Tom, that’s all very lyrical, and as a parent I can appreciate the sentiment, but this is not just a matter of self-expression. Until recently teenage self-expression did not take place in a “super public” space, to use Danah Boyd’s phrase, and it didn’t have a permanent, searchable digital record. We’re only beginning to fathom the long-term consequences. How can we make a judgment to trust what our kids are doing in if the risks are still unknown?

Scott, there is NO RISK in letting kids express themselves and do it in such a public way! The long term effects of self-expression are well known and they are ALWAYS positive!!!

You ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS start by trusting your kids!

(Sorry for the shouting, I get a bit emotional at times.)

Tom, I'm not talking about the risk of the self-expression itself -- I completely agree with your parenting principle.

I'm talking about the consequences of doing such self-expression in a SUPER PUBLIC space, where the entire world can peer in, where strangers with potentially questionable purposes can interact, and where everything has a PERMANENT DIGITAL RECORD.

You can trust your kids to hang out and express themselves on the street corner because you have a fairly clear idea of what the risks are and whether your kids understand the risks.

But the risks of hanging out and expressing yourself on MySpace -- IN PUBLIC VIEW TO THE WORLD -- is still largely unstudied and unknown.

I might not always agree with your press release posts/rants/whatever but I think you've hit the nail on the head with this one.

Of course MySpace will have one or two, shall we say, situations - there's 50 million of them - it's bound to happen. But I'm sure there are many parents happy at the thought that their kids are hanging out on MySpace as opposed to standing on street corners and hanging out in the real world.

Let's not forget the fact that kids across the globe are learning about new cultures by networking with one another. No doubt learning other things in the process.

My opinion is to take it for what it is: A great place to find new friends.

My 2p

Tom, if you post this comment, then I will know you have the courage of your convictions about MySpace -- I'm sorry to pull this stunt on your site, but it's the only way to be sure we're on the same "page," if you will.

So I go to the MySpace homepage and click on browse: http://browseusers.myspace.com/Browse/Browse.aspx?MyToken=632785638024787064

Where I find Cassy (who knows if she's really 23): http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=58903976

Where I find her friend David (scroll right): http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=52160444

Lovely "self-expression" don't you think? All it took was 30 seconds and three clicks.

Sure, you can find this anywhere on the web -- but on MySpace, minors can find it through casual browsing and can link in as "friends."

UPDATE:

Concerned parents can always use this:

http://www.myspacewatch.com/account/login

Stephen

I have a few things to say, I, for one, am a teenager myself, and use myspace plenty, you may say I'm addicted, I'm 13 years old, turning 14 in a few months, sure, you can find anyone's myspace, whenever you like, but this doesn't always mean you can see what's on it. It called a fricking private profile, it's in the account settings on your myspace page, you can private your page to everyone not your friend, everyone over 18, or a combination of both, many people believe that once you hit 16 your profile is no longer private, that's just a standard setting on myspace, for anyone under 16 to have a private profile, but even after that, you can still make it private. Everyone seems to overlook this whenever I browse the internet to see what criticism myspace has taken, the only people in trouble on myspace are the ones that don't think anything can happen, most of my friends on myspace add only their friends, that what most people do on myspace, it's a place for FRIENDS, such is the slogan, I only have 66 friends on myspace over 2 years, one of my idiotic friends has over a thousand, because he thinks he's awesome cus he has a crapload of friends on myspace who don't even know him, but even HE manages to restrict older than twenty somthing of his myspace. Now, I'm sorry for not asking to post, but this always ticks me off when people go check out myspace, think you can find anyone with a few simple clicks, and think that it could be predator heaven, when all you have to do is go to settings, check a box, and you'll be worry free from there on as long as you don't find a way to screw it all up.