Research - Headlines - The challenge of making social networks safe 

IT & TELECOMMUNICATIONS The challenge of making social networks safe ENISA, the new European Network and Information Security Agency of the European Union, recently launched a position paper on internet ... social networking security. The paper on Social Networking How to avoid a Digital Hangover , which was presented at a conference called "exchallenges" at The Hague in October, calls attention to the security issues surrounding the social networking sites that are mushrooming on the internet. These sites can be a good way to make friends and contacts. But how much information is being stored about its users? Internet social networking sites are now extremely popular, and many of them are among the most visited websites globally. In the past five years, they have rocketed from a niche activity to a multi-million-dollar internet phenomenon. They attract hundreds of thousands of users who are eager to connect with others and make new friends, but in their enthusiasm, are parting with a grea   [More...] [Less...]

Marc Prensky's Weblog: NSBA Study On Online Behaviors 

NSBA Study On Online Behaviors A new study on online behaviors of teens and tweens, by the National School Boards Association, is well worth reading at Below is some press release information, followed ... by my reactions (prepared for a reporter at Education week) and a link to the Education Week article wherein I am quoted. Description: The report, Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking, is based on three surveys: an online survey of nearly 1,300 9- to 17-year-olds, an online survey of more than 1,000 parents, and telephone interviews with 250 school districts leaders who make decisions on Internet policy. The study was carried out with support from Microsoft, News Corporation, and Verizon. Key findings: o 96 percent of students with online access use social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, and Webkinz. Further, students report that one of the   [More...] [Less...]

Lively 

Top 10 U.S. Social-Network and Blog Site Rankings Issued for Oct. - MarketingVOX 

MySpace.com again tops the rankings of top U.S. social-networking sites, with more than 58.8 million unique visitors in October, according to custom lists of top U.S. social-networking sites and blogs ... compiled by Nielsen Online, reports MarketingCharts. Google's Blogger remains atop blog site rankings with 34.1 million visitors. Ranked second among social-networking sites, Facebook increased the number of visitors to 19.5 million, up 125 percent vs. Oct. 2006. MySpace visitors increased 19 percent year over year. The top 2 social networks' number of visitors increased from September, whereas those ranked 3rd through 4th decreased visitor numbers slightly from the previous month. (Compare with Sept. social-network data .) Among blog sites, top-ranked Blogger increased its visitors a significant 58 percent from the year-earlier period, reaching 34.1 million visitors. More impressively, however, WordPress moved up the rankings to the No. 2 spot - having grown a whopping 444 percent compar   [More...] [Less...]

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Privacy_SNS_Report_Final.pdf [pdf]

Teens, Privacy & Online Social Networks How teens manage their online identities and personal information in the age of MySpace April 18, 2007 Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist Mary ... Madden, Senior Research Specialist PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT 1615 L ST., NW – SUITE 700 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036 202-419-4500 http://www.pewinternet.org/ Summary of Findings Many teenagers avidly use social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, and employ a variety of tools and techniques to manage their online identities. Online social networks are spaces on the internet where users can create a profile and connect that profile to others to create a personal network. Social network users post content to their profiles and use tools embedded within social networking websites to contact other users. Young adults and teenagers are among the most avid users of such websites. Much of the media coverage surrounding young people and online social netwo   [More...] [Less...]

Yahoo Invites Us Into Mash, Its New Social Network 

A little more than two months after we first reported rumors about Yahoo’s new social network Mosh, the company has given us a preview of a social network with a slightly different name: Mash . The service ... includes features common to Facebook, MySpace, and My Yahoo. You can load a set of modules onto your profile page and move them around drag-and-drop style. The modules include Flickr RSS, Ego Boost, Common Friends, MyMoshLog2, Blog Module (RSS 2.0), Asteroids, Astrology, PimpMyPet, Hover, Kaleidescope, Guestbook, and My Stuff. The modules gallery also states that “in the coming months we’re going to open up our module development platform to 3rd party developers,” which suggests that Mash will be following in Facebook’s footsteps at least to some extent (it will be interesting to see whether there will be canvas-like pages, too). Users are encouraged to edit each other’s pages. Each time we visit our profile page, we are seeing new modules that others have loaded for us. This capab   [More...] [Less...]