If you’re a parent who’s wondered how to virtually corral the chance that your kids will use their cell phone for something called “sexting,” you’ve probably pounded your head in frustration. Well, there’s an answer: Kajeet, a cell phone service “for kids” located in Maryland, but funded by Silicon Valley investor Rick Bolander, who serves as managing partner.
Bolander brought his experience in “working with digital content providers and service providers” to bear in his role in helping to form Kajeet.
Why do I mention Rick Bolander first and before its CEO? Because under his direction, Kajeet has raised $82 million. Bolander is not just managing director at Kajeet, he’s also “Rick Bolander co – founder of Gabriel Venture Partners.”
Bolander, together with Kajeet CEO Daniel Neal, are creating a new company that’s right for the times. A period where it seems that digital communications have advanced so rapidly, the common and at times hair-raising practices of teens seem to have gone unchecked.
Kajeet’s focus has been on combating Sexting. In a February blog post, Kajeet’s Carol Politi wrote this five-step plan for “preventing sexting,” the title of the blog post:
1. Establish a contract with your child before they use their phone. Work with your child to mutually establish guidelines for appropriate and safe use.
2. Decide proactively which services are allowed. It is possible, for example, to initially restrict or shut off picture messaging and let your child learn the power of instant communications first through text messaging. It might be helpful to review some of the news on Sexting to discuss why this might have happened and what could have been done differently.
3. Get agreement on the when the phone should be used. Decide whether it should be physically shut off during school and at night or whether a TimeManager block should be set up during these hours to prevent distractions. Should the phone be on or off during homework hours?
4. Decide what kind of periodic usage reviews should be held. Should you review and discuss usage once per week? Once per month? Will you and your child review the actual messages and pictures on the phone from time to time?
5. Finally, review how much the service costs, mutually agree on a budget for the phone, and decide who pays for what.
Visit the Kajeet site here: http://www.kajeet.com/4u/index.html.
Stay tuned.