These might look like a couple of those rare boy-bites-dog stories, but I think the news media are beginning to pick up on a story that was always there. First, the Safe School Ambassadors Program uses social-networking techniques to combat bullying. It IDs social influencers in San Francisco schools, meets with them, and tells them that with influence comes responsibility. The premise is that if … [Read more...] about How social sites can help kids
Risk & Safety
2 great child-protection updates
A mom and New York Times writer recently got herself up to speed on online child protection and wrote a meaty but refreshing account. "I found out, for example, that most of the Internet search engines, like Google, AOL and Yahoo, have a simple process allowing you to set strict, moderate or no filter on your search engine to weed out explicit sexual content," she writes, pointing to a free, very … [Read more...] about 2 great child-protection updates
A call to stop cyberbulllying
Death threats against prominent blogger Kathy Sierra have set off what looks to be an unprecedented Internet-wide protest against cyberbullying. It's a horrible way to raise awareness, but awareness has long been needed. I unconsciously previewed the news when I wrote "Predators vs. cyberbullies: A reality check" a couple of weeks ago. More recently, "when computer programmer and author Kathy … [Read more...] about A call to stop cyberbulllying
YouTube competition
First, BitTorrent (the P2P file-sharing giant that went "legitimate" over a year ago) is teaming up with Joost (which uses P2P tech to stream TV on the Web) to launch a "new Net TV service," MediaPost reports. Then NBC and News Corp. announced they were teaming up to launch a video site this summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. The BitTorrent-Joost deal could make life a little tougher for … [Read more...] about YouTube competition
Viacom vs. online teens?
The New York Times says Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against Google's site YouTube.com "is the clearest sign yet of the tension between Google and major media companies." I'd say it's probably bigger than that. It's the clearest sign yet of the tension between the social, media-sharing Web and the media industry. It's a story that affects teenagers especially because they love to share media – … [Read more...] about Viacom vs. online teens?