Lego launches a Child-friendly Social Network

Lego Life is a digital space where children under 13 can share their block-based creativity.

Designed for tablets and available as an app for Android, Apple and Amazon devices, the platform has been in beta testing mode for several months but as of Tuesday is officially live in the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Austria, and Switzerland.

Although very basic for the moment at least - users can create a profile and then use their account to share images of the things they're building with the wider community; the steps taken behind the scenes to ensure it's safe for children are anything but simple.

Children can only join the network via their parents' email address and contact details. No real names or details are allowed on the site -- all users are assigned randomly generated names and the same goes for photos. Instead of a profile picture, users get a customized Lego mini figure as their avatar.

As for potentially offensive comments, all submissions are physically moderated by staff and though a picture can be given a title or explanation, those viewing it will only be able to comment via Lego's own set of emoji.

Your social networking slipups to be stored for 7 years

In a world where potential employers will almost certainly toss your name into a search engine before considering you for a job, we should all be very careful about what we put online. However, sometimes we slip up, leaving a nasty smear on an otherwise pristine social networking persona. Now, thanks to a ruling by the FTC, background checking services can store those unfortunate moments for up to 7 years after you've deleted them from the web.

A company called Social Intelligence - which provides background checks for companies during the hiring process - recently drew ire from would-be employees due to its practice of building detailed files on applicants. The company keeps these records, which can contain embarrassing pictures or comments that have long since been deleted, in case they are requested by other potential employers in the future. The FTC, after taking a microscope to Social Intelligence's information gathering methods, declared that the company fell within the guidelines of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Individuals who believe their social record is tarnished through no fault of their own are welcome to dispute the firm's findings. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people affected have no idea what information Social Intelligence has on them until they are denied a job. So before you update your Facebook, Twitter or other social networking status, remember that the information you put forth can come back to haunt you, years after you've wiped your web slate clean.

Social Networking Service Twitter is not for sale

The popular micro-blogging and social networking service Twitter is not for sale, one of the co-founder of the company has declared.

Biz Stone made the declaration in an appearance on the ABC show "The View."

When host Barbara Walters - mentioning rumors that Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc might be interested in acquiring the company - asked whether Twitter is for sale, Stone answered, "no."

"We're just getting started as I've said. The company is two years old, we have so much to do, so much product stuff to fix, and so much growing to do."

Twitter has been the subject of takeover speculation since the company turned down a $500 million acquisition offer by social networking heavyweight Facebook.

Twitter is a free service that allows people to send short, 140-character text messages to their network of friends.

According to Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, Twitter's website had more than 7 million unique visitors in February, compared to 475,000 in February 2008.

The company, based in San Francisco, California, is focusing on monetizing its service this year.