MUMBAI: CBBC and Twofour digital, a media technology company, have teamed up to launch a social media networking site for children aged less than 12 years.
The site called MyCBBC is designed to familiarise a young audience with the latest technologies. Visitors can personalise their own den by choosing from a selection of themed features. They can create their own profile and invite friends into their den to leave messages. Members can also profile their interests, which in turn will help the site to offer appropriate information about CBBC programmes.
Children who create a MyCBBC den can add up to 16 friends to the "Friends Book" in their den. Only if two users are in each other‘s friends book can they visit each other‘s dens. This ensures that children are in mutual agreement about who they allow to view their space.
MyCBBC has taken care of the kids‘ safety and introduced certain features. No one can determine child‘s identity by his/her nickname or name of the den. All the messages between friends are limited to specific set of comments.
Twofour digital MD Paul Tarplee said, "Because we have designed the site to introduce some of the basic concepts commonly associated with web 2.0-type interaction, we have taken every opportunity to reinforce the message that whilst exciting, the internet can also be a dangerous place if the Stay Safe rules are ignored. This is one of the many ways in which the site will help children to build useful media literacy skills."
