The search giant and parent of YouTube, Picasa, Buzz, etc. today launched its new "one-stop shop" for online and on-phone safety for parents. The two things I like about the Family Safety Center most are 1) the video that pulls together good ideas about kid safety from parents at Google, including CEO Eric Schmidt (on the Safety Center's main page) and the way the FAQ puts safety info for all key … [Read more...] about Google’s new Family Safety Center
Buzz
Social Web privacy: A new kind of social contract we’re all signed onto
1993: In a famous New Yorker cartoon, a dog at a computer says to his canine buddy looking up from the floor, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Fast-forward 13 years.... 2006: "On the Internet, EVERYBODY knows you're a dog," declares the subhead to a Michael Kinsley essay in which he wondered at how narcissistic the social Web was (before that became a cliché). Fast-forward only … [Read more...] about Social Web privacy: A new kind of social contract we’re all signed onto
Better teen privacy in Google’s Buzz
Google's Buzz, which makes its Gmail much more social, didn't get off to a great start, where kids' privacy was concerned. But Google has made serious strides toward fixing that, and the "Buzz Teen Safety Tips" video it just put on YouTube takes 2 minutes to show you what I mean. If your teens are using Buzz (the minimum age is 13, as with most social Web services), you might watch the video to … [Read more...] about Better teen privacy in Google’s Buzz
Foursquare & other geolocation apps: For young adults, not kids
More and more, I'm seeing tweets about people becoming mayors of coffee shops in my Twitter stream. They're playing Foursquare on their phones, which pushes their "checkins" or location disclosures out to their Twitter followers. Foursquare is part cellphone social-mapping game, part Yelp (another way to find food, drink, or friends using your phone's geolocation technology). "A large number of … [Read more...] about Foursquare & other geolocation apps: For young adults, not kids
Google Buzz & kids’ privacy
Because Buzz is brand-new and a hybrid of Gmail, micro-blogging, cellphone social mapping, and social networking, we're all at the early stages of figuring out its implications for kids – a lot of whom use Gmail. Yesterday Charlene Li, a mom and well-known social-media-industry analyst, blogged that she had discovered her 9-year-old daughter was using and really enjoying Buzz. Using it from her … [Read more...] about Google Buzz & kids’ privacy