By Elizabeth Lewis
There are more than 4M Twitter accounts and more than 30M Facebook accounts. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, are no longer just a place for kids to post pictures and share the latest gossip with their friends. Adults are beginning to use the sites for everything from planning high school reunions to marketing their businesses. Even companies like Comcast are getting in on the action by having employees respond to user complaints on Twitter. However, as the use of social media sites increases, so does the need for people to understand the legal issues that can arise from their use. The following are just a few of the ways you can get into trouble when venturing online.
Personal Safety
The first way you can get into trouble online is by endangering your physical safety. In California, “buyers” held up a couple selling sweatshirts through a Craigslist ad. The transaction was to take place in a semi-deserted parking lot; instead, the “buyers” took the couple’s merchandise and their cash. The moral of the story: if at all possible, meet the other party at a public place if using a site to buy or sell merchandise on Craigslist and always be aware of your surroundings.
Job Seekers Beware
The second way you can get in trouble online is by hurting your employment chances. Just as individuals are getting more familiar with online sites, so are employers.
By posting information online, a jobseeker may be asking to not be hired. At the age of 20, it may seem fun to post pictures of yourself in a compromised position at Mardi Gras or your best friend’s bachelorette party. At 26, when applying for a job, a prospective employer may not find those pictures so amusing. The moral of the story: companies will judge you by what you have posted online, whether it is your stellar grades or pictures of you at an all-night kegger.
Truth or Fiction?
The third way you can get in trouble online is by good old-fashioned lying. In late July, the media first reported a widely publicized case about a person suing a Twitter user over a post (or “tweet”). In Chicago, a renter complained via the service that her apartment was moldy; the landlord filed suit for damages claiming the tweet was defamatory. (It remains to be seen whether the apartment was moldy or whether the tweet was a lie, and thus defamatory, as the case has not gone to court yet.) The moral of the story: if you are posting bad things about a company or person, make sure they are true.
Social networking is fun and exciting. Its use can improve your life, increase the number of friends you have, and bring you more business if used correctly. It can also lead to problems far into the future. Be smart about what you post and if you have any questions about a post: don’t do it until you check with someone familiar with online law!
The MNI Board and citizens meet with City Councilwoman Marcia Johnson
By Elaine Zupancic
The wet spring was a boon to flowers and grass, but not as popular with a number of neighbors who are experiencing a real flooding problems (knee high/chest high lakes, mud and sludge so heavy it can’t be hosed off, etc.) after even slight rainfalls and melting snows. This prompted them to request a meeting with Councilwoman Marsha Johnson regarding their plight, as well as an update on city plans for relief. Councilwoman Johnson attended the August 5 Mayfair Neighbors, Inc. board meeting, and brought with her Senior Storm Water Planning Engineer Michael Anderson.
The Report
Mike reported that the Storm Drainage Master Plan is updated every five years per the city’s requirement. The latest plan is now in place; if every project were to be completed today it would be to the tune of more than $1B. The good news for Mayfair is that the area around 11th Avenue and Forest is in the budget plan for 2010 and Mike is confident that it will be approved. This project will run roughly from Hale and Elm, north on Elm to 11th, east on 11th to Holly or Hudson. The amount of time the project will take is unpredictable at this time, as much depends such things as how many other utilities have to be moved, etc.
For a more comprehensive overview, go to
www.denvergov.org/marciajohnson, sign up for her Subscribe to 5 online newsletter and read the article in the August 9 edition. There are many other informative articles in the newsletter, as well!
