People sometimes feel safer sharing their views when they are anonymous knowing that verbal retaliation or harassment can be avoided. For example, an employee will speak more honestly about their employer if they can do so anonymously. This is why employee hotlines are often made available by third party organizations that can ensure anonymity. In this regard, anonymity can create a more honest and open environment.
4. Protects Public Image. Anonymity is nice for people concerned about saying something that could be taken out of context and used against them later.
5. Reduces Self Consciousness. People who are shy about talking openly in front of others can join in a conversation without having any attention on them personally.

Drawbacks of Anonymity. Although there are some apparent benefits to anonymity, the benefits are outweighed and are nullified by the drawbacks of anonymity. These are some of the drawbacks of anonymity to the individual and the community.

1. Enables Cyber Bullies and Hecklers. People with malicious intent who are bent on harassing people (sometimes at random) are given a lot of power by the ability to be anonymous.
2. Establishes Misrepresentations. Many anonymous accounts and users are basing their involvement in the online community on a misrepresentation about who they are. It’s common for people to create a username that appears to be a real name, but in fact isn’t their real name. They may even use a photo that isn’t their own photo. Rather than disclosing up front that they aren’t who they say they are, they create an elaborate online persona. All of this is essentially based on a lie.
3. Degrades Transparency and Authenticity. When people aren’t who they claim to be, the authenticity of the online experience is diminished. Online and offline, societies advance through transparency, openness, and cooperation. Most online services recognize this. Many online networks and websites require users and members to honestly represent who they are. Amazon offers a real name feature to ensure people are not using a fake identity (although the use of this isn’t required). Ensuring that people are who they say they are creates a genuine and authentic community of real people. Many people online are business owners and people who are already in the media or have established an authentic online presence. So, this should not be a problem. Openness and activity online should always be balanced with common sense. Networks like Ning offer online safety guidelines and member privacy controls. Many networks request users to provide honest information about where they are located (such as City and State) and why they are joining.
4. Derails Democracy. In anonymous networks, polls, democracy, and other kinds of equality in collaborative input aren’t really feasible because a single member could create 10 or 100 user accounts, each carrying a vote. Only by having a network of real individuals can we assure one vote per person. Each online community is different, but many attempt to have authentic users with technological restraints in place to prevent abuse. For example, with YouTube, you can’t vote on (rate) your own video. Amazon allows people to write reviews and vote on ratings for their own products. However, they can’t push any reviews up the list by personally voting on them more than once. As such, Amazon is a Democracy where each person is a voting member. This is similar to a politician being able to vote for themselves, but only once. So, with YouTube and Amazon (for example) a person can only “vote” once when rating their product or other reviews. This is a technical mechanism in place to assure that people don’t just keep clicking on a button to increase their product or video rankings. With Amazon, only people who have legitimate accounts and purchases can actually write reviews. This helps further reduce misinformation.
5. Disrupts Equality. Mixing anonymous users with transparent users is awkward (and unbalanced) because one person (the publicly open and authentic person) has a light shining in their eyes while the other person is hidden. The hidden person is at an advantage (of sorts). They can’t be held accountable. They can “shape-shift” by returning as another anonymous user later. Etiquette, respect, and civility fall by the wayside when people can hide behind a mask and say things they would never say in public.
6. Facilitates Shared Account Use. Having a user account with high content productivity is very valuable. High ranking members typically have broader system access. So, groups of people wanting to gain greater access to an online service and greater influence on that network, can enlist many people to use the account. Keeping it anonymous makes it possible to generate numerous product reviews that would never be possible for a single person. This escalates that accounts visibility and influence. Usually, such online anonymous usernames are built-up like a brand and typically the same unique user account name can be found across multiple sites with. Hackers can sell such accounts on the black market once they are well established, or get paid for the product reviews being generated by that one account.
7. Fosters False Sense of Community Security. The anonymity that an individual feels protects them, sets up an online world where their security, privacy, and safety are actually at risk. Most cybercrime involves people interacting with anonymous users. A person may think they are communicating with someone across the country only to later find it is an ex-parter or disgruntled neighbor. Movies like You’ve Got Mail are based on the fun and romantic premise that an anonymous person you are talking to could be watching you every day on the way to work. Well… that’s also a scary premise. For this reason, the safest online experience is to seek out online communities and exchanges that are genuine, authentic, honest, respectful and real. Such communities have checks in place to ensure that people are who they say they are, and there are measures to track and deal with those who are abusive online.
8. Fosters False Sense of Personal Privacy and Security. For the individual, anonymity creates a false sense of security. While people may feel secure by using fake identities, their activities can be easily tracked using a variety of simple and legal methods. So, the danger of anonymity is that a person may end up feeling more free and secure in their online behavior and activity because they think they are hidden and entirely anonymous. This can result in greater erosion of their privacy and defeats the purpose of what the person hoped for in their anonymity. Off the Internet, anonymity has similar problems. When anonymous, people might do or say things that they never would do were their identity known. So, their behavior is potentially more damaging. Sometimes adolescents covertly engage in vandalism and other activities thinking they won’t get caught. These are things they would never do in public. In the digital age, there is no such thing as complete anonymity. Digital criminals, hackers, and identity thieves explore the Internet, scouring online discussion groups, chat rooms, blogs, websites, and other public data sources attempting to gain information about individuals and organizations for purposes of hacking or identity theft. Those who think they are anonymous are often revealing too much. Those wishing to protect their public image, may discover that things said anonymously in private may end up being attributed to them in public. Legally obtained public information online can easily and quickly be assembled that helps shed light on who is really behind an anonymous username. For this reason, being authentic and genuine online creates a more realistic context for people to communicate. It prevents them from saying things and revealing things they really shouldn’t.
9. Impedes Justice. While some anonymous users engage in simply annoying behavior, other activities of anonymous users cross the line and break the law. Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult for authorities to track down someone from simply a free email account or online username. It’s easy for abusers to cover their tracks by deleting accounts. While people can be brought to justice and sued, a deleted or abandoned user account can’t.
10. Promotes Cybercrime. Of all the stories that make it to the news about online stalkers and various kinds of online crimes, the crimes are almost always committed by an anonymous person. When you’re building an online relationship with someone anonymous, you don’t know who they really are, where they are, or what their motives are. Victims of online fraud and crime are often led to believe something false about a person’s age, gender, or place of residence. This is how their trust is built up. While anonymous online networks have some benefits, they should be approached with caution. Transparent and open networks are safer because two people can easily verify through numerous other sources the validity of the person’s identity. If someone is posing as someone they aren’t, this can easily be fact checked against the real person’s public contact information.
11. Reduces Effectiveness. Those who want to make a point are less effective and less personable when hiding behind a mask of anonymity. If you want to be effective online, consider establishing a verifiable identity. Read more about authenticity here.
12. Reduces Internet Stability and Security. The security of the Internet and the communities that rely on it are put at risk by the use of anonymity. Anonymity fosters spammers, trolls (people surfing the internet for personal data), stalkers, hackers, digital vandalism, bots (human created accounts that are eventually used by computer programs), rogue accounts, online digital gang wars, abandoned accounts, name squatting (people creating an online persona using someone else’s name), fake identities, identity theft, and other illegal online activity. Anonymity online is as much a security threat as anonymity in society. Identity theft and false identities are now a multi-milion-dollar crime business. States like Iowa have moved to centralized identification offices to avoid real-world trouble makers from moving about being protected and untraceable by fake identities. This is a serious homeland security issue and also a serious online issue. Many larger institutions don’t allow anonymous use of their networks. All users must positively authenticate to the system with their verifiable identification. This helps track down and bring to justice people who would misuse the Internet.
13. Reduced Manageability. When people violate the terms of an online service, network or community, it is important to know they can be disciplined and if necessary barred from the community for the safety and stability of the community. When online communities are filled with anonymous users, it’s impossible to hold anyone accountable. Users can easily create multiple user accounts. If banned from a site, they can come back under an alternate email and username. This creates an administrative quagmire and isn’t in the best interest of the community.

Guidelines. Here are some guidelines to consider.

1. Anonymous User Interaction Precautions. When dealing with anyone who is anonymous, do so with caution and keep exchanges to a bare minimum. Do not disclose personal information. If an anonymous person becomes abusive, stop communicating with them immediately. Be especially leery of too many personal questions from someone who is anonymous. To keep things fair and maintain equality, both parties should have equal disclosure, transparency, and authenticity. Based on the anonymous person’s online profile, postings, and other activity on the Internet, try to establish some sense of how genuine and safe they are. This can help you judge how or if you should continue communicating with them. It can also help create a context for your interactions with them. If they are lashing out at you, is there something in their profile to suggest they have a chip on their shoulder? If so, try not to take it too personally and just drop the discussion.
2. Authentic User Interaction Precautions. When dealing with someone who appears to be genuine and authentic, still use caution unless you can validate they are who they say they are. Seek out online experiences that are genuine, authentic, and safe.
3. Facebook. Services like Facebook offer some checks and balances to ensure people are part of a real network of individuals. Most of the time, such online communities are secure, stable, and safe. Even so, sometimes accounts are compromised by phishing emails. When this happens, a hacker (not your friend) can post links to malicious websites to your wall. Friendship requests that arrive, may appear to be from friends of your friends, but these could also be automated requests expanding the friend network of a rogue account. For this reason, always be somewhat cautious in your interactions on Facebook.

Document Background. This document is based on relatively commonplace real-life and real-world experiences over more than a decade of online computing.

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Help Improve This Document. Please contact us if you notice typos or have suggestions to improve this document. Most of the content on this website reflects the feedback and input of our numerous site visitors, and we are continually making an effort to improve the quality and usefulness of our content.

Summary. Rebecca Skloot was interviewed on the Steven Colbert show about her book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The video of the interview is at the bottom of this page.

Book Description. The following description is from Amazon.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

Video. Below is the Steven Colbert interview with Rebecca Skloot.