Anyone who has seen “The Situation” on TV knows that the young man’s greatest assets are his six-pack abs. He’s proud of them, as well he should be, and he has used them repeatedly to garner endorsement deals and a variety of other lucrative moneymaking ventures.

In his latest video blog, ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik explains how doctors, lawyers, and other professionals can learn from “The Situation” and show off their number one asset online as part of a powerful personal brand.

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In today’s Quick Hits, we discuss law enforcement and social media, follow up on the case of the Facebook-addicted juror, and look at a case of stalking on Facebook (and why Facebook isn’t helping to stop it.)

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Cops Don’t Know How To Use Twitter

A new study by the Canadian Association of Police on Social Media reveals that many law enforcement agencies and individual law enforcement officers do not understand the proper way to use social media. According to the report, “21 percent don’t tweet, nine percent tweet personal opinions about crime or criminal justice, and three percent have tweeted in a way that could be interpreted as racist or sexist.” This information demonstrates how vitally important online reputation management is to law enforcement agencies and why they need to adopt and effectively implement intelligent social media policies.

Juror Punished for Facebook Message About Trial

A Michigan woman who was removed from a jury after defense attorneys showed the judge that she had publicly commented on the trial on her Facebook profile has been fined $250 and assigned a five-page essay on the sixth amendment by the trial judge. The woman had written that it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re GUILTY” on her Facebook page before the trial was fully finished. For her part, the woman recognizes her mistake and her attorney said the outcome was “appropriate.”

Can You Break Up With Your Facebook Friends?

In her “social netiquette” column, Bridget Carey explains why it’s important to occasionally go through your Facebook friends and delete the individuals you don’t know or don’t have any significant contact with. Carey also suggests a way to spare hurt feelings if you’re thinking of deleting someone you know in real life, but don’t interact with often. Using Facebook’s privacy controls, you can move people you don’t talk to, but don’t want to delete, into a separate group set-up to limit the amount of profile information they can see.

Mother of Three Stalked Online, Facebook Won’t Intervene

The Sydney Morning Herald has the story of a mother of three who has been the victim of a vicious Facebook stalker. For the last two weeks, the stalker has harassed the woman and her children with obscene and violent language and pornographic images. The incident began when the stalker hacked into the daughter’s Facebook account and began soliciting information about the family’s home address.

The mother of three says she contacted Facebook about the harassment and they informed her that they would shut down the account. Two hours later however, Facebook said they would be unable to follow through with her request. The woman has since filed a report with the police and an investigation into the harassment is ongoing.

Twitter Announces Plans to Log All Links Clicked by Users

Twitter has announced the roll-out of a singular URL shortening device, “t.co.” This long-expected development will allow Twitter to detect malicious links more effectively and generally improve security on the site. It will also allow Twitter to track and record all links clicked by Twitter users and store that information for future internal data mining. This latter development has made some privacy advocates nervous, but as CNET’s Declan McCullagh points out, there are several simple steps Twitter can take to alleviate these concerns.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about “Bieber fever” (and its potentially dangerous side effects) as well as Google’s potential face-off with Facebook over social search technology.

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Cyberbullying, Justin Bieber, and One Ruined Reputation

Cyberbullying is a major problem for kids and teens across the United States. When you throw in the rabidness of Justin Bieber fans, the problem jumps to a whole new level. Meghan Casserly at Forbes details the story of Sydney Dalton, a teen who set the Bieber world on fire when she went on YouTube to say she was “over” the singing sensation and tore up several of his posters. Dalton, who was previously a big-time Bieber fan and well-recognized member of the fan community, immediately began receiving angry comments from Bieber fans across the world calling her a variety of names and threatening violence. The drama has died down somewhat, but the real problem is that Dalton must now face the fact that her name and reputation is attached to a massive fight over a teen singer.

Google Makes Blog Search Improvement

Google is constantly making little improvements to its search engine that don’t get a ton of press, but are still very important. For example, Read Write Web noticed a minor announcement from Google that actually is a major improvement to the company’s blog search. Previously, Google’s blog search hasn’t done the best job of showcasing the best or most authoritative blogs on any given topic. Now, with this improvement, Google is able to sort blogs by topic much more clearly, giving the company another strong tool in its search arsenal.

Facebook Offers Facebook Credit Gift Cards in Target Stores

Facebook has extended its tentacles beyond the confines of the web and into the physical world. In an announcement today, Facebook said that it will begin selling Facebook Credits gift cards in Target stores across the country. Coming in $15, $25, and $50 denominations, the cards allow the customer to purchase a wide variety of virtual goods on Facebook, including popular games such as Farmville. Facebook isn’t the only company that has been reaching outside of the world of social media. Google is also toying with selling credits in the “real world.”

Facebook Holds Potentially Important Search Patent

Google has been focused on making “social search” a reality for some time now, and the company has taken several important steps forward in that regard. With the eventual launch of Google Me, the company’s much-anticipated social networking website, Google could finally put all the pieces together for a true social search experience. Before that can happen, however, they may have to deal with Facebook, or, more specifically, a patent Facebook holds giving the company a unique claim to social search technology.

In today’s Quick Hits, we touch on NCAA social media policies, why the anti-Facebook might not take off, and why 1981 might be a cut-off for privacy expectations.

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University of North Carolina Develops Tough Social Media Policy

The University of North Carolina athletic department has implemented a strict new social media policy to prevent players from ruining their reputations and embarrassing their school online. According to ESPN, the UNC rule stipulates that “each team must identify at least one coach or administrator who is responsible for having access to and regularly monitor the content of team members’ social networking sites and postings.”

Op-Ed: Why Diaspora is Doomed

This op-ed from The Telegraph explains why Diaspora, the so-called anti-Facebook, might be doomed to failure. According to the author, despite Diaspora’s improved focus on privacy, there simply aren’t enough reasons for users to join another social networking site when they are already occupied with Facebook, Twitter, and other online endeavors. Quoting from the article, “There are already too many networks and services fighting for our attention. (Am I really going to log in to yet another social network to upload the photos I don’t want to share on Facebook?) And this fancy new architecture simply doesn’t matter to most people.”

Twitter Begins Using OAuth for Third-Party Authentication

Today, Twitter began using OAuth instead of basic authentication for third-party applications. Twitter’s switch to OAuth will hopefully allow for a more secure user experience and prevent users from getting tripped up by spammy third-party Twitter applications. There is a catch though. With OAuth, third-party applications will not be asking you for your password but that still doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise caution about which applications you approve. Always remember that once you approve a third-party app, you give it total control over your Twitter account.

Teens Log Off from Facebook Because of Parents

This article from CBS News touches on the growing trend of parents following their children on Facebook. Rather than framing this as a good thing that could help parents remain involved in their kids lives, the focus of the article is on how college-aged Facebook users are rejecting their parents and, by default, rejecting Facebook because of the perceived “intrusion” into their lives.

Loopt CEO Says Privacy Expectations Change For People Born After 1981

In a recent article for the New York Times, Loopt CEO Sam Altman said that “the magic age…where we see a big change in privacy settings and user acceptance” is people born in 1981. According to Altman, the difference in user acceptance between those born before 1981 and those born after 1981 explains why the location-based social networking services haven’t taken off to the same extent as other social media technologies.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about why you shouldn’t use Facebook while you’re in a jury, how geo-location services could be the next big thing, and what a free market economist thinks of privacy regulations.

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Juror Removed from Trial Over Facebook Post

A Detroit-area judge removed a juror from a trial after defense attorneys pointed out a comment on the woman’s Facebook wall claiming that the defendant was guilty before the end of the trial. The woman wrote that it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re guilty.” The offending remark was discovered by the defense attorney’s son who works in his mother’s law office. He was doing Google searches for the members of the jury pool. It is possible that the juror may be found guilty of contempt of court for her actions.

Facebook Tied to Narcissism in Small Psychological Study

Mashable recently reported the results of a small survey of 100 college students, which showed that “young people with narcissistic personality traits were shown to exhibit Facebook activity that was distinctly more self-promotional.” The study specifically cited “About Me” sections that referred to the individual’s intelligence and photos that “were more about displaying the user’s physical attractiveness than about capturing memories with friends.” Given the subjectiveness of these qualifications, it would be a stretch to say that Facebook is for narcissists, but there are some interesting correlations.

Services Help People Disconnect from Social Media

If social media has taught us anything, it’s that people like being connected. But not everyone wants to be connected 24/7. That’s why a number of services have popped up in recent months that allow social media users to mute, block, or manage their Twitter followers and Facebook friends. This article from the Washington Post highlights some of the most popular of these services.

Geo-Location Services Still Await Wide Adoption

With the emergence of Facebook Places, geo-location services looks like they’re set to become the next big thing in social networking. They’re not there yet though. According to Forrester Research, “4 percent of Americans have tried location-based services, and 1 percent use them weekly.” This article from the New York Times discusses some of the obstacles faced by geo-location services, chief among them being the issue of privacy.

Paul Rubin: Ten Fallacies About Web Privacy

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Paul Rubin, an Economics professor from Emory University, discusses “Ten Fallacies About Web Privacy.” Rubin approaches the subject from a free market perspective, arguing that overly stringent privacy regulations are a detriment to the economy and hurt consumers. It is an argument that we have heard before, and we don’t entirely agree with, but Rubin argues his points well and the op-ed is definitely worth reading.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about the “Anti-Facebook,” how Google is ready to monetize real-time search, and Apple’s creepy predictions for future iPhone technology.

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Diaspora to Launch on September 15th

The founders of Diaspora, or the so-called “Anti-Facebook,” have set September 15th as the launch date for their new social networking website. Diaspora was started by four New York University students in response to anger and unrest over Facebook perceived privacy problems. According to Wired, the Diaspora project aims to “create a social network that puts users in charge of their own data” The founders themselves describe Diaspora as a “privacy-aware, personally controlled, do-it-all, open source social network.” Whether or not Diaspora can make any kind of dent into Facebook’s massive userbase remains to be seen, but it certainly demonstrates that privacy is not an afterthought when it comes to social media.

Google Expands Real-Time Search

Google has expanded its real-time search capabilities yet again. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google has developed a new service called Google Realtime Search, which “can be used separately from the company’s main search engine to help people find the latest Web conversations on regional and global hot topics.” Google, along with rival search engine Microsoft Bing, has been investing heavily into real-time search throughout the past year, striking search deals with both Twitter and Facebook. Google Realtime Search will make it easier for Google to place ads in real-time search content.

Major Increase in 50 and Up Social Media Users

According to new research from the Pew Research Center, “between April 2009 and May, the percentage of internet users 50 and up who said they use social-networking sites has risen from 22 percent to 42 percent.” This increase is significantly higher than the comparable increase for the 18-29 year old demographic (a mere 13%). With an increased influx in older users, including parents and grandparents, many younger social media users have had to learn how to manage their digital identities more scrupulously.

Apple’s Disturbingly Orwellian Patent Applications

Apple is known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to consumer technologies, but are their latest patent applications predicting a far too Orwellian future? This column from Evan Schuman at CBS News discusses Apple’s recent patent applications, which discuss, among other things, the iPhone’s ability to “use a consumer’s heart rhythms to not only confirm that person’s identity but analyze vibrations to determine the kind of transportation that person is likely using.”

Another patent application talks about automatically using the camera to “take a plurality of photographs of the surroundings of the electronic device” in order to “identify distinguishing landmarks in the photographs and determine the location of each photograph based on the identified distinguishing landmarks.” Even creepier, “The photograph can be taken without a flash, any noise or any indication that a picture is being taken to prevent the current user from knowing he is being photographed.” Hopefully, by the time Apple’s technology actually evolves to this complexity, consumer privacy laws will be strong enough to protect users.

In today’s Quick Hits, we learn what privacy harm means, how Paris police feel about Google Street View, and the meaning behind the heavily encoded texting language of teens.

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Free iPad Scams Hit Facebook and Twitter

Twitter and Facebook have both become inundated in recent weeks by scammers promising free iPads to users. Once a scammer gains access to a user’s social media account, they send out messages to user’s friends containing a link to better-gifts.net. According to Reuters, “that Web site asks for personal information, and then directs the user to a variety of promotional offers from legitimate companies such as Netfilx, the Doubleday Book Club, and Columbia House DVD.Online marketing programs pay cash for Web traffic, and hackers have found that by phishing victims and then using that information to break into legitimate Twitter and Facebook accounts, they can earn money.”

NYT Tech Talk Podcast: Fighting Over the Facebook Movie

In this week’s New York Times Tech Talk Podcast, part of the show focuses on The Social Network, the allegedly fictionalized upcoming movie about Mark Zuckerberg and the origins of Facebook. The show specifically touches on Facebook’s vehement disagreements with the producers of the film over its subject matter and curious interpretation of Facebook’s early history.

Internet Expert Ryan Calo Explains “Privacy Harm”

In a Q&A for the Wall Street Journal, Ryan Calo, senior research fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University Law School, attempts to define “Privacy Harm,” or what constitutes a harmful invasion of privacy versus something that is merely distasteful. In his thoughtful responses, Calo mentions subjective privacy harm versus objective privacy harm and the difference between a “privacy violation” and a “privacy harm.”

Google Street View Car Stopped and Searched in France

Google is operating Street View cars in France again, but not without a healthy bit of scrutiny. From BusinessWeek: “A car used by Google Inc. to collect data for its Street View mapping service was stopped and searched yesterday near Paris, less than a week after France’s privacy regulator criticized the company.The inspection was a result of Google resuming photographing French streets before officials decided whether the company complied with orders to limit Street View’s data collection, said Yann Padova, secretary general of the National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties.”

Understanding Teen Texting

Kids and teens go to great lengths to hide their digital conversations from their parents. This article from CNN discusses some of the common Internet lingo that teens use when texting or chatting with friends and offers a handful of resources for parents to learn more about this ever-evolving and complex shorthand web language.

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In today’s Quick Hits, we look at two interesting pieces of data from recent social media research, ponder the privacy of Facebook Places, and discuss why Germany’s anti-web screening legislation probably won’t do much good even if it is passed.

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Over Half of Teens Online Don’t Know Their Facebook Friends

An AOL/Nielsen report reveals that 54 percent of kids online don’t personally know all of the friends they accept into their social networks. The fact that more than half of kids are willing to reveal important and intimate details of their lives to strangers is a disturbing finding and underscores the importance of proactive online reputation management for kids and teens.

Kids Retaliate Against Intrusive Parents Online

The AOL/Nielsen report also showed that 76% of parents with kids on Facebook have “friended” their teens online. Predictably, this has led to frustration from teens who feel that parents are intruding into their private lives. This article from the Los Angeles Times details one website, MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com, which serves as a repository of the annoying and embarrassing things some parents do on Facebook.

CBS Early Show Discusses Geo-Location Tagging and Social Networking

This morning on the CBS Early Show, the topic of Facebook Places and location-based social networking was discussed. The conversation quickly turned toward safety and whether it’s a good idea to share your precise location with your network when you’re out. Tech expert Katie Linendoll wisely observed that, “If I say that I’m on vacation in Los Angeles for a week, that also says my place is completely empty for a week. If you have somebody kind of semi-cyber-stalking you or somebody upset with you, you say you’re gonna be at the mall — not always a good idea.”

Student Boasts on Facebook About Spying on Teachers, Earns Fine

Students have always been curious about what their teachers say outside of the classroom, but no one has taken spying to an extreme like these two girls from Sweden. According to a report, the two teens planted bugging equipment in their school’s teacher’s lounge to overhear private conversations. The pair likely would have gotten away with their crime if not for another technological advancement: Facebook. When one teen bragged about their successful spying online, the pair were caught, taken to court, and fined approximately $270 each.

Germany’s Proposed Anti-Screening Law is a “Toothless Tiger”

The Sydney Morning Herald explores Germany’s proposed legislation that would ban companies from using the Internet to screen candidates before making a hiring decision. The article cites an Australian HR expert who claims that everyone uses social media to scope out applicants and that if the German law passed it would be a “toothless tiger” – impossible to regulate and enforce.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about cyberbullying prevention, a Foursquare founder’s thoughts on Facebook Places, and why a newly proposed German privacy law will be impossible to enforce.

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Eric Zorn: Teens Must Learn to be Their Own Internet Monitors

In a column for the Chicago Tribune, Eric Zorn offers parenting advice about monitoring the Internet. In addition to his advice, however, Zorn also remarks that, with so much access, “even moderately clever teens can outwit parents bent on surveillance.” To this end, Zorn writes that “teens must learn to be their own Internet monitors” and understand the importance of practicing strong and proactive online reputation management.

Foursquare Co-Founder Calls Facebook Places “Boring”

With Facebook Places set to take over the world of location-based social networking, competitors are beginning to speak out. In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley said, ““I have now had a chance to play around with Facebook Places and it’s not that great or interesting. It’s a pretty boring service, with barely any incentives for users to keep coming back and telling their friends where they are.” If even a fraction of Facebook’s more than 500 million users try out Facebook Places, it will be a major blow to other geo-location social media services.

AOL Launches Paid Child Safety Service

AOL recently launched a new child safety service called Safe Social. Safe Social employs monitoring technology to alert parents about a child’s actions online. The effort is AOL’s first branded paid consumer service in years. According to TechCrunch, AOL is licensing technology from the company SocialShield in order to offer Safe Social to customers.

Can Schools Search Cell Phones to Stop Cyberbullying?

How far should schools be allowed to go in their efforts to fight cyberbullying? That’s the question at hand in Oak Harbor, Washington where a new anti-bullying plan would give school administrators the ability to search through students’ cellphones if they are suspected of using them to “harass others through e-mails, text messages or photos.” Administrators compare searching a cell phone to searching a school locker, but some parents believe the plan goes too far.

Germany Proposes Law that Prohibits Cybersnooping

What if hiring managers were legally prohibited from using the Internet to screen candidates? That may soon happen in Germany where “Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has drafted a new law on data privacy that, among other things, will clamp down on the information companies can legally collect on employees from social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.” Germany is one of the most privacy-conscious countries in the world, but it seems that this law would be next to impossible to enforce.