Some kids and tweens are obsessed with the virtual care, feeding, outfitting of their penguins, Webkinz, Neopets, etc. – not to mention furnishing their igloos and other spaces. In many cases, kids just have to amass points by playing lots of games in these sites, in which case the “cost” is screen time, a lack of healthy, active outdoor time, and something marketers aim for: serious brand loyalty … [Read more...] about Outfitting their penguins
social networking
Online spin control
There’s an interesting ongoing debate on news sites around the Web about what the digital natives are doing to their reputations and future job prospects with all this public blogging and social networking. At first glance I thought this USATODAY column was just another commentary about how doomed teen social networkers’ reputations are. Then I got to the part with some good advice (maybe I’m just … [Read more...] about Online spin control
‘Growing up in public’
Interest in youth’s limited interest in privacy (except where parents are concerned) is growing, and commentaries are multiplying. “The future belongs to the uninhibited,” suggested New York magazine (see this in NetFamilyNews). Across the pond, The Telegraph reported that, for today’s online youth, closeness, intimacy, the sharing of secrets is distributed rather than individual and private (see … [Read more...] about ‘Growing up in public’
Parenting with profiles?
I co-wrote a book for parents that includes instructions on how to create a MySpace profile. I’ve often suggested to parents that they create their own profiles so they can monitor their kids’ social-networking activities. But I have no illusions that this is the solution for every household with teenagers. Fellow mom Michelle Slatalla’s fun-to-read account in the New York Times of where creating … [Read more...] about Parenting with profiles?
Social Web exploding in China
Watch out, YouTube, here come KU6.com. Well, YouTube probably doesn’t have to worry too much, but baby video-sharing site, based in Beijing, is the 46th most popular site in China, one of the world’s most populous countries, and says it broke even in three months, “attracted 2 million unique users a day in the last week of May … and unique users have been growing by 200,000 a day on average per … [Read more...] about Social Web exploding in China