Saturday, February 18, 2012

Book 41 - LOL...OMG! by Matt Ivester - Cyberspace

OK I know that strictly speaking this is not Young Adult fiction but it is so applicable to senior high students. Matt Ivester wrote this for College Students after his experience setting up and then removing the website "Juicy Campus". What he thought would be a fun way for students to let off steam about Campus Life became an anonymous forum for bullying, outrageous cyber jokes and for some students regrettable antics. Thus the title of his book - LOL laugh out loud, something that starts as a joke on the Internet can quickly spread and cause a lot of damage and become OMG Oh my God. Ivester gives actual examples often with changed names to show how this happens without much thought. Even the most innocent of posts can be misinterpreted.

Ivester is not suggesting that we should turn off all our social media - he gives some great tips on how to develop an online presence that accurately reflects and promotes you. He also suggests that we all should check search engines to see what other people will find when they search for us.

Timely, readable - a must for students and adults alike.

Stanford School of Business review of the book
From Safely Spotlight - a service for parents