| Birmingham Startup taps Christian tech company
An online Christian social youth hangout emerged as Birmingham's newest tech company after an accelerated startup process. CrossConneXion.com launched on Sunday. It made it through a two-week screening and development process conducted by members of Birmingham Startup. Birmingham Startup met, shared ideas, voted to narrow the proposed projects to three before choosing CrossConneXion.com as its collaborative effort. Jim Sutton, youth pastor at First Church Worship Center in Tarrant, pitched CrossConnexion an online Christian social hangout where teens can connect with friends and God. CrossConneXion.com will allow users to seek job and mission opportunities, watch celebrity interviews, upload pictures and videos and find teen-related information such as peer pressure, dating, college prep tips and leadership.
L.A. grand jury issues subpoenas in Web suicide case
Cyber-bullying has become an increasingly creepy reality, with the anonymity of video games, message boards and other online forums offering an outlet for cruel taunts.
Former federal prosecutor Brian C. Lysaght said such a prosecution would be "not as much of a reach as it might appear at first glance." In recent years, he said, Congress has passed a series of statutes that make criminal conduct involving the Internet federal offenses.
Still, it could be difficult to draw the line between constitutionally protected free speech and conduct that is illegal.
Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the idea of using a fraud charge to tackle the unusual case was "an interesting and novel approach."
"But I doubt it's really going to lead to the type of punishment people really want to see, which is this woman being held responsible for this girl's death," she said.
DANGER LURKS IN TEEN DATING GAME
New York's teen dating scene is a harsh reality of abusive 11-year-olds, 15-year-old rapists, beatings with broomsticks, and girls forced into cocaine addiction at 16. City officials and parents were shocked and appalled last week by findings in the city Health Department's Teen Safety Report. The study gave a disturbing insight into New York's teenage dating violence, which has spiked by 40 percent since 1999. One out of 10 girls at New York high schools have been forced into sex, with reported rapes increasing by 34 percent. One in 10 New York teens have experienced physical violence at the hands of a partner, the study of 8,000 students from grades 9 to 12 found. "In public schools, the violence is way more up-front," said 17-year-old Alex Unger, a senior from an uptown school.
SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH THE CO-FOUNDERS OF MYSPACE
Anderson: In person I don't have that many friends. I'm a pretty tight-knit guy with the people that I know. Offline, I have no more than four or five friends. SPIEGEL: That doesn't seem to bother your online acquaintances. They comment on your private pictures and leave public messages like "maybe we can hook up later" on your profile. How has becoming an online celebrity as the founder of such a successful company changed your life? Anderson: When I'm on the net, someone always wants to chat with me. But outside of MySpace, it's a completely different world. I don't get recognized that much on the street. SPIEGEL: How did you guys meet? Anderson: I had a temporary job in a product testing company right after college. I only planned to be there for 3 weeks.
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