This story encapsulates so many illustrative points about the rise of social media: its effectiveness as a communications platform, the rapid change in privacy expectations and online behaviors, the important role of young people in navigating these implications, the overlap (and conflict) between personal social media use and official responsibilities ... the list goes on. But above all it affirms the deep, enduring -- indeed, eternal -- nature of human stupidity.

The social media gods have a taste for irony, and like to amuse themselves by keeping Mark Zuckerberg on his toes. Or so it would seem from a procession of new social networks inviting college students to join campus-centric online communities, thereby competing with Facebook on its old stomping grounds.

I've always suspected that social networks -- which allow users to share personal information with friends, strangers, and everyone in between, sometimes unwittingly -- might play a role in episodes of family violence and abuse. But these episodes of violence must still be catalyzed, of course, by old-fashioned human craziness.

One of the interesting emerging trends in social media is the rise of geo-targeted social networks focused on specific neighborhoods or locales -- which I will refer to as place-based social networks, until someone comes up with a better name. This week brought the unveiling of an innovative new place-based social network for skiers visiting slopes in Colorado and California, called EpicMix, which puts a new spin on the whole check-in.

U.S. adults ages 50 and up who use the Internet are flocking to social networks, according to the results of a survey of 2,252 adults ages 18+ by Princeton Survey Research Associates on behalf of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The survey provides more evidence suggesting social media could become an effective advertising and marketing platform for reaching older Internet users (chronic offense-takers, please note that I did not write "old people").

I usually try to avoid making any statement involving the words "society," "values," or "priorities" -- nouns which are all so vague as to be almost meaningless. I also usually don't see any point in judging what other people do with their time or money, as long as they accord me the same indifference. But a recent realization has prompted me to (oh no, here it comes) question society's values and priorities.

Professional sports leagues focus on the weirdest things when they start cracking down on misbehavior. For example, the NFL doesn't seem to particularly mind players abusing steroids (the punishment for failing a steroid drug test is a four-game suspension -- basically a slap on the wrist)... but NFL players who use social media during a game are liable for a $25,000 fine. This is part of a communications blackout which decrees players may not use cell phones, electronic devices, or social media including Twitter or Facebook within 90 minutes of kickoff.

Those ungrateful little schmucks. After all they've done for them -- changing their diapers, feeding and clothing them, driving them to movie dates at the mall, pretending not to notice porn URLs in the browser history -- this is how they repay them? This is how they treat their own parents? The world today, I tell you.

If you are like most people, you have probably lied to someone at some point in your life, if only as a child. As adults, I believe most of us accept the need for "white" lies to smooth over social awkwardness. But what about more serious lies -- like claiming someone did something disreputable, to tarnish their image? Obviously this is "not okay" in an ethical sense... but where should social networks like Facebook draw the line in their policies for false user-generated content?

Last week I wrote about the results of a survey showing that 90% of Canadian businesses use social media to communicate with the public. But what about all those unfailingly polite Canadian criminals? It turns out scammers are also jumping on social media in a big way, according to the Canadian government (although many fraudulent schemes are of international origin, so the culprits aren't necessarily Canadian).