Not too many authors would admit that their new book was inspired by dog droppings.
Lancaster native
Daniel J. Solove is upfront about it.
In Chapter 1 of
"The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet," the George Washington University Law School professor explains how he became fascinated by a blog featuring a young, subway-riding South Korean woman who rudely refused to clean up her dog's droppings.
A fellow passenger snapped a photo of her with his cell phone, posted it and soon "gae-ttong nyue (dog s--- girl)" became the object of shame and ridicule worldwide by a type of cyber lynch mob. She was easily identified in her community, she and her family were harassed, and eventually she left her university.
From this humble incident sprang Solove's fascinating 247-page look at how the World Wide Web is being used to enforce social norms and in some cases warn others of those who would deceive, manipulate or otherwise take advantage of them. But he also shows how Web postings can ruin reputations with false assertions, mean-spirited remarks and disregard for personal privacy.
Solove, an authority on information privacy law, has filled his book with outrageous examples that will engage the reader. These are not just middle-schoolers calling one another "Fatty" or "Dogbreath."
The Washingtonienne, a senatorial staffer and blogger, revealed her multiple lovers' bedroom quirks. The Phantom Professor insulted both the intellects and the physical characteristics of both her students and colleagues on the faculty at Southern Methodist University. All of their targets were easily identifiable to those in the government office and on the college campus.
"Unfortunately, the law currently immunizes people for comments on their blogs, even when they know about the harmfulness of the information and ignore pleas to do anything about it," he writes.
Even when someone behaves badly, Solove questions whether that behavior should be attached to the person permanently, thwarting attempts to secure a job, a mate or even a good table at a restaurant. (A Web site called BitterWaitress is used to shame lousy tippers.)
There's no effective way to erase electronic information once it's posted and often copied by millions of other people, Solove notes.
"The Internet is bringing back the scarlet letter in digital form — an indelible record of people's past misdeeds," Solove writes, referring to Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," in which an adulterous woman was forced to wear a large letter 'A' representing her sin
In considering such questions of reputation, privacy and free speech, Solove draws on experts in sociology, psychology and law for perspective, and the book includes about 30 pages of endnotes.
In his conclusion, he calls not for "direct restrictions on Internet expression," but for improvements in privacy laws and encouragement of informal attempts to resolve disputes with lawsuits used only in egregious cases. He suggests social Web sites build in ways to restrict access of a profile and resolve disputes. (Many people are doing damage to their own reputations by posting the disgusting details of their lives; this might help them control their exhibitionist impulses somewhat.)
Solove also wrote "The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age" and co-authored the textbook "Information Privacy Law," now in its second edition.
The Washington University and Yale Law School graduate is an associate professor at George Washington University School of Law. He graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1990.
More information is available on the book, the author and his general topic at
http://futureofreputation.com;
http://danielsolove.com; and
http://concurringopinions.com The author will discuss and sign his book at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at Borders Book Shop, 940 Plaza Blvd. Published by Yale University Press, the book is listed at $24.
Jo-Ann Greene is editor of the Books section. Her email address is jgreene@lnpnews.com.
