Filed under: News, Social Networking/ Word Of Mouth | Tags: BBC, bebo, children, Facebook, MySpace, ofcom, online, parents, profile, research, social networks, survey, UK
A new survey carried out by Ofcom has revealed that more than a quarter of eight to eleven year olds who are online in the UK have a social networking profile – despite sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook having older age limitations. Ofcom says that parents need to keep an eye on what their children do online.
The research also shows that 19% of all UK youngsters have a presence on an online social network, with James Thickett, director of marketing research at Ofcom stating that “social networks are clearly a very important part of people’s lives and are having an impact on how people live their lives”.
The Home Office has been working with social networking sites, and is expected to publish a set of guidelines this Friday around best practice, security and privacy. The report is expected to recommend that profiles created by children are set to private by default, or are only viewable by friends nominated by the user. It also suggests that social sites maintain a distinct contact page listing contact numbers, such as 999, children can use to get help.
The Ofcom report looks into the impact of social networks on people’s lives in the UK as part of a wider media literacy campaign and surveyed 5,000 adults and more than 3,000 children. For the full research, visit BBC News:
Filed under: Coffee Break | Tags: Channel 4, entrepreneur, fan, Luke Johnson, MediaGuardian, reality, show, Sir Alan Sugar, The Apprentice, tv
Last week’s Media Guardian asked ” is it time to say “you’re fired” to Sir Alan Sugar?” To which Luke Johnson (chairman of Channel 4 and apparently an “unrepentant capitalist”) responded with a resounding “Yes”.
Now I have to sympathise with Luke for “[making the] mistake of doing some business with him almost 25 years ago”. I don’t think I’d enjoy that too much either. And in terms of a creating some “Entrepreneurial Apprentice” – what does this actually mean? Surely the point of being an entrepreneur is to have the drive to just get off your ass and make it happen. Landing a job as Suralan’s reasonably well-paid assistant may make it easier to pay the mortgage, but you’re not going to become the next Bill Gates.
However, with all that said, I for one am an unrepentant Apprentice fan!
So what other complaints has Luke got with Suralan? “The show presents a wholly bogus image of what commercial life is like.” Agreed! Is this a problem? Not really. I don’t sit around thinking that the Apprentice is in any way connected with real life. I also don’t imagine for a second that doing well on the apprentice would equate to being a successful entrepreneur. But I still enjoy listening to Jennifer inform me that she’s the best sales person in Europe. Or listening to Raef explain how words are his tools.
Luke’s not the only one, of course. The Apprentice seems to be fairly proficient at polarising opinion. It’s all just pantomime; unreality reality TV, but still thoroughly enjoyable. Long live the Apprentice!
