Opinion: MySpace's Safety Surge Sends a Signal

MySpace recently announced its intentions to provide a free download for parents to notify them about their child's presence on the site. The download is expected to be available in beta form this spring, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal.

This announcement comes after a flurry of recent announcements, including one that promised MySpace would build a database of convicted sex offenders and work to keep them off the site. Last year MySpace hired a safety czar whose job consists of making it safer for kids to have online profiles on MySpace.

The newest salvo in the war to clean up MySpace, the parental notification software, is code named Zephyr. The software tracks the name, age, and location that children are using on MySpace. It also tracks and stores any changes made to their profiles. Details have not been made available, but essentially it's going to make it easier to find information about your kids that in the past required some tech savvy to ferret out of the site.

Of course, this means your kids will tell the truth when they put up their profiles or you may not be able to track them. Hence, there have been many skeptics who argue that Zephyr is not a solution, just a Band-Aid.

But Zephyr is more than a Band-Aid. Combined with plans to crack down on illegal copyrighted material and sexual offenders, the appointing of a full time guy to crack down on problems, and increasing demand by the public for MySpace to take action, it's plain to see that this is going to be a swift clean-up campaign for MySpace. The company's very own SURGE if you will. And like some other SURGEs, they're going to have to move swiftly because public pressure is ratcheting.

What people are missing in the debate on how best to clean up MySpace is that there is no single silver bullet to fix the problem of protecting kids in cyberspace. It's only the combination of efforts that will make a difference. Because there have been so many pushes to clean up in a short time, the issue of social networking and kids' safety has become much more widely understood, and parents have some clear-cut options now, like better filtering software and safe social networks that are more age appropriate.

By working overtime to clean up the mess, MySpace is sending some strong signals to a number of different constituencies:

For Sex Offenders: With its notification system and database, MySpace is sending a signal to potential sex offenders that's going to scream, "We've got our eyes on our kids and you are not wanted here. Don't think for a minute that this is a place where you can find a bunch of naïve kids running loose."

For Kids: MySpace and parents are sending a message to the kids that it's not OK to go to cyberspace and act inappropriately because your parents are going to be there keeping an eye out for you. Parents will be notified that you're hanging out in cyberspace just like they were notified when the neighbor caught you hanging out on the street corner.

Sure, kids can find workarounds to create profiles that lie below their parents' radar, but my guess is most will be all too happy to have mom and dad show up and provide a modicum of chaperoning.

For Parents: The message from MySpace is that you're not alone. The moves MySpace execs are taking may be slow baby steps, but you have to believe that the MySpaces of the world have no interest in fostering a haven for crime. By giving parents tools and options, they're sending a signal that they're intent on cleaning up the dark corners of their site.

Three things are certain in all of this. Social networking is here to stay as a part of our children's lives. It's not something to be outgrown or just a passing fad. Social network companies want kids growing up as users. It's in their best interest to protect those kids if the site wants to be in business long enough to watch them mature. No one technology or policy is going to offer foolproof protection from harm on MySpace or other sites. But the combination of efforts is sending a loud, clear signal that will get attention paid.