In every neighborhood, there are neighbors and then there are visitors, and it's mostly the neighbors who make it what it really is – great to hang out in or maybe not so much. That's true in social media too, only digital neighborhoods can be geographically based or interest based. They're interest communities. Some sites are single interest communities, others encompass masses of them – and all … [Read more...] about Smart safety: YouTube’s ‘neighborhood watch program’
Social Media
The app ecosystem & very public secrets
This is a sidebar to my two previous posts here and here. These are crazy times in the mediascape, and not just because of crazy valuations of startup apps. How do all these socially risky apps get out into the digital ecosphere? They don't take a lot of people, time or other resources to build anymore – not like digital media products and services of lore, anyway, as a recent NYT Magazine … [Read more...] about The app ecosystem & very public secrets
Will safety ever be ‘baked in’ to social apps?
Whether or not social apps can be made as trolling- and cyberbullying-proof as possible before they hit the app stores is a question more and more people are asking – and asking that question is a step in the right direction. The spanking-new anonymous app Secret is already making some changes after a "flap" in Silicon Valley about so-called grownup users' behavior in the app, the New York Times … [Read more...] about Will safety ever be ‘baked in’ to social apps?
How Yik Yak is different from other social media
Based on news reports and conversations with educators about troubles with Yik Yak, the location-based anonymous texting app, at schools in many parts of the US, three scenarios leap to mind…. Remember that kid at school (or maybe that frat house) who felt the need or the pressure to set off the fire alarm to see what would happen, test the system, get attention or whatever social … [Read more...] about How Yik Yak is different from other social media
Social media reality check from Canadian youth: Key study
Before releasing its report on online conflict, MediaSmarts presented a much broader picture of young Canadians' experiences in social media: "Life Online." This is important context for any discussion about cyberbullying and other negative aspects of digitally informed life, whether we're setting policy at the household, school or national levels. "There are a lot of assumptions out there … [Read more...] about Social media reality check from Canadian youth: Key study