Yoursphere Before Facebook - Here's Why
by Mary Kay Hoal
Parents, there’s no doubt that we want what’s best for our children. We want them to enjoy life and everything that it has to offer, and we want them to be safe while doing so. In today’s world, the Internet is part of that life. Its mainstream influence on our society is growing more and more every day, and our children are right there on the front line ready to embrace what it has to offer. But the number one mistake that parents make when it comes to the Internet is failing to treat it like any other part of life.
A starting point is important for many achievements in a child’s life. When our children are learning how to ride a bike, we don’t put them on a bicycle and drop them off on the freeway—we let them learn in a setting appropriate with their experience. And in my opinion, the Internet should be treated the same way—that’s where Yoursphere comes in.
At Yoursphere, we offer the best that the Internet has to offer: blogging, social interaction, educational content, the ability to create content, a virtual world, hundreds of games, contests and more – all in a platform that gives kids their own voice. But while doing this, we don’t forget that the most important thing is the safety and privacy of your children. Because we go above and beyond the requirements of COPPA , we make it our priority to keep them as safe as possible by incorporating a number of safeguards in Yoursphere.
In every other aspect of our children’s lives they are not required to lie to participate—and that shouldn’t be the case online—that’s why children don’t have to lie about their age to join Yoursphere. Memberships are free, and when parents activate their family membership, we perform both identity verification and a sex offender check on the parent. This enables us to know who is who, and eliminate the problem of anonymity that plagues many other social networks. Kids can sign up on their own if they want, but in order to get full-access to the site, their account needs to be verified by their parents first. Again, just another way we eliminate anonymity in Yoursphere.
One of the main foundational goals of Yoursphere is to educate our members to become good digital citizens: to be kind online and to be” Internet safety smart”. We do this through pro-active Internet safety messaging and education; for example, we promote Internet-safety PSA’s (Public Service Announcements.) In addition, we have teen members that are site Ambassadors. They’ve been recognized within the community as being positive role models. They help to support the encouraging community we focus on providing.
Eliminating anonymity and focusing on supporting a positive culture won’t guarantee a problem-free community. So we leverage the benefits of technology, human oversight, and a great law enforcement team to help make the best-effort in achieving that goal. All of these safeguards are what allows Yoursphere to be a protected online community where your children can learn proper Internet etiquette, become good digital citizens, and have fun while doing it.
Social networks like Facebook and MySpace were created by adults and intended for adults, and it can be very difficult to keep our younger children off of these websites if they don’t have a safe and age-appropriate alternative to turn to. Children are also easily exposed to a myriad of inappropriate websites; that’s why we strive to offer everything that they could possibly want in one site.
Parents, I’m not only asking you to consider Yoursphere for your child because it’s my company. I’m asking you to consider it because I honestly believe that it’s the best stepping-stone for your child. Our children are making the Internet a product of their own creation, and it’s a wonderful thing, but just like with anything in life, they need the proper guidance and education.
And finally, if you feel overwhelmed with technology, and would like a practical and useful tool to help you create a positive and safety-first experience for your family online, spend time at YoursphereForParents.com. The site is packed full of easy-to-implement how-to’s and online safety information.
See also:
2 New Safe Tween Social Websites
KidzVuz - Tweens Create Video Reviews on Their Own Online Community
3 New Safe Social Websites for Tweens
Common Sense Media Launches 'Do Not Track Kids' Campaign
Help Protect Kids from Online Tracking
