Look Out for This MySpace Predator

An article that I came across is about the lack of knowledge in the general public about the whole Web 2.0 thing, and social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. However, the part that I find hilarious is the example that brought this to mine. Someone was concerned about a 31 year old pervert befriending hisyoung daughter right after she signed up. He was convinced that the only reason an older man would friend her like that was to try to get it on with her. Upon asking if the daughter perhaps had posted a risque photo, or something else to prompt the pervs, the father responded not at all, and that she hadn't posted anything at all before getting this friend. He says that the guy is a Tom. At this point the author easily sees what is happening and explains that there is no 31 year old stalker out after his daughter.

This raises a good point, though. There is a surprising amount of news and information out there about these sites, yet there still remains a vast lack of knowledge about them in the general public. It goes beyond just web stuff, though. I mentioned something about John Stewart to my mom the other day, and she didn't know anything about him other than hearing his name before. This is a lady that spends hours a day online reading the news. She knows all about MySpace, and the like, and even uses Gaim (now Pidgin) as her IM client. It just goes to show that no matter how much we can try to educate the older generations, some may still never get it. Even Dvorak seems to be out of the loop on some tech stuff.