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LiveWorld Allies with Industry Leaders to Support BlogSafety.com
A Resource for Parents Concerned About Social NetworkingLos Gatos, Calif., July 11, 2006 – LiveWorld, Inc.
(Pinksheets: LVWD.PK, www.liveworld.com ) today announced its
support for BlogSafey.com, a new not-for-profit Web site that
is providing expert advice and an interactive forum to support
parents grappling with ways to protect their teens in the new
world of social networking.
LiveWorld, the leading customer online community and social
networking provider for Fortune 1000 companies, joins with top
social-networking and Internet companies in support of the
site’s mission to provide education and awareness. Other
key sponsors include AOL, Bebo, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5,
LiveWorld, MySpace, SixApart/Livejournal, Tagged and
Xanga.
"The dangers of social networks are real, but there’s no
need to panic -there is a need to get a discussion going," said
BlogSafety co-founder, Anne Collier. "These companies
understand the urgency of the issue and are demonstrating true
leadership in helping us provide a resource for parents to turn
to.
In addition to providing financial support, sponsoring
companies have agreed to assist parents who post questions in
the forum by providing the staff of BlogSafety with direct
access to key customer support personnel so that parents'
questions and concerns can be addressed promptly.
As part of its commitment, LiveWorld is hosting the site on a
pro-bono basis. The LiveWorld platform includes the same
interactive technology and moderated format that these and
other corporate clients use to keep visitors engaged and coming
back. Over time, the site will add blogging, polls, and other
social-networking features that the platform supports.
"Social networking is to 'Generation C' (community connected)
kids what radio, television and telephones were to previous
generations. It is the cultural center of their lives," said
Peter Friedman, CEO of LiveWorld. "The parental challenge of
our decade is to constructively embrace the social networking
culture. BlogSafety is designed to empower parents through
learning by participation in a social network for
parents."
BlogSafety.com is co-directed by Collier, the editor of
NetFamilyNews.org - the leading source of family-tech news, and
technology journalist and Internet safety expert Larry Magid.
The pair are also the co-authors of the soon-to-be released
MySpace Unraveled: What It Is and How to Use It Safely
(Peachpit Press, July 2006).
PR Contact: Betty Taylor, bettyt@krause-taylor.com
, Ph: 408-918-9080
IR Contact: Brinlea Johnson: The Blueshirt Group, for
LiveWorld, 212 867-2593
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Non-Profit Project is Backed by AOL, Bebo, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, LiveWorld, MySpace, SixApart/Livejournal, Tagged, and Xanga
PALO ALTO, CA., July 11, 2006 – We've all seen reports
about the dangers of social networks, but there’s no need
to panic - there is a need to get a discussion going, say the
directors of BlogSafety.com, a highly interactive new Web site
from the founders of SafeKids.com and NetFamilyNews.org. The
site, which is now live, includes expert advice plus an
interactive forum to support parents grappling with ways to
help their teens safely enjoy the benefits of this new
always-connected world of "Web 2.0."
BlogSafey is a not-for-profit project (part of the tax-exempt
Tech Parenting Group) supported by a consortium of the leading
social-networking and Internet companies: AOL, Bebo, Facebook,
Friendster, Hi5, LiveWorld, MySpace, SixApart/Livejournal,
Tagged and Xanga.
"These companies," said BlogSafety advisory board member and
Mayo Clinic professor Dr. Daniel Broughton, "have put aside
their competitive differences to support an essential cause:
protecting children through education and awareness." Dr.
Broughton, cofounder and director of the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, is joined on the advisory board
by the leading social-networks researcher Danah Boyd
(University of California, Berkeley), veteran youth officer,
Det. Frank Dannahey in Connecticut and software pioneer Daniel
Bricklin.
While it has kid-tech news and regularly updated expert advice,
the site is far more than an informational resource. At its
core is an interactive forum where parents, teens and experts
can discuss the impact on kids of this new, user-driven phase
of the Web, and vice versa. "It’s a social network about
social networking and family technology," said co-founder Anne
Collier. "A vibrant discussion is already under way with
parents, teens and experts mixing it up daily," she added.
Besides, said co-founder Larry Magid, "why should kids have all
the fun?"
In addition to providing financial support, sponsoring
companies have agreed to assist parents who post questions in
the forum by providing the staff of BlogSafety with direct
access to key customer support personnel so that parents'
questions and concerns can be addressed promptly.
The site is hosted on a pro-bono basis by LiveWorld, a leading
provider of private-label online community and
social-networking sites for major brands worldwide such as
eBay, HBO, MINI Cooper and TV Guide, The LiveWorld platform
includes the same interactive technology and moderated format
that these and other corporate clients use to keep visitors
engaged and coming back. "Over time, the site will add
blogging, polls, and other social-networking features that the
platform supports," Magid said.
BlogSafety.com is co-directed by technology journalists and
Internet safety experts Larry Magid and Anne Collier, who are
the co-authors of the soon-to-be released MySpace Unraveled:
What It Is and How to Use It Safely (Peachpit Press, July
2006). Magid is technology analyst for CBS News and an
occasional columnist for the New York Times. Collier is editor
of nine-year-old NetFamilyNews.org, the leading source of
family-tech news.
Contact:
Larry Magid: 650.292.2417 / larry@larrmagid.com or
Anne Collier: 801.598.3255 / anne@netfamilynews.org
