Remember Beanie Babies? Cabbage Patch Dolls? Well, now there’s Webkinz. The only (significant) difference is Webkinz have a social site/virtual world for their young owners – kind of a starter MySpace for people below its minimum age. “Last year, Webkinz brought in more than $45 million in retail in the U.S.,” CNET reports. The writer went through hoops to acquire her Webkinz, named Cneta, then … [Read more...] about Social-networking training wheels
Youth
Barbie vs. the penguins
Even though she reigned supreme on Web 1.0, as more and more kid-oriented virtual worlds like ClubPenguin and WebKinz open on the Web, Barbie’s struggling to keep up, according to a CNET analysis. “Mattel's Barbie.com and EverythingGirl.com have the highest concentration of girls age 2 to 11 on the Web, according to researcher Nielsen NetRatings, but their overall audience hasn't grown much over … [Read more...] about Barbie vs. the penguins
Prevention on the social Web
A tragic teen double-suicide case in Australia underscores the importance of loved ones and caregivers monitoring what at-risk youth say in their online profiles and blogs. Two 16-year-old girls in the Melbourne area apparently killed themselves in a suicide pact, posting "their own death notice – a farewell message to their online friends" in MySpace, The Star in Malaysia reports. The Star … [Read more...] about Prevention on the social Web
6,000 students, 6,000 hackers?
Having a handle on 6,000 students' Net use doesn't seem to be that big a deal to Southwest Allen County Schools' network administrator Mark East, even though he jokingly told the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette that's about how many hackers there are on his network. The article provides insights into how some public schools are handling students' online safety. Most of the districts in this part … [Read more...] about 6,000 students, 6,000 hackers?