Blerp (http://www.blerp.com/browser/landing)

common sense media says

Free tool turns your fave website into a discussion board.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the creators of Blerp seem committed to making the discussion app a fun, wholesome tool for everyone, including high schoolers. Blerp has banned thousands of adult-content sites out of the gate, and users can opt to block posts that Blerp has tagged as offensive.

Educational value: It will depend on the site, but teens should be able broaden their understanding of the world and current events by joining Blerp discussions. 
Positive messages: Blerp hired professional bloggers to seed the new app, so the first round of comments at sites like CNN.com are polite, well-written, and thought provoking. Users who don't want to see objectionable material can turn on Blerp's adult-content filter.
Violence: Not applicable.
Sex: In a bid to keep discussions on the highest plane possible, Blerp excludes the 10,000 most popular adult-content Web sites including Playboy.com. The number of banned sites eventually will be bumped up to 100,000.
Language: Blerp discussions are public forums, so occasional
profanity is to be expected.
Consumerism: Blerp is ad free.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Blerp

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about the level of personal detail kids should divulge in their Blerp profiles, who is safe to friend, and which Web sites might be the most fun or educational to visit.  Parents of young teens might be able to put their foot down on the adult content setting, but computer-savvy kids curious about what they’re missing can easily flip the switch back on.  

 

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Blerp breaks new ground by turning the Internet into one big, multimedia-capable discussion forum. With the ability to monitor what your friends are saying across Web sites, the possibilities are endlessly entertaining. Blerp isn't perfect; to anchor a discussion to a specific Web page, this alpha version makes you enter the URL into the Blerp browser bar. That's a real pain if an article you want to comment on is buried deep in a site -- you can't just enter the home page URL and browse over inside Blerp. A downloadable version of Blerp due out by the end of June is supposed to be better integrated. In the meantime, this innovative app is well worth a try.


This review was written by Carla Thornton
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

JPLawton
parent of 9 and 12 year old
 
Pretty Interesting Way to Discuss
This is also an interesting way to find new websites. And I like that fact that you can find and join many different types of discussions. JP

girlspeacelove
kid, 9 years old
 
Baddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
this wroset han death* and i dont what 2 say

cone
parent of 9 year old
 

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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