Face Chipz
Ages: 7 - 17

A father, appalled that his pre-teen daughters wanted to go on FaceBook, decided to develop a social networking site that would be secure. With input from his kids and wife they came up with FaceChipz - a secure social network for kids from ages 7 - 17. Children register on the site - give their name, date of birth, gender and user-name. Parents must also register, give their e-mail address and pay one dollar. Probably to make sure they are adults. Kids are not asked for their e-mail addresses, and only registered kids can be part of this club. To start the socialization going - there are FaceChipz - colorful, dollar-sized plastic chips with emotive symbols on them and a code number on the back that the kid copies on her website and then gives the chip to a pre-registered friend. The friend goes to FaceChipz.com and enters the code and the contact is made. The Chipz themselves have a good "hand" feel - not unlike having a handful of poker chips. Kids will want to both collect them and give them out to add friends to their website. They will become their own marketers.

FaceChipz concern for security and safety seems real. Kid's e-mail addresses are not collected, they state that they will not sell or lease personal information to third parties without consent, they do not allow Flash cookies, and a red alert point is clearly visible for immediate access should anything untoward happen. Parents can monitor the kid's webpage and can deactivate or cancel a child's account should the need arise.

If you are interested in providing your kids with this social networking site, go to http://www.FaceChipz.com. There you will find additional information along with forty or so pages on Security and Terms of Service. A set of five FaceChipz can be purchased from the FaceChipz online store for $7.99, or from Toys-R-Us for $4.99.

Reviewed by: Editor - 11/09