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Dear Subscribers:

Here's our lineup for this final full week of August:

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School's back

The flurry of school-prep activities we're all engaged in is mirrored in a veritable blizzard of back-to-school Internet news. Wired News has a whole section on the subject, including stories about cool gear (for students as well as schools), remote schools brought closer with Net access, textbooks made cheaper by bookselling Web sites, a low-paid teacher who auctions his services online, and Web-based standardized tests that give students feedback.

Here are highlights from Wired and elsewhere:

  1. Homework on the Net

    Two out of three children who have a computer at home use it to help them do their homework, according to NPD Online Research via Nua Internet Surveys. On average, the survey's 2,143 respondents said kids spend an hour a night on the computer, half of that time with their parents monitoring their use. There's more data in the article, but we'll just stop here to muse on the relevance of this news to the digital-divide debate. If computers are becoming that tied in to doing homework, we begin to see the impact of not having ready access to a computer at home. Food for thought!

  2. North Carolina's new tech-literacy standards

    North Carolina, one of those "top down" states where the state Board of Education decides on public-school curriculum statewide, is the first to require its graduates to have basic computer skills. According to Wired News, starting in 2001 every public-school student must pass a computer literacy exam to earn a high school diploma. The test is "part multiple-choice and part on-computer, and includes database, spreadsheet, and word-processing applications." Critics say the test is little more than a basic skills test - the requirement doesn't help teachers integrate computer skills into regular coursework. That's hard to disagree with (to many educators this kind of integration is what actually justifies using tech in schools). And many students would have the basic skills down by their senior year anyway. But another argument is, not all students have the kind of access to tech that would allow them fluency in, say, word-processing; and computer literacy is so essential to employment even now that this is a good requirement for the so-called "have nots" in the digital-divide debate. So - provided teachers are aware of the need to use technology as a means to an end - maybe basic literacy is a good universal requirement. But what do you think? Do email us via feedback@netfamilynews.org.

  3. School supplies (and shoppers) on the Web

    We online parents are now spending more money on school supplies online than at Staples and other brick-and-mortar suppliers, says CNNfn. So far the average US parent has spent $192 on back-to-school items, while parents who did that kind of purchasing online spent $203. Quicken did the survey and makes the point, "It's not that more people are venturing online to shop for school supplies, but that those who do spend more money. In fact, only 3 percent of back-to-school shoppers have purchased items on the Web." Ah, big difference!

    And here's even more interesting material on school-supply buyers at American Demographics magazine: Back-to-school buying has begun to rival or even surpass Christmas sales, retailers are finding, so we're all getting bombarded with more and more summer-season marketing, as retailers go after the $168 billion spent by or on people aged 4 to 19 last year. And as for spending by teens, there's some fascinating info in the article on this group's shopping behaviors. To wit: Previous generations of teens had "a sort of surly sense of entitlement that this generation doesn't have," according to a study by Saatchi & Saatchi's Kid Connection research division. "The affluence and technology they've grown up with has made them a really engaged and enthusiastic group." They're taking on increased family responsibilities, the study says, and they have a lot of autonomy "fueled by the Internet." Which makes them very wise to what marketers are offering them, among other things. When they go shopping for back-to-school (BTW) gear, they "research products and brand names on the Internet, exchange emails with friends about what's hot, check out their peers' views in online chat groups, and then plot their best buys."

  4. College life

    The New York Times has run a number of college-related stories lately. In "Online Classes Let Colleges Expand Offerings", we find that the Internet is helping small liberal-arts colleges act like bigger ones. By pooling resources with other small schools and offering some course material online, they can expand their course offerings. One very cool-sounding example is lining up contemporary German authors (in Germany) to "meet" over the Internet with linguistic classes at several colleges. In another story, "Welcome to College. Now Meet Our Sponsor.", the Times says a company called Campus Pipeline provides Web services to, at last count, 420 colleges and universities at little-to-no cost to them. Advertising pays the bills - students get to look at ads from national and local advertisers when they surf or check their email. Some schools see this as a real service, since providing their own Web services can cost several million dollars. But, just like back in the '80s, when Chris Whittle put ad-supported TV in high schools, there is controversy here. Should school-provided services include advertising? And, BTW, should Campus Pipeline and a similar service called YouthStream collect personal information from students? Do email us what you think.

    And from the "What Will They Think of Next? Department," here's another one of those new-Internet-entrepreneur stories: "On Line, Relief for Essay Angst". It's about a new "industry" that has sprung up: essay-writing consultancies (it's also about help for college applicants). Essay-writing consultants are generally recent grads with experience in the admissions offices of top colleges and universities. They're leveraging and melding their admissions and their Internet smarts (watch for their IPOs in about six months?!). The Times article offers examples of three such Web sites. We won't steal its thunder.

  5. Schooling on the road

    It's a souped-up school bus offering kids courses in critical thinking in new media, building Web pages, and producing public-service announcements, CD-ROMs, and public-service announcements. According to Wired News, the "Media Mobile" just started a year-long tour in San Francisco. Courses will last 2 to 17 weeks. It's a project of BayKids and Just Think Foundation.

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Boys in cyberspace: A hacker's view

Last week we looked at girls' interests and resources on the Internet, so this week it's boys' turn. For first-hand expertise, we interviewed Jasper Clark. He's eighteen, has been online (in BBSs and on the Web) for about five years, sells computer equipment on eBay, is a long-time Net gamer and - professionally speaking - is getting ready to move from developing Web pages and programs for a college to working for a Web design firm in the Northwest (hopefully) and doing a nonprofit Internet startup. Jasper is also a hacker. And that's a good thing (see " 'Nerds' defined" in our May 6 issue ). It's probably not wise for us parents to let media use of the word "hacker" prejudice us. But take it from Jasper:

"When I use the word 'hacker'," Jasper says, "I use it as it should be used: A hacker is someone who strives to use technology to its fullest, who seeks to learn more from it and to help other people learn more from it. The common misconception is that hackers break into systems unwanted. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Crackers are the juveniles who plunder for fun and to inflate the ego. When I say 'hacker' I mean a geek with an attitude and a social life!"

We asked Jasper what he first went online for, way back when he was 13. "The main reason I wanted the Internet," he told us, "was for games and to connect with like-minded people (other gamers/hackers). However, I also used it for school (this was my parents' reason for getting it). My senior research paper in high school was a paper on the History of the Internet, and I made it into a (now lost in cyberspace) Web page."

What were his favorite sites in his early days as boy gamer? "When I first used it," he said, "the Internet's major reason for being was to promote games," so his top site was PC Gamer (magazine) Online. It "was and is the best gaming magazine for boys (and girls)," Jasper said. He also liked Talk City. "Before it was really popular, it had a computer-talk chat room, which at that time had quite a good following. But because what I used the Internet for was game-centric I didn't really have one favorite site. Games had good sites that I frequented as the game came and went."

So now that he's 18 and an online professional, what are his top sites now? "Well, I read my news at Slashdot ("not for the faint of heart," Jasper said). "This is a completely hard-core hacker site dedicated to linux/hardware/Internet news - a MUST for the hacker in the family." Why? we asked. "Because it is a unique way for news to be distributed to the masses of hackers, with feedback on each story, almost assuring complete coverage of all viewpoints…. I primarily just look for new things on the Internet, and Slashdot has great links.

"I also use eBay quite frequently for buying, but mostly selling, my computer goods. If we were basing this question on usage, I would say that this site would wrestle with Slashdot for the #1 position [on Jasper's list]. EBay has everything, and although it's not a good place to buy new computer parts, it makes up for it elsewhere.

"I also bank online with USbank, the worst site I've ever seen - besides ICQ, which I think won worst site of the year for three years." In other words, he uses them because he has to, but these two were not among his top 5 sites!

For parents with teen-aged programming wizards at home, here are some great sites for them: "Learning is also a great part of my Web time," Jasper said. "I wouldn't classify it as professional, but I try and pike up new languages and styles on the Web. Some great sites to learn HTML and JavaScript are Sizzling HTML Jalfrezi and JavaScript Made Easy!!, but if you need Windows drivers or tips, WinFiles.com is only a couple hops away (hops means how many times you go through different routers to the source, one to your ISP's ISP, one to its ISP, and so on.)"

But hackers also have fun: "I get my MP3 [music] collection off the Web," Jasper said. "I have more than 3 gigs of recordings. MP3.com has the largest collection of legal MP3s, a great rating system, and information about the artists and their influences, roots, etc. Of course MP3.com has something for everyone, but I also use Allmusic to find out what I want!

"When I want to play some games (FREE) I go to The Station, where they have multiplayer Jeopardy and Wheel of Forturn, etc... for free! Of course, Yahoo! Games is the best place to play Spades or Bridge.

Besides Slashdot, MP3, and eBay, the other two entries on Jasper's Top 5 list are:

The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project - "About the funniest site on the Internet. Every kid who likes playing with food [not to mention geeks who survive on junk food?] will love this site. It sparked the creative jucies in my mind as soon as I saw it!"

User Friendly - "A comic strip for the ultimate geek, very funny, very free, and very original."

Finally, we asked Jasper for his thoughts on why there seem to be a lot more sites explicitly targeting girls than there are sites just for boys. "I believe that the thought is that boys would rather be playing games online or chatting than reading information off a page or just browsing, that girls are more apt to surf and kinda window shop then just stick to one thing. [Hmmm.] The other thought would be that they believe that boys are smart enough … about the Web to find their own sites, that only the girls need help because they are the 'underdogs.'… I did a little search of my own, and I found that, of the directories listing sites for boys, the majority had the exact same links: Matchbox [Mattel], PlayStation [Sony], and Hot Wheels [Mattel again]…. I would imagine that Sony, et al, don't want to leave anybody out as far as the market is concerned.… I believe that, because of potential negative publicity and lots of other over-simplification, labeling a site as "FOR GIRLS" is ok because supposedly they are a Minority. However, label a site as "FOR BOYS," and you have a lawsuit."

Jasper has a point there. But what do you think? Now that we've heard from Gen on girls on the Net and Jasper on boys, we'd like to get subscribers' (parents or teens) views on 1) what the Web offers girls and boys, and 2) what girls and boys they know really use the Web for. We think your peers would be interested. Please email us!

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Web News Briefs

  1. Filtering via an ISP

    USAToday has done us a service in pulling together a pretty complete sampler of the Internet service providers who filter Web content. What these specialized ISPs offer families is an alternative to installing filtering software on home computers.

    The upside is it's pretty hassle-free - you sign up for a service comparable in price to just about any other Net-access provider, and you don't have to worry about loading, learning, and configuring a new software app that does what the ISP does. The downside is that no ISP can claim to catch all the "nasty" sites, and the user's lack of control over what's filtered out. Though both client-based filters (software on your computer) and server-based filters (filtering on the ISP's server) use inappropriateness criteria decided on by a company (the software maker or the ISP), at least you can do some configuring of software you install on your own computer. Filtering ISPs do claim to be somewhat responsive to their customers' requests, but they have many customers to satisfy. For more detail, see the USAToday piece, complete with a list of the latest ISPs offering this service with prices and corporate background.

  2. Net gambling in Britain

    Here's a slightly scary headline and interesting cultural note: "Women, Children Likely to Exploit Internet Gambling." CyberAtlas is reporting that gambling is set to become a new Internet trend in Britain. The survey, responded to by 2,100 Britons nationwide, found that more than half of Britain's people think gambling is generally addictive, 56% think it's a waste of money, and 87% think gambling on the Internet is regulated. Only 9% think the Internet is a more dangerous place to bet; in fact, many respondents think it much safer, with 22% of women saying they feel the Net offers "a safer, fun, anonymous way to gamble." Here's the women and children part: 24% of women "feel more positive about gambling on the Internet than in a bookmaker's," and 20% feel Net gambling will prove more attractive to children and teens. According to the study, by UK market research firm MORI and Middlesex, England-based The Net Magazine, 33% of teenagers in the UK have Internet access.

  3. Student convicted of online piracy

    Now here's an example of how the Internet's "gift economy" doesn't work when what you're giving is someone else's property! A college student in Oregon has been convicted of illegally distributing thousands of pirated software programs, movies, and musical recordings from his Web site, according to the Associated Press via CompuServe.

  4. Hardware hard-wired

    For more and more Americans, owning a computer means connecting to the Internet, apparently. According to a survey reported in TechWeb by market researchers Jupiter Communications and NFO Interactive, 40% of US homes are connected to the Internet, while 55% have computers. Last year 38% of US homes had Internet access and 45% had PCs. The surveyors says "60 million American homes will be online by 2003, and the gap between hardware and hard-wire will be insignificant."

  5. Following up

    Here's a great followup to last week's item on girls and computers: "The Making of a Girl Tech" at Wired News. A 10-year-old girl built a computer at technology camp for 2nd-through-6th-grade girls this summer. This fall they'll be technology leaders in their schools. It's part of "an innovative teaching program designed by women teachers who want to encourage girls to study math, science, and technology." Girls' science and math scores weren't as high and they weren't pursuing careers in tech, according to a 1992 study entitled "How Schools Shortchange Girls."

    Last June we reported on the latest in e-commerce for kids, including online allowance and digital wallets sites. This month the New York Times ran a useful roundup of "responsible" e-commerce sites that attempt to teach kids how to be informed buyers: "How to Spend an Allowance without Leaving Home". The article includes a sidebar on what teens like to buy online and links to e-commerce sites targeting teens.

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Commentary: From the CEO of a kids Web publishing company

Someone sent last week's item on kids' privacy to Steve Bryan, father of four and CEO of Zeeks.com (a new, Portland, Ore.-based Web site for kids we reviewed last June). Subscriber Bob in Washington, D.C., had taken the time to register at another kids Web site, Disney's Club Blast, and comment on what the experience was like in terms of kids' privacy.

In Steve's response, he puts Bob's comment in the context of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which gets fully implemented this fall and which, Steve says, has direct impact on the bottom lines of publishers of kids' Web sites. We think it's interesting to get the perspective of a small Web publishing company for whom the children's privacy issue is a very big issue. So here you go:

"Dear Net Family News,

"I just saw the newsletter article you published on the discussion surrounding the COPPA law. I think you did an excellent job of pointing out the loopholes and problems with this law and its implementation, as illustrated by Bob's registration at Disney.

"I agree that those of us who publish Web sites for kids should have strict limitations on gathering the personal contact information of kids. A law prohibiting us from selling the data we gather, or using it to send a promotion to a child without parental consent, is not only reasonable, but in my opinion is a moral responsibility. However, COPPA goes way too far and imposes a crushing burden on small companies who DO NOT COLLECT SUCH INFORMATION and never have.

"That said, the root of the problem lies in what it means to collect personal contact information. Bob suggests that a zip code is personal contact information, I would challenge Bob to find any individual on Earth based upon their zip code. COPPA defines it as Name, Address, and Email Address. Zeeks.com collects Nickname, Age, and Zip Code from its 6-13-year-old members. We forbid the use of real names and have no process in place to collect personal contact information. We absolutely never sell the information to others. And what would we sell? The Census Bureau certainly has better information available to any member of the public on the demographics of age groups in geographic regions than we will ever collect - and of course it's free from the government.

"We use the information we do gather only to prove to advertisers that their ads are in fact displayed to a demographic group of users in a 6-13-year age group widely dispersed throughout the United States.

" 'So,' you may ask, 'if Zeeks.com does not collect this offending personal contact information, what is the problem?' The problem is that we do supply filtered search, monitored chat, Buddy List email, pre-screened forums, fun greeting cards with obscenity filters, and Web page creation and hosting also screened by adult employees. COPPA also encompasses these collaborative tools (and imposes the parental consent requirement on us) not because WE collect information, but under the ridiculous premise that we give kids THEMSELVES the tools to distribute their personal information to others. While this is of course true, it is equally true that these collaborative tools, without any of the required parental involvement or built-in safety technologies, are widely available at thousands of 'non-kid' sites all over the Web. Sports sites, entertainment sites, teen sites, and every portal, search engine, and hobby site on the Web offers chat rooms, free email, Web page creation, and forums. If a hurdle is constructed to kids sites, where safety features are in place, the kids will simply go seek these features out at the general-population sites. Result: Kids sites go away, and the Internet becomes even less friendly for children. "The burden that COPPA imposes on small businesses is crushing. Notwithstanding the public's perception that we're all doing IPOs and moving to France, the truth is that it is a tough battle to be profitable on the Web. COPPA will assure the decline of creative small businesses in the childrens space.

"Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

"Sincerely, Steven G. Bryan"

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From our readers

About last week's item on the forthcoming Barbie and Hot Wheels PCs, from subscriber Linda in Boston:

"Just what we need: more ways for girls to be limited to Barbie and boys to be limited to Hot Wheels. This is the worst idea I've heard in a long time. When are we going to move beyond these age-old stereotypes?"

On listing sex offenders online, subscriber Regina in Texas writes:

"I've used it and think it is one of the best things done recently on the Internet. There is so much bad on the Internet, it is nice to see something good and positive. It is very important for me to keep up with this since I live about 5 miles away from where Opal Jennings was kidnapped!"

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That does it for this week. Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Net Family News


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