Social Networking Online: Digg.com's New Features, MySpace.com Security

By Mae Kowalke

TMCnet Associate Editor

 

User-controlled news website digg.com announced Friday its June 26 Beta launch of new features for users of the site, including the ability to rank videos in addition to other content.

 

Digg.com users also will be able to customize personal portals based on areas of interest, and prioritize content in four new subject areas (each divided into several sub-sections) covering business, entertainment, science, and gaming.

 

“We are now responding to requests from the digg community to give them even greater control over the content filtering process with the ability to digg in new content areas, customize their view, and apply the digg functionality to non-news areas, such as videos,” digg.com founder, Kevin Rose, said in a statement.  

digg.com’s CEO, Jay Adelson, noted that, since its launch in 2004, the site has grown tremendously—it now has more than eight million unique visitors each month, and upwards of 300,000 active registered users.

 

“digg is harnessing the tremendous interest from the mass Internet audience to participate in and access relevant content more conveniently and faster than traditional means,” Adelson said.

 

 

Meanwhile, in another corner of the online social content arena, MySpace.com—a News Corp. holding—this week has drawn more criticism from child safety advocates, who claim that the networking site has not taken enough measure to protect its young users.

 

An Associated Press report Wednesday cited Monique Nelson of Web Wise Kids as saying that new age restrictions for users of the site aren’t enough to protect kids, because saavy surfers will find ways to subvert the rules.

 

“There's no way to check age verification. In that respect, I don't think that's going to be very effective,” the report quoted Nelson as saying.

 

According to the report, MySpace users who are age 18 or older can “no longer request to be on a 14- or 15-year-old's friends' list unless they already know either the youth's e-mail address or full name.”

 

MySpace.com’s Terms of Use (as of June 15) also restricts use of the site to anyone under the age of 14, and prohibits members from listing telephone numbers, street addresses, last names, or e-mail addresses.

Security director Hemanshu Nigam said the site is committed to increasing online safety for teens.

 

 

“MySpace remains dedicated to a multi-pronged approach that also involves education and collaboration with law enforcement, teachers, parents and members,” AP quoted Nigam as saying.

 

The latest changes to MySpace’s security rules come on the heels of a lawsuit filed against the company June 19, on behalf of a 14-year-old girl who claims she was raped by a man she met through the networking site.