Isn't it awfully easy to stalk...

It really is terribly easy. This topic has come to mind having completed a social media bootcamp today. Thankfully we didn't have to do push-ups while holding twenty desk-tops on our backs or any bootcamp like business in that sense (*thank heavens, the most I can push up is probably an embarrassing eighteen desktops which just wouldn't have made the cut. ) But yes having looked at all these media tools I couldn't help but think, gee wizz the internet makes it easy to stalk.

The most obvious example of this is the fact that you're reading my thoughts right now. This is basically an online diary which I'm inviting you to read. Why am I doing that? Well its for a class project, otherwise I don't think I would. Its just a bit odd to me. I've read the funny oneliner  'Man Anne Frank would be pissed if she knew everyone read her diary' and I quite think theres a point there. Hell if I was Anne Frank I'd be pissed. I'd also be pissed at the living in an annex, being brutalized, enslaved and eventually murdered by the Nazi's, having only one boy my age around to throw eyes at and all that jazz, but hey the diary part is quite annoying too.

See the internet is a place where you can create a name for yourself or not. It's made great stars out of some people but its also a place where you can be put without your knowing. About 10 months ago or so my friend Sean stumbled upon something that he found curious. It was a video of two girls working in an icecream shop dancing to the music as they closed up. Not the most curious of videos you would think except Sean, knowing that icecream shop all too well and instantly recognizing one of the dancers as one of his oldest (and I'm going to be cocky here and say dearest) friends. Thats right, I was in the video. So there I was dancing away on youtube unbeknown to myself. Currently resting at 269 views, to which 20 or so I can attribute to Sean and I,  means 249 people have sat in what I can only assume was their underwear on a Sunday night watching my pathetic attempt of dancing. See the internet is creepy. Granted people in the outside world are creepy too. In particular those people who stood across the road from Murphy's Icecream that night recording Sandra and I dance. Yes they are also creepy.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XITK9ip-guw&feature=related

Then there are things like tweeting and that malawrky. I am going to be brash here and just say it; I don't like Twitter. Hopefully a giant bright blue 2D bird doesn't come and attack me before I finish this post now but yes. It's not for me. Have you read about the couple who as they were about to have their marriage confirmed at the alter, paused for a moment for the husband to tweet it. I'm telling you that husband would be seeing a lot of lonely nights and a sudden increase in the strength of his right hand if he was to even consider doing that on my wedding day. What was he thinking!?!! Really?

Then there's Facebook. Oh Facebook you are to creeping what water is to the sea. You really are the icing on the cake in the land of the creeps. Facebook, while great for all it's social networking attributes, can be at times just that step away from lurking outside someones bushes with camouflage makeup and a pair of binoculars. I feel so strongly about Facebook stalking that I believe it should be saved for another day but lets just say this. People put alot of their lives up on Facebook and can choose who they share these glimpses of their lives with. But do they choose who those 'friends' of theres share it with. I'm not a fan of Facebook stalking and never have been. If a friend was away on holidays its likely I'm not going to know what country they were in regardless of their constant status updates...
 'Got my tickets to Turkey...'
 'On the way to the airport can't wait for Turkey'.
 'OMG Turkey is soooooooooooo nice. Everyone should come here.'
 'Overdid it on Turkish food. Such a great Holiday.'
 'I miss Turkey soooooo much.'
' This time last week I was in a pool in Turkey :'( '
 'Hey everyone pictures of Turkey are finally up, LOLZ'

...which means it's pretty much guaranteed I am not going to look at said photos of...where did she go again? (*Now I'm not saying I don't use Facebook and have a poke around, I do. I love it. In fact I'm on it right now. It's just I don't care to creep all that much....maybe if someone says 'Have you seen X's tattoo of a rainbow on his forehead, its his new profile picture' then yes I will go look at my friend X..who I will forever more call Skittles and try to lick his forehead to 'taste the rainbow' but that aside I don't facebook stalk). Now that that is said the point I am making is people do stalk and I have partaken in stalking activity which has made me all the more aware of this. A friend of mine who's name I shall leave out for privacy reasons (you know who you are) is ridiculous for stalking. Every minute of every day is spent clicking through a baking conventions' dozen of photos of that person they barely know. (Which means she probably doesn't know who she is as she probably won't navigate away from Facebook long enough to read this) It wasn't until one night when I was shown a photo of someone so that I could place a face with the name was I a member of a 'creeping session'. Basically what started as one look resulted in looking through every single photo of this unsuspecting chap. This was all fine, albeit a little weird, until I met mister unsuspecting chap on campus. The thing was I never met this lad in my life, we were to one another what should be perfect strangers.....except we weren't. Thanks to the openness of the internet, this girl walking past him to whom he didn't acknowledge knew his name, age, what course he did, how he knew her friend, where he went on his J1, what instrument he played, where him and his friends went out in Cork, what apt blocked he lived in...basically everything about him. This freaks me out a little as I walk through campus thinking I might take a leaflet of someone to who should be a stranger when she in fact knows everything about me.......and thats just plain creepy.

Yes the internet is a very strange place full of very strange people. That said, if you're one of those strange people, heck you're in for a treat. Enjoy creeps. Stalk us proud!!!!