Predatory PR

His name is Ryan Fitzgerald.

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

March 20, 2006

3 Min Read
Predatory PR

1:00 PM -- His name is Ryan Fitzgerald.

From The Philter's PR round file, the worst press release in recent weeks. It was sent by a chap named Ryan Fitzgerald. And, if you've been biting your lips over the last few years as you acknowledge the rise of the Internet in our culture today, just wait 'til you read this:

MYSPACE: DANGER LEVEL RISES EVERYDAY
Cyber Meeting Becoming Ever So Popular. The Question is...Are You Really Safe?

Southbridge, MA- Parents world wide have been biting their lips over the last few years as they acknowledge the rise of the internet in our culture today. There is much controvery circling around about how safe it is for kids to be surfing the net. In the center of all of this controversy lies a website called MySpace. An online site dedicated to helping people connect and stay in touch world wide. The statistics are in and sadly 1 in 5 children are approached online by a Predator. One person decided to try and help people gain awarness of this on going problem. His name is Ryan Fitzgerald. He is the Owner of www.twincandytees.com. A website dedicated to help people understand how dangerous the cyber world is.

"Look around on MySpace. Most people (girls especially), are giving out detailed information about where they live right on their Profile Page," Ryan said. "More than 50,000 people per day are creating Accounts on MySpace." MySpace was created in 2003 by Tom Anderson. The website does not permit people giving out detailed information, yet you are allowed to hint at where you are from. If you take a look around for yourself, you will see dozens of blind teens giving out information just over the simple fact that "they think it will never happen to them." This is the attitude online predators look for.

MySpace has no user requirements and is free. Anyone can join. The Abercrombie Poster Boy you talk to, may easily be that online predator in disguise. Ignorance here plays a very hurtful role. Many teens do not recognize the danger of the cyber world. Raging hormones combined with the "looking for a good time" mentality cause people to not see the truth about others.

Twincandytees.com was founded in early 2006 by identical twins Sean and Ryan Fitzgerald to provide people with awareness of the Internet World. They offer a range of MySpace themed T-Shirts exposing the truth of what really is going on behind the curtains. "The general reason behind the website was just to inform people of the danger. We originally didn't even decide to make shirts until a few people mentioned it to us." Ryan says. Sean stated,"A few parents came to us and thought it would be great to get this message out in a better form. Instead of just writing information on a site, why not try to show people by selling something. We specifically made prices on the shirts cheap, so people didn't feel as though they were buying something, but more like contributing to something for a good cause."

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If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Ryan and Sean Fitzgerald, please call them at 508-764-7212 or e-mail them at [email protected].

Thanks, Ryan. We are most encouraged to see dozens of blind teens giving out information. Our stock in Braille keyboards has never been higher.

— Phil Harvey, MySpace, YourSpace, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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