Musical.ly just may've replaced Instagram as kids' starter app. This is an educated guess. I remember a few years ago my friend Trudy Ludwig, the award-winning children's author, observing that, based on all the elementary schools she visits throughout the U.S., Instagram was huge with 4th and 5th graders. Don't get us wrong, we know the official minimum age of these apps is 13. The reality, … [Read more...] about Musical.ly inclined: App huge with younger users
Risk & Safety
Online harassment 2016: Fresh data
I get a lot of press releases in my email in-box. This one about harassment in social media truly surprised me because it was balanced, cited data responsibly, did not appeal to people's fears and represented clear understanding of today's media environment. The survey of Americans 18+ – a project of Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist.com and craigconnects.org, and social impact consultants … [Read more...] about Online harassment 2016: Fresh data
When Pokémon GO really gets epic
You may've noticed this: More than the usual number of people with phones in their hands have been bumping into things and each other lately. That's because of Pokémon GO, which market researcher MFour announced the other day had passed Twitter as the U.S.'s No. 1 app. "Fully a third of U.S. Android smartphone users 13 and over have downloaded the augmented reality game that’s become the talk of … [Read more...] about When Pokémon GO really gets epic
Transformational – not just transactional – Net safety & citizenship needed
A couple of years ago I listened to a heart-rending interview on NPR with Joe Ehrmann, former NFL football player and founder of Coach for America. I'd been the mother of a hockey player for more than a decade and was moved by Ehrmann's call for transformational rather than transactional coaching. Like many parents, I found myself wishing there'd been more of that in our family's experience. But … [Read more...] about Transformational – not just transactional – Net safety & citizenship needed
Handling toxicity: Insights for parents & teachers from Riot Games
There's real wisdom for parents, coaches and educators – not to mention gamers, athletes and social media users – in this business story about what toxic behavior does to a team. The game in question? League of Legends, a 30 million-player "team-based game" along the lines of Capture the Flag "or, more aptly, 'destroy the enemy base'," according to Google's re:Work's description. The game company … [Read more...] about Handling toxicity: Insights for parents & teachers from Riot Games