Facebook Blog

Parents Have Rules to Follow Online, Too

2009-11-12T14:30:56-08:00

Liz Perle is the Editor-in-Chief of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families. The organization believes that parents should have a choice and a voice about the media their kids consume. We've asked Liz to share some common sense tips for parents as they navigate technology and the web with their kids.

Where do kids learn about good online behavior? From each other, perhaps. Maybe from a teacher. But parents have a big role to play in making sure their kids use the incredible technologies at their fingertips in responsible ways. For parents, that means not only talking the talk, but walking the walk.

It's really up to parents to explain the basics of online safety and stress the importance of guarding privacy in a world where something shared with one friend online can quickly spread to a vast audience of many others. Parents should be sure their kids understand that anything and everything that people post online can be altered, copied, pasted and sent around to a gazillion friends of friends in an instant.

It's a parent's job to make sure kids understand that everything they do online leaves a "digital footprint" — the idea that once something is shared online, it's really almost impossible to take it back. Just ask my son about the Halloween photo of him that he thought was so funny in 8th grade. Two years later, it's resurfaced. Let's just say it's not doing much for his dating life.

But what about the parent's side of the equation? Kids learn from their parents, not just from what their parents say but also from what they do. It turns out that parents have as much to do with their kids' online behaviors as their kids do.

At Common Sense Media, we're dedicated to helping kids and families get the most out the powerful digital technologies that run through the center of our lives. Some of this involves helping kids learn responsible behavior, but kids are only half the story. Parents also have some "Rules of the Road" they should be following:

Model good behavior. If you're on your phones at dinner or during family events, why should your kids listen to you when you tell them to turn their phones off?

Pay attention. Know what your kids are doing online. For instance, talk to your kids about whether or not they're comfortable letting you "friend" them on social networks — many will be.

Impart your values. Right and wrong extends to all areas of life, whether it's online or through a mobile device. Cheating, lying, being cruel — they're all non-starters, no matter where you are.

Establish limits. There's really a right time and place for everything. Set guidelines for when it's acceptable to use the phone, download videos and surf the web.

Encourage balance. The Internet opens doors to new worlds. Encourage your kids to explore their own offline world as well, particularly when there is no cell phone or Internet service available.

Make kids accountable. Let your kids know that having access to technology is a privilege. Let's make sure they earn it.

Explain what's at stake. Let them know that what might seem acceptable today can be embarrassing tomorrow.

Do your homework. Get familiar with the websites and services your kids use and the type of content they're downloading. Armed with knowledge, you can find ways to use technology to say "yes" more often.

Don't be techno-phobic. Don't be afraid of technology. Learn to text, send a mobile photo, set up a Facebook profile, upload a video. Or have your kids show you how. It's impossible to guide what you don't understand. Not only that, but think of all the anxiety you can avoid by knowing how things work.

Lighten up, embrace their world and enjoy the possibilities together. No parents want a digital divide in their relationships with their kids. It's up to you to join the fun and help your kids seize the potential.

Liz wants to help parents create positive experiences for their kids with the articles and topics available on Common Sense Media's website.

Stay Tuned: TV on Facebook

2009-11-06T12:32:27-08:00

The following is part of our series on different ways you can use Facebook to connect with public figures and organizations around the world. Read the previous blog post in this series here.

From reality television to prime-time dramas, I admit it, I can be a bit television-obsessed. I often find myself spending an evening after a long day's work catching up on my favorite television shows. Unfortunately, a busy schedule can prevent even the most devoted fan from catching key plot lines and dramatic twists. Luckily, I can keep up to date on my favorite shows with my friends on Facebook, so I never miss a beat.

Watching Online

Every September, there are a dozen new television shows that I want to check out, but I only have so much time to tune in each night. One of my favorite websites, Hulu, streams TV shows directly on its Facebook Page using the application Watch Now. This way, I can watch full episodes of the hottest fall shows whenever I want, including "House," one of my favorite medical dramas on Fox. My friends can see how far along I am in the current season of diagnostic mysteries when I share the episode to my Facebook profile.

I also am discovering funny clips that I've missed thanks to my friends. I first heard of the popular joke from NBC's workplace comedy "The Office" about a social networking site called "Book Face" because a colleague shared the Hulu clip on his profile.

Teasers

Sometimes the best part of my day is when one of my favorite shows posts a new teaser for an upcoming episode on their Facebook Page. "Gossip Girl," the CW drama about young Manhattan elites, airs on Monday nights and then posts video and photo previews for upcoming episodes on Tuesdays. The week of waiting to watch the next episode of gossip among Serena, Nate, Chuck and Blair is more bearable when I can see fashions from "Gossip Girl" shared directly on my home page in the meantime.

Wednesdays are equally interesting when the Fox musical comedy "Glee" posts clips from the night's upcoming episode paired with introductions from all of my favorite cast members. Sometimes the show even includes clips of its ever-popular musical numbers like this rendition of "Keep Holding On."

Then there are times when my friends share their favorite TV shows with me on Facebook. For instance, one friend posted that she had seen the future in the "FlashForward Experience." It piqued my curiosity, and when I visited the show's Facebook Page, I was directed to a Facebook Connect-enabled website where I was suddenly immersed in the ABC show's trailer. The site uses the viewer's Facebook photos to create an individualized video after that viewer grants permission . The trailer asks, "Where were you on September 24?" I am definitely looking forward to the answer when I tune into the new science-fiction series.

New Favorites

Although my television schedule is busy with old favorites, I always have room for a new show. Those can be the most surprising. Several of my friends became a fan of the Travel Channel's competitive eating show, "Man v. Food," through an ad they saw on Facebook with the challenge, "5 lb burger, 4 peppers, 25 min." This, I had to see for myself.

I've also seen friends become fans of the new ABC sitcom "Modern Family." The show highlights its "Favorite Modern Moments" in a photo album on its Facebook Page. I laughed out loud at this photo and immediately tuned in through the ABC.com link I found on Facebook.

Annie, an associate on Facebook's communications team, can't wait to see tomorrow's TV line-up on Facebook today.

Get Educated on Facebook

2009-11-05T10:12:39-08:00

As a recent college graduate, I use Facebook to keep up with the latest news from my alma mater, Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif. For instance, I learned about a happy hour for young alumni via a status update, and I saw photos of John Krasinski, who plays "Jim" in "The Office," on his recent visit to campus.

Pomona isn't the only college utilizing Pages. In fact, in addition to colleges and universities, a number of academic groups are now on the site. We also recently launched a Facebook in Education Page on the site as a resource for teachers, professors, administrators, counselors and others who work in academia.

Here are a few other interesting examples of how educators are using Facebook to connect.

Texas A&M University has connected with nearly 150,000 people through their Facebook Page. They share highlights from the latest Aggie win on the football field, exclusive interviews with the university President and admissions information.

Stanford University uses their Facebook Page to host open office hours for people to connect with professors and luminaries. They solicit questions on the Page and post responses in a series of videos. You can see the most recent edition here with Provost John Etchemendy.

High schools from San Jose, Calif. to Sanford, Fla. also are using Facebook to organize student and alumni events, generate support and excitement around upcoming games and keep their local communities informed about school activities.

Svein Arber, a high school teacher in San Francisco, Calif., created a Facebook group to connect with his Advanced Placement (AP) literature class. Over the course of the year, students write posts on the group's discussion board to analyze the narration style in Phillip Roth's "American Pastoral" and debate whether a character in Albert Camus' "The Stranger" is fundamentally good or evil. Svein also uses the Events feature to remind students of due dates for assignments. "It's been very positive," he said. "I'm able to reach my students where they live."

Other teachers are encouraging students to use Facebook to collaborate with peers across the globe. For example, two high school students from the Loudoun Academy of Science in Sterling, Va. are studying the positive qualities of maggots in collaboration with two students in Singapore, more than 9,000 miles away. One student, Joanne Guidry, told The Washington Post, "When we talk on Facebook, you can't tell they are halfway around the world."

There also are Facebook applications like Schools, which help students before they even step foot on campus, during school and after they graduate. Incoming students can contact admissions offices and engage with their peers. Current students can get help with homework from classmates and plan club meetings, while graduates can locate other alumni and organize reunions. You already can find schools like Arizona State University, Michigan State University and Becker College through the Schools application.

The Courses application allows educators and students to view class rosters and manage their schedules, while the Flashcards application keeps students language skills fresh by allowing them to to study spelling, French vocabulary and much more.

Now, that's some A+ work. Be sure to check out the recently launched Facebook in Education Page for even more tips on using the Facebook in the classroom, stories about educators and answers to frequently asked questions about Facebook and academia. We would love for you to share your own experiences, as well.

Julie, a specialist on Facebook's user operations team, is moving to Ireland to put her teaching skills to work in Facebook's Dublin office.

Facebook Tips: How Do I Change My Email Notifications?

2009-11-04T10:40:48-08:00

The following is part of our series, Facebook Tips, which answers some of the most commonly asked questions about using Facebook. While we hope the tips we share on the blog will be informative, remember that we are unable to answer individual questions here. We'll always direct you to the Help Center for additional information about the topics we cover.

You don't have to be logged in to Facebook to get the latest updates from friends. Email notifications allow you to know when people interact with you on the site, whether through Wall posts, comments, tagged photos or friend requests. Similar to the notifications you see in the lower right hand corner on Facebook, email notifications let you know what's happening even when you aren't logged in.

You can manage email notifications by selecting the "Settings" link in the upper right hand corner of any page. From the Notifications tab, you can choose which actions you want to generate emails. For example, if you want to be notified by email each time someone writes on your Wall or receive weekly email digests about your friends' upcoming birthdays, just check the boxes next to these options. If you'd rather not be notified when people poke you or comment on your photos, just leave those boxes unchecked.

To change the email address associated with your account, select the "Settings" tab. You'll then see your current email address and can select "change" to add or delete addresses. Your Facebook email notifications will only be sent to the address you designate as your "Contact Email," so also be sure this information is accurate.

Melody, a specialist in Facebook user operations, has three new email notifications.

Cyber Security Is a Shared Responsibility

2009-10-30T16:38:13-07:00

Michael Kaiser is the executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a U.S.-focused nonprofit organization that works to keep people secure online. The organization focuses its efforts on cyber security education to provide information and tools for people to take control over preventing cyber crimes and attacks. As October and National Cyber Security Awareness month come to a close, we asked Michael to share his thoughts on precautions people should take online.

Many people believe they know their way around the digital world as well as or better than the physical world. Everything from paying bills to phone calls to distant relatives can now be done online. People store some of their most important documents, photos and financial information electronically — and seem to be more organized than ever. Yet while people may be cyber savvy and on the cutting edge of digital culture, they may not be cyber secure.

It turns out that we are only as protected as the weakest link in our network, so if you don't take precautions, you're not just endangering yourself. You also are impacting your friends and family. For instance, a "cyber criminal" can leave his entire network at risk by using an easily guessed password like the word "password" for his email account. This innocent person inadvertently becomes an enabler of cybercrime by not being cautious.

With a growing number of people online for a significant portion of every day, it's not surprising that more people are particularly visible and vulnerable targets of cyber criminals. Often, a healthy dose of common sense and knowledge about threats are the first step. Keep these 10 tips in mind as you get on the path to becoming cyber savvy.

Protect your personal information. Know who is going to see it and understand the value of it and why the other party needs it before you share.
Create complex and lengthy passwords that include letters, numbers and symbols. Be sure to change them often, and keep in mind "password1" doesn't make the cut.
Don't use public networks to conduct private business.
Set your security software, operating system and browser to update automatically.
Conduct transactions only on secure sites. Look for "shttp" or "https" in the URL.
Use privacy, safety and other settings on social networks.
Understand threats and learn more at the NCSA website and the Facebook Security Page.
Back up important information regularly to keep your music, photos and work protected.
Physically protect your computer, too. If you wouldn't leave your credit card unattended in a public location, you shouldn't leave your computer either.
Report cyber crimes.

Remember it is our shared responsibility to stay cyber secure. Keep updated on how you can help yourself, your friends and family by becoming a fan of the Facebook Security Page and the National Cyber Security Alliance Page.

Michael hopes you'll check out the NCSA cyberskits to learn the do's and don'ts of cyber security.

The Fight Goes On

2009-10-29T19:29:28-07:00

UPDATE on Thursday, Oct. 29: Today, a San Jose, Calif. court awarded Facebook $711 million in damages against Sanford Wallace, one of the spammers who accessed people's accounts without their permission and sent phony Wall posts and messages. While we don't expect to receive the vast majority of the award, we hope that this will act as a continued deterrent against these criminals. Most notably, the judge referred Wallace to the U.S. Attorney's Office with a request that Wallace be prosecuted for criminal contempt, which means that in addition to the judgment, he now faces possible jail time. This is another important victory in our fight against spam. We will continue to pursue damages against other spammers.

Published on Friday, March 6
We hate spam just as much as you do, and we're always working to stop it. Last week, we won a ruling in this ongoing fight. A court in San Jose, California issued a temporary restraining order against three spammers—Sanford Wallace, Adam Arzoomanian and Scott Shaw. They broke the law by sending unwanted messages and wall posts to people on Facebook, which in the United States violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Anti-Phishing Act and the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM). Now, any contact these spammers have with you or anyone on Facebook could land them in jail.

This isn't the first time we've gone to court to battle spam. Last November, we also told you about our first victory—an $873 million judgment made against Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital for sending sleazy messages to people on Facebook. This was the largest judgment ever for an action brought under CAN-SPAM. We continue to work on collecting as much as possible from Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue (likely far less than the full amount) and have hired a firm to help with this. We're hopeful that this kind of persistent pressure will act as a deterrent against those attempting to trick and annoy people on Facebook.

Of course, this fight requires a team effort. In addition to our dedicated legal team, Facebook also has security experts and engineers focused on the integrity of the site. We're continuing to build systems to prevent and respond to spam attacks. Our User Operations team also works around the clock to identify problems and assist people who've been affected.

We will continue bringing spammers to justice, but we need need your help, too. Report spam by using the links located throughout the site.

Be sure to also check out the tips and information on our Security Page to educate yourself on how to keep your account secure.

Sam O'Rourke from the Facebook legal team is busy keeping you safe from spam.

Improving Transparency Around Privacy

2009-10-29T12:24:25-07:00

UPDATE on Thursday, Nov. 5: The comment period for the proposed privacy policy is now complete. While the total number of comments did not reach the threshold to hold a vote, we did receive a lot of good feedback. In the coming days, we'll be reading your comments more closely, and we'll keep you informed on our next steps through status updates from the Facebook Site Governance Page. Thank you all for your participation.

UPDATE on Monday, Nov. 2: The proposed privacy policy now includes the TRUSTe certification seal, which reflects TRUSTe's approval of the policy. Please comment on the proposed policy here by 12:00 p.m. PST on Nov. 5.

Starting today, Facebook's privacy policy is available for your review and comment. This is the next step in our ongoing effort to run Facebook in an open and transparent way. In April, we launched a new system of governance for the Facebook site and became the first company to our knowledge that invites users to both comment and vote on proposed changes to its governing policies.

At the time, we also introduced a new policy document — our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. This document avoids the legal jargon that most sites typically put in their "terms of service." It articulates the mutual relationship and shared obligations between Facebook and its users as clearly and plainly as possible. We received excellent feedback from many of you over the course of a two-week comment period.

We now are doing the same with our privacy policy. Our primary goals remain transparency and readability, which is why we've used plain language and included numerous examples to help illustrate our points. For example, here is how we explain users' options for modifying or deleting information or content in the current privacy policy on the site:

When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information. ...
... Even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User
Content. ...
Access and control over most personal information on Facebook is readily available through the profile editing tools. Facebook users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account. Information will be updated immediately. Individuals who wish to deactivate their Facebook account may do so on the My Account page. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of Facebook.

Here is the clearer and more comprehensive version from the new proposed policy:

Viewing and editing your profile. You may change or delete your profile information at any time by going to your profile page and clicking "Edit My Profile." Information will be updated immediately. While you cannot delete your date of birth, you can use the setting on the info tab of your profile information page to hide all or part of it from other users. ...

Deactivating or deleting your account. If you want to stop using your account you may deactivate it or delete it. When you deactivate an account, no user will be able to see it, but it will not be deleted. We save your profile information (friends, photos, interests, etc.) in case you later decide to reactivate your account. Many users deactivate their accounts for temporary reasons and in doing so are asking us to maintain their information until they return to Facebook. You will still have the ability to reactivate your account and restore your profile in its entirety. When you delete an account, it is permanently deleted. You should only delete your account if you are certain you never want to reactivate it. You may deactivate your account on your account settings page or delete your account on this help page.

Limitations on removal. Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent it has been shared with others, it was otherwise distributed pursuant to your privacy settings, or it was copied or stored by other users. However, your name will no longer be associated with that information on Facebook. (For example, if you post something to another user's profile, and then you delete your account, that post may remain, but be attributed to an "Anonymous Facebook User.") Additionally, we may retain certain information to prevent identity theft and other misconduct even if deletion has been requested.

Backup copies. Removed and deleted information may persist in backup copies for up to 90 days, but will not be available to others.

We also have restructured the document — providing key points and easy links to jump to the different sections. We've added sections further explaining our current practices and introducing a new concept around Facebook Ads that we hope you'll take the time to review.

Clarification of Current Practices

In this revision, we're fulfilling our commitment to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to update our privacy policy to better describe a number of practices. Specifically, we've included sections that further explain the privacy setting you can choose to make your content viewable by everyone, the difference between deactivating and deleting your account and the process of memorializing an account once we've received a report that the account holder is deceased.

We also have explained in greater detail how Social Ads work on Facebook. Social Ads are sponsored promotions that include relevant information about you and are shown only to your friends. For example, if you become a fan of a Page for your favorite new movie, your friends may see an ad that includes that information.

Advertising on Facebook

Over 300 million people around the world now use Facebook. More join every day. To support this growth and continue providing a free service that connects people and lets them share with whomever they choose, we've built a business that allows advertisers to selectively share their messages. Our goal is to make the ads you see on Facebook relevant and interesting. Period. We're constantly working to improve our systems to make sponsored material compatible with people's needs and curiosity.

As we do this, we remain committed to protecting your privacy. The information we provide to advertisers is "anonymized," meaning that it can't be traced back to you as an individual in any way. For example, we won't tell an advertiser that you clicked on an ad, but we might report that, of the 100 people who clicked on the ad, 63 percent were female.

Improving the Quality of Facebook's Ads

In this update, we also have explained how we might use information from other sites to improve the quality of our ads. This information allows advertisers to do what is commonly called "conversion tracking," which helps them measure the effectiveness of their ads and make them more relevant. Most advertisers already do this in other places on the web. Should Facebook provide this, we'll continue to respect your privacy by not sharing your information with advertisers, and we'll anonymize any information we receive.

In the past, we've provided a redline version of the new policy document we're proposing to make clear what's new. Unfortunately, in this case, the revision is so different from the current policy that this wasn't possible. You can read the proposed update in its entirety and post comments to the Facebook Site Governance Page before the comment period ends at 12:00 p.m. PST on Nov. 5. After the comment period is over, we'll review your feedback and update you on our next steps. We appreciate and strongly encourage your participation in this process.

Elliot, Facebook's vice president of communications and public policy, thanks all of the privacy experts who informed the drafting of Facebook's proposed privacy policy.

New Ways to Find and Engage with Your Favorite Applications

2009-10-29T10:07:28-07:00

Here at Facebook we can't build all the features for the site that you want to use to connect with your friends. That's why in 2007, we opened up a platform for people outside of Facebook to create experiences directly on the site for you to interact with.

Since that time we have seen over 350,000 applications built on Facebook Platform, in areas ranging from sports and games to family and education. These applications were built to accompany our core Facebook applications like photos, events and groups. Our goal is to offer you a smooth experience regardless of what applications you're interacting with on the site, which is why in the next couple of months we're going to roll out some improvements to Facebook Platform.

Here's what the changes will mean for you:

Easier Access to Applications
Soon, the applications menu will move from its current location on the bottom left-hand side of any page on Facebook to the navigation menu on the left-hand side of your home page. This way, you always can rely on seeing applications in the same place and easily interact with your favorites, in addition to discovering new ones. You'll have the option to bookmark applications on the home page so that your favorite applications are only a few clicks away. You'll also be able to see instant alerts from applications that you've bookmarked.

We will be introducing a new Games Dashboard and an Application Dashboard that can be accessed from the home page and will serve as destinations for you and your friends' application activity. These will make it easy to view the latest applications you've interacted with, as well as discover new applications based on what your friends are using. You can also receive updates directly from applications here. For instance, if you're playing a game of Scrabble with your mother, you can visit the Games Dashboard to find short messages about when it's your turn to play, as well as interesting activity from games your friends are playing.

Direct Contact with Applications
With these upcoming changes, you'll have the option to share your email address with any application you use. If you choose to do so, you may be emailed notifications directly from any application. This new choice will give you the ability to control which of your applications can contact you and enable you to leverage the tools of your email inbox, such as folders and routing rules, to manage these communications. Finally, if you no longer want to hear from an application, you'll be able to simply unsubscribe from their mailing list.

The email practices we're developing will be similar to signing up for or creating accounts on other web services, which is essentially what applications on Facebook are. When you do so, those services can email you directly to confirm a purchase, or provide newsletters or updates for which you signed up. Soon, you'll have a comparable experience with applications on Facebook. Keep in mind that applications will never be given your email address unless you explicitly grant them permission, and like other websites you can always choose to unsubscribe if the service is no longer of value.

A Better Facebook Experience with Less Spam
Allowing you to control which applications send you email notifications is just one step we are taking to reduce spam and ensure you don't receive unwanted notifications, requests or invitations through Facebook. We have heard from many of you that you want greater control over how and when you see stories in News Feed about applications. Our upcoming changes aim to improve that experience, by enabling you to only see application requests and invitations if your friends have explicitly chosen to send them to you rather than have the application take that action on your behalf.

If you are interested in staying updated on these upcoming improvements, become a fan of the Facebook Page. We'll be rolling these changes out over the couple of months.

Austin, a product manager, loves that playing games on Facebook is part of his job.

Watch Your Words: Steps to Preventing Cyberbullying

2009-10-28T11:19:58-07:00

Michelle Boykins is the director of communications and marketing at the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), a U.S.-focused nonprofit devoted to helping people keep themselves, their families and their communities safe from crime. The organization is best known for McGruff the Crime Dog, who has been helping people "take a bite out of crime" for over 25 years. In honor of October being National Crime Prevention Month in the U.S., we asked Michelle to share her thoughts on how to prevent cyberbullying on the web.

Words can be weapons if people are not careful about how they use them. They can pierce our hearts and hurt just as much as any punch. Today, as all of us interact and engage with people on the web with greater frequency, we need to be even more aware of how we use our words. We also need to understand how we can respond to others who use harmful words or take abusive actions toward us.

Cyberbullying is defined as abusive or harassing behavior online, which includes sending or posting text or images that are intended to hurt or embarrass another person. A common misperception of cyberbullying is that it only affects teens. In fact, adults adopt cyberbullying behavior just as easily as young people. The problem transcends age and is due to a lack of respect for another person. Healthy friendships and relationships, at any age, are built on mutual respect, and a person who resorts to cyberbullying or asks you to participate is being disrespectful.

Already, Facebook allows you to easily report abuse on the site by selecting the "Report" link located near photos, videos, notes or other content you find offensive or inappropriate. This is just one step in discouraging people from behaving poorly online and potentially hurting other people. It's up to you to address cyberbullying if it occurs to you or people around you.

While October is National Crime Prevention month in the U.S., cyberbullying happens throughout the year. Here are some ways you can prevent and address it if you ever experience a problem.

How to Address Cyberbullying

Don't pass along cyberbullying messages
Block all communication with cyberbullies
Set an example and discourage your friends from bullying others
Report cyberbullying to a trusted adult
Raise awareness of cyberbullying in your community by holding an assembly and sharing these tips

Whom to Contact

Get in touch with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for assistance in blocking cyberbullies
Report cyberbullying problems to the local authorities and give them copies of bullying messages you've received
If you are in school, speak with other students, teachers, and school administrators about developing rules against cyberbullying

Suggestions for Parents

Set guidelines for your kids' internet activities and talk about how they are spending their time online
Talk openly about cyberbullying and why they shouldn't participate in it
Discourage your kids from retaliating if they are being bullied online
Keep your computer in a high-traffic area of your house so Internet activity is visible
Encourage your child's school to adopt rules of conduct on cyberbullying

In addition to understanding how to protect yourself from cyberbullies, make sure your own behavior won't hurt anyone else. Just because you can't always see the people you interact with online doesn't mean your words or actions won't hurt them. If you wouldn't say or do something in person, don't say or do it online either. By respecting yourself and others, we all can work to keep the web a fun and healthy place to engage and interact.

Michelle hopes you'll join NCPC's Circle of Respect to discuss respect and civility on the web.

Keeping Count of Sharing Across the Web

2009-10-26T10:17:13-07:00

Three years ago, we launched Facebook Share to make it easy to instantly share content back to Facebook with just a couple clicks of a mouse. From news articles to photos and videos, people now share more than 2 billion pieces of content on Facebook each week, many of which are through Facebook Share. Beginning today, we're making that experience richer by keeping count of the popularity of what people are sharing.

You now will begin seeing a new version of the Facebook Share button that includes a live counter, which shows the number of times that a particular article, video or piece of content has been shared.

For instance, if you come across an interesting news story on The Huffington Post or the latest gadget on Chip Online, you'll be able to watch the number on the counter climb as more people share the item with their friends. This makes it easy to see what is being shared the most.

The next time you're watching a video of Filippo Inzaghi trying to score on Raul Gonzalez's turf on Real Madrid, you not only can share it instantly with your friends through the Facebook Share button, you also can track the popularity of the video.

Start conversations with your friends in just a few clicks whenever you see a Facebook Share button, and see their reactions through comments in your News Feed. The Share button enables you to take content from across the Web and share it with your friends on Facebook, where it can be re-shared over and over so the best and most interesting items get noticed by the people you care about.

Any website can add the new Facebook Share button. Our launch partners don't cover all the sites you use on a daily basis, so if you want to see this list grow then get in touch with your favorite websites, developers, and services, and tell them that you want to see the new Facebook Share button. If you are a developer, you can learn more about how to add the new version of Share to your website on our developer blog. With your help, we can all share more information across the web.

Mark, a Facebook product manager, is watching the Facebook Share counter climb on Huffington Post articles.