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ARLINGTON (AP) When officer Zhivonni McDonnell reported for a shift earlier this year, she was armed with one of the Police Departments newest tools: a smartphone equipped with Twitter.

As she accompanied a Citizens on Patrol member that night, McDonnell, the departments social media specialist, tweeted updates on what they were seeing and doing, giving followers a taste of what the volunteer group does.

Think social networking is just a frivolous time-waster for celebrities, kids and the weak-minded? Law enforcement agencies from Arlington to Zurich increasingly see Facebook, Twitter and other platforms as 21st-century ways to walk the beat, prevent crime and bust the bad guys.

The key, said Chyng-Yang Jang, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Arlingtons department of communication, is having personnel who are trained in their use.

If youre going to use it to just post information, then I dont think it will be too effective, he said. The real powerful thing is the two-way communication.

Cleveland police used it during an Amber Alert in April and received a tip within a few hours that led to the childrens rescue. In Pennsylvania, a police department made three arrests in one week off leads generated by social media. Recently, one of Dentons most-wanted misdemeanor fugitives saw his mug shot on the Police Departments Facebook page and turned himself in, hoping to keep his family and friends from finding out.

Positive platforms

Social media is here. Its going to stay, said officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department and one of the first in North Texas to use the tool aggressively. My captain told me, Just do it. Dont embarrass us, but do what you think we should do.

Arlington police, who have also made arrests off information distributed via social media, use the platforms to publicize good work by officers that the traditional media may not cover, to provide safety tips and to keep the community posted on emergencies like the April 3 tornado outbreak. Going to the Rangers game? Follow (at)arlingtonpd for reports on traffic and parking and to see whos having fun tailgating.

With 4,160 Facebook fans and 3,101 Twitter followers one day recently, the department is gaining on the top five U.S. law enforcement agencies for its size, according to the most recent numbers reported by the International Association of Chiefs of Polices Center for Social Media.

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Officers use social networking as tool

Its no secret that social networking is a large part of our culture. Facebook and other social networking sites have minimum age requirements that some kids get around by lying about the year they were born. Parents must be vigilant in this day and age.

Tecca has some tips for online safety for families with young kids. Its advisable for parents to go through these safety tips with their child so both are prepared for all the internet has to offer and the dangers it threatens.

(MORE: 92 Teen Text Terms Decoded for Confused Parents)

While reality can be scary, there are plenty of safe sites designed for kids under 13. Still, all the kid-friendly social networking sites in the world wont help if kids find the adult versions more fun. We researched kid-friendly sites and then talked to kids to get a feel for the fun factor to collect four kid-approved sites.

Become a fan

Fanlala has all the features of a traditional MySpace-style social networking site, with blogging, sharing, and group features. The monitoring settings offer you the choice to approve kids posts and friend requests. Fanlala requires parents to verify their identity by phone, credit card, or fax.

Fanlala is a teen beat-style site with quizzes, close encounters with teen heartthrobs, and age-appropriate entertainment news. Pop stars such as Justin Bieber and actors such as Robert Pattinson have pages which members can fan.

Fanlala is tough on cyberbullying and features a short and clearly stated list of how to use the internet safely. Although administrators review content prior to posting, some content goes live immediately. Reviews posted on Common Sense Media say that Fanlala is age appropriate, and kids love it.

Join the virtual classroom

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The Best Social Networks for Kids Under 13

NEW YORK, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The Kiwibox network proudly announces the integration of Spanish language versions on its social networking websites. The US based platform Kiwibox and the European KWICK! now each support Spanish versions, and are creating their own place in Spanish and Latin markets. Through detection of members' system settings, the social networking platforms will automatically update to Latin users' preferred language, allowing for the full use of the Kiwibox community without language barriers.

Current and new users alike will be able to experience Kiwibox and KWICK! functionality in the Spanish language, retain the ability to interact with users of all languages, and most importantly connect with other native Spanish speaking users in an environment that celebrates culture and connectivity. This will make Kiwibox and KWICK! part of the handful of networks that support multilingual features on the site as a whole.

The Kiwibox network is excited about the growth potential of each site as there remains substantial growth potential in the online Spanish-speaking market; of the approximate global Spanish population of 423 million people, only 43% currently use the internet and even less (23%) use social networking on a daily basis.

Simultaneously, Kiwibox.com and KWICK!'s mobile application growth, and an upcoming multilingual version of the app, parlays directly into the Spanish language market on mobile platforms as well.

With over 10 million registered users, the Kiwibox network maintains its unique user-base through interaction via digital and event based formats, allowing for a breadth of new users to meet and develop friendships while experiencing exclusive benefits for membership alone. As the network continues to attract users from all walks of life, inclusion of a Spanish language version will further continue a pattern of providing an engaging and meaningful platform to further one's social experience online alongside others who are looking for a distinct networking experience.

About Kiwibox.com: Company History

Kiwibox.com was initially founded in 1999 to give teenagers a voice on the internet and was a leader in the teen oriented world for several years. InAugust 2007, the company was bought by Magnitude Information Systems, Inc., a publicly listed company. In 2008, the company launched a new version, Kiwibox 2.0 and inOctober 2009the company launched Kiwibox 3.0, shifting its audience focus from teenagers to young adults. OnDecember 31, 2009, Kiwibox Media Inc. merged with Magnitude Information Systems and changed its name to Kiwibox.com, Inc., theNew York-based social network. In the first quarter of 2011, Kiwibox.com acquired Pixunity.de, Half a year later Kiwibox.com successfully released an English-Version for the US-market,www.pixunity.com. On September 31st, 2011 Kiwibox.com acquired the German social network community Kwick!, and finalized the acquisition in May 2012. KWICK!'s functionality mirrors that of Kiwibox,com, and maintains an activity rate of more than 2 billion page impressions a month. Kiwibox common shares are listed on the over-the-counter, Bulletin Board market under the symbol KIWB.OB.

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Kiwibox.com Enters Spanish and Latin Markets -- Launches Spanish Language Integration on Kiwibox.com and Kwick.de!

23-05-2012 11:23 Social Media Revolution Parody based on: Original book: Socialnomics by Erik Qualman Original video: Social Media Revolution by Erik Qualman & Evan Kutsko. Hat tip to the creators of this video Parody - very funny! - @equalman Writer: Will Rolls Designer/Animator: Iain Armstrong Producer: Jasper Gibson Music: 'Extremity' - Barrie Gledden / Kes Loy

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Social Media Revolution Parody - Video

So.cl's Everyone feed shows you the most recent searches conducted on the site. Image: So.cl

Microsoft clearly wants a slice of your social networking time. The company released a revamped Bing with social features earlier this month, and has now made its experimental social search network So.cl pronounced social open to the public.

But is So.cl the next Facebook, Twitter or even Google+? We spent some hands-on time with Microsofts new social network to find out. The short answer: no. But So.cl does offer some unique features that, if done right, could appeal to a specific population students.

Like other social networking sites, So.cl users have a profile, can follow other users, and most importantly, share posts within the network. But instead of status updates, check-ins or 140-character bits, your So.cl posts revolve around internet searches.

According to Microsoft, So.cl is an experiment in open search thats focused on exploring the possibilities of social search for the purpose of learning. The companys FUSE Labs arm developed the site and originally made it available only to students at the University of Washington, Syracuse University and New York University. So.cl is still in its experimental mode, but now its open to the public to test out.

To access So.cl, you can opt to sign up through your Windows Live ID or Facebook. Thats the first indication that So.cl isnt a Facebook competitor. In fact, So.cl is a bit more useful if you sign in with your Facebook login, which I did. Once youre in, So.cl will show you any of your Facebook friends that currently are on the site only two in my case and let you follow them. The site will also suggest other subjects to follow, ranging from music to startups to popular people.

After youve chosen who and what you want to follow, So.cl populates your Feed with all of the applicable posts. You can also choose to view everything thats being posted to So.cl, which I dont recommend because the Everything feed is incredibly cluttered in its current state.

You can browse posts related to different topic hubs on So.cl. Image: So.cl

Each users post represents a search he or she conducted through the So.cl search bar. So.cl uses Microsofts public Bing API, so youll get very similar results as you do through Bing search. The main difference is in the interface and layout. So.cl adds a section called Feed Results, which displays posts related to your search from other So.cl users. For example, when I searched pancakes, I saw that a user named Cristin searched for greek yogurt pancakes a few months ago.

Like on other social networks, you can like, comment and share a users post. So.cl also includes a riff features that allows you to conduct the same search as that user, and a tag feature that lets you tag your posts and other users posts with specific interests. For example, a pancakes search could be tagged as food.

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Hands On: So.cl, Microsoft's 'Experimental' Social Search Network