SPAM, more spam and much more
24th February 2009
Keeping a theatre full of 15 year olds captivated and engaged for nearly half an hour on the topic of internet safety might be a challenge for the best of speakers, but for Ed Gibson, it appeared to be a breeze – but then as an ex FBI agent, I’m sure he’s been up against worse situations!
As part of Safer Internet Day, I had invited Ed Gibson, Chief Security Adviser at Microsoft to talk to children at Sheldon Heath Community Arts College around internet safety, particularly to highlight the use of social networking sites and dangers of disclosing personal information online.
As the lights were dimmed, Ed took his place centre stage under the glare of the studio lights and the interrogative eyes of a very discerning audience. What happened next was amazing……as soon as Ed started to speak a hush descended and for the next half an hour, the students were mesmerised as Ed not only touched on topics such as personal security online, SPAM (that in itself caused a ripple of laughter), but he also gave them a fascinating insight into his 20 year former life as an FBI agent – “Mr Gibson how fast does a bullet travel…..faster than I can run and that’s all I care about” – as well as one of his most famous cases involving Earl Pitts, a former FBI agent, who in 1996 was charged with spying for the Soviet Union and Russia.
Ed is fascinating to listen to and I know that he managed to reach out to this influential audience to drive home some very pertinent messages. We captured it all on video along with a special question and answer session led by the students at Sheldon Heath School so that we could share this with as many people as possible – we want everyone in Birmingham to have the very best digital experiences and knowing how to stay safe and secure online is part of this. You can read more about the day and the questions put to Ed at the Digital Schools blog or view the spotlight Q & A session below.
Let us know what you think and big thanks to Ed and Microsoft for their support on this and Ed if you’re out there, I’m looking forward to when I get to wear that FBI cap!
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