At a recent Boston TEDx Boston event, Ramesh Raskar, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab,  spoke about a very inexpensive way to turn cell phones into eye exam machines (scroll down for video).  His solution is called NETRA, a $1 eye piece that goes on top of a cell phone to calcuate the data for an eye glass presecrip0tion.  He said that it can measure near nearsightedness, farsightedness and automatism.

Source: YouTube Video at TEDx Boston talk

“More than 2 billion people have refractive errors but unfortunately more than half a billion people need glasses but don’t have them,” he told the audience. Raskar said that “It’s not just about a problem of blurry vision, but blurry vision means lack of education which leads to illiteracy, lack of employment which leads to unemployment which, of course, leads to poverty.”

Clinical trials of NETRA (Source: MIT Media Lab)

He said that the cost of providing eye glasses “has come down dramatically,” but there has been “no easy solution” on the diagnostic side.

The technology uses the inverse of the Shack-Harman wavefront sensor “instead of shining lasers iinto the eye, it asks you to look into the cell phone.” When you look through the eye piece your goal is to align the spots on the LCD. The number of clicks it takes to make the alignment, provides the data for the prescription.

This has become possible, he said, because “cell phone makers have been increasing the resolution of the LCD display.”

This post appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on December 26, 2011

by Larry Magid

There were plenty of gadgets shipped in 2011, but the big stories of the year were about the people who made them and used them to change the world.

The biggest and saddest story was the passing of Steve Jobs. His impact on tech, as well as on movies and music, is likely to be remembered for centuries. He’s already an icon, right up there with Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Henry Ford.

Jobs’ legacy is not just the Apple  II, the Mac, the iPod, iPhone and iPad but his passion for perfection. Former co-workers say he wasn’t the easiest person to work with, but the products he created were not only easy to use, but often elegant and beautiful. While not everyone liked Steve Jobs, many were inspired by him. He was not unlike those depicted in the “Think Different” Apple commercials that began, “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers,” and concluded, “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Well done, Steve.

Turnover at HP

Two of Jobs’ heroes were the late Bill Hewlett and David Packard, whose Hewlett-Packard went through a major management change of its own this year. New CEO Meg Whitman is hardly a Steve Jobs, and her political views and failed run for governor of California make her a controversial figure. But she has a business track record and puts a very visible face on a company that can use a face-lift.

HP had a tough 2011. It acquired Palm computing and then jettisoned the very products that Palm brought to HP. There was even a serious proposal to pull HP out of the PC business, but one of Whitman’s early decisions was to can that idea and remain in the game.

Activism and Hactivism

The Middle East and North Africa put tech on their own maps this year with the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain and Syria. Executives at Facebook and Twitter don’t take credit for what happened, but there is little doubt that social media helped power the people much as the printing press and mimeograph machines helped spark previous revolutions.

The big difference between a mobile phone running Twitter or Facebook and a printed leaflet is that social media can spread instantly and can be two-way. Not only were activists using it to rally the troops, the troops were using it for logistics and for spreading the news.

Those built-in cameras in just about all smartphones turned activists into reporters. When something big happened — including atrocious and sometimes deadly reactions from authorities — images of the incidents were captured and immediately transmitted around the world. It’s hard to hide things when thousands of people on the scene are equipped with far more sophisticated video technology than CNN had during the first Gulf War.

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak went so far as to turn off mobile networks and the Internet during his country’s demonstrations, but it didn’t work. Like weeds growing through the cracks in sidewalks, information always get through, no matter what authorities try to do to stop it.

The Arab world wasn’t the only place to witness technology-enhanced people power. The Occupy movement, protests at BART and riots in London all saw increased use of mobile technology.

Another big people story of 2011 was WikiLeaks. This organization, led by Julian Assange, released an enormous number of confidential documents from the U.S. military and State Department, as well as from government agencies and corporations around the world.

The organization relies on leaks from insiders like U.S Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is currently being detained for allegedly stealing and transferring confidential military documents while he was stationed in Iraq. Manning’s motive, according to a transcript of an online chat he had that was acquired by Wired.com: “I want people to see the truth … regardless of who they are … because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”

This was also the year of “hacktivism.” Groups like Anonymous and LulzSec turned their hacking skills against the likes of Sony and scores of national and local government agencies in a type of high-tech civil disobedience that’s clearly illegal but rationalized as social activism against repressive institutions.

Power of the People

Finally, when it comes to people, 2011 was the year that Facebook claimed 800 million active users around the world. It’s also when Google started seriously competing with Facebook with its launch this fall of its own Google+ service.

Social networking isn’t about the companies that maintain the servers but the people who use the services to post and consume content. If you think about the entire history of media — from the stone tablet to parchment scrolls to the printing press, radio and TV — they’re all be about one-to-many communications. Sure, Gutenberg made it possible for the common man to consume content back in 15th century. But it wasn’t until the advent of the blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media that regular people were empowered to create and share it with friends, family and, if it goes “viral,” millions of other people.

So, while 2011 saw the introduction of the iPad 2, Kindle Fire, a new Android operating system and all sorts of other great products, the real story this year is how people used the software that runs inside their heads to change the world through technology they can hold in their hands.

I got a brief tour of Facebook’s new headquarters in Menlo Park, California today. The company took over the old Sun Microsystems building (there are still conference rooms with the Sun logo on the glass door) and it’s in the process of turning the sprawling campus into a home for its more than 2,000 employees. There remains a lot of work to do before it’s a homey place, but that’s definitely the plan.

Bloomberg said that the 1 million square-foot campus is undergoing a $250 million renovation. As you walk around, you see lots of open space. Even Mark Zuckerberg won’t have a walled-off office though he will have his own conference room (as he did in the former HQ). And while there are still plenty of conference rooms for the rest of the staff, there’s also a lot of public space where people can sit down with their laptops and/or their colleagues much as they might at a coffee shop.

I’ve been visiting Facebook since they had a floor two in a small office building across from the Miyake sushi bar on University Avenue in Palo Alto. They’ve come a long way in a short time.

Scroll down for some picture

Wall in Building 10

Larry stands in Superman booth at FB HQ

Now here's a Facebook wall you can really write on

This will soon be a pretty sitting & walking area

This post appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on December 19, 2011

by Larry Magid

Could 2012 be the year of the Apple clones? It seems likely based on what I expect to be announced at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

I’m not talking about exact duplicates. Apple doesn’t license its operating systems, so unlike what happened to IBM in 1982, we’re not going to see products that run off-the-shelf Mac or iPad software. It was at that year’s now-defunct Comdex computer show where Compaq introduced its fully IBM-compatible PC that launched the multibillion-dollar industry that eventually lead to Dell, Hewlett-Packard), Sony and hundreds of other companies producing computers that were 100 percent compatible with the platform IBM built when it introduced its first PC only a year earlier. Eventually, IBM pulled out of the PC business.

Those companies were able to clone the IBM PC because IBM made the mistake of allowing its partner, Microsoft, to license a virtually identical version of its PC-DOS operating system to any takers. Microsoft developed DOS for IBM, which shipped it with the new PC in August 1981. Shortly after the IBM PC shipped, Microsoft started negotiating deals for the nearly identical and slightly renamed MS-DOS, which enabled other companies’ machines to run the same software and use the same peripherals as IBM’s PCs.

Apple did license its Mac operating system for a short time after Steve Jobs was fired, but Jobs ended those deals shortly after returning to Apple. There was never even a hint of a licensing deal for the iPod, iPhone or iPad so — at this juncture — there is no such thing as a Mac or iOS clone.

Or is there?

Well, it depends on how you define clone. While there are no other machines on the market that legally run iOS apps or native Mac programs, there are plenty of phones and tablets that were clearly inspired by Apple.

I’m not suggesting that Apple should win its many pending lawsuits against the makers of Android phones and tablets, but at least some judges have found credibility in Apple’s claims that the devices violate its patents. I don’t know much about patent laws and I love that Apple has competition from Android makers. But it’s hard not to notice that the look and feel of many Android devices are similar to those running iOS.

I own several iOS and Android devices and use them almost as interchangeably as when I switch between a Chevy and a Toyota. There are clear differences between the two operating systems but as far as general look is concerned, there are lot of similarities.

So we’ll see plenty of Android phones and tablets next year, including some that are much cheaper than Apple’s products. We’ll also see devices with a physical look and feel inspired by Apple’s popular MacBook Air notebook PC.

As I’ve written, I bought a 2.4 pound, 11-inch MacBook Air to replace the slightly heavier and larger Lenovo ThinkPad X300 I used to carry around. The Air is not only lighter and thinner, but is elegantly designed. There are some people who buy Macs because they prefer OS X to Windows, but I have no preference when it comes to operating systems. Despite Windows’ mixed reputation, I find Windows 7 to be fast, reliable and as easy to use as OS X. What I love about the MacBook Air is the design of the hardware.

No reputable company is going to try to clone the Mac’s OS X operating system, but we’re likely to see plenty of Windows machines that look a lot like the Air. Asus has already taken the wraps off a couple of models that have a similar size and weight, as well as that cool tapered look where the front of the machine is thinner than the back.

Other machines in this emerging “Ultrabook” category include the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and the Toshiba Portege Z830. Comparable to the 13-inch MacBook Air, both weigh less than 3 pounds. These machines tend to start at just shy of $1,000 but unlike Macs, you’re more likely to see them at a discount. At next year’s CES, I expect to see plenty of new Ultrabooks, including some at lower prices. If Ultrabooks catch on, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some for under $500 by CES 2013.

The other thing we’ll see demonstrated at CES next year are notebooks and tablets running Microsoft’s as-yet-unreleased Windows 8, which is Microsoft’s answer to iOS and OS X wrapped up into a single operating system. They won’t be for sale until next fall, but some vendors plan to show them at their booths. Unlike Apple’s current strategy, Microsoft will have a single operating system for both tablets and PCs that’s optimized for touch screens and tablet-specific apps but also able to run traditional Windows programs. Users will launch apps by touching on-screen “tiles,” as is now the case with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system.

When I walk around CES in January, my shoulder bag will be about six ounces lighter than last year thanks to my MacBook. Maybe the following January, I’ll be carrying an even lighter Windows machine.

Timeline: Facebook's new profile (annotated by Larry Magid)

Facebook is finally rolling out the new profile that it announced in September. All users will get it sometime soon, but anyone can get it now (scroll down for link).

In a blog post about the new timeline, Facebook engineer Paul McDonald called it “an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments.”

The new timeline shows the years of your life (or at least the content you’ve posted) and allows users who you share with the ability to go back and look at highlights, including  pictures and posts that you’ve shared on the service. Visibility of this timeline is subject to your privacy settings and who you chose to share the information with.

There is also an Activity Log that’s available only to you “where you can review all your posts and activity, from today back to when you first started using Facebook,” said McDonald.   Here’s what mine looks like for just the last couple of days.

My activity log from the past couple of days. I could go back to the day I joined Facebook.

Click here to learn more about Timeline and get yours now.

Larry’s 1-minute CBS News radio segment on Timeline

Is my child at risk from online predators?

Although it can happen, the risk of a child or teen being harmed by someone they met on the Internet is very low. There has been widespread misunderstanding of a 2005 study that found that 1 in 7 youths had received an unwanted online sexual solicitation but the authors of that study — the Crimes Against Children Research Center posted a fact sheet that explains that these solicitations are typically not from predators and most of the recipients of the solicitations did not view them as serious. “Most were limited to brief online comments or questions in chat rooms or instant messages. Many were simply rude, vulgar comments,” and “Almost all youth handled unwanted solicitations easily and effectively.”

ConnectSafely.org advises young people to “be cautious when communicating with people you don’t know in person, especially if the conversation starts to be about sex or physical details. Don’t lead them on – you don’t want to be the target of a predator’s grooming. If they persist, call your local police or contact CyberTipline.com.”

How common and dangerous is cyberbullying?

A 2011 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 15% of teens say they have been the “target of online meanness and 19% had been bullied.  The largest source of bullying (12 percent) was in person, followed by text messaging (9%). Eight percent said they had been bullied via email, a social networking site or instant messaging and 7% were bullied via voice calls on the phone. Girls are more likely to have experienced what we typically call “cyberbullying,” while boys and girls are roughly equal when it comes to in person bullying.

A 2011 EU Kids Online (PDF) study from the London School of Economics found that “across Europe, 6% of 9- to 16-year-old Internet users have been bullied online, and 3% confess to having bullied others.” In the U.S., the Cyberbullying Research Center found that 20% of “randomly selected 11 to 18 year old students in 2010 indicated they had been a victim at some point in their life.”

The impact of cyberbullying can range from inconsequential to extremely severe depending on such factors as the severity or the bullying and the reliance of the person being bullied.

Here are ConnectSafely’s Tips to Help Stop Bullying.

How common is sexting and what are the dangers?

An often cited but flawed 2009 study suggested that 20% of youth had engaged in sexting but that study included young adults. More credible studies from the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Crimes Against Children Research Center (CARCC) paint a much less dire picture. The 2011 CARC study found that 2.5% of 12 t0 17 year-0lds had sent a nude or nearly nude picture of themselves and that 1.3% had sent a picture that showed breasts, genitals or “someone’s bottom.”

The CACRC study also found that older teens are far more likely to send a sext than younger kids. More than seven in 10 (72%) of the kids who had sent nude or partially nude images were 16 or 17.

The Pew study found that about 2% of teens had sent nude or nearly nude pictures of themselves.

About 7% of youth had received a nude or nearly nude image in the past year, but a single image could be sent to multiple kids.

For more, see ConnectSafely’s Tips to Prevent Sexting.

Can social networks harm a person’s reputation?

It’s certainly possible for anything you post on a social networking site to affect your reputation. That’s why it’s a good idea to avoid posting any picture or comment that you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with the public now or in the future.  Learn to use the services privacy protections but, even if you have your privacy settings turned on, there is the possibility not only that what you post could affect your reputation among your friends who can see it but there is the further possibility that someone could copy and paste it and share it with others.

How much is “too much” time online?

You know what they say about “too much of a good thing.” The biggest problem with spending too much time online is that it can take away from other important activities including physical activity and in-person socializing. There are no hard and set rules as to how much time kids or even adults should be spending online, but if it starts to interfere with other aspects of your or your child’s life, then you’ve almost certainly gotten to that point.

What is the impact of pornography on kids?

This issue is fraught with controversy partially because of inconsistencies in the research but also because of moral, social and religious issues that affect people’s opinions on this topic.  One interesting piece of research looked at the relationship between exposure to both violent and non-violent X-rated material on adolescents found that  ”consumers of violent x-rated material are almost six times more likely than nonconsumers of violent x-rated material to report sexually aggressive behavior” while those looking at non-violent x-rated material are no more likely to report sexual aggression than those who haven’t looked at that material.”

It is also important to distinguish between occasional use of pornography and excessive or obsessive use as well as the types of images being looked it.

Images that depict minors, commonly referred to as “child pornography” or “child abuse images”  are illegal to create, transmit or posses.’

What special risks are associated with Facebook, Google+ or other social networks

The risks associated with social networking are based on how you and people you interact with behave on those networks. What you post can affect how people feel about you and what others post can affect you as well. For example, if someone posts rude or mean comments about you (sometimes called cyberbullying), it can be hurtful and demeaning. It’s also possible for people to post unflattering or inappropriate photos of other people.

There are also some security risks, especially if others get hold of your password or if you click on links in social networks that take you to websites that distribute malicious software (“malware”) that can infect your computer or phone.

Is there any danger in online games?

Some online games — including some played on video game consoles — have a chat feature that allows you to interact ith other player. This can greatly enhance the enjoyment of the game, leading to camaraderie among teammates or friendly ribbing between opponents. But like any chat tool, it can also be misused.  Children need to be cautioned not to give out information in any chat area that could allow a person to contact them in the real world and parents need to be aware of the possibility (however unlikely) that someone could be using these chat tools to engage their children in inappropriate conversations.

Other “dangers” of online gaming include spending too much time online and spending too much money on games that require or encourage in-game purchases.

Here are ConnectSafely’s Tips for Smart Videogaming.

What are the dangers associated with mobile phones?

Today’s smart phones are pocket-sized computers so just about anything that can be done with a PC can also be done with a smart phone, including email, web surfing and live chat along with texting.  Smart phones can also be used for video chat and as still and video cameras so it’s important that kid understand the risk of impulsively taking and sending inappropriate photos and videos. Kids can be bullied via cell phones and, like all media, there is the danger of spending too much time or using the phone at inappropriate times. It’s a good idea for kids (and adults too) to turn their phones off at night when it’s time to sleep.

Also, almost all of today’s phones are location-aware which means that the phone is able to pinpoint the user’s location. There are many apps that can pass on that location information to others so youth need to be cautioned to be very careful about how they use these services and to only share there location with close family and friends and to stop sharing it with anyone who ceases to be a trusted friend.

For anyone behind the wheel, the most distracted driving is a serious risk. Never text and drive and be careful when talking on the phone. It’s not just a matter of “hands-free,” it’s also the issue of focus. Don’t let your conversation distract you from your driving.

For more, see ConnectSafely’s Cellphone Safety Tips.

How can my kids and I protect our security?

The simple answer is to think critically about the information you provide. If you get an email that asks you for a password and user name, question whether it’s legitimate and — even if you think it is — don’t click on any links but type in the address of the site yourself to avoid getting caught up in a “phishing” scheme.  Make sure you have secure passwords and that you never give them out to anyone (except kids sharing them with parents). Be sure that your computer or device’s operating system are up-to-date and use up-to-date security software. Be very careful about any apps you install on a smart phone or software you download on a computer and also be aware of games and other apps you run on social networking sites.

Should I install Internet filtering or monitoring software 

Filters can usually prevent young children from accidentally stumbling on troubling or inappropriate material, but they are less effective at keeping older kids and teens from deliberately visiting blocked sites. There are several ways to get around filters, including using another computer, mobile phone or tablet that’s not filtered.

Monitoring tools can inform parents of where their kids are going but some kids –especially teens– feel that it’s an invasion of their privacy and many would argue that it’s not necessary or helpful.

The use of these tools are personal decisions that every family needs to put thought into.  If you do use a tool, it’s a very good idea to tell your kids that it’s there and for parents to think about how to wean their kids away from filtering and monitoring as they get older and/or more responsible.  Ultimately, the only filter that can fully protect your child isn’t the one that runs on a computer or a phone but the the one that runs in the computer between their ears. It’s important to teach critical thinking skills to help children make good decisions on and off the net now and as they mature. With any luck, your child will grow up and become independent so it’s important they they develop their own controls rather than relying on those imposed by parents or schools.

Do consider configuring your search engine for “safe” or filtered search or use SafeKids.com’s Child Safe Search (powered by Google).

For more see: Digital citizenship and media literacy beat tracking laws and monitoring

by Larry Magid

When Anne Collier and I wrote our long out-of-print book,  MySpace Unraveled, we pointed out that MySpace was the largest referrer to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. We noted that kids were alive because of the way friends had reached out to save their friends.

Facebook, of course, took MySpace’s place in that regard but now Facebook and the Lifeline have teamed up to make it easier to report friends in distress and for people who are suicidal to have a live chat with a prevention specialist.

In a CBS News CNET podast interview, the Lifeline’s Lidia Bernik told me that “a lot of people would rather communicate via chat or text, as opposed to calling.” To that end, Facebook offers a direct link to a Lifeline page where people can have a live confidential chat with an expert.

In her blog post about the announcement Anne Collier called this the “911 of the social web,” adding that friends can be “first responders.” She said, “Neither a Web site nor a national hotline can immediately or fully be ‘there’  for someone if the people on that person’s friends list – the people he or she interacts with from day to day – aren’t there to notice.”

Important development

To me, this is a natural evolution in the long term relationship between Facebook and the Lifeline and it’s an important development for anyone who understands how important social media has become in so many people’s lives.

The bottom line is that friends need to help friends. And being a friend today means using any means available – including social media — to support each other.

Bernik said that if you see someone who is in distress, the best response is to reach out to that person directly but “if you’re not comfortable doing that,” you can use the Facebook reporting tool to make sure that Facebook reaches out. Facebook will only pass on information to the Lifeline or authorities in the event of a “life threatening emergency.”

The National Suicide Prevent Lifeline can also be reached at 800 273-TALK (8255).

For more, see the guest post of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin linked from Facebook’s safety page.

Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook. ConnectSafely also serves on Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board and helped organize a meeting last year between Facebook officials and suicide prevention specialists, including Lifeline staff.

This post also appears on Forbes.com.

This post appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on December 12, 2011

by Larry Magid

Listen to Larry Magid’s 1-minute CBS News Tech Talk segment about YouTube for Schools

Credit: YouTube

Google has launched a YouTube for Schools service to make educationally relevant videos available for use in school. It’s a great idea, but for it to actually be used in schools, many districts around the country will have to modify their filters to allow teachers to access at least this portion of YouTube.

Most schools have some type of filters in place designed to block pornography and other inappropriate material, and it’s common for these filters to also block social media, including all of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Schools that accept federal E-rate funding are required to block materials that are obscene, depict child pornography or are harmful to minors — but there is nothing in the federal rules that require schools to block social media.

Treat social media like books and sports

It’s a good thing schools don’t treat books and sports the way most treat social media.

There have always been books that are inappropriate for a school setting. But rather than ban all books, schools allow the ones that support their curricula and encourage children to explore literature in general. When it comes to sports, schools recognize that there are dangers — every year, lots of children are injured and some die from sports related injuries. But rather than ban sports, schools embrace them and make sure that kids have good coaches, safety equipment and rules to ensure fair play.

Of course we could just let the kids play in the street without any training, Of course we could just let the kids play in the street without any training, supervision or mandatory safety equipment. That’s how many schools approach social media — including such things as videos on YouTube or resources on social networking sites.

It’s not as if kids are staying away from social media just because they can’t use it at school. They’re using it at home, at friends’ houses and — via their mobile devices — anywhere they happen to be. It’s not as if kids are staying away from social media just because they can’t use it at school. They’re using it at home, at friends’ houses and — via their mobile devices — anywhere they happen to be. Their non-school hours are filled with use of technology and social media. Maybe schools ought to put a sign at the front gate that reads, “You are now leaving the 21st century.”

Teachers and parents as social media partners

It’s time for teachers — and parents — to become young people’s partners in the use of social media. Just as we teach reading and supplement the use of books with great mentors in the classroom and encourage fair play and skill development with coaches on the athletic field, we need to incorporate educators into our kids’ use of social media.

I’m not suggesting that kids be allowed to polish off their Facebook profiles in school or dish the dirt with their online friends while they should be paying attention in class. But completely blocking domains like Facebook.com or YouTube.com denies kids access to some incredibly useful material.

There are thousands of Facebook pages dedicated to a wide variety of subjects that can be used in schools. If you search for “Facebook education,” you’ll find links to numerous ways that Facebook and other social media can help teachers supplement their existing materials. One article that comes up in that search, “100 Ways You Should be Using Facebook in Your Classroom” lists some incredibly useful projects like encouraging kids to follow news feeds relevant to course material, share book reviews, practice a foreign language, create their own news source, keep up with politicians, post class notes, brainstorm and lots more.

Even more than Facebook, Google’s YouTube can be an incredibly useful resource in school. Sure, there are plenty of inappropriate videos on the user-supplied service. But there is also a wealth of resources from a very wide variety of sources, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, PBS, TEDTalks and the amazing educational videos from Kahn Academy, which are used in schools throughout the world. You can find some of this material — along with tips on how to use YouTube in the classroom — at YouTube.com/teachers.

Because many schools simply ban YouTube, these incredible resources are not available for use in the classroom. Kids can watch them at home or on the way to school via the mobile devices, but not on school computers. Preventing distractions such as videos of cats dancing on a piano or keeping kids from age-inappropriate videos in school makes sense, but not at the expense of preventing kids and teachers from accessing a vast library of educationally sound videos.

As part of the launch of “YouTube for Schools” (schools can sign up at youtube.com/schools), Google is encouraging school districts to open up their filters so that teachers can access YouTube.com/edu. Hopefully school administrators will see the value in this and find ways to unblock at least this portion of YouTube.

Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a nonprofit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook and Google.

This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News

by Larry Magid

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ought to consider adding members of the Federal Trade Commission to his holiday gift list. They wouldn’t be allowed to accept his gratuities, but he certainly owes them a great big thank-you for the settlement announced last week that will, among other things, require Facebook to “not misrepresent itself” when it comes to what information it collects and how it uses it.

The agreement also requires Facebook to obtain user consent before it makes any changes that override existing privacy preferences and to prevent anyone from accessing user content within 30 days if a user cancels his or her account.

The reason Zuckerberg ought to be thankful is the final part of the agreement, which requires Facebook to obtain “independent, third-party audits” that its privacy program “meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order,” and to “ensure that the privacy of consumers’ information is protected.”

Those privacy auditors might very well wind up on Zuckerberg’s best-friends list because, assuming Facebook lives up to its agreements, the audits will serve as government verification that it’s being honest about how it treats user information. It’s almost as if the FTC is putting its stamp of approval on Facebook’s future privacy policies.

I’m sure Zuckerberg wasn’t thrilled by the FTC complaint, which accuses the company and its executives of misleading statements. For example, the company is accused of sharing user information with app developers even though the user had restricted that information to “Only Friends” or “Friends of Friends.” The FTC claimed that Facebook apps installed by members were able to gather information on their Facebook friends, even though those friends never gave permission to share their information.

One of the biggest indictments in the complaint is the allegation that Facebook disclosed user information to advertisers despite consistent claims that it never did so. Facebook’s strategy is to deliver targeted ads directly to consumers. If an advertiser wishes to reach 35-year-old married women in Silicon Valley, Facebook will happily display their ad to that demographic, but says it won’t actually turn over the names of those members to the advertisers. Ethics aside, that business model makes sense because Facebook can make a lot more money in the long run by selling ads over and over again than it could be selling names just once.

The FTC points out that Facebook’s stated privacy policy was (and remains): “We don’t share information with advertisers without your consent.” The FTC quoted Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as saying, “We never share your personal information with advertisers. We never sell your personal information to anyone.”

Yet, according to the agency, “In many instances, Facebook has shared information about users with Platform Advertisers by identifying to them the users who clicked on their ads and to whom those ads were targeted.”

My first reaction to that accusation was anger toward Facebook. In some of my columns, I quoted Facebook’s claims that it didn’t sell user information and — at first glance — I felt that I had been used and mislead. But I read further and realized that the FTC’s claim was just a restatement of previously published news accounts about how Facebook, MySpace and numerous other websites had accidentally disclosed data to advertisers as a result of a flaw (or feature) in the Internet’s plumbing called a “referrer.”

As the FTC put it, “from at least September 2008 until May 26, 2010, Facebook designed and operated its website such that, in many instances, the User ID for a user who clicked on a Platform Ad was shared with the Platform Advertiser.” What the complaint didn’t say was that the reason the ID was being passed on was because browsers automatically pass on that information unless you engineer the service to avoid it.

According to OCLC.org (a nonprofit computer library service), “When the browser requests the new page, it sends along the URL of the previous page.” And when the user ID is part of that URL it gets passed on too, unless the website operator takes steps to avoid it.

In May 2010 Facebook engineer Matt Jones blogged that the company fixed this “unintentional oversight” and designed a redirector that removes the referrer. He also said that, “We have no reason to believe that any advertisers were exploiting this, and doing so would have been a violation of our terms. To our knowledge, none did.”

Going forward, Facebook, along with Google and Twitter, are under federal scrutiny for the next 20 years. That doesn’t mean that users don’t have to worry about privacy — there are still ways that personal information could be passed on to others, and there are privacy and security risks with any platform that supports third-party apps. Plus, there is always the possibility that a government or law enforcement agency could subpoena personal information stored on Facebook’s servers, which is why I recommend that you never post anything online that you would get you in trouble if it were made public, regardless of privacy settings.

Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook.