Togetherville
© 2010 Togetherville
If you're a Facebook user, and you live with one or more elementary-age children, you'll find the Togetherville concept interesting; and quite possibly, essential. That's because the free service, which was launched last month, leverages your existing Facebook friends list to connect their children with yours. That's especially useful if you're in an extended family that uses Facebook to stay in touch. To find Togetherville log into your Facebook account and do a search on the world "togetherville," or, go to www.togetherville.com and complete the registration process. This involves entering the information about each child's account. You can then decide which of your friends your child can see. If somebody wants your child to be on their friends list, you have to login and approve the request. So now the cousins can now start sharing favorite movies, recommending games or exchanging photos. Because it's a walled community, there are no anonymous user names. When a child logs on, they see their neighborhood friends divided between “kids” and “grownups,” and can interact with others or explore apps, games and videos. They also see a status report of all their friend's activities -- just like regular Facebook. One major drawback is that you can't freely type messages, at least not yet (Togetherville says free typing is coming). The service uses constructed chat which is clumsy -- but safe. In addition, there is currently no advertising or sponsored content. So how does the service make money? Right now it doesn't, but eventually you'll be able to give your child an allowance (with real money) to use for premium games and special page enhancements. The amount you spend will depend on how well your child convinces you to part with some of your money. Our initial impression of Togetherville is that it has a lot of potential, especially given the familiar Facebook platform that it is built on.
Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site
Teaches: a Facebook application for children