School Based social networking

[CyberNerd]

Google+ is now available to Google Domains.

Considerations before enabling Google+ - Google Apps Help

I might try this with some small groups.
How do you guys see this one panning out?

[CyberNerd]

sorry - I spoke too soon:

Your users must be at least 18 years old to use Google+. Users who don't meet this age requirement won't be able to join Google+. If a user who attempts to join Google+ also does not meet the minimum age requirements for a Google Account (13 year old in most countries), the user's entire account will be suspended

[Arthur]

the user's entire account will be suspended

That's a bit harsh, don't you think?

[matt40k]

That's a bit harsh, don't you think?

No. US law - Google being US based. Look at most forums - must be 13.

[Arthur]

Look at most forums - must be 13.

It's not the age limit I disagree with, but the fact that a 13-17 year old would lose access to everything else tied to their Google account (e-mail in Google Mail, RSS feeds in Google Reader, work saved in Google Docs, photos in Picasa, etc. etc.). How are they going to get their account re-enabled? It's not like you can phone Google!

[matt40k]

I think - or rather hope - they would just disable Google+ rather then the entire Google Apps for the poor user.

[Arthur]

Found out a bit more info. In this context, it doesn't look as bad.

To use Google+, your users must be at least 18 years old. If a user who is attempting to sign up for Google+ enters a birthday that indicates he or she does not meet applicable age requirements, one of the following occurs:

• If the user isn't old enough to use Google+ but is old enough to have a Google Account, the user just won't be able to join Google+. The user can still sign in to his or her Google Apps account.
• If the user isn't old enough to have a Google Account (this minimum requirement is 13 years old in most countries) the user’s entire Google Apps account—including Gmail and other services—will be disabled. The user won’t be able to sign in to his or her Google Apps account.

In case the user entered an incorrect birthday, Google provides a 30-day grace period during which the user can confirm that he or she does meet the age requirement for a Google Account. After the grace period, a user's disabled account will be permanently deleted. (Source)

[Steven_Cleaver]

Hi

We use the Social networking in Moodle and have found this very good can Filter out swear words etc track conversations between students even if they try deleting comments etc.

[CyberNerd]

witg a google apps account yoy do get a direct number to Google support, on the couple of occasions i called them they fixed the problem over the phone.