In the cyberbullying case against Lori Drew, the Missouri mother involved in the creation of a fake MySpace profile that led to Megan Meier's suicide, "a federal jury delivered a mixed verdict," the Los Angeles Times reports. She was convicted of misdemeanor charges involving unlawful computer access, but the jury "rejected more serious felony charges." It was also "deadlocked on a conspiracy … [Read more...] about Verdict in Megan Meier case
college social networking
‘The parents’ fault. Not.’
Those are the words of tech educator Will Richardson, who in his blog tells of a conversation with a high school principal. Richardson had said in his presentation that no one was teaching young people how to use social-network sites well. So the principal told Richardson he was teaching them - when he hauls them into his office, shows them the nasty stuff he'd found on their profiles, and watches … [Read more...] about ‘The parents’ fault. Not.’
MyYearbook helps teens give to ‘Causes’
The US's No. 3 social-network site, MyYearbook.com (see this), just launched a new feature called "Causes," YPulse.com reports. "MyYearbook users can choose from a number of causes like ending world hunger, fighting climate change, saving the rainforests or curing cancer. They donate with virtual money, i.e. $40 buys one grain of rice (expensive grain!), and then get a badge on their profile … [Read more...] about MyYearbook helps teens give to ‘Causes’
The ISTTF: Chicken or egg?
"ISTTF" stands for Internet Safety Technical Task Force, the result of an agreement last January between 49 state attorneys general (minus Texas) and MySpace. The emphasis is on the word "technical," because the attorneys general basically charged the task force, of which I'm a member, with reviewing technical solutions to online youth risk - "age verification" technology being their stated … [Read more...] about The ISTTF: Chicken or egg?
Police department’s MySpace profile
It's not the first time I've seen news stories about law enforcement on the social Web (see links below), but the Washington Post reports it's the first time police in the DC area have established a MySpace profile. The Arlington, Va., Police Department is "hoping that children who use MySpace will add the department to their lists of 'top friends' to discourage sexual predators from contacting … [Read more...] about Police department’s MySpace profile