Re: the readings and discussions thus far~ [Cyberstalking]

“You look for someone who is full of it, a real blowhard. Then you exploit their insecurities to get an insane amount of drama, laughs and lulz. Rules would be simple: 1. Do whatever it takes to get lulz. 2. Make sure the lulz is widely distributed. This will allow for more lulz to be made. 3. The game is never over until all the lulz have been had.”
Excerpt from article on trolling @ NY Times


I found this VERY interesting article.

It gives a glimpse into the world of 'trolling', where online cyberstalking and harrassment is done, for the most part, fun and games.

It got me thinking, really.

The Internet is a place with, seemingly no boundaries, but it is really the most monitored place in the world. Every word you type, every page you view (even this one right now), is being kept track of in some register somewhere. ISPs for example. Most of this information is skimmed over, lost in obscurity, but with the intent and the know-how, you could make someone's life hell.

What drives the trolls? ..Or what drives us? I can empathise with their curiosity I guess, but not the actions. Certainly to a much lesser extent we do the same thing on Facebook, checking how other peoples' lives are going, who's dating who and where they've been etc etc?

Whereas this keeping up-to-date is certainly not meant to be malicious like trolling, it can nevertheless feel intrusive. I once had a disgruntled ...'associate 'keeping tabs on my every movement via my blog/Facebook, eventually culminating in some rather unpleasant messages sent via MSN about how they knew what I was doing in my life, probably to see my response.

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I think identity is something, whilst we like to think of it as fluid, is fundamentally locked into us. Who we are bleeds out of everything we do, each action further reinforcing the pre-existing notions we hold dear.

Power then, on the internet, is knowledge of what makes someone else tick (and yourself, as well), and the defense is to be as opaque as possible.

That ..would of course, be incredibly lonely. >__>

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Also, off-topic, the layout for this blog is getting kind of messy. It's getting a little hard to keep track of a coherent flow / narrative. (Which again, might be a symptom of a digital culture perhaps?)