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Posterous (http://posterous.com)

common sense media says

Privacy settings and ease of use make blogging site a hit.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the creators of this free blogging tool do not recommend it for children younger than 13. POSTEROUS (POST-er-us) is easy to use but the site contains some adult content not suitable for grade schoolers. Teens should be encouraged to make their blog private and limit readers to a small circle of friends. Though it might be a less popular choice initially, another option is setting up a family blog and letting everyone contribute. Posting is so easy -- simply a matter of shooting off an email with an attachment -- that even grandma could have her say without learning any new tools. Pretty cool.  

Educational value: Kids who live on email or an iPhone can knock out something creative super fast using this rich-content blogging tool. According to the creators, Stanford grads Sachin Agarwal and Garry Tan, some schools are using Posterous as a multimedia bulletin board.
Positive messages: Blogging = self-expression = good. Mixed-media blogging made easy = even better. Posterous targets computer novices, social media fans, businesses and families with its message that blogging can be easy and fun.
Violence: Some of the blogs on this site contain graphic YouTube videos. Sample: Iranian students dying after being shot during the recent election protests.
Sex: Nothing hard core, but some dodgy stuff here and there. For example, one blog features a photo of a semi-nude Sarah Palin lookalike wrapped in an American flag, linked to a story about a porn flick called Nailin’ Serra Paylin.
Language: Profanity isn't rampant but instances of asshole, f--k and s--t and crude remarks such as "That gives me a boner" can be found in some blogs on this site.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Bloggers on this site sometimes repost or link to online stories about people who get drunk or do drugs. Most posts that mention smoking are about trying to quit.
Privacy & safety: Like most blogging tools the privacy features are actually pretty good. By default, blogs are public, which means they can be seen by other bloggers and will appear in search engine results. However, users who have a change of heart about something they've said can easily change, hide, or delete specific posts or make the entire blog private by assigning a password others have to type in. Passwords also disable the autoposting feature so entries don't automatically appear on other social networking sites like MySpace.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Posterous

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • What’s okay to blog and what isn't? Even if the only people allowed to read your entries are invited friends or family, kids should choose their words wisely. Read our Social Network Tips.
  • Families can also talk about how blogging can be used creatively and to share emotions via words, music, and images. For more information on social network sites, read our tips on Facebook for Parents.
  • Families can talk about screen time, too. Blogging is yet another way to communicate with others electronically, but how much time should be spent reading comments on a computer and how much face time should kids give their friends?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Posterous lacks Tumblr’s hip vibe but teens will like two features: posting practically any type of file from an iPhone, and autoposting. Users can post words, photos, URLs, videos, even podcasts simply by emailing attachments to post@posterous.com. The service unzips files, rotates photos and automatically embeds Web players so everything comes out looking and sounding great. The autoposting feature simultaneously updates all the other social networking sites the user belongs to, including Twitter. Currently, the only kind of entries users can make to their blogs on the Posterous site itself are text, but a rep said this would soon change.

Online interaction: Users connect in the usual way: via comments left after blog entries. There is no flagging mechanism for objectionable content or special protections for kids, but the overall tone is friendly. Kids can block comments from strangers by making a blog private.

This review was written by Carla Thornton
 
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age
Our child development rating guidelines