Courtesy of Sean O'Connor

47-year-old Scott Widak sorts through mail he'd received from Reddit users.

Even though the Internet, as a whole, is notorious for having a short attention span, a large group of strangers have been showering a man in hospice care with countless letters, drawings, stuffed animals, DVDs and other gifts for over a month. All of this, just because they were told that he loves opening mail and needs to be cheered up.

When his uncle, Scott Widak, was placed into hospice care, Sean O'Connor knew he had to do something to help keep his spirits up. The 27-year-old Boston-based filmmaker knew that Widak — who suffers from liver disease and Down syndrome — loves opening mail. And, as a long-time Reddit user, he also knew that a post on the social linking site can quickly grow into a small movement.

O'Connor explained all those details in a post on a Reddit forum — or " subreddit" — called r/AskReddit about a month ago:

Hey Reddit - my 47 year old uncle, Scott Widak, has Down syndrome and is terminally ill with liver disease. He is currently bedridden and living out his last days at home with my 85 year old grandmother. One of his favorite things to do is open mail … anyone feel like sending him a letter or card?

Since O'Connor included an address, the post was quickly removed (as some Reddit forums maintain strict rules against the sharing of personal information, in any context). Nonetheless, many Reddit users had already seen the information and others privately messaged O'Connor for the contact details.

Reddit

And that's when the Internet's kind side truly shone.

Boxes upon boxes of letters and gifts began arriving. "At first Scotty was extremely confused," says O'Connor. But then the parcels and notes from stranger "started to grow on him."

"Where are the boxes? I'd like to look at the mail," he'd regularly ask. While no one was in the room with him, he once even got out of bed, grabbed a box of mail from where the parcels were stored, and carried it back all on his own. It was as if the messages from strangers gave him a new burst of energy.

The sheer quantity of mail was overwhelming though. "He could appreciate one letter for months …he doesn't even have the time to go through all of it," O'Connor explains.

Courtesy of Sean O'Connor

There were gifts from all over the world.

An Australian man even mailed his lucky coin to Widak. "He'd been holding on to it for 14 years," O'Connor says. Unfortunately the envelope containing the trinket was damaged before it reached its destination and the coin was lost. But the sentiment touched Widak.

Courtesy of Sean O'Connor

Even though he'd seen Reddit users commit all sorts of acts of kindness — such as fulfilling a terminal cancer patient's wish, gathering funds for a child's medical care, and so on — O'Connor was still amazed. "These people have their [crap] together. They're going out of their way to send letters to stranger."

"No one could predict this," he says. "And they're still doing it."

Related stories:

• How Reddit users helped fulfill a terminal cancer patient's wish
• Reddit raises $31,000 for child's medical care — in 12 hours
• Historical sci-fi movie began as Internet comment

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Facebook. It's like every hinky relationship you've ever had — you sense something is up, but ultimately, you're going to do a thing about it (until maybe it's too late).

We've long known more than a few Facebook users don't trust the social network to keep their personal information private. We know this because each and every time a new Facebook privacy kerfuffle hits the news, that's all we talk about in our status updates ... on Facebook. You know, that social network we don't trust with our information. Now, a new AP-CNBC poll has the statistics to support our long-held supposition.

Sixty percent of those polled had a Facebook account — even though more than half of the respondents also said they "have little or no faith in the company to protect their privacy," according to the poll. Are you on Facebook, yet still concerned about your privacy? Tell us why you stay!

Related stories:

• We may not trust Facebook, but we don't quit it either, shows poll
• Why Facebook thinks your comment is 'irrelevant or inappropriate' 
• Does your Facebook 'Like' count as free speech

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about online privacy, then asks you to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. Because that's how she rolls.

Photodisc / Getty Images file

By Alan Henry, Lifehacker

If you're thinking about heading outside or to the gym to get some exercise now that the weather is turning warm, you may benefit from an appliance you can wear on your wrist or in your pocket that keeps an eye on your activity level and gives you feedback on how well you're doing, whether you're hitting your activity goals, or where you can improve.

There are tons of these gadgets coming onto the market, and that all make big promises, but which ones are the best to help you get in shape? Here's a look at five of the best, based on your nominations.

We asked you which of this new breed of fitness gadget were the best at helping you get and stay in shape, which ones offered you the most valuable feedback on your activities, and which ones worked with the tools you prefer. You responded, and now we're back to highlight the top five.

Nike+ Fuelband

Nike

The Nike+ Fuelband ($149) is a bracelet you wear on your wrist that, quite simply, keeps an eye on all of your activity, including your steps walked, calories burned, and more, and turns it all into a score of sorts, called your "Fuel."

You can keep track of your activity and your score on your computer or your iPhone, set daily activity goals, measure your progress, and get active feedback both through the apps and through the device itself on how well you're doing and whether you've beat your goal. The Fuelband even includes a mood tracker, so you can keep an eye on your performance and how it relates to your mindset on a given day. You also have the option to share (or not) your progress with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

FitBit

Fit Bit

If you're looking for an appliance that doesn't just track your activity, but can help you get a more restful night's sleep, the FitBit ($100) is the gadget for you. It's a tiny clip that attaches to your pocket, sleeve, or anywhere else on your person, and keeps an eye on your activity during the day — including your steps taken, stairs climbed, calories burned, and so on — and how much sleep you get and how often you toss and turn at night.

The FitBit collects all of this information and then uploads it to the FitBit webapp so you can track your progress. If you like using your smartphone to monitor your activity, the FitBit even plays nice with popular iOS and Android fitness tracking apps like Endomondo and RunKeeper. Then, you can share as many or as few details as you like with friends, who can support you. You can even use the FitBit's webapp to track your meals and diet, offering a truly complete tool to manage and improve your health.

BodyMedia FIT

BodyMedia FIT

The BodyMedia FIT ($100 to $200) is an armband appliance that wraps around your upper arm, and keeps an eye on your calories burned, your daily activity, and even your sleep quality and sleep patterns. As you wear the armband, it sends data to the BodyMedia webapp (which requires a subscription to access) and syncs with mobile apps for iOS and Android so you can keep an eye on how well you're doing working towards your daily activity goals, and how well you slept the previous night.

You can also pick up optional displays for the armband so you can see the data it's collecting while you move around. Combine the armband with the BodyMedia meal and diet planner, and the combined package offers you a great way to improve your overall health and wellness. Plus, the service has different types of armbands depending on the features you'd like.

Striiv

Striiv

We don't fault the folks behind the Striiv Smart Pedometer ($100) for urging their community to cast their nominations. Those of you who own a Striiv really love it, and while the gadget is part touch-screen pedometer, it also has a number of built-in mini apps that motivate you to walk more often, monitor your progress either on the device or through the Striiv webapp, share your progress with friends (and even compete with them towards daily activity challenges), and even participate in charity walks where donations are made based on how many people reach a certain activity level.

As you progress towards your walking goals, you can share it with friends on Twitter and Facebook, and interact with others who also use the Striiv to stay in shape. The Stiiv even has a built-in game that challenges you to rescue animals on an enchanted island, but to do so you have to get active. The game rewards you for walking, running, and taking the stairs instead of elevators.

Reuters file

Your smartphone

Many of you pointed out that you didn't need an appliance to help you get and stay in shape. With the help of a smartphone and a few well placed apps, you just slide your phone in your pocket before your workout, and let the app track your speed, movement, and activity. Other apps allow you to log your workout with their own active communities who will encourage you to push harder towards your goals, cheer you on, and offer instant feedback either on the device or on the web. We discussed a number of these types of apps when we showed you how to turn your Android phone or your iPhone or iPad into your personal trainer, if you want to go that route.

More stories from Lifehacker:

• Clean Up and Organize Your Music Library This Weekend
• Put Your Phone in a Drinking Glass to Boost Its Alarm Volume and Avoid Oversleeping
• How to Choose the Best Chart for Your Data

Like her great-great-grandmother and etiquette expert Emily Post, Anna Post strives to make the world politer. She speaks with msnbc.com's Rosa Golijan about smartphone etiquette — and rude phone users.

Post explains that attempting to be a bit more courteous while using our smartphones (and other mobile devices) is quite important as many people list misuse of mobile technology among their top pet peeves. According to a survey sponsored by Intel, 73 percent of people complained about seeing someone use a cellphone while driving, 65 percent were annoyed by people shouting into phones, and 28 percent were irritated by those who use mobile devices while walking down streets.

The guidelines offered by Post in the video above, along with the tips below, should help us all get through our days with far fewer of those annoyances — without having to abandon our smartphones:

• Practice what you preach: If you don't like others' bad behavior, don't engage in it.
• Be present: Give your full attention to those you are with, such as when in a meeting or on a date. No matter how well you think you multi-task, you'll make a better impression.
• The small moments matter. Before making a call, texting or emailing in public, consider if your actions will impact others. If they will, reconsider, wait or move away first.
• Talk with your family, friends and colleagues about ground rules for mobile device usage during personal time.
• Some places should stay private: Don't use a mobile device while using a restroom.

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

msnbc.com

A mom who dared to share words of encouragement on Facebook to an unpopular reality-show contestant found herself as the target of a hate campaign that's raged for six months. After trolls allegedly set up a fake Facebook page in her name and used it to solicit girls as young as 9, Nicola Brookes decided to sue Facebook to find the names of the unseen people who persist in harassing her.

Brookes, who lives in Brighton, England, has been the target of troll hatred on Facebook since last fall, when Frankie Cocozza, an "X-Factor" contestant, was thrown off the British equivalent of "American Idol" for boasting about drug use. Brookes, whose daughter is a fan of the show, was looking at a Facebook page about Cocozza and saw all the snarky remarks posted to him.

"Keep your chin up, Frankie," she said in her Facebook post. "They'll move onto someone else soon." Move on they did, to Brookes herself.

On the fake Facebook page they created in Brookes' name, the trolls apparently solicited young girls for drugs and for sex, then posted comments on the same page calling Brookes a pedophile. The trolls also later posted Brookes’ Brighton home address and a photo of her daughter, says Brookes.

msnbc.com via Bains Cohen LLP

An example of just one of many attacks on Nicola Brookes that have been waged on Facebook in the past six months.

Facebook removed the fake page, but Brookes wants the social network to turn over the Internet addresses of the perpetrators, hiding behind various identities. She maintains that she did nothing more to inflame their bile than share her "keep your chin up" remark.

"As soon as she posted that comment about the singer, people started hurling awful, nasty comments toward her," attorney Rupinder Bains told msnbc.com in a phone interview. Her London-based firm, Bains Cohen, took the case on a pro bono basis. Brookes, in her 40s, has Crohn's disease and has not been able to work for a while. The Facebook fiasco has made her scared to leave her home, with threats continuing, Bains said.

When the law firm asked Facebook to remove the fake page last fall, it did so quickly — "they were great," said Bains.

"But the trolling hasn't stopped," she said. "The trolls will constantly be on there, making comments about Nicola ... and then they say things on other blogs elsewhere and on their own Facebook pages. We have to take steps to get the identity of these trolls."

Facebook, contacted for comment by msnbc.com, shared this statement:

Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people that use our service. Unlike other websites and forums Facebook has a real-name culture, which provides greater accountability and a safer and more trusted environment. We are clear that there is no place for bullying or harassment on Facebook and we respond aggressively to reports of potential abuse.

The site gives users "the tools to report abuse on every page and the option to block people from having any further contact with them.   Reports involving harassment are prioritized, reviewed by a trained team of reviewers and removed if they violate our terms."

In a story in the Telegraph, a Facebook spokesman said much of the same, adding that the site responds "aggressively to reports of potential abuse," but declining to comment on the legal action.

Bains believes there may be four or five people behind the harassment/bullying effort on Facebook, but she doesn't know for sure. The law firm plans to request an injunction from the court in Britain to compel Facebook to turn over the computer addresses of those involved in the cruel campaign.

What happens if such an order is granted and the law firms gets ahold of the names? "We would see criminal prosecution once we've identified the trolls," Bains said. Charges could include violations of harassment and communications laws in Britain.

The case, she said, "just goes to show how the veil of anonymity gives an individual so much strength and power," including the power to wound.

Meanwhile, Brookes has been "through times of depression because of this," but she remains on Facebook, Bains said: "She refuses to be beaten by them."

Related stories:

• Teen sues classmates for libel over Facebook page
• Mom's Facebook photo pops up on porn, dating sites
• Girls expelled for Facebook 'Hit List'
• Mom: Facebook flagged photo of Down syndrome son as inappropriate

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Google's Mother's Day gift to moms everywhere is a sweet, short animation on its search home page. You'll see the middle "g" in Google as the mom, complete with pearls around her neck, and the two "o's" in Google as the kids running up to mom to give her hugs and kisses and a flower.

The Mother's Day tribute has been done by Google since 2000, but this is the first time it's using animation for moms' day.

If you're searching for anything online today — including a last-minute Mother's Day gift — Google's doodle is a good reminder that gifts aside, what's really important on this day are matters of the heart.

Related stories:

• More than 114,000 students doodled for Google, but only one will wind up on the homepage
• Google doodle: Alexander Calder's moving mobile
• Google doodle celebrates 'world's largest snowflake'

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Getty Images stock

You've seen her, or maybe you are her: The mother with a phone in one hand, kid in another, and run, run, running to keep up with the demands of work, family, friends. Nearly 75 percent of those U.S. moms visited Facebook in March, and 54 percent of them have smartphones, higher than the national average, according to Nielsen.

Those are some of the stats shared in the research firm's snapshot of "The DIgital Lives of American Moms," released Friday.

"Moms are at the center of their family's offline life, so it's little surprise they're also at the center of many of the biggest trends online as well," said Nielsen.

Among the firm's findings, based on statistics from March:

• While Facebook reigns as the top social network or blog for moms, with 72.5 percent of them going on the site in March, next in line were: Blogger, visited by 24.3 percent; Twitter, 14.1 percent; WordPress, 10.8 percent; and Tumblr, 8.3 percent.
• Pinterest, the site that allows users to "pin" info, links and photos onto a virtual bulletin board, was the top "family and lifestyle" site by moms in March, with 4.9 million mothers visiting the site in March. Nielsen said moms are 61 percent more likely to visit Pinterest than the average online user.
• Disney Online was the second-favorite family and lifestyle site, with 4.8 million mom visitors in March, followed by iVillage Network (4.4 million), WebMD (4.2 million) and Everyday Health (3.8 million).

"When using social media, moms are 38 percent more likely to become a fan of or follow a brand online, and moms who blog are more than twice as likely to follow brands and celebrities compared to the online average," Nielsen said. 

Moms also visit blogs more often: They're over 25 percent more likely than the general online populace to hit WordPress and Blogger. In fact, about one in three bloggers are moms, and 52 percent of bloggers are parents with kids under 18 in their household.

While many of us shop online to save time and money, moms "are 35 percent more likely to shop for clothes, 50 percent more likely to buy toys, 29 percent more likely to buy music and 23 percent more likely to purchase e-books online within the past 30 days," Nielsen said. 

That mom who has the phone attached to her palm is not only busy checking on children, schools and schedules, she's also checking social media, Nielsen says: At least half of moms use their mobile devices to do so, compared to 37 percent of the overall online population.

More stories about the crazy digital lives we lead:

• 12 percent of younger moms use cellphone during sex: study
• Study identifies 4 types of cafe Wi-Fi hogs
• Addicted to your cellphone? Nomophobia on the rise
• New bra is made to carry an iPhone

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Getty Images stock

Some moms are more into romancing the phone than romancing their mates: 12 percent use their phones during sex, according to a survey.

It takes a bit of imagination — maybe too much, really — to picture that scene, much less the logistics. And it does beg at least a few follow-up questions: Are those moms texting, talking or playing "Words With Friends" during such intimate moments? And if they're talking, are they hands-free, er, that is, wearing a Bluetooth headset?

Those are answers we'll never learn from the otherwise informative "Moms & Media 2," a survey by Meredith Parents Network, which publishes several magazines including "Parents" and "American Baby."

"When we saw the results we were wondering the same exact thing," a spokesperson for Meredith Parents Network told us. "Unfortunately we don't have any anecdotal data about the how's or the why's."

The tech-centered behavior comes from mothers between the ages of 18 and 35 — dubbed "Millennial moms," born between 1977 and 1994. "There is no part of their lives that is media free," the company said in a statement.

As further evidence, 21 percent of these moms use their phones in the bathroom, although the surprise there is that the figure isn't higher. It's hard to go into any public restroom these days without hearing those of either gender on the horn while they're on the john.

Among the other findings:

• 81 percent of Millennial moms said shopping was the No. 1 way they use their smartphones
• They have an average of 13 apps on their phones, and two-thirds say that fewer than half of those apps are for their kids.
• They have a "love-hate relationship with Facebook." While more than 8 in 10 moms use the social network, 72 percent are frustrated by "all of the recent Facebook changes to its format and privacy policies," and 53 percent said they feel Facebook "wastes their time."
• 55 percent of time-starved moms said they de-friended companies on Facebook, with "too many messages and ads being the No. 1 reason," Meredith Parents Network said.
• Video streaming is on the rise for this group: 23 percent streamed TV in 2011, compared to 16 percent in 2010. 
• Only 41 percent said they watched live TV in 2011, compared to 55 percent in 2010.

"Today's moms are media omnivores," said Carey Witmer executive vice president and president of Meredith Parents Network, in a press release. "Controlling their voracious diet is so important to them that they are constantly creating new rules about how and when media intermingles with their busy lives via their various devices, screens and networks."

The survey was done last November and December by Zeldis Research Associates for Meredith Parents Network. A "nationally representative sample" of Millennial moms, with children from infants to age 12, was taken, and 1,041 complete questionnaires returned.

More stories about the crazy digital lives we lead:

• Study identifies 4 types of cafe Wi-Fi hogs
• Addicted to your cellphone? Nomophobia on the rise
• New bra is made to carry an iPhone

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Devin Coldewey / msnbc.com

It's no surprise to walk into a café and find dozens of people hunched over their laptops, drinks empty, possessions spread liberally about. Many of us have had our share of prolonged coffee shop hangouts, after all. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina have taken a closer look, and identified four different "territorial behaviors" of these Wi-Fi-slurping nomads.

The reasons for working from a café are many: a lack of home Internet access or good coffee-making equipment, or perhaps a desire to get out of the house. But the result is the same: café tables claimed in full by people who in some cases will stay for hours after buying just one drink or scone. Researchers have observed some lingering in a café literally for up to eight hours, or leaving their things behind to save a table while they get lunch or even step out.

The study, part of Merlyn Griffiths' dissertation research at UNC and published in the Journal of Service Research, approaches the familiar café trip almost as an anthropological expedition. Interestingly, the café squatter predicament is a very American one. In more collectivistic cultures like China or India, "sharing public space is not an issue. It's more of a communal thing," Griffiths told me. "People are less likely to feel threatened, or that their space is being invaded."

Here in the U.S., though, people adhere to very different ideas of how public space should be used, and the study finds that they can be roughly be divided into the following four categories — we've applied labels to them based on the study:

• First come, first priority: Simply finding an open seat means you can sit there as long as you like. These people can be found occupying outdoor seats on sunny days or with their things sprawled unapologetically over multiple chairs. For first comers, possession is the end of the question — a philosophy with a certain brutal simplicity to it.

• Rent in perpetuity: Buying a product entitles you to a seat, even well after the product is consumed. These squatters will have their empty cup prominently displayed, or perhaps a crumb-strewn plate, as if to say "Yes, I have paid my dues." They are more concerned with not getting up than with ownership of the space.

• Limited lease: You can sit as long as your drink or food lasts, but no longer. Possibly over-caffeinated from too many refills, this type of café-goer is frequently on the go, as their conscience compels them to leave their seat as soon as their cup is empty.

• Recurring rent: There's a hard time limit on how long one may sit for any given purchase. They may feel obligated to leave or make another purchase after, say, an hour, in order to reset the clock. Some cafes actively enforce this worldview with signs and managed Wi-Fi.

Territorial behaviors are common throughout public spaces, but the researchers found them especially prevalent in these situations. When one of these types encounters another, there can be conflict as they try to work out who gets to sit, who must move and so on. 

Some people "barricade" themselves into a spot by setting out backpacks, books and other personal items, marking that territory as their own. And many squatters engage in what Griffiths calls "territorial rudeness," systematically but subtly sabotaging or deceiving their neighbors in order to gain or keep space.

The researchers found power outlets to be prime territory, of course. Spots near these were occupied for far longer than isolated tables. 

Some smaller cafés, for instance many in New York, have banned laptops and Internet altogether in an effort to prevent people from staking out a valuable position for hours. Panera Bread began first to ask, and then to force its customers to limit their time on the Wi-Fi to half an hour, according to Griffiths. Other cafés observed in the study issued Wi-Fi access codes good for a certain amount of time. No one approach has proven effective, however, and customers often find ways around limitations.

The increase in freelancers and work-from-home entrepreneurs means that there is a growing population of people who need a place to work and meet people — a place that isn't their own couch. A laptop and Internet connection form an complete office environment for them, and they can code, chat, email and negotiate all while sipping on a latte. The fact is that technology is changing the way public spaces like cafés are used, and not every space is up to the task.

Let's hear how you feel about this...

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Rosa Golijan/msnbc.com

A bit over a year ago, Facebook launched a program which aimed to prevent suicide by enabling users to instantly connect with crisis counselors through the social network's messaging system. On Wednesday, the company announced that it will augment those (and other) suicide prevention tools by adding customized services for veterans, active duty military service members, and their families.

Ten percent of military family members and nine percent of service members have considered suicide, according to a Military Lifestyle Survey conducted by the non-partisan, non-profit Blue Star Families. That very same survey also found that "social media use is prevalent throughout military families with over 90 percent of respondents reporting some type of use, of which 86 percent said that they were on Facebook daily."

So it makes sense that Blue Star, a military family assistance organization, is partnering with the social network and the Department of Veterans Affairs to address these issues.

Stephanie Himel-Nelson, director of communications for Blue Star Families, explains in a blog post that, thanks to the partnership — and the Facebook engineering team's efforts —  there is now a "customized solution that could help to identify military families and military personnel, ensuring that family members could send critical military-related counseling information to their soldiers." This information includes, among other things, ways to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, which connects veterans (and their friends and families) to qualified Department of Veterans Affairs responders via phone, online chat or text messaging.

Related stories:

• How to make Facebook look like Pinterest
• Facebook may be causing 'very significant increase' in organ donor registration
• Principal allegedly created fake Facebook identity to befriend students

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Rosa Golijan/msnbc.com

Considering that school districts around the country are developing social media guidelines and specifying that teachers shouldn't "friend" students on Facebook at all, one would assume that it's obvious that teachers also shouldn't "friend" students on Facebook using fake identities.

Well ... we all know what happens when we assume. 

Jessica Bock of STLtoday reports that Dr. Louise Losos — the principal of Clayton High School in Clayton, MO — has resigned from her position after a former student alleged that she'd been adding students as Facebook friends using a false identity.

"Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal," a post in a public Facebook group declared at the beginning of April. Harriston, whose profile showed a photo of penguins and that she had more than 300 friends (many of them from Clayton High School) vanished from Facebook almost immediately following that claim.

"[A] search of public records in Missouri found no results for anyone named 'Suzy Harriston,'" Bock points out. And the school district "confirmed that no student by the name of Suzy Harriston was enrolled at the high school in the last two years."

The day after the allegation and mysterious disappearance, Losos took a leave of absence. Several weeks later, she handed in a resignation. 

Chris Tennill, Chief Communications Officer for the School District of Clayton, couldn't elaborate on the alleged connection between Losos and the mysterious Suzy Harriston who'd been friending Clayton students, but he did confirm that Losos "has resigned as Clayton High School Principal effective June 30, 2012." She will remain on a leave of absence "for personal reasons" until that time.

He added that the School District of Clayton and Losos had "had a fundamental dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media" and provided me with a link to the district's Employee-Student Handbook. 

While the handbook does not appear to address social media specifically, it does have a section dedicated to electronic communications between staff and students:

Staff members may use electronic communication with students only as frequently as necessary to accomplish an educational purpose.  Communication for an educational purpose would include communications related to a staff member’s position, including but not limited to teaching, counseling, athletics, extracurricular activities, treatment of a student’s physical injury, or other purposes related to a staff member’s job duties. [...] The district discourages staff members from communicating with students electronically for reasons other than educational purposes.

It's possible that the disappearance of Suzy Harriston — who only seems to have existed online — and Dr. Louise Losos' social media-related resignation coincidentally happened in the same timeframe. But if we apply Occam's razor and consider that the simplest explanation tends to be the best one, odds are that the principal had been covertly befriending students on Facebook — without letting them know who she is.

Related stories:

• How to make Facebook look like Pinterest
• Facebook may be causing 'very significant increase' in organ donor registration
• Facebook wants you to donate your organs

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.