Buy a certain virtual crop in Farmville or building in Cityville and – with the help of Save the Children and the Red Cross – your money goes to Japan earthquake relief, EngageDigital.com reports. "Social games can deploy charity items rapidly in response to disasters." Zynga (via its Farmville and Cityville games) started in mid-March. Sony Online Entertainment started its relief effort in late … [Read more...] about Gaming for the Japan relief effort
Archives for April 2011
Net-related ‘juvenoia,’ Part 2: So why are we afraid?
Last week I wrote about why we don't need to be so afraid (of the Net where our kids are concerned); this week why we are. I've been asking myself that for more than a decade, and I have my theories, but watching David Finkelhor's talk "The Internet, Youth Deviance & the Problem of Juvenoia" was a breakthrough for me. See if it is for you.... Here's how Dr. Finkelhor, who has studied child … [Read more...] about Net-related ‘juvenoia,’ Part 2: So why are we afraid?
Online spin control: Who does it best? Us!
A new (and growing) Net business category is now employing Net scare tactics: online reputation management. For example, "the Internet has become the go-to resources to destroy someone’s life online, which in turn means their offline life gets turned upside, too,” Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik told the New York Times. The article offers helpful insights into how this high-end approach to … [Read more...] about Online spin control: Who does it best? Us!
Virginia school officials, pls get this right!
Read the lede anecdote of this Washington Post story and tell me if you think Kimiya's 11th-grade English teacher didn't come up with a brilliant solution to help her. Using Twitter. And yet the Virginia Board of Education apparently thinks that the use of social media in school assignments could be the slippery slope that leads to more teachers becoming sexual predators. "The push for new … [Read more...] about Virginia school officials, pls get this right!
McGonigal’s latest game for social change
What a concept: Engage players in a "real world" quest that brings them together at a famous institution to kick off an online game for social change – not just game-changing but aiming to be world-changing (or to help players be change agents). Quest #1: If you're 18+ and want to be one of the first 500 people to play Find the Future, go on the "overnight adventure of a lifetime," and write a … [Read more...] about McGonigal’s latest game for social change