How To Split An Atom

Ever wonder what that crazy next door neighbor of yours is doing with that chainsaw every night? Well, with RottenNeighbors you will not only be able to find out every little secret about him or her, but you will also be able to post your own sparkling prose about his penchant for late night gardening.

Design wise, RottenNeighbors is your standard Google Maps mashup. Why it is getting any attention at all is because it hits so close to home. Regular people, who don’t know Social Networks from a hole in the wall are now having “facts” about them posted online without any editorial control. Needless to say, this has left many of them screaming libel.

The question is, how far should this site — or any site that allows users to speak to and about each other — go to protect people from vicious lies?

Not too far, I’d say.

Something’s Rotten In Denmark

Do I think that the idea of giving the webosphere carte-blanch to write whatever factoid that they want about their real-world neighbors is the world’s greatest idea? No but it is absolutely impossible to mandate that the company producing this product fact check each and every entry. From what I saw, people are not identified by name so this site really only gives you a very general impression of what the neighborhood is like.

Before you cry foul, remember that this isn’t the first site to allow people to vent frustrations about their friends, co-workers, significant others and surrounding social sphere. It just seems more frightening because there is a map attached to it. Such is the power of Web 2.0 to invoke fear in the hearts of man.

Web 2.0 Roundup

What should RottenNeighbors do? If they don’t already have this in place, they should give people a way to lock down their homes from editing. That way, anyone who is terribly concerned with the Internet finding out about their bad habits can bow out of the system.

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