Age Online

With heightened concerns over sexual predators lurking at so-called social-networking sites, state attorneys general have called for such communities, particularly MySpace, to improve age and identity checks. If only it were so easy, experts say. “We’re all just grasping for solutions,” said Anne Collier, co-author of the forthcoming “MySpace Unraveled: What It Is and How to Use It Safely.” “We haven’t fully researched it and thought about all the implications.” – Anick Jesdanun The irony is that I was listening earlier to a recent SecondCast where Philip Rosedale was making many of the same points. And I heard an anecdote just a short while ago about something age-related that happened in a library near here. I don’t know what the answer is, but I think that this has the potential to be the major library issue of the year one way or the other.