Category: Advocates
What To Do About Facebook Friend Hacks
Guest article by Janita Docherty. Friends connecting on Facebook is something that needs to be respected and trusted. Recently, a number of people, including myself, have received friend requests on Facebook from people they know. Why is this unusual? Because these requests are from people who are already connected in some form or another, be [...]
Make The Choice. Choose2Matter. You Matter. Youth Matter.
The founding principal of Yoursphere.com is to provide a platform that authentically represents the voice, the interests, the talents and the aspirations of kids and young teens amidst a culture of respect and positive interaction. Simply put, our youth matter, and they deserve a social network that gives them a platform to magnify their voice. After [...]
Review: Cyman Learns Cyber Smarts and Dangers, By Richard Guerry
Parents, if you have children in first through fifth grade, this book does a wonderful job of repeatedly sharing the importance of digital safety via different and relevant examples with children. While written for those 6 – 10, it honestly hammers home the message that will resonate with the tween audience as well. Consider having your older [...]
Why Facebook Wants Your Young Child To Join Their Network
Great article by industry expert, Linda Criddle. Original article http://ilookbothways.com/2012/06/07/why-would-facebook-want-to-enroll-children-in-a-service-built-with-little-regard-for-adult-safetyprivacysecurity-for-the-money/ _____________________________________________________________________ A floundering Facebook is under increased pressure to shore up their revenue and flat per user minutes. So it was no surprise to see the Wall Street Journal report that Facebook is developing technology to allow children younger than 13 years old to use the [...]
A Positive Online Experience for Our Children
Despite the challenges that we face in the area of safe social networking for kids, I absolutely love and support everything that my company is doing to create a safer, more positive online experience for children. After reading Melanie Schreffler’s piece in YPulse titled The New Millennial Mindset: Positive is as Positive Does, I couldn’t [...]
A Better, More Progressive Internet for Our Children
The other day I read an interesting column on Forbes.com called “Avoiding a Precautionary Principle for the Internet”. In the article, Adam Thierer voices his concern with adopting a “precautionary principle” as it relates to the progression of Internet technologies. The precautionary principle that he mentions is the notion that since every current or future [...]
Security Software is Getting Smarter—So Should We
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. This common phrase is most often credited to 18th century English poet Alexander Pope, but it still holds true today—especially when it comes to technology. Three decades into the personal computer revolution, many people are still better at getting into trouble with their machines than preventing it. Despite [...]
The Declaration of Digital Citizenship
When I read Richard Guerry’s Declaration of Digital Citizenship for the first time in the Social Networking Safety group in Facebook, I absolutely loved it. However, I wanted to know more, so I came up with a list of questions for Richard that would allow me, and you, to better understand exactly why this declaration [...]
Five Very Good Reasons Why Kids Need Their Own Social Network
A Five Part Series Introduction Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Jeff Sutphen Joins Yoursphere!
Rising TV Game Show Star Jeff Sutphen Brings His Unique Brand of Loony Fun to Yoursphere.com Now hosting shows on two TV networks, Sutphen teams with kids-only social media site Yoursphere to advocate for online safety and connect with ‘tween & teen fans via his new “Jeff’s Madness” sphere DAVIS, CA – July 13, 2011 [...]
An Internet-Safety Educational Tool That Shows Great Promise
Linda Criddle’s LOOKBOTHWAYS Foundation has always been a go-to Internet-safety resource of mine. Not only is her website filled with original content about online privacy, mobile safety, cyberbullying and other Internet concerns, but her perspective is backed by 13 years of experience as an online safety expert for Microsoft’s MSN division. Linda’s latest project, NetSkills4Life, [...]
Book Review: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century
Richard Guerry’s Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety: The Real Consequences of Digital Abuse isn’t just an educational resource for parents and teens, it’s an eye-opening analysis of what really drives the Internet safety issues we see today in digital communication and social networking. The educational [...]
Survey Results: Women Targets, Kids Left Unaware, Identity Theft Top Concern
When it comes to Internet safety and what constitutes right and wrong in the digital world, the opinions and cautionary approaches that people take will always vary. You can argue that an individual’s online safety-practices or their awareness of certain aspects of the Internet are usually reflective of his/her own experiences, and whether those experiences [...]
People I Admire – Tshaka Armstrong
When it comes to Internet-safety education, Tshaka Armstrong’s non-profit company Digital Shepherds does it all. Their motto is: “Helping families cross the digital divide”, and that’ exactly what they do. Tshaka and his wife Kelli literally place online-safety education in the hands of kids and their parents. How? Through their workshops, live demos and assemblies—each [...]
Animal Planet Stars Partner With Yoursphere.com
Animal Planet Stars Partner With Yoursphere.com to Boost Awareness of Kids-Only Site That Delivers Creative Solutions to Cyberbullying, Sexting, Identity Theft, and Other Online Threats Internationally known hosts of “It’s Me or the Dog” and “Wild Recon” each launch own “spheres” to connect with young fans, share love of animals and adventure through exclusive content, [...]
People I Admire – Christopher Burgess
Christopher and I met at the PII Conference in Seattle this year. We sat down, had lunch, and talked about what each of us does for a living. We knew each other to some extent thanks to messages or comments exchanged on various social media outlets, but meeting Christopher in real life was definitely a [...]
Yoursphere For Parents Hall of Admiration
Over the past year, I’ve met and spoke with some really great moms and dads. Their stories have been a source of motivation for me, and they’ve supported me in every aspect of my business. Most importantly, each and every one of them works towards making the world a better place for families. And each [...]
People I Admire – Jeff & Reggie from Parental Options
Once in a while you get to meet someone who just blows you away with the dedication they have to their job. They’re doing what they want to do, they’re passionate about it, and most of all, they’re good at it. And that’s exactly how I felt when I sat down with Jeff and Reggie [...]
Facebook Ignores COPPA – Yoursphere Law Enforcement Team Member Speaks Out
In order to do what we do for kids online, we had to put together a dream team of managers, developers, designers, and writers. But unlike most social networks, we added another layer of expertise and skills by bringing on a law enforcement team that strongly believes in creating a safer Internet for kids, and [...]
People I Admire – Dave and Bill from CyberHood Watch
Dave and Bill from CyberHood Watch haven’t only been huge supporters of Yoursphere and what we’re doing to pioneer the way for a safer and more positively focused Internet, but they’ve had an extremely impactful voice in the Internet safety realm for the past three years. Having children of their own, Dave with five and [...]
Deadly Bullying – A Guest Post from Jeffrey Rinek
It’s always a pleasure to meet people who are passionate about something, and in today’s world, it’s nice when that person just happens to be passionate about the safety of our children. Recently, a friend and co-advocate of mine on Facebook, Jeffrey Rinek, referred me to a post that he called “Deadly Bullying”. He shared [...]
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert and the founder of 
