Just to bring us back to the events at VT earlier this week...
We've discussed how those involved have and could have utilized new media to alert others and keep up with what was going on...
On another note, I read on the news about how the police are now trawling the shooter's past online activity to try to understand his motivations. They've gone through his google searches and looked at his profiles on Myspace and Facebook.
I think this brings us back to how much of ourselves is tied to technology. When someone passes away, their personal computer is just as personal and revealing as the room they lived in.

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog!"

Does anyone ever wonder why people choose the ID/screen names that they do?

How much do we consider our privacy when we create them? How much is that screen name a part of our identity? Would you ever consider giving that as your name to someone if you were introducing yourself in public?
(A lot of questions I know...sorry, food for thought)

I think when you're actually face to face with a person, there's a sense of human dignity, honesty and sincerity that doesn't necessarily translate when you're identifying yourself on a screen. There are not the same sort of emotional associations when handling personal information on the internet; you are essentially presenting your body, your self through text (most of the time, only text).