Reading - Killer@Craigslist

Knowledge I gained from the reading:
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By reading the Killer@Craigslist article it is clear that Internet was created to gather, share and search for knowledge that is available all around us. As time went on Internet became a large virtual market place where everything and every service is sold and there are buyers for everything. I have also learned that Internet could be a very unsafe place if one is not careful enough. Every activity on the Internet leaves digital foot prints behind which can be used to track people and their Internet activities by the Internet service providers and the government authorities. Not only that, there could be a number of crimes one can be a victim of starting from murder to identity theft to many more countless crimes if one is not careful.

Personal insights I am able to make from the reading:
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Although the Internet did not introduce murder as a crime for the first time, in this case it definitely aided in expediting the communication process that lead to the crime. So, cybertechnology and inter could be unsafe and we have to be careful about what we do and who we communicate with on the Internet. However this same technology was used to track down the killer in this case. It is not the technology but the user of the technology is responsible for the way he or she uses the technology in their lives. Some might say that it is unethical to track people’s activities on the Internet. But from this story it is clear that without Internet activity tracking there were not too many other evidences which could have been used to capture and arrest a killer. For our own safety we have to accept the fact that not only mine but everybody’s Internet activities are monitored and this can in turn save our lives.

Questions and challenges the reading has left me with:
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Reading this story, it appears that the killer was growing up in an environment where he did not see much affection between his parents. His parents were divorced multiple times. As a kid he did not have many friends and was not the most popular person in the school. However there are a lot of people like this in the society but not everybody turns out to be a killer. This story leaves me with a question in mind as to what turned Markoff into a killer who was such a brilliant student with a bright future.

Practical and personal applications I am able to make for the knowledge gained:
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Personally, after reading this story, I will be more careful about protecting my privacy, who I communicate with and what kind of personal information I share on the Internet. My general Internet activities will be much carefully planned and executed. And not only Internet, but I will use better judgment all together in life.

Reference:
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Maureen Orth. (2009, October 1). Killer@Craigslist. Vanity Fair.