March 23, 2006

Seems as if I'm always encountering the fear of the blogosphere.   I really do feel some days as if I'm the proverbial 'canary in a coal mine' telling people things they just don't want to know, like:

Blogs and social networks are not going to go away.  In fact, they're becoming further adopted and entrenched as vibrant communication channels for everyone - businesses, consumers, and kids.

Last week the Portland Business Journal ran a cover story on business blogging.  I was lucky to be the "poster girl" for blogging in business for Marqui.   As many of our readers know, blogging has been very good for Marqui.  And we had a pretty rough entry into the blogosphere.

And, as a result, I speak about blogging for business a lot. 

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I was fortunate enough to speak at a conference at the University of Washington with a focus on Media Literacy and Teen Health. It was funded by the Washington State Department of Health, and presented by the UW's NW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy. Topics ranged from "The Future of American Media" to "Technology in Schools: Today and Tomorrow."

I was there to speak on blogging and social networks - to a whole new audience - people who work with kids.

On the first day, I noticed there were two sessions on "Teens and the Online Culture" and "Growing Up Online" that were being presented by Bobbie Eisenstock, PhD., a media educator and consultant specializing in "the effects of digital culture on children, teens and families." She consults with folks at the National PTA, Cedars-Sinai Pediatric Residency Program, the Kaiser Foundation and is currently on the faculty of California State University, Northridge.

I was impressed by her knowledge of social networking sites available to kids, and her common sense ideas for "basic rules of the road" for parents and kids who use social networking sites - like MySpace.  (I blogged about my first MySpace experience here.)

But I was honestly stunned by the negative horror stories - about children being lured online into bad situations offline (to very dire consequences) - that were attributed to the niavety of children and blogging and social network sites.  I even ran into an article yesterday in Online Media Daily about how major brand advertisers are shunning MySpace ads - because of the reputation for criminal abuse.

It quickly became clear to me that where blogging is already prolific - with kids and teens - there is more fear of the blogosphere than in business.  And, more importantly, there is more ignorance. 

I am convinced parents have no idea how easy it is for kids to set up accounts on sites like MySpace or LiveJournal.  And in their innocence, they can publish too much information about themselves.

In fact, I had a gentleman come up to me the second day and say he went home and asked his son to show him his MySpace account.  His son was surprised he asked to see it, and he was surprised his son had one. 

The second day of the conference I encountered anger, frustration, and more fear around blogging and social networks from attendees of my session - when I was exposing them to how easily they've caught on.  One man demanded to know who is responsible for what happens where kids are involved.  In my own innocence, I said I thought parents were... at least for now.  Well, it didn't go over well in a room full of educators and social service people - that an industry veteran would say parents should do more.

My answer to them - I will blog about this situation so (at least my readers) will know and share the following:

• Kids are already out there.  They're already engaging with their friends in the blogosphere. 
• And Bobbie Eisenstock's rules of the road should be available to every parent wondering what to do about it.

Pass it on.  Blogs and social networks are not going to go away.  So let's figure out how to help each other deal with it.  And let's show how the blogosphere can do some very good work.

Posted by at March 23, 2006

Comments

Amanda email - amanda.prblogs.org

Interesting post! I can relate because I have had my parents say "Now what are you doing on Facebook?" countless numbers of times. It seems that people are always skeptical of new technology. I remember when my parents first questioned my use of AIM in middle school. And sometimes, in the case of Facebook and MySpace, those concerns are very valid. Some social networks (like MySpace and Facebook) allow you to see almost any information about a person, unless they have somehow activated some sort of restriction or limitation. There are weird people out there who try to lure unsuspecting young teenagers/adults into some not-so-good situations. You really can't be sure who's on the other end of the computer.

In working with a client this semester for my PRCM 4090 PR Campaigns class, I have noticed that our client also seems to have a fear of blogs. My guess is that she is nervous to put out her thoughts on the Internet. Perhaps she thinks it is more like a LiveJournal.

So, what are some way to help ease fears about social networking and blogs. I agree that Einstock's Rules of the Road is a great tool for parents, or anyone with concerns.

With blogs, it is important to educated people on the benefits of blogs if they are used properly.

I'm guessing that as time progresses, people will begin to see that there are some benefits to these new technologies.

Wes email - wesley.prblogs.org

I agree with you that parents should be partly responsible for a child's online content. When I was younger myspace and livejournal were not big deals. But like Amanda said it was AIM.

My parents had heard horror stories of meeting some people through AIM and they didn't want that to happen to me. So what did they do?? EVERY SINGLE time my mom walked in and saw me on AIM she asked me who I was talking to. That helped keep me in check.

Parents should warn their children about the dangers, but it isn't all bad. The technology can be used for great things. The person just has to be responsible enough to handle the situation.

In my opinion, businesses really have no excuse not to blog. It is a cheap, easy way to advertise and keep in touch with its publics. Plus, there is very little, if any, physical danger involved for a business to begin blogging. So start blogging and see if business doesn't pick up. I got a feeling it will.

Walter Carl email - www.cmnu531.blogspot.com/

Hi Janet,

Thanks for your post!Here are some thoughts my students had about it:

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/cmnu531/114381563366513903/

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