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YouTube
‘Playful by Design,’ a landmark report
What better subject to zoom in on during the holiday season than play? I've written a lot on the subject, here, through the years but, in a way, this is Part 4 of a series I started in 2009 (here are the 2nd and 3rd parts). So now, at the turn of a new year, it’s not only a perfect time but high time to come back to the power of play. Happy holidays to all who celebrate them, happiness to those … [Read more...] about ‘Playful by Design,’ a landmark report
Finally! A YouTube (flexibly) designed for kids 9-12
Tweens are no longer little kids, but they’re also not yet teens. Like all their peers, younger and older, 9-to-12-year-olds love to explore and mess around with media, especially video. They want to be safe so they don’t have to worry, which means they really don’t mind a little help from parental types, but they also don’t want to be contained in an app for “little kids.” YouTube Kids, which … [Read more...] about Finally! A YouTube (flexibly) designed for kids 9-12
An Oversight Board & what’s actually, urgently, needed
Below you'll find background and context to this pivotal point for social media. For a more prescriptive view, click to "Social media's turning point: 5 steps needed now, no turning back." Suddenly things that looked like important, almost radical (potential) fixes a few months ago now seem like “band-aids” or symptom treatments. Suddenly we need a great deal more. By “we,” I mean us, our … [Read more...] about An Oversight Board & what’s actually, urgently, needed
How teens’ social media use changing: New Pew study
Parents of teens probably knew this already, but the Pew Research Center just confirmed it for everybody: YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are US 13-17 year-olds' top social media picks now – at 85%, 72% and 69%, respectively. That's according to Pew's just-released "Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018." [The percentages add up to more than 100% because, as is well known, teens use multiple … [Read more...] about How teens’ social media use changing: New Pew study