TAKE BACK THE INTERNET:
Business cyberbullying affects commerce, trade, and impacts the ability to do business. This blog is about empowerment, such as what to do when you discover you are the target, show the laws that surround this issue, and how to take steps towards recovery — both emotionally and through taking back the Internet. For more information: http://debbieelicksen.wixsite.com/businesscyberbullies
Okay, we all know hacking is a serious breach and is truly a criminal act. It happens way too often, it seems, as companies continue to cut costs on their Internet security, thus putting their employees and customers at risk for identity theft.
Still, in the case of AshleyMadison, it's hard to muster any sympathy, since the site encourages breaking marital laws. Pity the families who were unaware of a cheating spouse, unless both spouses had accounts, then we can expect their kids to be equal cads when they grow up.
As unsympathetic as these customers may be, this is something that can happen to anyone on any popular website. Imagine if Facebook and Amazon did not keep their security up to date (and face it, theirs is better than our U.S. and Canadian government securities, whose websites have been hacked). Although we don't post dick pics on Amazon (let's hope not) and we hopefully don't put our entire families at risk for fraud, extortion, or worse as these profiles flood the dark web.
Now to learn the company may have hacked its competitor sites? Geez, Louise.
In the meantime, the memes say it all about how the rest of the world feels about AshleyMadison users.
"At one point in my life...I was thatguy, the person who would post a one-star review simply because I waited too long or someone gave me attitude. I get home and say to myself, "Surely, I'm going to show them!" In reality, it didn't show anyone anything other than how spiteful I was-- like I had it out for the employee or business. It's like I want him or her to get fired over spilt milk (ironically, that did happen one time). That was just mean-spirited and immature."
I think many of us can relate. To echo the words of Maya Angelou, when we know better, we do better.
Hollywood stars are not immune to criticism, speculation, and rumors. People talk about their careers, their personal lives, and circulate stories, a lot of times without checking the source.
Not everything you read about a celebrity (or anyone for that matter) is the gospel truth. Even if the source seems credible (such as reputable media outlets like +Rolling Stone, +The Hollywood Reporter, +ABC News), there have been documented cases where a story had to be retracted because of an error, a misrepresentation of the context, or the origin was untrue.
Enter a Twitter user who, for some reason, sought out a personal vendetta against actor James Woods.
When you call someone a fraud, child molester and, as in the case of Woods, a drug addict, you'd better have the legal proof to back that up that specific terminology or you have opened yourself up for a lawsuit, even if your target doesn't have the means or the will to pursue it.
Not so the case of James Woods. He's got the will, the dough, and is making the time to hunt down and persecute his tormentor, for $10 million.
Success is what you would call the last laugh. Imagine if these targets had given up?
Never let someone else dictate your life based on what they might perceive as a flaw. It's only a flaw to them, to you it is your strength and your power.
So what do Kate Winslet, Eminem, Jackie Chan, the Dutchess of Cambridge, Elvis Presley, and YOU have in common?
Kate Winslet was called "Blubber" in school. Perhaps there was an internal smile of revenge during the scene in Titanic when costar Leonardo DiCaprio was painting her naked.
