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A free-to-play "alternate reality game" from the UK commissioned by Channel 4 Education that is intended to give teenage players a personal encounter with everything from identity theft to cyber stalking. Kids (age 14-16) explore websites, search for clues, receive phone calls, chat on IM, and tackle puzzles and mini-games. Through thirteen challenges, (each lasting 10-20 minutes) and a dramatic storyline, they find out who they can trust and who they can't.

Two out of three online U.S. households use social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, nearly twice as many as a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Reports State of the Net survey. But millions who use these services put themselves and their families at risk by exposing very sensitive personal information, according to the national survey of 2,000 online households conducted in January by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Palo Alto-based Togetherville.com has launched their new site as a social web experience for kids (age 6-10). Using Facebook accounts, parents manage the youth accounts and create approved lists of friends for their kids. On Togetherville, kids can play games, watch videos, send messages and create art in a safe and ad-free environment.

Missed Facebook DC Live from the White House yesterday? Check out this video-on-demand with President Obama's Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes, Facebook Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan, author and teen behavior expert Rosalind Wiseman, and MTV Vice President of Public Affairs Jason Rzepka.

Many administrators, teachers, and parents simply associate MySpace and FaceBook with the term social networking, possibly adding Twitter to the mix and generally writing off the technology as an unsafe liability. However, we all need to expand our view of what social networking can be. Kid-friendly social media also doesn't need to mean Club Penguin and Webkins.

Great advice for ALL teachers [Not just those starting out]. From the Teacher Support Network: Privacy pointers to help you keep your personal life from being searched by your students on Facebook.

Call it the green Facebook. There's a new social networking site where environmentally minded teens looking for a place to chat, share ideas, and learn about careers and university programs can now visit.

Question posed in a high school newsletter: If a school comes across online material that depicts a star athlete or school government officer engaging in an illegal activity, should they merely ignore it? Surely, one's moral compass would dictate otherwise. Students must be disciplined for their actions in both the real and virtual worlds.

The digital world can be tricky for teachers.Those who grew up in the pre-Twitter era are often left casting about to learn how to use new technology and keep up with students. Others, comfortable with using text messages and Facebook to make connections, find themselves questioning, as they navigate the new frontier, just where students fit in.

While Facebook is adding users, MySpace is losing them. Many user profile pages on MySpace are either cluttered or neglected, resembling a strip mall with pockets of empty storefronts. The users who remain tend to be younger and poorer, putting a drag on advertising revenue from blue-chip clients.

Our Acceptable Use of the Internet policy next school year will definitely not only address cyberbullying, it will include a clause that states something to the effect, "If cyberbullying outside of school becomes an issue in which a student feels threatened or unsafe in any way at school, the principal has the authority to discipline the cyber bully." It will give the school community the clear message that cyberbullying will not be tolerated and at the very least will give me a little leverage when I need it.

If nothing else, the Iranian election has shown how important social-networking technologies have become in participatory politics. This trend was particularly evident in Iran because nearly half of the country's 46.2 million voters were under the age of 30. These voters have come of age as citizens in an era of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and instant messaging.

Do you wonder how kids are being affected by growing up in a globally interconnected, multicultural, participatory world? Whether you're a parent or educator, it's important to understand the challenges and opportunities experiences like posting to Facebook, creating a blog, or IM'ing offer to kids, and what you can do to help your kids be successful today.

The explosion in social networking may be even greater than imagined. The time that people in the U.S. spend on social network sites is up 83 percent from a year ago, according to a report from market researcher Nielsen Online.

The Carnegie Cyber Academy is a cybersecurity program of instruction developed at Carnegie Mellon University for classrooms, community centers and home schoolers. Students enter a cyber academy and take on three missions that teach them safe computer practices. Learning objectives and outcomes correspond to ISTE NETS. The group has a FACEBOOK page that links you to daily updates, blogs and activities. See: http://bit.ly/18iDle

Steps parents can take to help kids avoid being victims of cyberbullying.
Kids have always been challenged by bullies, particularly at school. But in a high-tech age where the Internet, a personal cell phone and social networking Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace have become an integral part of young lives, there's a new kind of bully on the block.\n\n

Reputation.com is among a growing corps of online reputation managers that promise to make clients look better online. In an age when a person's reputation is increasingly defined by Google, Facebook and Twitter, these services offer what is essentially an online makeover, improving how someone appears on the Internet, usually by spotlighting flattering features and concealing negative ones.

Google's answer to Facebook. See the article on the Google Blog for more information: http://bit.ly/google_plus_project

Google, Apple, and Facebook are known for offering attractive perks, great pay, and excellent workplace cultures - so it's no surprise that they're also three of the world's most sought-after places to work right now.

Hashtags can boost impressions, improve the search ability of your content, and encourage more people to talk about your brand. But using hashtags effectively, especially for business marketing, means doing more than just plugging them into your tweets on Twitter or posts on Instagram, Facebook or another social network. Here's what you need to know to use Hashtag Marketing better as part of your overall small business marketing strategy. - Trending Hashtags - Niche Hashtags - Branded Hashtags - Product or Service-Specific Hashtags - Call-to-Action Hashtag Ultimately, there is no one "right" type of hashtag to use to boost your social media posts. Instead, you'll be best served by using a wide range of hashtag types that are relevant to your business and your audience.