FaceChipz....the Tween alternative to Facebook! Review & Giveaway

Morgan started middle school this year. He is definitely a Tween....eager to grow up & get involved with friends online, but not quite ready to be part of an open social network like Facebook or Myspace. Morgan is a very responsible kid & I do trust him to make wise decisions about who to be friends with & who not to be friends with. Beyond the STRANGER danger aspect of social networks, I do not want him bombarded with the adult content of many of the applications that are commonly used on those sites. We recently found a great compromise when we were sent a package of FaceChipz to review.

FaceChipz are collectible friendship tokens that kids trade with each other to create their own secure online community on the www.FaceChipz.com website. FaceChipz.com has all the features of a real social network – but with one big difference: kids can ONLY communicate with others they’ve physically exchanged FaceChipz with – NO strangers allowed! No one can arbitrarily contact them. No one can search for them. It’s the social network YOU collect.

In order to register kids, FaceChipz verifies adult consent by processing a one dollar ($1) charge to the credit card of a parent or guardian, the proceeds of which are dedicated to cybersafety initiatives. They do this in accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, "COPPA." . After that there are NO monthly fees EVER. Parents can also add other kids from their immediate family during this time, (or later via the Parental Controls page) for no additional charge. Other than this one-time, one dollar registration fee, there are NO subscription fees – ever. No matter how many FaceChipz a child purchases or receives, this $1 fee is all you will ever pay.

Read the Parents page for all kinds of great internet safety tips & a printable Internet User Agreement to go over with your kids to reinforce the importance of internet safety.

I have a feeling that FaceChipz are going to be HOT as a stocking stuffer this year. You can find them at Toys R Us & at the FaceChipz Store

Would you like to win some? I've got a pack of 4 FaceChipz to giveaway to one lucky winner.

Mandatory entry: leave a comment telling me who you would give them to if you win.

Extra Entries:
Follow me on Twitter & leave a comment with your user name
Tweet about this giveaway up to 3X per day (leave me your twitter status in a comment for each tweet)
Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about social media & your least favorite thing
Leave a comment telling me at what age you think your kids will be ready for open social media.

I will choose a winner using Random.org on December 1st & they will have 48 hrs to respond. Be sure to leave your e-mail address in all your comments if it isn't attached to your profile.