It's exciting to see the signs of adult support for youth voices and participation multiplying. It's important and it's time. Here is just a sampler of this encouraging trend: Agency for citizenship. In Internet safety circles, we're seeing increasing focus on citizenship (online and offline) rather than on safety alone – safety as a means to competent participation and expression in … [Read more...] about Youth participation’s growing momentum
Social Media
MySpace’s nonexistence greatly exaggerated
MySpace is alive and well and apparently never lost its core group of users, music fans. More than 50 million people visited what many people think of as the original social network service this past November (the latest monthly figure available), a 575% increase, the Wall Street Journal reports. And they viewed more than 300 million videos in the month of November (the latest monthly figure … [Read more...] about MySpace’s nonexistence greatly exaggerated
Millennials’ startup: Social change in a social-networking skin
How fitting for a social network service for social good to launch on Martin Luther King Day. Created by millennials to have "a positive ripple effect," its name, RIZZARR.com, comes from the Spanish verb "rizar," which means "to ripple or ruffle the surface." "Our goal is to provide a positive, globally connected platform where both inspirational news and content from Millennials are shared" by … [Read more...] about Millennials’ startup: Social change in a social-networking skin
Social media literacy in an app
Brilliant concept. A source of quick, digestible social media literacy delivered by an app, not parents (one reason why it's so digestible). I'm talking about the ThinkUp app. It's definitely not just for teens, but what a great application for a reputation-curation and media-mindfulness tool. It's so much more powerful than just googling oneself or getting a service like Reputation.com to help … [Read more...] about Social media literacy in an app
Kids’ top social media picks: New resource for parents
Here's a super starting point for a conversation with your children about social media: NetAware, a brand-new set of reviews of kids' top social media services. It's not the first such resource for parents, but two things set it apart: These are kids' own top social media picks. This isn't adult guesswork. Because part of its mission is to "ensure the voices of children are heard in … [Read more...] about Kids’ top social media picks: New resource for parents