Social networking for kids 9-14!

But don't be dismayed - this is not MySpace for 9-to-14-year-olds. California startup Industrious Kid is about to launch Imbee.com, a safe social-networking service for kids. This is actually big kid-tech news, the first product I've seen of its kind and a great idea (NetFamilyNews doesn't have the resources to properly test software and services, but I always want to alert you to new ones with good thinking behind them). Based on a run-through of product and parental-control features and a long conversation with Industrious Kid, Imbee.com does two things: 1) It gives budding online socializers a safe place to blog and socialize, and 2) it gives parents on-the-job training (with teachable moments) in parenting on this highly participatory, kid-driven phase of the Web we all face. If a parent is lucky enough to be embarking on this journey with a 9-year-old instead of a teenager, here is some real help. What I like about Imbee.com, from what I can tell so far, is that it supports parent-child communication, demystifies social networking for parents, and looks to be an interesting, viable product for kids. (I'm pretty sure on that last one – I need to try it out on my 9-year-old - but the point is I as a mom *want* to; I've been wanting to get him a safe email-type tool of his own to talk with his buddy in Chicago, but until now nothing grabbed me.) The Industrious Kid presentation convinced me that this product, for once, is not about controlling kids, like so many "solutions" that have come down the pike; it's about giving kids the tool for self-expression and socializing that MySpace is but with age-appropriate safeguards. Check it out – you can take Imbee's parent tour on Imbee's home page (bottom right-hand corner).