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New Media News Break: Cyberbullying, the Olympics on Foursquare, and More

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Every week, we post a New Media News Break to help catch you up with what’s going on in the world of new media and get you through the work week. Here are this week’s top stories:

New York Lawmakers Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying

In New York, state lawmakers want to put an end to cyberbullying by making it harder to stay anonymous online. According to a report by Mashable, “Anonymous web users would then have but a single recourse to save their posts if such a compliant is lodged against them: unmask completely by revealing their name and going through an identification process.” If the user refuses to comply, webmasters must remove the post. While this law could definitely help with the huge cyberbullying problem online, it also poses some questions about free speech. The Electronic Frontier Foundation says this proposed bill is unconstitutional, citing the fact that the right to speak anonymously has been upheld since the founding of the United States. What do you think?

Student Suspended for Fake Suicide Video

In another story related to cyberbullying and online rights, 15-year-old Long Island teen Jessica Barba has been suspended from school after a posting suicide notices on Facebook. The teen did so under a fake account as part of a project to raise awareness about cyberbullying issues, which was actually part of a school assignment. Even though Jessica and her parents say there was plenty to indicate the video was fake, one parent didn’t realize this and called the school. Whether or not you think the project was right to post on YouTube, do you think that schools should have the right to suspend or otherwise punish students for content they create online?

The Olympics Come to FourSquare

In an interesting marketing move, the Olympics have taken to FourSquare. Not only are they encouraging users to check into London sites, but they’re also hoping FourSquare-ers will check into historical Olympics sites, helping to create a buzz about the London games. Users who do so at least twice will get a badge and be entered for a chance to win a trip to the London games.

What do you think of the Olympics embracing FourSquare, in light of the recent move to closely control what athletes are allowed to say via social media?

Facebook and Morgan Sued Over Pre-IPO Forecasts

In a move that surprises…well, no one…Facebook shareholders are already suing the company, lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, and others. Within three days of trading, Facebook shares dropped 18.4 percent from their $38 IPO price. Shareholders claim that the social network and bank within reports that forecasted a weak growth outlook for Facebook shares in the future. Defendants include Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. According to reports by Reuters, the lawsuit also claims that “underwriters disclosed the lowered forecasts to ‘preferred’ investors only, instead of all investors.”

In Case You Missed It

Here’s what you might have missed on the BlogWorld blog in the past week:

Awesome from the Archives

There are some golden posts in the post hidden in the BlogWorld archives. Here are three of my favorites that I think you should check out:

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