Among many other things, the past 24 hours were a pivotal moment for content moderation – for online safety worldwide. I'm usually not US-centric in the way I think about online safety, but what happened in Washington and online, yesterday and since, and then with the global platforms, showed us how far our thinking – and questions – about Internet safety have come. Last night Facebook and … [Read more...] about Online safety after Trump’s deplatforming
Finally, kids can have their own Google accounts (with parents’ help)
Google made a bit of history today, opening up its universe of apps and services to users under 13 as their parents design it. Family Link, the name of the new parental control toolset, describes it well: Parents download the tools to their own and the kids' devices, then link them up for a whole family's real-time digital device management. Family Link "marks one of the first attempts by a … [Read more...] about Finally, kids can have their own Google accounts (with parents’ help)
Millennials’ top 10 apps at the turn of the year
Youth digital research firm YPULSE's "most clicked article of 2015" didn't hold a lot of surprises, but it might be useful to note teens' and millennials' top picks here at the turn of the year. Facebook owns three of the Top 10 apps: Instagram (No. 1), the Facebook app (2nd) and Whatsapp, which appears to tie with YouTube and the Weather app for 7th place, and Google two of them (its search app … [Read more...] about Millennials’ top 10 apps at the turn of the year
A prime minister & a professor: True connecting in a digital age
Two messages in two media – video and text – by a prime minister and a professor got me, and I'm sure many others, thinking about the good, not-so-good and necessary connecting we human beings are doing on digital devices now, at both international and personal levels. I haven't heard a politician from any country speak of using social media the way India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi did at … [Read more...] about A prime minister & a professor: True connecting in a digital age
A YouTube for the littlest video viewers
Think of YouTube Kids as digital training wheels for the little video viewers at your house - something a lot of parents have been wanting for a very long time. We all know how popular but not always appropriate YouTube is for kids. Problem solved. Designed for kids through age 8, YouTube Kids carefully screens videos so the littlest online viewers can satisfy their seemingly over-active curiosity … [Read more...] about A YouTube for the littlest video viewers