This is an important next step for suicide prevention as well as social media. Facebook and the US's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have just announced a partnership that links Facebook users expressing suicidal thoughts directly to live chat with a crisis counselor at the Lifeline. Before, and like other social-media services, Facebook would just send the distressed user the Lifeline's … [Read more...] about Will the global village have a ‘911’?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Learning how to save lives in Facebook
In a very sad story reported in the London Evening Standard, hardly any of the 1,048 Facebook friends of Simone Back of Brighton, UK, did anything to try to prevent her suicide after she posted a status update saying goodbye, she was taking "all my pills." Her mother, who called the UK equivalent of 911 after someone texted her about the post, told the Evening Standard that no FB friends local to … [Read more...] about Learning how to save lives in Facebook
Reachout.com: Substantive help site for teens
"We Can Help Us" is the welcoming (and welcome) message of a just-launched suicide-prevention campaign created by the US government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Inspire USA Foundation, and the Ad Council. It's great that there are press releases and radio and TV spots will hit the wires and airwaves, but even better is ReachOut.com, a welcoming … [Read more...] about Reachout.com: Substantive help site for teens
Web community moderator to the rescue
There's help on the social Web. Lloyd Mann, a volunteer moderator for DiabetesDaily.com, a support community on the Web, appears to have saved the life of one of the site's users, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Another user noticed some disturbing posts and contacted the moderator. "Mann communicated with the troubled poster and said the messages were enough to convince him that [the poster] … [Read more...] about Web community moderator to the rescue
Digital risk, digital citizenship
It's becoming increasingly clear that - in a highly participatory environment such as the fixed and mobile social Web - risk and citizenship are directly related. Risk-prevention experts show how online community mitigates risk. Inner thoughts are expressed outwardly, and peers notice a friend in crisis and get help by any means possible. Online social networks are powerful tools for peer help and … [Read more...] about Digital risk, digital citizenship