I've Been Mugged

The Age of Conversation 3 and Water

As you may remember, the Age of Conversation 3 book -- with one chapter written by yours truly -- went on sale in May of 2010. All proceeds from book sales go to a worthy charity. I have some good news and some not-so-good news about that.

First, the not-so-good news. You may recall that Make-A-Wish was the originally intended charity. Sadly, that fell through about some rigid rules MAW had about how we bloggers were to promote it. Then, the #2 charity choice. UNICEF, was uninterested.

The good news: despite these setbacks, a charity was selected and it is charity: water:

"... is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We use 100% of public donations to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years."

I encourage you to visit their site, watch the video or read the charity: water blog, and then buy the Age of Conversation 3 (AOC3) book if you haven't already. For maximum impact, please buy the book on or before October 15, Blog Action Day 2010. You can buy AOC3 at online retailers including Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble. A Kindle version is also available! For students of social media, AOC3 is a must-have.

We picked Blog Action Day 2010 because the 100 bloggers who contributed to the AOC3 want to support a worthy cause. It doesn't hurt that all bloggers worldwide will discuss on October 15 the same topic: water. You can also follow Blog Action Day feed on Twitter.

I think that we all know the value of clean drinking water. We need it to live. Experts state that about 1 billion people around the planet don't have access to clean water, and 42,000 people die each week from water-borne diseases.

Once again, thanks to our friends at Channel V for their digital publishing and accounting work for AOC3. The AOC3 editors already received the first royalty check of $2,000.00 which was forwarded to charity: water. Watch this video about charity: water:

charity: water 2010 September Campaign: Clean Water for the Bayaka from charity: water on Vimeo.

Words Matter (Or Crying Over Spilt Oil)

Lately, I have written a couple blog posts about the BP oil gusher in the Gulf. You may have noticed. Yes, these posts are a departure from this blog's usual identity theft and data breach content. As a U.S. citizen, my anger, sadness, and frustration with the BP oil gusher, and the company's inability to stop the gushing, makes it difficult for me to remain quiet.

I've thought a lot lately about how the news media (and citizens) describe the oil gusher. Most news stories and broadcasts call it an "oil spill." I prefer to call it an "oil gusher." Why? Because words matter.

How we describe an event affects our attitudes about that event, and subsequent events. How we view the oil in the Gulf affects how we view the environmental damage, the cleanup efforts, and the likely legal actions.

To me, a "spill" is when I knock over a glass of milk on the kitchen table. It's a mess, but a small and manageable mess. People aren't killed or injured. What we have in the Gulf is far more. When I watched the "spill cam" a week ago (online and on the evening news broadcasts), it looked to me like oil was gushing out, not spilling out.

I considered other terms like "cataclysm" and "disaster" and "blowout" since these terms convey a more serious and far more extensive problem than the term "spill" conveys. The phrase "oil blowout" appealed to me since the device that failed was called a Blowout Preventer (BOP).

I call it the "BP oil gusher" because BP is the oil company involved (e.g., Transocean and Halliburton are sub-contractors that should be paying cleanup costs, too). Plus, the focus has been -- and will remain -- on BP's actions (or lack thereof). Hence, I call it the "BP oil gusher."

The BP oil gusher affects me because, as a U.S. Citizen, it's my country's people, wildlife, vacation destinations, and coastline that have been devastated. As a citizen of this planet, it affects me because we are damaging our planet, perhaps irreparably.

Should we allow oil drilling in deep water? No. Why? The BP oil gusher has shown that when things go wrong, companies (and the government) are unable to fix a deep-water oil gusher. The risk and impact to our planet is simply too great.

And, then I read in this Fortune magazine article about:

"... the scale of the spill is much bigger and that there's a larger leak several miles away... There's a lake at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico that's over 100 miles wide and at least 400 to 500 feet deep of black oil..."

Another leak? One is bad enough. To me, a "leak" is when milk from a milk container in your refrigerator drips over other food items.

15,000 or 20,000 barrels a day is not a "leak." That qualifies as a gusher. (There are 42 gallons in one barrel.) The disaster in the Gulf is not a "leak." It never has been.

Experts estimate that 25 to 35 million barrels of oil have gushed into the Gulf. That seems far larger than a "spill." To me, "a lake of oil" is a better description. "Cataclysm" is probably most accurate. (News reports today reported that experts now estimate oil gushing at twice as high.)

Last, I find the damage by the BP oil gusher(s) to the environment sad and infuriating. Several people I have talked with assume incorrectly that oil stays only on the ocean surface. No, the oil sticks to plants, fish, and debris throughout the water column. The government and BP seem capable of only measuring the amount of oil on the ocean surface; not the amount of oil scattered throughout the water column. Watch this Associated Press video:

Watch more AOL News videos on AOL Video

There is nothing wrong with crying. It is appropriate given the vast devastation in the Gulf.

If you prefer to laugh, watch this spoof (which is far more believable than the propaganda video BP broadcast online and on television to repair its image):

The only improvement I would suggest with the above spoof: replace the coffee cup on the table with a broken coffee machine that constantly leaks coffee.

Addendum: this is a must read: "The Spill, The Scandal, and The President."

Age Of Conversation 3 On Sale!

Click on the image to view a larger version.

I am pleased to announce that the Age Of Conversation 3 book is available! You can buy the book at online retailers including Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble. A Kindle version is also available! If you want to learn about social media, then this book is a must-buy.

Age of Conversation 3 (202 pages; hardcover; paperback; Kindle; ePub) captures the distinct shift from social media as a hypothetical consumer loyalty tool, as it was considered only a little more than a year ago, to its current state as a staple in the modern marketing toolbox. Although the book covers more than just social media, the topic is ubiquitous among the book’s 10 sections:

1. At the Coalface
2. Identities, Friends and Trusted Strangers
3. Conversational Branding
4. Measurement
5. Corporate Conversations
6. In the Boardroom
7. Innovation and Execution
8. Influence
9. Getting to Work
10. Pitching Social Media.

Age of Conversation 3 is the third book in the series which started as an online conversation between two marketing pros -- an American and an Australian —- and evolved into the first editions with more than 100 bloggers from nine countries. Today, the latest edition, with more than 170 bloggers from 15 countries, has grown into a treatise on the state of social media including the intersection of social media and marketing best practices.

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton have edited the latest book, which includes a veritable “who’s who” of the world’s leading marketing bloggers. McLellan heads the McLellan Marketing Group, a Des Moines, Iowa advertising agency, and writes the Drew's Marketing Minute blog. Heaton works for global software giant SAP, and writes the Servant of Chaos blog from Sydney, Australia.

Like the last edition, yours truly has contributed a chapter to the latest edition. Why did I write about? Well, you have to purchase a copy to find out.

Proceeds from the sale of the book are directed to a charity selected by the majority of contributing authors. The book was as published by new digital publishing company Channel V Books. A version of the book will soon be available as an ePub for other digital readers beyond the Kindle.

Changes at I've Been Mugged Blog

I am pleased to announce two big changes in this blog.

First, I now accept online donations from readers. Donating online is easy, fast and secure. To donate, click on the DONATE button in the far right column. It links to the secure payment flow at the PayPal site. You can donate using a credit card or with your PayPal account. Your donation can be any amount of your choice: $2, $5, $10, $25, or more. Your donations help me continue the unbiased reporting, plus product and service reviews.

Second, my blog also contains online ads. For the past two and a half years, I have funded this blog with my personal savings. It is time to explore new revenue sources. So, I've allocated a space in the near right column to rotate ads within.

For Readers

I chose an ad approach that seemed as non-intrusive as possible. The ad space is in the same location on all blog pages. Many blogs insert ads both inside blog posts and between the post and comments. I avoided these options to keep the blog easy to read.

If you find the ads interesting, I hope that you will read and click on them. Adify.com allows publishers to select which which ads display on a blog, so I have tried to pick ads from trustworthy, reliable brands and companies. If you find the ads intrusive or if you disagree with the ad selections, please share your comments via e-mail. I can explore other options.

Thanks for your readership and I hope that you will donate online today.

For Advertisers

In addition to the right column ad space, there is an ad space at the page bottom on the Reviews, List of Lists, and ID-Theft Resources pages. So, you have a choice in ad size and location. Statistics about my blog are available on the Advertise page. Ad rates are available at the Adify.com site.

Thanks for your interest and I hope that you will consider I've Been Mugged for your advertising needs.

George Jenkins

Editor

Meet The Publishers: Age of Conversaton 3

A prior post introduced the authors in the upcoming book. Today, I'd like to introduce the publishers.

But first, a brief background. The editors - Drew McLelland and Gavin Heaton - of Age of Conversation are not professionally-trained publishers, but are bloggers like many of us. Regardless, the Age of Conversation 2 (AOC-2) was a beautiful book, in both paperback and hardcover. Two authors from the AOC-2, Gretel Going & Kate Fleming, started a publishing company called Channel V Books and offered to help publish Age of Conversation 3 (AOC-3).

So, an agreement was reached and Gretel/Kate assumed most publishing duties for AOC-3. According to Drew McClelland, these duties included:

"... in-house management of the entire publishing and marketing processes from start to finish (often working with the author from the beginning to shape the manuscript for his/her audience and create their platforms), and their seamless connection to major online retail distribution channels such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Finally, they handle all royalty and online distribution/fulfillment, which allows authors to focus on personal goals and business objectives, rather than on the business of their book."

AOC-3 Editor Drew McLelland described the benefits of working with Channel V Books:

"They work with business thought leaders who need to publish books in order to promote themselves and their businesses, solidify their credibility and attract new opportunities—but don’t have the time (or desire) to learn and manage the intricacies of the publishing business in the process. Channel V Books bridges the gap between self-publishing and traditional publishing by offering the best of both worlds: the highest production quality, distribution channels, visibility, creative flexibility, ease and, most importantly, profitability."

Thanks Gretel and Channel V Books!

Meet The Authors: The Age of Conversation 3

I am happy and excited to announce that the Age of Conversation 3 (AOC-3) is at the publisher for printing! The book will be available sometime during April 2010, and in the following formats: paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and iPad.

The theme for the AOC-3: It's Time To Get Busy. The book has a new Web site, thanks to Sticky. The new cover artwork was designed by Chris Wilson.

I am thrilled to introduce you to the talented and insightful social media authors who contributed to the AOC-3 -- of which I am one. As the publication date nears, I will share more information about the book.

Now, take a few minutes and browse the AOC-3 authors' blogs:

Adam Joseph	Priyanka Sachar	Mark Earls
Cory Coley-Christakos	Stefan Erschwendner	Paul Hebert
Jeff De Cagna	Thomas Clifford	Phil Gerbyshak
Jon Burg	Toby Bloomberg	Shambhu Neil Vineberg
Joseph Jaffe	Uwe Hook	Steve Roesler
Michael E. Rubin	anibal casso	Steve Woodruff
Steve Sponder	Becky Carroll	Tim Tyler
Chris Wilson	Beth Harte	Tinu Abayomi-Paul
Dan Schawbel	Carol Bodensteiner	Trey Pennington
David Weinfeld	Dan Sitter	Vanessa DiMauro
Ed Brenegar	David Zinger	Brett T. T. Macfarlane
Efrain Mendicuti	Deb Brown	Brian Reich
Gaurav Mishra	Dennis Deery	C.B. Whittemore
Gordon Whitehead	Heather Rast	Cam Beck
Hajj E. Flemings	Joan Endicott	Cathryn Hrudicka
Jeroen Verkroost	Karen D. Swim	Christopher Morris
Joe Pulizzi	Leah Otto	Corentin Monot
Karalee Evans	Leigh Durst	David Berkowitz
Kevin Jessop	Lesley Lambert	Duane Brown
Peter Korchnak	Mark Price	Dustin Jacobsen
Piet Wulleman	Mike Maddaloni	Ernie Mosteller
Scott Townsend	Nick Burcher	Frank Stiefler
Steve Olenski	Rich Nadworny	John Rosen
Tim Jackson	Suzanne Hull	Len Kendall
Amber Naslund	Wayne Buckhanan	Mark McGuinness
Caroline Melberg	Andy Drish	Oleksandr Skorokhod
Claire Grinton	Angela Maiers	Paul Williams
Gary Cohen	Armando Alves	Sam Ismail
Gautam Ramdurai	B.J. Smith	Tamera Kremer
Eaon Pritchard	Brendan Tripp	Adelino de Almeida
Jacob Morgan	Casey Hibbard	Andy Hunter
Julian Cole	Debra Helwig	Anjali Ramachandran
Jye Smith	Drew McLellan	Craig Wilson
Karin Hermans	Emily Reed	David Petherick
Katie Harris	Gavin Heaton	Dennis Price
Mark Levy	George Jenkins	Doug Mitchell
Mark W. Schaefer	Helge Tenno	Douglas Hanna
Marshall Sponder	James Stevens	Ian Lurie
Ryan Hanser	Jenny Meade	Jeff Larche
Sacha Tueni & Katherine Maher	David Svet	Jessica Hagy
Simon Payn	Joanne Austin-Olsen	Mark Avnet
Stanley Johnson	Marilyn Pratt	Mark Hancock
Steve Kellogg	Michelle Beckham-Corbin	Michelle Chmielewski
Amy Mengel	Veronique Rabuteau	Peter Komendowski
Andrea Vascellari	Timothy L Johnson	Phil Osborne
Beth Wampler	Amy Jussel	Rick Liebling
Eric Brody	Arun Rajagopal	Dr Letitia Wright
Hugh de Winton	David Koopmans	Aki Spicer
Jeff Wallace	Don Frederiksen	Charles Sipe
Katie McIntyre	James G Lindberg & Sandra Renshaw	David Reich
Lynae Johnson	Jasmin Tragas	Deborah Chaddock Brown
Mike O'Toole	Jeanne Dininni	Iqbal Mohammed
Morriss M. Partee	Katie Chatfield	Jeff Cutler
Pete Jones	Riku Vassinen	Jeff Garrison
Kevin Dugan	Tiphereth Gloria	Mike Sansone
Lori Magno	Valerie Simon	Nettie Hartsock
Mark Goren		Peter Salvitti

The Most-Read Posts of 2009

Based on data supplied by Google Analytics, during 2009 the most-read I've Been Mugged blog posts were:

1. Is Mint.com As Safe As It Says It is?
2. Experian Triple Alert Credit Monitoring Service (Product Review)
3. Banks and Credit Card Issuers Increase Interest Rates on Consumer Credit Cards
4. Citi Credit Monitoring Service and Citi Identity Monitor (Product Review)
5. Check Scam Still Operating At Craig's List Site
6. Suze Orman Identity Theft Kit Debuts
7. Consumer Reports On Lifelock
8. TrueCredit From TransUnion (Product Review)
9. Lifelock And The Credit Monitoring Industry Struggle To Protect Consumers
10. Debix, Lifelock, and TrustedID
11. Judge Rules In Favor of Experian Over Lifelock
12. Bank of New York Mellon Changes Its Offer To Its Data Breach Victims
13. Should Mint.com Query Its Customers' Financial Information For Fraud Notification?
14. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Credit Monitoring Offers
15. 2008 Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data (FTC)
16. Bank of New York Mellon's Offer To Its Data Breach and ID-Theft Victims
17. Equifax 3-in-1 Monitoring (Product Review)
18. Consumers Should Know FDIC Insurance Rules To Protect Their Money
19. Health Net Breach Exposes 1.5 Million Consumers' Medical Records
20. The Risks Of Disclosing Your Birthday on Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites

A quick scan of this list indicates that readers are most interested in credit monitoring service reviews, security issues about banks and financial institutions, recent breache. By contrast, the top posts of 2008 were:

1. Experian Triple Alert Credit Monitoring Service
2. Bank Of New York Mellon's Offer To Its Data Breach And ID-Theft Victims
3. Bank of New York Mellon Changes Its Offer to Its Data Breach Victims
4. Suze Orman Identity Theft Kit Debuts
5. Citi Credit Monitoring Service and Citi Identity Monitor
6. 2008 Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data (FTC)
7. Bank of New York Mellon Data Breach Affects at Least 4.5 Million Consumers
8. Sidejacking: What It is and How to Protect Yourself
9. Debix, LifeLock, and TrustedID
10. Kroll's Offering From IBM Deserves Scrutiny
11. TrueCredit From TransUnion
12. Fraud Alert or Credit Freeze: What's the Difference?
13. Opt-out Resources For Consumers
14. Equifax "3-in-1" Credit Monitoring Service
15. Dilbert Promoted To The Boss
16. Consumers Should Know FDIC Insurance Rules To Protect Their Money
17. Experian Sues Lifelock
18. Consumer Reports On Lifelock
19. What Does Your C.L.U.E. Insurance Report Say About You?
20. 2008 Identity Theft Survey - Javelin Research (Part One)

During 2010, I will continue to review credit monitoring services, especially those I haven't reviewed yet. I will continue to cover corporate data breaches, medical identity theft, and new sources of privacy threats to consumers' sensitive personal information. I will continue to report on announcements by government agencies like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which proposes guidelines that affect consumers and the companies that store consumers' sensitive personal information.

If there are topics you'd like to see covered, feel free to share them below, by e-mail or via Twitter. On the Internet, things change quickly. Thanks for reading I've Been Mugged!

1. Is Mint.com As Safe As It Says It is?
2. Experian Triple Alert Credit Monitoring Service (Product Review)
3. Banks and Credit Card Issuers Increase Interest Rates on Consumer Credit Cards
4. Citi Credit Monitoring Service and Citi Identity Monitor (Product Review)
5. Check Scam Still Operating At Craig's List Site
6. Suze Orman Identity Theft Kit Debuts
7. Consumer Reports On Lifelock
8. TrueCredit From TransUnion (Product Review)
9. Lifelock And The Credit Monitoring Industry Struggle To Protect Consumers
10. Debix, Lifelock, and TrustedID
11. Judge Rules In Favor of Experian Over Lifelock
12. Bank of New York Mellon Changes Its Offer To Its Data Breach Victims
13. Should Mint.com Query Its Customers' Financial Information For Fraud Notification?
14. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Credit Monitoring Offers
15. 2008 Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data (FTC)
16. Bank of New York Mellon's Offer To Its Data Breach and ID-Theft Victims
17. Equifax 3-in-1 Monitoring (Product Review)
18. Consumers Should Know FDIC Insurance Rules To Protect Their Money
19. Health Net Breach Exposes 1.5 Million Consumers' Medical Records
20. The Risks Of Disclosing Your Birthday on Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites

Development Starts On The Age Of Conversation: Third Edition Book

I am pleased to announce that work has started on the third edition of the Age Of Conversation book! You may remember that I authored a chapter in the second edition: The Age Of Conversation: Why Don't They Get It.

Well, the editors of the third edition are accepting new authors. Each author is responsible for writing a one page chapter up to 400 words. Chapters must be submitted during November 2009. Authors can select one of ten (10) themes to write about. The third edition will feature up to 300 authors. All proceeds from book sales will go to a charity to be selected by the authors.

If you are interested, I suggest that you read more at either of the editors' blogs: Drew McLellan or Gavin Heaton. Both blogs have a link so you can sign up and choose your theme.

Which theme did I pick? To find out, you'll have to read the third edition of the book when it is available in 2010.

Celebrating Two Years Online!

Two years ago today, I started the I've Been Mugged blog. Since then, I've learned a lot about identity theft, fraud, privacy, and data breaches. This blog has been a good tool to organize my thoughts, learnings, and the online resources I've found. During the past year, a new Twitter feed and Facebook page have helped I've Been Mugged reach new readers.

Some thank-you messages are definitely called for. First, I'd like to thank I've Been Mugged readers. Weekdays, the I've Been Mugged blog gets about 350 - 400 hits daily. I am grateful for our readership and for the comments you have submitted. W have explored together many interesting topics, and I look forward to more exploration.

Second, I'd like to thank the bloggers and the consumer advocates I've met online. Without their suggestions and encouragement, The quality of I've Been Mugged posts wouldn't be as high as it has been. Some bloggers I'd like to thank by name: John Taylor, Lori Magno, Diane Danielson, Michael Krigsman, Chris Ott, Drew McLelland, Ryan Barrett, Ronni Bennett (who leads by example far more than she realizes), and Jonathan Feeley.

Third, I'd like to thank my guest author, Bill Seebeck, for his insightful and controversial posts.

Fourth, I'd like to thank the Privacy Crusaders. If you know who they are, then you know the good they've done.

Fifth, I'd like to thank IBM for losing my sensitive personal data during their February 2007 data breach. That incident caused me to start blogging. The more I learned about data breaches and the way companies assist (or don't) their data-breach victims, the more I realized that I had to do something. Rather than be angry, blogging seemed like a healthy and appropriate response.

If you haven't noticed yet, I named this blog in honor of IBM's data breach = I've Been Mugged.

And, I especially want to thank my wife, Alison. Without her support and flexibility, I couldn't write I've Been Mugged.

What's next for the coming year? We'll continue to write about identity theft topics, data breaches, and areas where corporate responsibility is lagging. Of course, we'll follow hot topics such as medical identity theft and fraud, behavioral advertising, and identity-theft legislation.

We'll continue to report on emerging issues that affect consumers; like our February 2009 blog posts about higher credit card interest rates by banks in March and April that affected consumers. And, we'll sprinkle this blog with plenty of ID-theft humor, since it's never all doom and gloom.

When it comes to identity theft, data breaches and corporate responsibility, there seems to be plenty to write about.

Get 'Mugged' On Twitter

I am pleased to announce that interested users can follow my updates on Twitter. My "tweets" includes both updates from the I've Been Mugged blog, and related issues about data breaches, privacy, corporate responsibility, and consumer rights.

Get 'Mugged' On Facebook

I am pleased to announce that starting today, Facebook users can easily follow updates from the I've Been Mugged blog.

Simply, visit the I've Been Mugged Fan page on Facebook.com and select the "Become a Fan" link.

It's that easy!

Boston.com Features I've Been Mugged Blog

I am pleased to announce that the Boston.com site (published by the Boston Globe newspaper) features my I've Been Mugged blog on the Identity Theft page within its Personal Financial site section.

Image Of the Week

I'd like to thank I've Been Mugged readers for their support. Readership continues to increase. During the last three weeks, readership has increased dramatically:

Most Popular Posts At I've Been Mugged

Which posts do I've Been Mugged readers read the most? Here they are:

1. Suze Orman Identity Theft Kit Debuts
2. Bank Of New York Mellon's Offer To Its Data Breach and ID-Theft Victims
3. Kroll's Offering From IBM Deserves Scrutiny
4. Experian Triple Alert Credit Monitoring Service (product review)
5. Debix, LifeLock, and TrustedID
6. 2008 Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data (FTC)
7. Bank of New York Mellon Data Breach Affects At Least 4.5 Million Consumers
8. Security Freeze: Peace Of Mind And Protection For Your Credit Reports
9. Sidejacking: What It is and How to Protect Yourself
10. Consumer Reports On LifeLock

Celebrating One Year Online!!

A year ago today, I started the I've Been Mugged blog. It has been a fun-filled year and I've learned a lot about identity theft. This blog has been a good tool to organize my thoughts, learnings, and the online resources I've found.

Some thank-you messages are definitely called forr. First, I'd like to thank IBM for losing my sensitive personal data during their February 2007 data breach. That incident caused me to start blogging. The more I learned about data breaches and the way companies assist (or don't) their data-breach victims, the more I realized that I had to do something. Rather than be angry, blogging seemed like a healthy and appropriate response.

Second, I'd also like to thank the bloggers that encouraged me and provided blogging advice. Without their support, the quality of my posts would have suffered. And the I've Been Mugged readership wouldn't be as large as it is.

So, I'd like to send a huge thanks to Lori Magno, Diane Danielson, Michael Krigsman, Chris Ott, Ryan Barrett, Kate Beaton, Ronnie Bennett, and Jonathan Feeley. All have supported me in ways large and small; direct and indirect. These bloggers work very hard and write some awesome, interesting blogs. I hope that you'll read their blogs frequently!

I'd also like to thank my wife, Alison. Without her support and flexibility, I couldn't write I've Been Mugged.

What are my plans for the coming year? Part of this site's content is dedicated to corporate data breaches and identity-theft legislation (at either the Federal or local levels). Unfortunately, the past is a good predictor of future corporate data breaches.

Another portion of this blog is dedicated to IBM, since their year of free credit monitoring service ends soon. It'll be interesting to see what communications arrive from IBm and Kroll.

Another portion of this blog is dedicated to the ID-theft stories and experiences submitted by I've Been Mugged readers. I learn a lot from your stories and your comments. Also, I expect to publish many more product and service reviews, which seem to be a popular topic.

And, who knows what else this blog will cover during the coming year? I'm sure that there will be some surprises and news nobody could predict.

Thanks for reading I've Been Mugged. I am honored that you take the time to read it out of your busy day.

If you haven't signed up for e-mail or RSS alerts, you can easily do so. The links are near the top of the right column.

Congratulations To Senator Obama; Coal To The TV Networks

Congratulations to Senator Clinton for her South Dakota victory. Congratulations to Senator Obama for becoming the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party. Now is the time to bring the party together and conquer "Bush McSame." Enjoy your day Senator Obama. Bask in your victory. You deserve it and you have earned it. Please give careful and deliberate thought to your choice for a VP running mate.

Now, a word about last night's coverage of this event by the television networks.

Here in Boston, I subscribe to basic cable. Only NECN broadcast Obama's speech in its entirety. Three of four TV networks (CBS, NBC, and Fox) and their local affiliates all presented standard programming which included reruns. ABC broadcast only half of Senator Obama's speech, and then the network anchor talked over the Senator before ABC cut to other programming.

Yes, there is the minor issue that the super delegates could change their votes. My point: at June 3, 2008 Senator Obama had achieved the number of delegates required for the Democratic nomination. Senator Clinton had not. Regardless, where was the TV network coverage last night>

What's up with this? Why such poor TV network coverage of this event? Is this the best that corporate owned media can do? Never before has this country had a woman and African-American candidates with a real chance of winning the presidential nomination of a major political party. Never before. And with Senator Obama's speech last night, never has an African American (of either sex) been the nominee with enough delegates to secure the nomination. That's history in the making by any measure.

Yet, no live coverage of the presumptive nominee's speech by the big four networks. Nothing. Zilch.

Disappointing. This poor coverage was not worthy of the broadcast licenses the 4 networks enjoy.

If they continue with this crappy coverage, I say pull their broadcast licenses.

Blogging For Civil Liberties Workshop at the ACLU of Massachusetts Conference

On Saturday January 26, 2008, I attended the first ACLU Massachusetts conference on Reclaiming Our Civil Liberties. The conference was a real treat for me, since I'd only read about Daniel Ellsberg, the keynote speaker. It was great to hear him live and hear his experiences about the Pentagon Papers. (See also the National Security Archive at GWU.) Ellsberg also discussed his views on the Bush administration, U.S. foreign policy, the Iraq war, the "Blue Dog Coalition" (for perspectives, see C-Span, Common Dreams , and the New York Times), and the oath of government officials to the Constitution (and not a personal oath to the President). Much of today's policies of expansive Executive privilege by the Bush administration are rooted in VP Cheney's tenure in President Nixon's administration.

I attended the conference both as a member and as a panelist. There were over 400 attendees, by my rough count. I spoke at a workshop titled, "Blogging for Civil Liberties." Christopher Ott, the Communications Manager of the ACLU of Massachusetts, chaired the panel. The other panelist was Charles Blandy, Co-Founder and Co-Editor of BlueMassGroup.com.

The workshop went smoothly. About 35 people attended this workshop. Charles spoke first and reviewed many of the well-known sites political blogs (such as Daily Kos and TPMmuckraker) consumers can use to learn about civil liberties and to participate in the blogosphere. My talk focused more narrowly on Ive Been Mugged as an example of citizen journalism, consumers' rights about identity protection, and notification laws after a corporate data breach. About 30 people attended this workshop and at least 400 attended the conference.

If you missed the conference, you can listen to the "Blogging For Civil Liberties" podcast (52 minutes, MP3 file, 23 MBytes). You can list to the podcast on any MP3 player, including the iPod. I'd like to thank Christopher Ott and the Massachusetts ACLU for making the podcast available. Thanks to Marilyn Humphries for the photograph.

[Note to readers: Sorry for the delay publishing this post. I would have published it sooner, but the podcast was only recently available.]

Screenshot Of The Day

From the Quantcast ratings web site:

In The Blogosphere: IT Project Failures and The Hartford's Data Breach

Whether or not you work in the Information Technology (IT) profession, IT Project Failures is a well-written blog. Michael Krigsman chronicles the missteps, mishaps, fumbles, and failures by IT departments in corporations and in government agencies. Michael is a good friend and I hope that more IT professionals read his blog and learn from the examples.

In a recent post, Michael wrote about a data breach at The Hartford insurance company. Data breaches are just one of the many types of IT department fumbles and mishaps.

The Hartford's data breach reminded me a lot of IBM's data breach earlier this year, when IBM lost my personal data. After reading the news reports in PC World and Cleveland.com (Note: State of Ohio Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson is asking good questions), both companies' data breaches have some similarities:

1. Both companies lost backup data tapes
2. Both companies claim the data tapes were "lost" and that there's no evidence that the lost data has been misused
3. Both companies took more than a month to notify identity theft victims
4. The data tapes included sensitive personal data like SS#'s and driver's license numbers, and
5. Both companies offered the identity-theft victims one year of free credit monitoring

There are a couple differences. First, The Hartford was open and honest about the number of records exposed/stolen. To this day, IBM has never disclosed the number of records lost/stolen. It's difficult to trust a company that is not open and honest.

Second, The Hartford's data breach included lost/stolen customer information, while IBM's data breach included lost/stolen employee and former-employee information.

Now, back to the similarities...

It really seems dishonest when companies claim immediately after a data breach that there's no evidence of the data being stolen. First, the fact that they can't find the data tapes would be evidence enough. Second, identity criminals aren't going to announce that they've stolen or copied the tapes. Third, it'll be the identity-theft victims that discover the evidence, when identity thieves try to access their financial accounts or commit fraud in the ID-victims' names.

When companies make this claim of no evidence, they really need to be specific. Was their search for evidence only within the company? Did they approach law enforcement? Is their claim of 'no evidence' based on law enforcement's investigation?

Both companies seem to believe that one year of free credit monitoring is enough. It isn't. Identity theft victims have to monitor their financial and credit reports for a far longer time period than one year... like the rest of their lives. Both companies' data breach created this risk for the identity theft victims. So, the period of free credit monitoring should match the risk period.

In The Blogosphere: Chronicles of Dissent

A tip of the hat to the folks at Chronicles of Dissent blog for their coverage of my posts about correspondence with Attorney General Coakley's office about online breach notification. If you are a Massachusetts resident and you feel as I do, I hope that you'll contact Mass. Attorney General Coakley's office and tell them you want corporate breach notifications posted online.