Twitter Gave Me My Break (And Other Things No One Believes)

by Brandon Mendelson 

Humorist, Author, and Social Media Critic

In 1998, Jerry Seinfeld did an HBO special titled “I’m Telling You For The Last Time." The idea behind the special was that Seinfeld would perform his sitcom material one last time and then retire it at the end of the show. For me, this article is like that special. I’m tired of answering questions about the number of people following me on Twitter (more than 800,000), where they came from (Twitter’s Suggested User List), and whether they’re worth anything (Spoiler: They’re not.) So, for the last time... In the Spring of 2008 I went on the Special Ed equivalent of The Fantastic Voyage and thought I was going to buy these buildings. The money was coming from MTV, who was going to sell the inventory I collected from different media outlets. A few months later, for reasons never explained, MTV backed out.

Before that happened, I approached Twitter about promoting the project’s account, which they were cool enough to do. When things went south, I deleted it. Yet another mistake in a long string of them, dating back to that time I wrote a girl snuff fiction. In the Fall that year, I returned to Twitter. I was really into social media and thought I could provide a good spin on things because I knew what worked and what didn’t. When it comes to online marketing, I’ve been at this since 1998. Almost as long as the Web has been commercially available.

Suck on that, Gary Vaynerchuck.

The renewed interest in giving out advice came after a professor at the University at Albany told me how horrible the odds are of getting a job with a Ph.D. in American History, which is what I was working on. I figured if I had no future doing something I enjoyed, I might as well do the thing I hate, but happen to be good at: Marketing. I also applied to a ton of jobs out of fear of unemployment. One of those jobs was at Twitter as an Administrative Secretary. Twitter sent me a rejection letter at the same time this small not-for-profit hired me. They brought me on to visit colleges to promote the early detection of breast cancer. So, I told the people at Twitter about what I was doing, and asked if they’d promote my account the way they did earlier in the year. I didn’t get a response back.

Soon, my wife and I were traveling across America with no money, a dying car, and absolutely no game plan other than “show up at colleges, record anti-breast cancer PSAs”. When we got to our second stop at Raleigh, North Carolina, I held a Twitterthon to help crowdfund our trip. I held the first Twitterthon in January of 2009 (despite what another marketer has since claimed), and it was relatively successful. This time? I made nothing. There was a guy casing our car when we pulled up at the Raleigh hotel (and again when we moved it). I should have asked him to shoot me. If he had, given how the rest of the tour went, he would have done me a favor. If I’m not mistaken, there may still be an open warrant out for my arrest in New Orleans. Later that night, I logged into my Twitter account and found I went from 3,000 followers to about 10,000. Turns out, Twitter decided to help me, and put me on their old Suggested User List. I was the only non-brand, non-media, non-celebrity to be placed there.

Between February 2009 and August 2009 when I was on the list, I reached a million followers. Then, just as I reached follower 9,999,999, I got an email from Twitter telling me they were dumping me. As soon as I came off the list, my followers started to drop by 300 every day. Something that still continues. This happens automatically regardless of what I do. I also noticed that everyone on the old Suggested User List was later incorporated into their new directory of “Who To Follow.” Everyone, that is, except for me. Twitter also verified everyone featured in a CNN article about “5 People On Twitter You’ve Never Heard Of.” Everyone in that article, except for me... again. Somewhere along the way I had pissed Twitter off.

My best guest as to how? After the college tour ended in March of 2009, I realized what a crock social media was and started to be myself online. Instead of talking about innocuous and boring crap, I started tweeting things like “I want to take this moment to remind you that the 'Midget' entry on Wikipedia has been locked for four years”, and “I can’t wait for Easter to end. I’m tired of picking Jesus’s turds up off my lawn.” It wasn’t long after I got into putting out funny tweets, which really picked up in July of 2009, that they dropped me.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter did me a favor by putting me on the list, and I’m grateful for it. But that not being verified thing? It irks me just as much as not having my own Wikipedia page. (That really doesn’t irk me. Neither of these things do, but a good foofaraw makes for a good story, so let’s just pretend it does). Without being verified, I was now this random guy with all these followers who people never heard of. That brings most to one of two conclusions: either they’re missing out on this awesome party, or "this guy is a spammer." Guess which conclusion people went with? There’s nothing I can do about it though, and that’s fine. I plan to leave Twitter once I’ve established a big enough identity where it doesn’t matter what platform I use. You know, when I’m dead? Or, hopefully in the next year or so when I get back into doing stand-up comedy.

So, you might be thinking, “Why ditch an account with over 800,000 followers?” The most frequently asked question I get is, “How can I get Twitter to promote my account?” The second, but equally annoying one, is “Do you really have that many people following you?” Thankfully, these are both easy to answer. No, Twitter won’t promote your account. I was lucky and got in before they figured out how much money they can make selling Trending Topics and Promoted Accounts. Not that I would recommend you buy either. Why? That brings us to the second answer. Most Twitter accounts are inactive. They may tell you they have 2,000,000 registered users, but they don’t tell you how many are active users. There's a huge difference between the two. Conversely, Facebook Developer Jesse Stay told me Facebook would have a number of users in the billions if they counted their accounts the way Twitter does.

A lot of studies have come out detailing how most accounts are either inactive or not often checked. As it turns out, the majority of tweets are generating by less than a quarter of the actual active, not registered, users. Despite Fox and NBC being stupid and putting hashtags on their shows, only 12 percent of Americans actually have a Twitter account, and again, that just means they have one, not that they use it. So, do I have 800,000 people following me? On paper, yeah. But like social media, what works or appears to be true on paper often isn’t. Now, I’ve got a pretty loyal following, and it seems to be growing despite my best efforts, but it’s nowhere close to the number of people actually following me. Like Michael Ian Black, Bill Cosby, and other celebrities, media outlets, and brands placed on the old Suggested User List, the click-through rate for links is pretty low. Better than what you’d see with display advertising, but still around one percent. Likewise with retweets, at least in my case.

Are those followers worth anything? Only when I’m talking to people who don’t know any better, which is thankfully fewer and fewer. Being able to flash that number has given me opportunities I wouldn’t have got otherwise, and it definitely helped get me a book deal with St. Martin’s Press. My first book, Social Media Is Bullshit, will be out in stores in April 2012. Having that large number of followers is not without its problems though, because unless my book does well, I’m going to be the guy Twitter gave a hand to, and nothing else. And people always expect me to do awesome things for them because of those numbers.

I’ve told every single one of them that’s not the case, and when I can’t deliver for them, they get mad. So, I’ve pretty much stopped doing nice things on Twitter. I’ve also decided to not sweat any of this bullshit and just amuse myself first. If people like it, awesome. If not, I don’t care.

And I have to say, for those of you looking for a “social media policy” or a lesson from all this, that’s the one you should take to heart. Amuse yourself first.

You could be dead tomorrow. 

Follow Women in Crime Ink on Twitter here!

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The Facebook Fugitives

by Donna Pendergast

Craig "Lazie" Lynch was incarcerated on an aggravated burglary charge at Hollesley Bay Prison in southern England. Last September he escaped the minimum security facility by walking away; he began a life on the run. But rather than seek anonymity, the effusive escapee began to taunt police with profanity-laced insults on his Facebook  page, bragging of steak dinners, girlfriends and the free life.

One picture (left), posted around Christmas time, shows him shirtless with a cooked turkey in one hand, middle finger raised on the other, and a strand of tinsel garland around his neck. The caption in his Facebook information box said: "life is what you make it, live fast die young." His arrogant updates included "Craig Lazie Lynch is thinkin' which lucky girl will be my first of 2010" and "I've got a fantastic video, me watching the London firework display, surrounded by thousands of incompetent pigs."

Lynch's Facebook page was shut down after authorities contacted Facebook looking for information as to his whereabouts. Lynch responded with a new Facebook page named Maximus Justice, where he began an even bolder string of taunts. By the time he was recaptured in January, he'd become a web celebrity with nearly 40,000 Facebook fans. He was even the subject of a song written by American country singer Kent Crawford titled, naturally, "Crazy Craig Lazy Lynch."

If you think this sounds familiar, you are right. In March, I posted a blog on Colton Harris-Moore, the one-man crime wave from Seattle who walked away from a halfway house. He's achieved mythic status for his daredevil crimes and open mockery of the police. His exploits have earned him a large Facebook following and attracted national media attention. Like Lynch, he has also inspired a song, called "The Ballad of Barefoot Harris." Harris-Moore remains on the lam despite the offer of $50,000 to turn himself in. The offer expired last Tuesday at 3:00 p.m., and the money, which had been placed in a trust account by a Washington lawyer, is being returned to its anonymous donor.

While Lynch openly courted fame, Harris-Moore's fame has grown due to his uncanny ability to pull off crimes that seem straight out of the movies while continuing to evade arrest. Nonetheless, both fugitives acquired a large fan base on Facebook and cult-hero status for escaping from custody and making a mockery of the police. Lynch has been called a "Digital Dillinger," and Harris-Moore has been compared to Jesse James (without the murders) and D.B. Cooper.

So why, as a culture, do we romanticize criminals who defy the system? Is it because many of us like to challenge authority -- vicariously? From Robin Hood to Jesse James, people rally around the defender of the common people, pitted against the oppression or corruption of the established power structure. But Robin Hood at least took from the rich to feed the poor.

Lynch and Harris-Moore benefit no one other than themselves. They feed nothing but their own egos with their escapades, and by publicly taunting police and any efforts to rein in their criminal, self-serving behavior. Yet their numerous Facebook followers suggest people admire their exploits rather than condemn their anti-social behavior.

In these days of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, heroes can be created and immortalized almost overnight. The glorification of criminals on social networking sites is the latest twist on a recurring theme that suggests a complex dynamic where normally upstanding citizens harbor a strange affinity for certain criminal behavior.

The perception of crime as glamorous is all too commonplace in the impoverished inner-city. Youths with little future fear police while looking up to the power and status of easy money from drug-dealing and brutal displays of violence meant to keep people in line and ensure loyalty. One can only hope that the public interest in Facebook criminals is more fascination than true admiration.

Statements made in this post are my own and do not reflect the views, opinion or position of the Michigan Attorney General or the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

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Can New Instructions for New Times Change Old Habits?

By Robin Sax

Face it; juries think that a crime occurs and is reported, investigated, filed, prosecuted, deliberated, and sentenced in one hour.  Judges have been so concerned about outside influences in cases that they have resorted to sequestering juries, to granting change of venue motions, and to admonishing jurors to consider only the evidence in front of them.  It is routine practice (and even law) for judges to instruct jurors not to discuss any aspect of the case, consult outside sources or do independent research. But experienced trial lawyers know such warnings often aren't followed. Jurors frequently talk to a spouse, may call a lawyer friend, go take a look-see at the scene of the crime, or even worse ... use the Internet.

Never has doing one's own research been so easy, so anonymous, so undetected. Before the days when, with a fews strokes of the keyboard, one could find information from around the globe, a disobedient juror would have to do original research -- dig information out of newspaper or library morgues, talk to witnesses, consult experts. And if jurors are anything like county employees, the sheer amount of work may have scared them off this path. But today, the technology that makes it so darn easy to violate jury instructions has forced jurisdictions to update rules to address the reality of this new ease of access.

Before lawmakers could even tweak the instructions to incorporate the realities of the Internet in general, newer software has allowed jurors to investigate in real time while the case is still being presented to them. No longer do people need to wait to return to their desktops to peek. With websites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, combined with sophisticated cell phones and applications for them or technology like iPads, Kindles and netbooks, jurors can do their sleuthing while court is in session, while witnesses are still on the stand, and while the wheels of justice are supposed to be turning fairly.

Ohio decided that its courts were no longer going to handle these technological issues after the fact.  Instead, it would update and keep current jury instructions, no matter what, and address all of the modern issues floating around ... including the not-so-new issues of TV's  legal and criminal procedural dramas.  Not a bad idea, Ohio.  While it amazes me that we even need such instructions, better to get it all out in the open than to count on our jurors (remember -- they are our voters and drivers) to do the right thing on their own. 

So, if you happen to be sitting on a judicial committee, heed some advice from your friends in Ohio, and consider adding instructions like they did in these sections:

WARNING ON OUTSIDE INFLUENCE. The effort to exclude misleading outside influences information (sic) also puts a limit on getting legal information from television entertainment. This would apply to popular TV shows such as Law and Order, Boston Legal, Judge Judy, older shows like L.A. Law, Perry Mason, or Matlock, and any other fictional show dealing with the legal system. In addition, this would apply to shows such as CSI and NCIS, which present the use of scientific procedures to resolve criminal investigations. These and other similar shows may leave you with an improper preconceived idea about the legal system. As far as this case is concerned, you are not prohibited from watching such shows. However, there are many reasons why you cannot rely on TV legal programs, including the fact that these shows: (1) are not subject to the rules of evidence and legal safeguards that apply in this courtroom, and (2) are works of fiction that present unrealistic situations for dramatic effect. While entertaining, TV legal dramas condense, distort or even ignore many procedures that take place in real cases and real courtrooms. No matter how convincing they try to be, these shows simply cannot depict the reality of an actual trial or investigation. You must put aside anything you think you know about the legal system that you saw on TV.

WARNING ON OUTSIDE INFORMATION. In addition, you absolutely must not try to get information from any other source. The ban on sources outside the courtroom applies to information from all sources such as family, friends, the Internet, reference books, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, a computer, a Blackberry, iPhone, smart phone, and any other electronic device. This ban on outside information also includes any personal investigation, including visiting the site, looking into news accounts, talking to possible witnesses, re-enacting the allegations in the (Complaint)(Indictment), or any other act that would otherwise affect the fairness and impartiality that you must have as a juror.

Those are the warnings, and now the big question: Are these Ohio bar instructions  going to resonate with jurors? Stay tuned.

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October: Cybersecurity Awareness Month

by Robin Sax

Did you know October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month? Although it's intended to teach Internet users about reporting and avoiding crime, I'd never heard about until recently -- and I live in the world of Internet crime and safety! This is actually the sixth year the Department of Homeland Security has marked Cybersecurity Awareness. They put on events and have lots of information on how to stay safe on the Internet. See http://dhs.gov/ for more details. The information on their site is important to review (for those of us who use the Internet – just a few billion of us), and not many of those billion people know where to get the resources or knowledge to implement Internet safety.

For example, do you know where to file a complaint about a crime that involved the Internet? If you answered law enforcement or the FBI, you get partial credit. The actual answer is much more complicated, an entire protocol for where and how to report crimes related to the ever-growing World Wide Web.

To determine some of the federal investigative law enforcement agencies that may be appropriate for reporting certain kinds of Internet crime, please refer to the following table:

As you can see, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) noted quite a lot on this chart. So what is the IC3? I bet you didn’t even know that it existed. In their own words, The Internet Crime Complaint Center “is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). IC3’s mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cybercrime. The IC3 gives the victims of cybercrime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, and local level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.”

IC3 seems to give an appearance of some sort of coordinated effort between agencies - at least in the reporting of Internet crime. That is a good thing. But what about before the crime occurs – is there a coordinated effort to prevent the crime. In other words, if someone is reporting a crime it means that most likely someone was already victimized. Is after the fact reporting enough? OR do we need to figure out how to police the Web prior to victimization?

The Internet is the largest city in the world. It literally has portals and accessibility to everyone—adults, children, young, old, thieves, pervs, predators, and hundreds of millions of others. While there may be individual rules and regulations for specific sites, or in specific countries, there is very little “law of the land” -- other than the concept of what is illegal in real life is illegal online as well.

There are many Internet crimes that are readily known due to effective media, astute educators - who take the time to bring information to their school communities, successful public relations campaigns, or from the unfortunate victimization of people we hear about or even our own family and friends.

Most people have heard of -or use- social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and My Space and also know some online lingo (such as LOL, TTYS, etc.). Many people have heard of concepts such as texting, tweeting, sexting, and cyber-bullying. But there are literally of hundreds of aspects of the Internet that we don’t know about…and we may never know about. There is an underground to the Internet, and it can be very scary.

So what do we do? Bury our heads? Pretend it is not happening? Just complain about it? How about we learn about what we don’t know. Staying current with technology is a must our world today. Figuring out what things are worthy of fear and what things are not can save us from a lot of anxiety. It is critical that we keep our knowledge current about Internet “threats” and can be prepared to face them.

And even though I am going to give you some simple steps you take today to be safer on the Internet, the best way to even know what we are worried about is to peruse, search, and click through the Internet. You can't fear something that you don't know about. Don't simply trust the hype, check it out for yourself. For example, many parents fear "Facebook" but I happen to think that Facebook is among the safer social networking sites out there. They actually have a protocol for dealing with hate crimes, pervs, and bullies. They have security and privacy measures and work diligently to address the issues as the site grows. Is every social networking site that way? No way!! And our social networking sites the only place where trouble lurks? No way. There are websites, ad-sites, instant messaging services, and many more avenues where trouble can surface.

So what's the answer? Know what you don't know. I know it seems daunting and time consuming and it can be. But don't let it!!! Chip away with a places, click through, check it out, and if you need help ASK!!! Want to know what your kids are doing online and can't bear checking yourself? There are sources and resources for help. But if nothing else, keep these tips in mind:

For Your Computer

• Make sure that you have anti-virus software and firewalls installed, properly configured, and up-to-date. New threats are discovered every day, and keeping your software updated is one of the easier ways to protect yourself from an attack. Set your computer to automatically update for you.
• Update your operating system and critical program software. Software updates offer the latest protection against malicious activities. Turn on automatic updating if that feature is available.
• Back up key files. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc and store it in a safe place.

For Yourself (Habits To Adopt)

• If you get deceptive spam, including email “phishing” for your information (that means a scam site that is looking for you to input your personal information for the purpose of stealing it), forward it immediately to spam@uce.gov. Be sure to include the full Internet header of the email. Also forward the email to the company, bank, or organization that is impersonated in the phishing email.
• Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
• If your computer gets hacked or infected by a virus immediately unplug the phone or cable line from your machine. Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus software, and update your firewall.
• If a scammer takes advantage of you through an Internet auction, when you're shopping online, or in any other way, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, at ftc.gov.

For Your Friends, Family, Colleagues

• Use regular communications in your business (newsletters, e-mail alerts, etc.) and in your home (conversations with your partner and children) to increase awareness on Internet safety issues.
• Set up household and workplace rules on issues such as updating software processes, protecting personal information, securing your wireless network, software downloads, spyware, email attachments.
• Make your preferences clear to your friends regarding email “Forwards” and suspicious attachments.

For more tips, visit: http://http//www.staysafeonline.org/top-tips

Bottom line: educate yourself, be smart, be safe online! Treat the online community like a city street – walk where there are lights, don’t travel in a back ally, keep your senses alert, don’t trust strangers, etc. A small amount of preparation will go a long way in protecting yourself and your family!

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Acting Irrationally and Being Radical Doesn't Help Crime and Its Victims

by Stacy Dittrich

Last year, I received an email from an inmate in an Illinois maximum security prison who had been convicted of child murder. Of course, he was wrongly accused and told me, “you need to write my story.” In my own deranged way I was somewhat flattered that a complete stranger chose me. My first novel had just been released and I could’ve patted myself on the back and said, “Voila! I’ve finally arrived as a successful writer, now people are coming to me to write their stories!” Now, after having my eyes opened to the plethora of the strange and unusual thrown my way, I think back to that day and shudder. In fact, receiving an email from a convicted murderer is one of the simpler requests I receive. I’ve learned, undeniably, there is a large cult-like following out there in cyberspace—on the blogs, in the forums, and in the instant messages—they are the radical crime followers and victim’s advocates.

For those of us that live on the surface of reality, and whose professional lives are involved in the criminal justice system, to those who impatiently wait for the next Women in Crime Ink contributor’s novel or true crime to hit the stands, it’s merely a job or a healthy interest. But there is growing factions of bloggers, advocates, and activists that put the word “healthy” aside, and embark on a mission of hell fire to aid victims or solve a case before the cops. And, there is nothing that will stop them in completing this “mission” either.

This was a new world to me. I understood the criminals that we define by their lengthy police record. The armed robbers, burglars, rapists, vandals, thieves, and stalkers were within the realm of comprehension as a police officer. As a writer with a law enforcement background, the playing field changed drastically. I’ve spoken to several of the WCI contributors—and many others lately about this topic. After hearing their own stories, and a slight chuckle, I felt like a naïve buffoon.

All of their stories were the same as my own.

I receive many requests to “look into cases.” Some are clearly written by those that mirror L. Ron Hubbard’s affliction for aliens, but once in awhile, I come across one or two that actually read legitimate. Say for instance, I receive a well written email from a professional business person claiming to have stumbled across compelling evidence in a high profile case. Okay, I keep reading. In fact, I even decide after a lengthy criminal background check (clean as a whistle)and references that their “evidence” is solid and meet them in person. Ignoring all of the red flags I learned as a law enforcement officer—the ones that scream “Get out now! Save yourself!” I keep going. When I get to something that doesn’t make sense, this person becomes angry, irrational.

To make a long story short, this lonely person followed a high profile case, minute by minute for years. After becoming a self-proclaimed “expert” they literally formed relationships—close ones, with the family members of the victims, the suspect, and law enforcement. Now, they wanted to cash in. Throughout the entire ordeal, I kept asking myself, “Who does this? Who spends every waking minute and thousands of dollars of their own money following a case and becoming a part of it?” (Calling Pat Brown, insert profile please). The ultimate outcome was that this person had banded together with several people close to the suspect. It’s my opinion they wanted their “evidence” published into the public to throw the media attention towards someone else. It was completely foreign to me. And, the elaborate and meticulous planning of it was a little frightening.

When you look at the growing debacle of the Caylee Anthony case and those who are trying to cash in and insert themselves for fame, reassurance, or unknown reasons (Leonard Padilla) I can only imagine the wealth of at-home-super-sleuths that feverishly write law enforcement and true crime writers claiming to have the “golden ticket.” They believe their intelligence is unsurpassed. They have graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of NYPD Blue and CSI: Miami. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the cyberspace conspiracy theorists.

Granted, in my days of street patrol I would get slightly irked when someone would demand that I perform a DNA test on a broken porch light because they know for a fact it can be done—they saw it on television. When I ask them if they are willing to foot the $10,000 bill for such a test on a minor misdemeanor they quietly go inside. In cyberspace it is a far greater scale.

Then come the irrational and self-proclaimed victim’s advocates. These are the people who have known a crime victim and feel the need to speak on their behalf. This is a wonderful thing, actually. However, it’s when groups of them band together and target well known victim’s advocates who are frequently in the media, things get a little harried. If the advocate isn’t working fast enough or to their standards, they begin to blast district attorneys, blogs, news media, and forums with hate mail—sometimes violent. In their own minds they believe they are getting their voices heard. I have seen this on Facebook; some “questionable” pages are bombarded with death threats, harassment, and violent intimations—usually from the same people or groups. These people, like the "radical" crime conspiracy theorists, can’t be rationalized with—it’s their way or the highway. Try to explain a documented and legitimate fact of a case to them and all hell breaks loose.

What these radical theorists and advocates don’t realize, and clearly don’t want to hear, is that they are doing far more damage to current crime cases and victims voices than helping them.
There is a right way to do things, and a wrong way, whether or not your intentions are the same.

It’s rather unfortunate that in my own pile of emails I have received some genuine pleas for voices to be heard, but it’s the others that take up my time and cloud my vision. The family of Davina Buff Jones was one of those “genuine” pleas, and I was more than happy to spread their heart wrenching—and legitimate, story. And, a few similar ones still remain.

The Internet has allowed us to bring the world of crime to those “healthy” followers via blogs, forums, and Internet radio. Women in Crime Ink showcases a bevy of women who are “in the know,” and makes them accessible to our readers. Blogtalk Radio shows like The Dana Pretzer Show, The Levi Page Show, and my own Justice Interrupted provide a wealth of knowledge and insight to those who want to kick back, grab a glass of wine, and listen. We all have our faithful listeners who chime in from time to time and whom we look forward to seeing in our chat rooms each week. But every once in awhile . . .

To readers and listeners of blogs, most of us love controversy and heated debates, but we don’t warm too well to comments where one hopes something bad happens to one of our kids because we didn’t jump on your cause.

The cold-hearted truth is that if you have no law enforcement or criminal justice experience, chances are you didn’t figure something out that the cops weren’t aware of and they probably won't take your phone calls or emails. But, have fun blogging about your theories, that's what they're for! We all theorize on crimes, the majority of us just happen to do it rationally. Lastly, if you know a crime victim and feel that by using bully tactics you will get their voice heard louder—chances are you are hurting the one you love even more.

Try sleeping on that for awhile.

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When Stalking Goes Hi-Tech

by Robin Sax

Caller I.D., digital cameras, email, online bank accounts, pda’s, social networking websites—all are forms of technology that we use in our everyday lives to communicate, be readily accessible, preserve memories, and simplify our lives. In today’s fast-paced world, these modern technologies have become more than convenient--they have become necessities.

Unfortunately, as with all things, there’s a flip side to these very handy devices. They can be used against us by people who wish to do us harm or—at the very least—create havoc in our lives. Tech-savvy criminals can turn our favorite timesavers into tools to stalk, harass, and harm us.

While stalking and harassment are neither new crimes nor a new phenomenon, with the growth and expansion of technology the criminal’s stockpile of weapons has expanded. They no longer need to rely solely on using the postal service, or sneaking around a victim’s home, or listening on land lines to commit their crimes. As recent studies by the United States Department of Justice show, 78% of stalkers use more than one means to contact and harass their victims.

There is no greater consequence of the misuse of technology than in cases of stalking and harassment. Here, the combination of a criminal’s arsenal of technological weapons and the criminal’s desire for aggression puts the victim not only in a compromising position, but in a potentially lethal one.

So what can victims or would-be victims do to protect themselves in our high-tech society? Alexis A. Moore, a cyber-crime expert, boiled it down to her “Top 5” tips to protect ourselves from high-tech stalkers and cyberstalkers.

1. Do not rely on caller ID when deciding to answer the phone. Caller ID spoofing is a common practice used by high-tech cyberstalkers to deceive victims into answering the telephone to harass and frighten them. Those relying upon their Caller ID systems should be aware that for a small fee anyone may go online and purchase Caller ID spoof technology. This enables them to program their Caller ID to reveal any number and name they wish. Stalkers often use familiar telephone numbers to trick the unsuspecting victim into answering the phone. Screen your phone calls allow the answering machine to pick up and then answer. By allowing the answering machine to pick up, the stalkers may leave a message that could later be used as evidence in a civil or criminal proceeding. If it’s an important call, the calling party will leave a message. Be sure you stay in control of your safety and security!

2. Password protects all accounts including utilities. Passwords protect all accounts that will allow for this additional privacy protection measure. Besides adding a password to your accounts, also request to have the agency/entity contact you if there are any changes made to your accounts, including requests for account closures, electronic funds transfers or account cancellations. These techniques are often utilized by stalkers to maintain control over their victims. It is not uncommon for stalkers who have gone high-tech to cancel their victim’s utilities and telephones, make electronic funds transfers from their bank accounts, and/or close/cancel credit cards. Today, anyone sitting behind a computer screen can access an unsuspecting victim’s accounts without the risk of being tracked.

3. Notify family, friends and co-workers to withhold information about you from any third party. High-tech stalkers using caller-id spoofs and other means may contact third parties under false pretenses to obtain vital information about the victim’s activities and whereabouts. Anyone who contacts a third party for information about a possible victim should be given no information at all! High-tech predators can use the phone, e-mail or may send third parties ruses such as class reunions or even floral deliveries to find out the victim’s whereabouts and activities. In some cases predators have pretended to be law enforcement officers! Always ask for a call-back number to verify the caller’s identity and always error on the side of safety and privacy first. A good motto is always “Less information is best”!

4. Maintain old e-mail accounts and phone numbers and create new ones. When under siege by a high-tech stalker or cyberstalker, keep old cell phone and e-mail accounts open. A victim of stalking should use an old cell phone number, knowing that the stalker may access their present phone records and known e-mail accounts. To thwart a stalker or potential stalker, call and e-mail contacts you don’t do business with, make appointments by phone with doctors’ offices you won’t be treated by, attorneys you won’t be consulting with. In this way, you are throwing obstacles in the stalker’s path and keeping your daily activities private. An evasive cyberstalker will try to learn the victim’s activities and schedule, including appointments, to manipulate and harass their victims. Remember, you are you own best privacy advocate!

5. Place credit freezes on all 3 credit bureaus: Today, without an identity change, it is often impossible for many to protect their credit and personal information from attack by a vicious high-tech stalker. . Stalkers often will apply for credit using the victim’s name to damage his or her credit rating. If this happens, contact the three national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, and place a security freeze upon their credit bureau accounts, Simply ask for their particular policies and procedures to place the freeze upon your credit. This will save you endless hours to repair their your if the stalker attempts to tamper with it. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure!

And just to add to the list, I offer five more to chew on:

1) Protect your personal information. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have taken the world by storm. Always limit the personal information you put on your profile, pictures and messaging. Even if your profile is set to “private”, there is always a chance that tech-savvy criminals can get to you. Most of these sites have instant messaging capabilities, so there is really no reason to provide any additional contact information.

2) For both social networking sites and general emails, choosing a gender-neutral username can limit the amount of attention you receive. Cute, flirty or sexual usernames can easily draw the attention of a cyber stalker, or give online criminals the impression you are an easy target.

3) Avoid using a work computer or email account for personal use. If a cyber stalker uncovers the IP address used by a business, they can find out where you work.

4) PDA’s, cell phones, computers and email accounts all can be password protected. Locking these devices provides greater security for personal information should they ever fall into criminal hands. It’s also very important to choose passwords that will be difficult to guess or hack.

5) Online banking is another great modern convenience. But as online banking has grown, so have fraudulent websites and internet hacking. Always make sure that your online banking institution is legitimate and insured. The FDIC website has more information on safe online banking.

To sum up, the best protection from internet crime comes from limiting the amount of personal information made available online. High-tech criminals can use anything from uploaded photos to an instant message with a friend to learn about their victim. Like many other innovations, our need for these technologies has flourished. Using these conveniences is perfectly fine so long as we take the right precautions to limit our risk.

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Women in Crime Ink Joins Facebook!

The Women in Crime Ink fan page is officially up and running at Facebook. The up and coming social network for professionals, and those just looking for friends, boasts millions of members. Although several WCI contributors have their own Facebook page, we thought this would be a great way to come together with all of you!

At the Women in Crime Ink fan page, you can occasionally chat with a regular WCI contributor, talk to other WCI fans, start a discussion about a current or past WCI blog, and browse the WCI bookstore; a one-stop shop with all of the titles by your favorite WCI authors.

When you're done reading the current blog here at WCI, jump on over to Facebook, become a fan, write on the wall, and peruse the WCI bookstore for the latest thriller or true-crime book. We hope to see you there!

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Google This

by Robin Sax

As we here at WOMEN IN CRIME know, it’s not just the facts, ma’am. It’s about where to find the facts and sometimes where to find the fiction. Many of us are looking for specific information but get sidetracked by useless websites with shoddy information.

Gone are the days of going to the library, standing on a stepstool, flipping through the card catalog, and being limited to how many books you could check out based on how big your biceps were. Now, with a few simple key strokes, anybody who wants to know anything is just a few clicks away. If you don’t believe me, Just ask Jeeves.com.

We live in a brave new world of research. The World Wide Web has changed the landscape for information-gathering for everyone, from writers to lawyers to criminals.

“Googling” is now a verb. Need to know about a particular person? Google him. Need to know about an issue? Google it.Looking for an old friend? Try Myspace, Facebook, Reunion, or Classmates. Need a professional or just want to network? How about Linkedin? Want to stay connected to friends, keep track of birthdays and special events? Try Plaxo, Birthdayreminder, and don’t forget Naymz!

The Internet can augment almost anyone’s library resources by providing alternate copies of print materials, as well as information that can’t be found in print or electronic formats.

Here are some examples of the resources that are on the Internet that may be difficult to find in a library: census information, uniform and model acts; news; publishers' catalogs; worldwide library catalogs; tables of contents of journals; full texts of articles from electronic law and non-law journals; books (such as the classics); bookstores (Barrister Books [academic textbooks], Amazon, etc.); song lyrics; comic strips; tax forms; sports information (such as professional baseball and basketball players' salaries and other basketball information); travel information; legal documents (transcripts of hearings, reports, briefs, memoranda, complaints, indictments, oral arguments, etc.).

As the Internet expands and people get more creative, they need to find new ways to find information. I have outlined some of the new(er) and different places to find information online. If you haven’t seen or heard of any of these sites, you are depriving your clients, your victims, your society, your readers, and yourself of a whole new dimension of the great galaxy known as the World Wide Web.

And now for some research tidbits:

CIA: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html -- How could a crime writer ignore this site? No crime website is complete unless it has a link to the Central Intelligence Agency. We use its 2008 CIA World Factbook (updated frequently) as a source of information about the countries of the world. See also "Maps" below.

Copyscape: http://www.copyscape.com -- "Copyscape makes it easy to find copies of your content on the Web. Simply type in the address of your web page. Copyscape will find sites that have copied your content without permission, as well as those that have quoted you." Copyscape is a free service; premium services are also available.

Dogpile: http://www.dogpile.com -- "Dogpile puts the power of all the leading search engines--Google, Yahoo, MSN Live Search, and Ask.com--together in one search box to deliver the best combined results. The process is more efficient and yields specific results. Dogpile was named top consumer search engine by J.D. Power & Associates for 2007."

Fazzle: http://www.fazzle.com – Similar to Google, perhaps an up-and-comer.

Newspapers: http://www.newspapers.com -- Answers everybody’s question: "What in the world is going on?" You can literally search thousands of newspapers online, including the abroad.

Ice Rocket: http://www.icerocket.com/ - Want to search myspace, facebook, and all socializing websites at once? This site takes people and profile searching to a whole new level.

Justice Interrupted: http://www.justiceinterrupted.blogspot.com -- Your one-stop shop for victims' advocacy presented with the honest breath of fresh air. Stacy, Susan, and Robin host a weekly radio show, advocate for victims, educate the community, and help in the investigation of crime.

Perez Hilton: http://www.perezhilton. com - Advertised as “Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site,” it’s a place to get to get scoop, gossip, and rumors. No need to buy the National Enquirer here.

Radio locator: http://www.radio-locator.com/ -- "the most comprehensive radio station search engine on the internet. We have links to over 10,000 radio station web pages and over 2,500 audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world."

Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ -- Need to know what’s shakin’ in THE “industry?” Though one of the busiest homepages in the biz, it's not as negative as it sounds.

Scared Monkeys: http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/ -- No spin, no b.s., just good people reporting on the most interesting and intriguing news.

Search Engine Watch: www.searchenginewatch.com -- Search Engine Watch covers it all: news, headlines, reviews, tools, blogs, forums, listings, ratings, stats, resources, newsletters, reports.

Snopes: http://www.snopes.com — “Send this email to ten people and Bill Gates will give you a brand new computer”; “Your car will blow up if you’re pumping gas while on a cell phone”; etc. We all get these emails everyday, but are they true or just fear-making? Only Snopes has the answers to these questions and other urban legends.

TMZ: http://www.tmz.com -- I give you permission to visit this site in the name of doing “research,” but we all know the real reason is to see if Angelina is pregnant or if Britney and Kevin are getting back together.

Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.com -- In their words, this is “the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in over 200 languages, and still growing.”

Zillow: http://www.zillow.com -- Are you buying, selling, or simply snooping for house values? The market is changing and zillow keeps you in the know.

The sites I’ve mentioned are by no means flawless, but they are interesting, often informative places to find information and new ideas. Regardless of what you find, you must always evaluate the information. Some of the questions you should ask in assessing the site’s credibility and integrity are:

1) What is the source of the information?

Is the author known? On what authority does the author write -- what are his or her credentials? Who sponsors the website?

2) Is there author bias?

What is the intent or purpose of the website ? Is the motivation of the website profit? accurate news? propaganda? scholarly information? Does the material appear biased in any way, or is it fairly objective?

3) How reliable does the information appear to be within the website?

How does the material compare to related sources, such as published books or journal articles?

4) How up-to-date or time-sensitive is the information?

How current does the information appear to be? How often is the website updated?

5) What type of reviewing process exists on or about the site?

Are there professional reviews available for the website?

It’s no wonder that people turn to the Internet as a source of information. And why not? It’s a cheap alternative to the use of commercial databases. It is varied and plentiful, not to mention a lot quicker than a trip to the library, unless your research turns into a shopping jaunt.

Speaking of shopping, if you’re like me and thrive on new finds, great contacts, and amazing resources, visit http://robinsax.com/saxfactsweekly.html for Robin’s latest discovery. In the legal realm, “discovery” is part of the pre-trial litigation process when each side requests relevant information and documents from the other to "discover" pertinent facts.

I have made discovery my hobby. Whether you need to know how to scout for a nanny, where to buy the best holiday gifts, when there is a great sale, how to locate an affordable web designer, or find someone who can notarize your trust at three in the morning, I am your source.

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