Here is the latest Internet prescription to cure your socially networked ills! "Google yourself at least once a week," says strategic communications guru Richard Levick in a Wall Street Journal piece that has some more philosophizing about the new, high-speed brand of mean. (Sample sentence: "Drive over to Wal-Mart for a gallon of milk and you may end up on PeopleofWalmart.com.") Given that Google is currently tweaking its results pages to be even more up-to-the-minute with its data, checking out your cyber-breadcrumb trail might not be at least as not-bad of an idea as, I don't know, not putting stuff on the Internet that you don't want [...]

In the end, I guess it's just so easy, and that's the whole problem.

It certainly was easy this past weekend. Sometime after a breakfast, but before a birthday picnic, I sat in my buddy's apartment as he checked in with Facebook. "Oh, I guess people are getting their iPads today," he said. Sure, I knew that people were waking up early and getting their long-awaited iPads, even camping out. (The only thing I've ever camped out for were Sting tickets, after his first and greatest solo album, so I sort of understand, but actually don't.) Anyway, he shows me a picture of what seems to be a nice [...]