A few weeks ago, two students in Vermont took their own lives. We don't know why. The news was on television, and my heart went out to the schools, the parents, the community, the whole state. One part of being an adult means working towards creating a world for a younger generation to prosper, to not forget that this whole experience "of living" is newer to them than it is to us. Somewhere we all missed a beat when we let these two slide away.
As I sat in front of my computer, writing emails to my best friend in Montreal, my mind wandered towards bullying, and specifically cyber-bullying. We're these kids being bullied online by someone? Was someone saying hurtful things to them? That's when I noticed that my gmail account had picked up that I was talking about Montreal and was advertising Montreal hotels in the side bar.
I have always had great faith in google. They are run by mathematicians, and I believe in numbers.
The AdSense Ads know what I want. Then there must be a way for them to know what I don't want, or more specifically, to be able to read a combination of words that would detect bullying.
I put myself in the role of a parent, or a guidance counselor: if the student has an school email address, and if they are under the age of 18, wouldn't it be possible to subscribe them to a No-Bullying AdSense that would notice a combination of "bullying words" and notify the parent/guidance counselor?
I think about the rights to privacy and all, but then I also think that if I was a parent, and someone was sending hate mail to my kid, I would want to know. What could I do with this knowledge? I don't know....I'm just thinking, wouldn't knowing be a good place to start?
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