socialmedian: How One Would-be Web Friend Turned Into a Stalker In Months

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How One Would-be Web Friend Turned Into a Stalker In Months

Source: louisgray.com

Aug 04, 2008

Summary

In advance, my use of the word "stalker" is not intended to belittle any real-life stalking issues that are much more serious.

I tend to view the Web and the interactions I have with people online optimistically, trusting first and dismissing only after repeat offenses through odd comments or bad behavior. As Cyndy's article from Sunday mentioned, there are bad people out there who have troll-like behavior, whose aim it is to disrupt your life, add frustration and intimidate, but those can usually be tossed out like rubbish. But I've had the most odd experience with one individual this year, who would contact me almost every single day, by e-mail, by social networks and by phone, and couldn't be shooed away by any normal social standards. This individual, despite being told I had no interest in their venture, and that I was uncomfortable with their continued outreach, followed me from Facebook to FriendFeed to Twitter to GMail to my cell phone and back, and has been a bizarre thorn in my side for about four months. I thought I'd show you some of their handiwor ...Read the full article

Comments (5)

Jonprice,

Aug 04, 2008

the dark side of letting it all hang out online I suppose...

Louisgray,

Aug 04, 2008

The problem here was that "on paper" this person looked interesting enough to engage with over e-mail or to even write about, but nobody ever puts "I am bi-polar and obsessive" in their social networking profile.

Ido Notes,

Aug 04, 2008

Louis cleaned his profile up where it said he was obsessive :-) ha

Banane,

Aug 04, 2008

A great documentation of being stalked on all the social sites- a cautionary tale, in a way

Ophelia,

Aug 05, 2008

"In His Sights"
I just pre-ordered this book on amazon. It’s fascinating because its true. Obsession to the point where the hunted has to change her life, and it becomes her obsession to have a life that he cannot see. I will write a review, it should arrive August 5th.

In this day and age of Google, no one is hidden anymore. With every keystroke you are leaving a path to your door. How can we protect ourselves? And are we our worst enemy?
From the book:
“What if the man you’d loved for years vows, when you leave him, to destroy you? What if he transforms into a ruthless tormentor, stealing your freedom, undermining your sanity, and threatening your safety?
This is not a fictional scenario. It is Kate Brennan’s life.”