Blog Safely
Social networking sites allow users to interact with each other in many
ways, and to share their thoughts through blogs (which is short for Web
logs). Here are some tips for kids sharing through blogs:➟ The site should offer site monitors and tools to help
protect user safety, such as a way to control who has
permission to see the blog and the ability to block
harassing users and turn comments on or off.➟ Know who owns the content. Read the terms and
conditions of the blog site relative to content. Even
some of the most popular blog and social networking
sites have clauses that give the service the right to use
anything people post in any way they want. Choose a
service that respects your grandchildren’s right to their
own content and retain their privacy.➟ If a blog is not set to private, anyone can visit and
comment on what the blogger is saying or posting.
Kids don’t realize that most blog sites default blog
posts to being publicly viewable; they have to change
the setting to make their blog private. The more per-
sonal or identifiable the information your grandchil-
dren share, the fewer people they should share it
with. If your grandchildren choose to make their
blogs public, they should disclose only what they
would want anyone on the Internet to know.➟ Periodically review or ask your grandchildren to
review who has access to their pages. Friends change
over time and once-trusted people may become less
trusted. It is particularly important for them to imme-
diately block access to anybody with whom they have222
Part II: Using the Internet While Dodging the Risk