In today’s Quick Hits, we explore some new research on social networking habits, ponder changes to COPPA, and discuss what Google may have in store with its Facebook competitor.

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Facebook’s New Member Numbers Dive in June

Inside Facebook has some very interesting data that shows Facebook’s recent privacy slip-ups may have actually cost the website new users. According to the research, the number of US Facebook users climbed by only 320,800 in June, whereas it grew by 7.8 million users in May. Inside Facebook concedes that the big drop-off may be an anomaly, but they also note that the age groups that saw the biggest drops would be among those most aware of media coverage of Facebook’s privacy problems.

Facebook Movie Won’t be Advertised on Facebook

Speaking of Facebook problems, Mark Zuckerberg has a big one coming up in the form of the movie “The Social Network” a dramatized version of Facebook’s inception. Many pundits who have read the script believe the movie could draw further negative attention toward Facebook, even if it little of the plot is true. At least Zuck doesn’t have to worry about people promoting the movie on his own website, though. According to Sony SVP Steve Elzer, “Facebook’s advertising guidelines don’t allow ads to reference the company unless Facebook has cooperated with the object of the ad,” and I doubt Facebook will cooperate.

New Research Shows Contradictions in Facebook Use Among Young Women

New research from Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research reveals a number of interesting facts about the way young women use social networking websites. According to the study, 53 percent of young women post details of their personal problems on Facebook, while a seemingly contradictory 54 percent of women aged 18 to 24 don’t trust Facebook with their information. An even more telling and contradictory finding is that “some 42 percent of women aged 18 to 34 seem to think it’s just fine to post pictures of themselves in a state of ‘visible intoxication’, but 63 percent use Facebook for networking and their careers.”

The research is interesting because it reveals how social network users are still figuring out exactly what is and is not appropriate to share on the web even after more than six years of being online.

The Benefits of Social Networking for Doctors

An article in USA Today weighs the merits of doctors joining social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter for personal branding and patient outreach. One doctor, Kevin Pho who runs the popular website KevinMD.com makes the point that “doctors who are not active online risk being marginalized.”

Google Social Media Presentation Explores the Problem with “Friends”

Since the rumor broke that Google is planning to create its own social network “Google Me,” tech writers have been looking everywhere for information on how Google plans to outdo Facebook. This article from the Wall Street Journal Digits blog discusses a recent social networking presentation from Google that is making the rounds online. The presentation focused on how social networking users rarely have hundreds of personal friends, but rather groups of friends and then acquaintances. Google claims the presentation isn’t a roadmap for things to come, only an analysis of current social media trends.

FTC Weighs Changes to COPPA

The Federal Trade Commission is currently taking a new look at the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and has extended the deadline for public comments on the law through July 12th. COPPA was last examined in 2005, but has not changed since it was passed in 1998. With the growth of social networking and other major Internet developments, however, it seems like the perfect time to make sure the law fits with the times.

UK Information Commissioner Releases Code of Practice for Data Collection

In the UK, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has released a code of practice for Internet companies seeking to collect user data online. Graham released the code as an e-book through the Information Commissioner’s Office. The e-book “outlines advice for businesses, departments, and charities who collect information that can identify an individual.”

In today’s Quick Hits, we discuss cyberbullying, Google’s plans for a new social networking website, and data privacy laws in the UK.

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Suspicious Facebook App Gains 300,000 Fans

A suspicious Facebook application has already picked up 300,000 fans. While nothing has happened yet, security analysts fear that the initial userbase could be used to launch a major spam campaign on Facebook. This PC World article explains the app.

“The application, called “I will NEVER text again,” lures Facebook users by offering a video, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security vendor Sophos. When someone clicks on a link advertising the application, the application asks for permission to access their basic information and post to their Wall.”

Google Needs to Think About the Look of its New Social Network

In his Technically Incorrect blog for CNET, Chris Matyszczyk discusses Google’s rumored social networking project, Google Me, and why he thinks Google will have to change the way it thinks about design if it’s going to succeed. Offering the opinion that Google is better at complex engineering challenges than designing things that are intuitive and pleasing to the eye (i.e. function over form AND function), Matyszczyk writes,

“Perhaps the greatest conundrum for the designers of any new social network from Google is that, in order for it to seem more alluring, it should look less like something that comes from Google. Not that it should look like Facebook, but it should certainly offer a design sense that, the minute people set eyes on it, makes them want to come inside, sit down and feel at ease.”

UK Asks Citizens for Feedback on Data Privacy Laws

The UK government wants to take a second look at data privacy laws, and they want UK citizens to help. In a column for the Guardian, Tom McNally, the current head of the Liberal Democrats in the UK’s coalition government, appealed to citizens to review the current European Union laws (1995′s Data Protection Directive and 1998′s Data Protection Act) and offer feedback so that the UK will be prepared to negotiate when the laws are rewritten in early 2011. Whether the government will get the kind of feedback it wants is impossible to know, but the idea of appealing directly to citizens for input is well-founded.

Should Schools Be Allowed to Search Student Cell Phones?

As part of a recent New York Times article on cyberbullying, Elizabeth K. Englander, a professor of psychology and the founder and director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College, agreed to answer reader questions about the subject in Tara-Parker Pope’s “Well Blog.” The questions are all interesting, but this one in particular is worth noting.

A parent asked if schools should have the right to search a child’s cell phone, or if it violates a student’s constitutional rights. Englander’s answer does not address the specific legal question, but it is still a thoughtful response that balances the needs of school officials to keep kids safe with the rights of students to retain privacy.

Parents, Teachers, and Psychologists React to New York Times Cyberbullying Article

The Times’ cyberbullying article also set-off a flurry of responses in the Letters to the Editor section of the paper. The responses, which come from parents as well as psychologists and other mental health professionals, offer a range of opinions, but are typically unified in the view that cyberbullying is a genuine problem that warrants immediate attention from schools and parents.

Cyberbullying Study Reveals Insight Into Cyberbullies and Cyberbullying Victims

In a last bit of cyberbullying news, a recent Finnish study that will appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry revealed that both cyberbullying victims and cyberbullies have issues outside of their school lives that may contribute to their problems.

From the Health Day Article:

“Teens who were victims of cyberbullying were more likely to come from broken homes and have emotional, concentration and behavior problems. These teens also found it harder to get along with others. In addition, they were prone to headaches, abdominal pain, sleeping problems and not feeling safe at school, the researchers found.

Cyberbullies were not without their own problems, however. Compared to teens who didn’t engage in such behaviors, they were also more prone to suffering from emotional, concentration and behavior problems. In addition, they had trouble getting along with others and often suffered from hyperactivity and conduct problems. Cyberbullies also frequently smoked or got drunk, reported headaches, and were more prone to not feeling safe at school, the study found.”

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about the importance of manners both online and offline, Google’s latest bout with China, and debate whether a 10-year-old Internet law needs to be updated.

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Zynga CEO Says He Always Wanted to be a Farmer

The CEO of Zynga says he created the popular Facebook game FarmVille because he always dreamed of having a farm growing up. It’s more likely that he made FarmVille because he dreamed of being a billionaire, but that’s just conjecture.

Socialsklz:-) Offers Kids and Teens Lessons on Internet Manners

Bad manners in real life and online can make it difficult for students to find internships or be taken seriously by teachers. That’s why Faye Rogaski started Socialsklz:-), an interactive class that teaches kids and teens from the ages of four and up how to meet and greet people in person, over the phone, and online. Rogaski also offers classes for adults focused on personal branding online. It’s an interesting concept and one which reflects the importance of maintaining a responsible online reputation in the digital age.

China Threatens Google Over Censorship Issue

The Google vs. China saga has taken a new twist. Several months ago Google refused to continue censoring content on its search engine on behalf of the Chinese government. Yesterday, the company was told by Chinese officials that it would not renew Google’s license as an Internet content provider if it maintained its current policy of redirecting Chinese Internet users to the Google Hong Kong landing page.

Google’s ultimate decision will say a lot about the company. The company has never had a strong foothold among Chinese users in the first place, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy for Google to walk away from the world’s largest Internet market.

Groups File Appeal with FTC to Update Child Privacy Protection Law

A coalition of 17 privacy and child safety groups recently appealed to the Federal Trade Commission to strengthen the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to reflect the realities of the modern Internet. COPPA was originally passed in 1998 and implemented into law in 2000. Since that time, the explosion of social media has greatly changed the way kids and teens interact online. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Consumer Federation of America, the Consumers Union, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and the World Privacy Forum are some of the groups that filed the appeal.

Facebook Rolls Out Facial Recognition Photo Tagging Feature

Facebook began speeding up testing of its facial recognition technology for tagging photos. According to InformationWeek, the new system will speed up the process of tagging photos by using facial recognition to guess at an individual’s identity and then ask the user to confirm it by entering their friend’s name. Facebook’s new face-detection feature is not available to all users yet.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about cyberbullying, the appeal of location-based social networking, and what TMI means in the digital age.

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Cyberbullying is a Problem Many Schools Don’t Know How to Handle

Yesterday, Jan Hoffman wrote an incisive and sprawling article on cyberbullying for the New York Times. The article focuses on the various difficulties school officials face in determining the proper punishment for cyberbullying, particularly if the harassment occurs off of school property. It also features a number of specific examples of cyberbullying in schools and the pain that each event caused its victims.

Danah Boyd: Facebook Needs to Focus on “Trust and Informed Consent”

In a special column to CNN, social media researcher and privacy activist Danah Boyd explains why Facebook’s real privacy problem isn’t its complicated privacy settings, which it has improved, but rather the company’s continued inability to foster a culture of “trust and informed consent.” As Boyd explains, Facebook’s current model does not respect user’s rights.

“Changing things and then forcing users to opt out is manipulative. Instead, they should be seeking informed consent — actively working with users to help make sure that they understand what’s at stake in their choices. It is unacceptable for a company like Facebook to trick people into ‘consenting’ to make their data more visible than they might think that it is.”

Facebook Has Changed the Meaning of “Too Much Information”

Scott Duke Harris at the Mercury News has an interesting story on Internet manners and the way that Facebook and other social networking websites have changed the way people think about sharing information. Harris mainly focuses on the “TMI” dilemma, whereby people knowingly (or unknowingly) share too much information online, leading to embarrassment later.

The article offers one very interesting example for how TMI plays out on Facebook. One user posted this message as a public status update: “This goes out to any girl that ive ever been with. I got tested today for Herpes and i came out positive.”

WaPo Blogger Forced to Resign Over “Private” E-mail List Comments

Washington Post blogger David Weigel was forced to resign this past week after disparaging remarks he made about conservative politicians were made public. The catch, the remarks were posted on a on a private e-mail list for Washington D.C. journalists called Journolist. Of course, they weren’t really private at all, which is why Ezra Klein (the famed political blogger who started the list) decided to shut it down after Weigel’s resignation.

In a separate column discussing the situation, Klein wrote “insofar as the current version of Journolist has seen its archives become a weapon, and insofar as people’s careers are now at stake, it has to die.”

Marshall Kirkpatrick Explains Location-Based Social Networking

Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb has an interesting and well-written op-ed explaining why some people, including himself, use location-based social networking websites such as Gowalla and Foursquare. If you’ve ever wondered why someone would willingly share their precise global coordinates with friends — and sometimes strangers — Kirkpatrick’s article may answer your question.

When Commenters Attack: Noise to Signal Comic

Lastly, Rob Cottingham of the popular web comic Noise to Signal takes a funny look at the viciousness of some Internet commenters. Cottingham suggests that “civil behaviour ought to be the expected norm of online community, not the welcome exception.” We can definitely agree with that.

In today’s Quick Hits, Congress learns more about cyberbullying, Internet companies try and ward off advertising regulation, and Farmville junkies find a new outlet for their addiction.

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Six Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook

In a BNET MoneyWatch column, Kathy Kristof advises readers of six things they should never reveal on Facebook. Besides the usual suspects (home address, password information, vacation plans, etc.), Kristof discusses how any kind of risky behavior, i.e. reckless driving, shouldn’t be shared online because insurance companies routinely use social networking websites to determine an individual’s risk. This is something that we have talked about repeatedly at ReputationDefender, and it is not surprising to see the issue become more widely discussed.

Dr. Phil Testifies on Cyberbullying Before Congress

Today, Dr. Phil McGraw will join a group of Internet safety experts in Washington D.C. to speak with a congressional committee about the growing problem of cyberbullying. Speaking on the Early Show, Dr. Phil touched on why cyberbullying is such an important issue, saying “These kids are getting isolated in their homes. They’re getting isolated on these computers. And they’re getting their reputations ruined.” Dr. Phil has been a vocal advocate for youth Internet safety in the past and has even dedicated shows to the subject featuring expert testimony from ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik.

Girl Scouts Talk Cyberbullying on Capitol Hill

In addition to Dr. Phil’s congressional testimony this morning, a group of 23 Girl Scouts will appear before congress to discuss the issue of cyberbullying. The group has been working on developing cyberbullying prevention tools and offering advice to victims and parents with noted Internet safety expert Parry Aftab.

Internet Companies Focus on Self-Regulation of Ad Targeting

According to the Wall Street Journal, a coalition of Internet and advertising companies are proposing a “new system to police privacy abuses by companies that track consumers’ Web-surfing habits for ad targeting.” The new system ties into previous efforts to self-regulate the Internet advertising industry, specifically a list of guidelines established by the coalition last summer.

Quoting WSJ:

“A coalition representing advertisers and Internet companies released a set of voluntary guidelines last July, calling for websites and advertisers to clearly explain how they track and use information about consumers’ Web activities.The new policing system is designed to determine whether websites and ad companies that collect data on consumers are complying with those guidelines.”

The move toward self-regulation comes in response to increased pressure from the federal government to protect user privacy or face governmental intervention.

Paying for Privacy on Social Networking Websites

Speaking of privacy, one Internet CEO believes that if users want privacy on a social networking website, they should pay for it. Specifically referring to Facebook, Jeff Tinsley, the CEO of MyLife.com, explains that company’s which rely on targeted Internet advertising are in no position to offer their customers genuine control over their personal data. A pay model would lessen a website’s need to advertise, thus making user privacy a more important issue.

Farmville for the iPhone

The widely successful social gaming company Zynga announced today that its most popular game Farmville will now be available for download as an iPhone application. Farmville has fallen from its peak in popularity, but the game still boasts an impressive 64 million monthly users. Adding the iPhone application is a savvy move that will likely add new users and keep current users coming back for more.

In today’s Quick Hits, we touch on new research related to child safety online. We also explore the issue of “sexting” and whether one organization’s proposals will be successful in curbing it among students.

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Facebook’s Location-Based Features Coming Soon

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed to London press that Facebook is coming out with location-based features in the near future. Rumors of Facebook’s location-based features have been swirling since March, but the project was sidelined to deal with changes to Facebook’s privacy settings (and the subsequent problems that those changes caused). There is still no word on exactly how location-based Facebook features would work, but it’s likely that Facebook will mirror the “check-in” functionality of smaller location-based networking websites like Gowalla and Foursquare.

McAfee Survey Shows Teens Exhibit Risky Behavior Online

A recent McAfee survey, The Secret Online Lives of Teens, reveals that while teens are expert web surfers, they still routinely engage in dangerous and potentially reputation-damaging behavior online. One statistic from the study reveals that “69 percent of teens freely divulged their physical location.” The survey also touched on cyberbullying, showing that “one in three teens knew someone who has had hurtful information posted about them online.”

Report: 6 in 10 Kids Have Had “Negative Online Experiences”

In addition to the McAfee survey, the recently released Norton Online Family Report also revealed a number of eye-opening statistics about kids and teens online. The report shows that “more than six in 10 kids have had what they consider negative online experiences.” The “negative online experiences” in question include receiving a friend request from a stranger on a social networking site, downloading a virus to the family computer, and seeing violent or pornographic images online.

There was an upside to the research, however. According to the report, “87% of kids said they would seek adult support if threatened with physical harm, 84% would tell an adult if they were being blackmailed or threatened online and 71% would report something suspicious or inappropriate.”

NYC Department of Education Proposes Ban on Sexting

Sexting, using digital technology to send and share explicit sexual photographs, is a major problem among teens. It is also a problem for schools who don’t know how to monitor it and prosecutors whose only legal remedy is to arrests kids for child pornography. Could a blanket ban on sexting help keep students safe?

According to the Huffington Post, that’s what the New York City Department of Education is proposing with the added caveat that students could be punished for sexting done outside of school hours. Naturally, this proposal has raised questions about how much power school officials should have over a student’s life outside of the classroom.

LAPD Using Social Media to Find Los Angeles Looters

As we predicted last week Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department has begun wading through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to identify individuals responsible for rioting in the aftermath of the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Championship victory. Over the last several years, social media technology has become an increasingly critical tool for law enforcement officials in their fight against crime.

FTC Rep Says U.S. Privacy Laws Aren’t Working

Speaking on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, Kathryn Ratte recently went on record saying that existing U.S. privacy laws aren’t working as they should and that there’s “too much burden on the consumers” to understand privacy policies that vary widely from one company to the next. Ratte’s comments come in anticipation of a long-awaited report detailing recommendations to Congress on improvements to our current privacy laws.

There was an interesting article yesterday in the New York Times Well Blog discussing the way in which the Internet might be contributing to irresponsible behavior among teens. The article specifically cites websites like YouTube where videos of dangerous pranks and stunts can be shared with a virtual audience of millions.

From the article:

“Teenagers have always been prone to taking foolish risks (thanks partly to the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making and is still developing in adolescence). But with the rise of sites like YouTube and Facebook, these experts say, teenagers now face virtual peer pressure to emulate all kinds of dangerous stunts and dares, and post them online.”

Some of the stunts discussed in the article include elaborate fireworks displays, taking shots with flaming basketballs, and the so-called “Choking Game,” in which kids choke themselves or one another to the point of unconsciousness to experience a temporary high. A quick search on YouTube will reveal hundreds of videos of each of these stunts.

There was an upside to the article however. If an adult or authority figure intervenes online, young daredevils are more likely to take down the offensive content or refuse to engage in similar stunts in the future.

“Dr. Megan A. Moreno, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Wisconsin, recently conducted a study in which a MySpace persona called Dr. Meg reached out to teenagers who used their pages to boast of drinking or sexual exploits. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Dr. Meg, who went on to explain why they might want to remove the information. The note also warned them about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

Teenagers contacted by Dr. Meg were twice as likely to remove references to sex or substance use during the next three months as those who weren’t contacted, according to the study, published in The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.”

It is critically important for parents of teens to take time out of their day to talk to their children about their Internet use and to monitor their child’s online reputation regularly. Aside from the practical concern of ensuring that one’s child doesn’t engage in physically dangerous activities, parents should also monitor their children online for anything that might cause lasting reputation damage.

In today’s Quick Hits, we continue to delve into Google’s privacy problems, discuss the results of an interesting new Pew Research study, and explore how teen megastar Justin Bieber’s online reputation is being smeared by anonymous Internet haters.

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Google Could Face Congressional Hearing Over Wi-Fi Sniffing

Google may soon face a congressional hearing over last month’s revelation that the company had collected unsecured Wi-Fi data throughout the world via its Street View cameras. Google maintains that the company didn’t break any laws, saying in a statement, “We believe it does not violate U.S. law to collect payload data from networks that are configured to be openly accessible (i.e., not secured by encryption and thus accessible by any user’s device)” but that might not be enough to keep them out of the spotlight.

Business Online Reputation Management Advice from Search Engine Land

In a guest post for Search Engine Land, Tom Leung discusses the importance of online reputation management and offers some valuable advice for business owners to deal with consumer review websites like Yelp.com.

Pop Star Justin Bieber Becomes Victim of Internet Smear Campaign

In a post for the San Francisco Chronicles’ City Lights Blog, Zenny Abraham explains how teen pop sensation Justin Bieber recently became the victim of an Internet smear campaign claiming the 16-year-old singer had contracted syphilis. The article touches on the immediacy of the social web and how deliberate attempts to defame someone’s character can spread virally with very little effort.

Online Reputation Management Awareness on the Rise

The Staten Island Advance talks about the many ways in which students and professionals have had their lives disrupted by reputation problems on social media websites like Facebook and MySpace. The article also touches on a new Pew Research Center study that shows the number of people interested in monitoring their name online has grown in recent years, signaling an overall increase in the online reputation management industry.

Young Internet Users Most Distrustful of Social Networking Websites

The New York Times reveals additional insights from the Pew Research Center study, including the fact that “younger social networkers more frequently regret posting content or ask others to remove content” and that, contrary to popular wisdom, they are “the least trusting of social networks, with 28 percent saying they can never trust such sites.”

In today’s Quick Hits, we have a handful of Facebook news and a very interesting story about the perils of mistaken identity on the World Wide Web.

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CNET Explores the Problem with Facebook’s Like Button

CNET’s Declan McCullagh explores the privacy implications of Facebook’s “Like” button and how websites that implement it might unknowingly be selling out their users.

Facebook Faces Possible Class-Action Lawsuit Over Sharing User Data with Advertisers

A California man is seeking a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for allegedly sharing user information with advertisers. The complain relates to a discovery last month that showed how “Facebook automatically embeds a profile tag in referring URLs when users view their own profile pages,” essentially making it possible for advertisers to track a user’s identity. Facebook has since revised the code that allowed the information to be sent.

Larry Magid Talks Privacy with Mark Zuckerberg

Tech writer Larry Magid recently had the opportunity to sit down with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to talk about his company’s most recent privacy changes and why, according to Zuckerberg, Facebook will “never” sell user information.

Survey Shows Large Number of Teens Give Parents Access to Their Facebook Accounts

According to a recent Kaplan survey, 56% of teens with a Facebook profile gave their parents full access to their account. Interestingly, the survey also showed that 34% of teens don’t give their parents any access to their account while only a small number of teens (9%) gave their parents limited access to their Facebook account.

Mistaken Identity: Wrong California Woman Harassed Over Google Lawsuit

An L.A. County woman has sued Google for giving her bad Google Maps walking directions that caused her to end up on a state highway where she was struck by a car. As expected, many people have been critical of the woman for what they see as a frivolous lawsuit. Unfortunately, as the Los Angeles Times reports, critics of the lawsuit have been pointing their anger in the wrong direction.

A woman in Santa Monica, who has the same name as the woman suing Google, has been getting flooded with angry e-mails and phone calls. She explained that she’s not the same person on her blog, but the harassment continues. Check out this news report for more details on this strange case of mistaken identity.

In today’s Quick Hits, we offer parenting advice, talk about creative job hunting, and discuss Facebook security enhancements. Check it out.

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Social Media Advice for Parents

This article from Mashable offers a range of advice for parents raising kids in the Internet age, from tips on setting boundaries to monitoring Internet activity. This is an area we have covered often, but the article still offers considerable value for parents.

Zynga and Facebook Prepared to Part Ways?

Facebook and Zynga, the makers of the super popular and often derided social networking game Farmville, may soon part ways over payment issues.Recently, Facebook switched the way that users can purchase applications by introducing “Facebook credits.” Zynga doesn’t want to pay the 30% commission to Facebook when this form of currency is used and is considering creating its own social networking website.

Facebook Enhances Log-in Procedures to Reduce Phishing Attacks

At the company’s all hands meeting yesterday, Facebook did make a couple of security enhancements, though nothing related strictly to the issue of privacy. According to ReadWriteWeb, Facebook’s security changes involve enhanced log-in procedures with the aim of reducing phishing attacks on the site.

From now on, Facebook will alert users of unusual activity on their accounts. In other words, if someone tries to log into your account from China, Facebook will notify you and add an additional step to the log-in process. Additionally, Facebook will now allow users to register their devices with Facebook, so that the company knows which computers you use to access your account regularly.

Job Seeker Uses Google Ads to Land Marketing Job

We’ve discussed how you can use social media to help with your job search, but Laughing Squid has the story of one man who took a different creative step. Using $6 worth of Google AdWords, marketing professional Alec Brownstein purchased advertising for the names of several top New York City creative directors. When they Googled their own names (something that everyone should do with regularity), the first sponsored ad they saw was from Brownstein asking for a job.

Through his efforts, Brownstein secured interviews with four of the employers, got job offers from two of them, and eventually accepted a new marketing position with Y&R New York.