We may not be fully aware of it yet, but as our media environment is changing – from a top-down (regulated, professionally produced) one to a user-driven, multidirectional, social one – so is our idea of privacy. Slowly, maybe, but changing it is. In their new book, A New Culture of Learning, University of Southern California Profs. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown touch on how today's … [Read more...] about A new book & fresh look at online privacy
Privacy
The new, social Google+
Google Plus aims to be the online version of your existing social circles (such as personal and professional ones and allowing them to stay separate), offering a lot of the same features as Facebook (as in Groups), but organized into "Circles" right up front. To them, it brings "Hangouts" (video chat), "Huddles" (group chat), and "Sparks" (as in conversation starters and talking points, a little … [Read more...] about The new, social Google+
Various fresh findings on Facebook use
There used to be two bodies of research most relevant to kids online: social-media research and youth-online-risk research (as co-chair of an online-safety task force last year, I tried to bring more of the former into the discussion). But that binary is fading fast, as it should; since the Internet mirrors virtually all of human life, what's happening on it should be looked at by researchers in … [Read more...] about Various fresh findings on Facebook use
Facebook’s facial recognition tech & kids
The "enhanced" photo tagging that Facebook started rolling out at the turn of the year is now all over the headlines, and parents might want to think about the impact on kids, who love the photo-sharing aspect of the site. Some kids race home from (summer) school to see who's tagged them. So now, if a friend uploads a new group photo, Facebook with its giant database of user photos, uses this … [Read more...] about Facebook’s facial recognition tech & kids
Oddly presented, but 1 way social media protect kids
"Teachers must be cautious in utilizing social media" was the headline in the Courier Post in New Jersey. What a bizarre takeaway that is from this tragic occurrence: "Last month, criminal charges were filed against Charles Reilly, a veteran teacher (and since-resigned town councilman) in Pine Hill [N.J.]. Reilly is accused of having inappropriate sexual conversations with male middle school … [Read more...] about Oddly presented, but 1 way social media protect kids