[IP] Saved by Google!
Begin forwarded message:
From: Ross Stapleton-Gray <amicus@xxxxxxxx>
Date: October 19, 2004 12:27:07 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx, johnmac's living room
<johnmacsgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Saved by Google!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3755154.stm
"An Australian journalist kidnapped in Iraq was freed after his captors
checked the popular internet search engine Google to confirm his
identity..."
Wonderful news, though it gets me thinking. Firstly, if I'm ever
kidnapped in Iraq, I'm toast; Googling on "stapleton internet hunt" w/o
the quotes will seal my doom. I think the little experiment that Rick
Gates and I did in June 1993 was the first "Internet man-hunt," and
while some of my management had fits, it was a nifty little experience.
Secondly, I'd greatly recommend Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair"
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142001805/103-0673000
-7191064?v=glance) as a wonderful first novel (and he's written several
others in the series) on the oh-so-thin line between what is written,
and what is. Read the Amazon reviews... this is a great escapist read
in a nasty election season. (Also worth noting in passing the position
that Amazon holds as "the site of reference for books." I'd venture to
guess that most people mentioning books use Amazon for the cites, and
that page above will even give you excerpts. I don't think that Amazon
will retain this role in the long term--I'll have a paper out soon
discussing why--but we're in an interesting evolutionary phase of the
Net.)
Lastly, it makes me wonder if there won't be a business niche for
"reputation restoration" (and "The Eyre Affair" just oozes wonderful
ideas re stretching time and content), with skilled operatives using
the tools of text editing, strategic e-mailing, and litigation, to
expunge negative Web content, and assert new, more positive spin. Want
to run for president in 2008? Better start now to reshape the virtual
landscape into something more flattering to your image...
Ross
-----
Ross Stapleton-Gray, Ph.D., CISSP
Stapleton-Gray & Associates, Inc.
http://www.stapleton-gray.com
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