A thoughtful New York Times piece looks at the social Web's young innovators and reports that "the cyberpioneers of the moment are digitally effusive teenage girls," referring to the Pew/Internet findings that they're the biggest creators of Web graphics, blogs, photos, profile pages, and sites (35% of girls 12-17 have blogs vs. 20% of boys; 32% of girls have Web pages vs. 22% of boys; and 70% of … [Read more...] about Boys & girls on Web 2.0
Research
Social sites safer than chat, IM: Study
Parents, don't just talk with your kids about social networking - chat sites and instant messaging really need to be in the conversation too. Despite the news media's focus on social-networking sites as the locus of online child exploitation, it turns out chat sites and instant-messaging are where most sexual solicitation and cyberbullying is happening. But even in those "places" online, "only 15% … [Read more...] about Social sites safer than chat, IM: Study
Key researcher’s view on MySpace/AGs accord
The day after the agreement between MySpace and the state attorneys general was announced, a University of New Hampshire publicist sent me comments from David Finkelhor, director of UNH's Crimes Against Children Research Center. The Center's work has been key to shaping our society's understanding of online child exploitation since any of us first became aware of the problem (for example, see … [Read more...] about Key researcher’s view on MySpace/AGs accord
‘Growing Up Online’: Discussion needed!
It's the best piece of journalism I've seen about the online experiences of youth in 10 years of following this subject. It's actually representative of teens' use of the Net and the research we now have on it. If you haven't seen it, consider watching PBS Frontline's one-hour documentary "Growing Up Online" (it can be viewed online at your convenience here). I have a few soundbytes in it, but I'm … [Read more...] about ‘Growing Up Online’: Discussion needed!
US social networking: Fresh numbers
Here's a fresh snapshot of where and how much Americans are social networking. Hitwise just announced its latest figures, finding that - out of Hitwise's group of 53 leading social sites - MySpace averaged 76.35% of all US visits last year. Next came Facebook.com, Bebo.com and BlackPlanet.com with 12.57%, 1.24%, and .87% respectively. As for the number of visits in a single month (December), … [Read more...] about US social networking: Fresh numbers