Using The Internet For Revenge

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but in this day and age of the Internet, it’s all too easy to seek vengeance online when you’re blazing mad.

On the 'net, revenge is just a keystroke away (illustration: Boris Kulikov/Wall Street Journal)

In today’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Elizabeth Bernstein takes a look at examples of webtribution. Among the stories – a wife who outed her cheating husband on his Facebook page…and one from yours truly about a nasty exchange with an ex following my blog post about his engagement.

As I told Elizabeth, the episode taught me to think twice before lashing out online, no matter how irresistible it might be.

Have you ever used the ‘net to exact revenge against someone? You can read the full WSJ story here – hopefully without being tempted to recreate the same scenarios.

By The Numbers: Facebook Edition

Like Google, Facebook has become a ubiquitous presence in my daily life – and not just because I’m mildly obsessed with pithy status updates.

As millions around the world have discovered, the social networking site is a great resource for connecting and reconnecting with people from your past and present.

In the eight months since joining the Facebook universe, I’ve inevitably encountered a few ghosts from my eventful love life. Here’s how they all add up -- By The Numbers:

Number of old flames I’m Facebook friends with: 5
Number of exes whose friend request I ignored: 1
Number of (now married) stalkers from high school who’ve emailed and IM’ed me: 1
Number of old flames whose profiles indicate they’re now gay: 2
Number of potential new flames with whom I’m in Facebook limbo: 1

That potential new flame would be Seth, a teacher colleague of my cousin’s who’s been emailing me through Facebook almost daily for two weeks now.

Though the site makes it easy to keep friend-ly exes at a distance, graduating to non-Facebook forms of communications can be a challenge. And of the many things that can be revealed through email, physical chemistry most definitely isn’t one of them.

Up next..recessionary pampering and this week’s charitable social outing.