This blog post could be eye-opening for parents or anyone who might think putting any single social site's feet to the fire would take care of teen social-Web safety problems: TechCrunch looks at "Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network". In other words, if MySpace or Facebook somehow went away - besides the option of simply moving to another social site based in the US or not - teens of course … [Read more...] about Many mini-MySpace options now
social networking
No teacher rating in France
Not online, anyway. A French court cracked down on a teacher-rating site based in that country: Note2be.com. Like US-based sites RateMyTeachers.com and RateMyProfessors.com, Note2be encouraged students to grade and discuss their teachers' capabilities. The judges said the site "could no longer identify any teachers by name and told the site's owners they faced a $1,517 (1,000 euro) fine for every … [Read more...] about No teacher rating in France
Imposter profiles: No easy solution
Imposter profiles are one form of cyberbullying or online harassment certainly not restricted to youth. Tweens, teens, and adults create profiles that impersonate the people they want to harass, putting them in an embarrassing or defaming light. There are also simply fake profiles of imaginary people aimed at tricking the real people who "befriend" the imaginary people in the fake profiles, which … [Read more...] about Imposter profiles: No easy solution
Thai monks warned not to use social site
Buddhist monks in Thailand "have been warned not to use social networking sites to flirt with girls," InformationWeek reports, citing coverage in the Bangkok Post. The warning was associated with reports that Thai police were "investigating a rape claim against a monk" in which he was accused of using the Internet to lure and abuse a teenage girl. The prime minister reportedly asked Thailand's … [Read more...] about Thai monks warned not to use social site
Gangs on the social Web
Teen gang members use social-networking sites as much as other teenagers. What social networkers and their parents might want to be aware of is how gangs recruit new members online and off. Johnny Vance, a probation officer in Ohio, told the Dayton Daily News the "5 Hs" that tend to make kids most vulnerable to gang overtures: when they're "helpless," "hopeless," "hungry," "homeless," and … [Read more...] about Gangs on the social Web