Cyber Crime Fighters: Tales from the Trenches

9Social Networks/Social Nightmares

Years ago, the only form of social networking that existed on the Internet was bulletin boards that offered lines of green text against a black screen and were perpetually slow and difficult to navigate. Along came high-speed networks that could support photos as well as streaming video and audio, and the world of social networking emerged.

There are so many social networks available today, it is mind-boggling: MySpace, Technorati, Facebook, Xanga, Sconix, Gather—just to name a few. There are topic-specific social networking sites such as Shelfari and GoodReads for book lovers, BlackPlanet for African-Americans, Buzznet for music and culture fans, and Care2 for “green” living enthusiasts. There ...