The new non-fake news & Snapchat
Last week I wrote about fake news, this week about its opposite. This is very real news, as captured by bystanders on the spot – curated and given app-wide exposure by Snapchat. This is quite likely to...
View ArticleFinally, kids can have their own Google accounts (with parents’ help)
Google made a bit of history today, opening up its universe of apps and services to users under 13 as their parents design it. Family Link, the name of the new parental control toolset, describes it...
View ArticleYellow app: Signs of smarter digital safety
It isn’t often that a social media startup has the stated “ambition to become a major social platform and a leader in safety [emphasis mine].” But that’s what the team behind Yellow, a fast-growing,...
View ArticleAbout teens’ new top app ‘tbh’& (real) safety in apps
“It’s trying to be the anti-Sarahah,” reports New York Magazine. But, like Sarahah, tbh (for “to be honest”), the newest hot app among teens in Apple’s App Store, is probably trying not to be a flash...
View ArticleFacebook’s Messenger Kids: Important new digital-parenting tool
Facebook’s launch of Messenger Kids is a game-changer – but not just in the way you might think. Sure it’s the world’s largest social media service’s first product for people under 13. That’s certainly...
View ArticleAbout ‘Momo’& dealing with viral media scares
There’s no rhyme or reason to these things. They show up on different social media platforms, start in different parts of the world, but don’t always take off in regions where they started. There are...
View Article‘Automated fame’: 1 of the TikTok stories of the moment
You’ve undoubtedly seen news stories about Charli D’Amelio, 2020’s 16-year-old TikTok phenomenon, with 6 billion likes and 82 million followers since she joined the app last spring. It was the part...
View ArticleHow this new app might well be safer…
…and what that has to do with content moderation Fizz just might come to be known as the kinder social media app. I know, you’re probably thinking, “Yeah sure.” And I do understand. But, from some...
View ArticleBeReal & being real about safety & privacy
Seventeen magazine recently asked me if the BeReal app is safe for teens. Here’s their article about that, which is great but of course lots got left on the cutting floor. Here’s my full take: The way...
View ArticleThreads: The new social media kid
“Picture Twitter but with a lot less Elon Musk” is how the Wall Street Journal is describing Threads, Meta’s new app. That right there is good news, maybe unusual where tech is concerned. I’ll give you...
View Article