Recently we all heard about how the Obama girls are not allowed to go on Facebook. Well, Sasha and Malia may not be completely “out of the loop” if the First Lady approves of a new social network that was specifically designed with kids their age in mind.
A new site called Everloop is positioning itself as a safe, moderated social network that complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). “At Everloop, we’re recognizing that kids want to be online, and our goal is to get kids’ online time focused on connecting with a purpose,” Everloop’s website’s parents page says. The network launched last week and has partnered with i-Safe to run an Internet safety training program at 56,000 schools around the country.
Everloop calls itself a “social looping platform” and claims to keep tweens safe by maintaining a “privacy loop” around their connections. Kids can join a “loop” that relates to their interests, participate in school projects, connect with friends, post pictures and share comments. They can also decorate their profile and add some personalization elements.
Like most COPPA-friendly sites, parents need to approve their child’s Everloop account before it is enabled. Parents also have the option of disabling certain site features, such as friend suggestions or instant messaging. Parents are always notified about new “connections” so they can stay “in the loop.”
Ultimately, kids will be the judge of whether this “parent-approved Facebook” will be cool enough to keep them interested.
