Meier was a 13-year-old girl, struggling with the same body issues and general popularity concerns that so many teenagers do. She suffered from depression, was diagnosed with ADD and it's safe to say, was reaching out for someone to help. That's when Josh Evans came in, a kid who had recently moved to the area and found Megan on MySpace. They e-talked back and forth and became friends. Somebody liked her, he was a boy and as all of us understand, that can mean a lot when you're not feeling great about yourself as a teen. Then suddenly, things turned sour after a month. The affable Josh suddenly started posting bulletins about her, saying she was fat and "a slut." Reportedly, he sent a message to her saying she was a bad person and the world would be better off without her.

On October 16, Josh got his wish as Megan hanged herself in her room.

Here's where the quote marks come in. "Josh" was really Lori Drew, a 40-something mother of two who lives in the same pristine neighborhood as the Meiers. Drew reportedly wanted to monitor her own daughter's online actitives and created Evans to help get the dish on her daughter. Somewhere along the way, Drew decided to become intensely nasty and as a result, Meier is dead. However, Drew cannot be prosecuted as there's no crime she technically broke. According to prosecutors, there's not enough evidence against her to do anything. Drew denies creating the page and says an 18-year-old employee of hers did it. Regardless, no one is going to jail for this case, which has raised some concerns about internet harassment laws and exactly how to create/enforce them.

The story has no positive ending though, no shimmer of sun through the dark clouds. The Meiers are no longer married (I'm not sure if this was due to Megan's death) and the Drews have had their lives turned upside-down with a home-based advertising agency shut down, daily death threats and the like. It's hard to feel bad for whatever mental anguish Lori Drew and those responsible are facing, but it's not for me to say whether what's happening is right.

So what does this story have to do with email marketing? Not much to be honest. I write this simply as a sobering reminder of the ever-growing responsiblity that those of us in the online world have. We enjoy a lot of freedoms thanks to our industries, but how often do we stop and think about how our actions are affecting others? While the First Amendment essentially allows us to have jobs because of the free discourse of information, that open access caused a girl to commit suicide.

This holiday season, I give thanks for a lot of things and will reflect on what has been an interesting 2007. I will get together with my family and friends, share some laughs and look ahead to 2008. Somewhere in Florida, two broken-apart families will struggle to get through the next few weeks and for the rest of their lives, all due to an internet site and bad intentions.

Source information: www.foxnews.com (search megan meier)