Ensure Child Friendly Media With SmartFeed

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This post is brought to you by SmartFeed.

Being online as much as I am I hear stories of what can happen to children online. Ever since my kids were old enough to be on a computer the thought of what they might find there has been on my mind. I still worry even today when my youngest wants to go online, which is why I determine what sites he can go on and what apps he can use. I only allow him to watch certain television channels, all of which contain content I consider acceptable. There have been a number of times that I thought it would be interesting to see a system like that available for the internet. And as it turns out, it seems that system should be available soon.

SmartFeed is a subscription based service that creates a family portal enabling parents to be assured that their children are watching only appropriate digital media. Their premise is “Put positive media in, get positive minds out.” The service has four different and equally important aspects.

Curate – Parents curate (or collect) material they deem appropriate for their children. Factors that can be taken into account include demographics, interests, curriculum and values.So, parents can include media that is for educational purposes if they want, or have it be strictly for entertainment.

Deliver – The collection of content that the parent has curated can be pushed right to the family or child’s smart device. Children don;t have to sit through advertisements and pop-ups. (I love this feature, as I’ve seen some not too pleasant things appear in both pop-ups and advertisements.) As a parent you can set on and off times, and you always know what your child has watched.

Manage – Parents can use SmartFee’s built-in filters to find the most appropriate content. They can also consider input that other parents within the SmartFeed community have shared.

Connect – Parents are able to join the SmartFeed community, an online community consisting of other parents with the same goal – to find appropriate content to educate and entertain children in a positive way. Community members often share recommendations about the media their family is consuming, which is feedback that makes a great resource.

“Media is increasingly pervasive in society today and certainly isn’t going away,” said Linsly Donnelly, Founder of SmartFeed. “We think parents need a tool that does more than just filter out the bad content, but instead finds the good stuff and conveniently serves it up – across all content formats and device types, with preferences set by child, media and device.”

Here’s a brief video showing how SmartFeed works.

In order to complete production and launch this innovative tool, SmartFeed has established a KickStarter page. Their goal of $75,000 will enable them to make their project a reality. Over $50,000, or 2/3 of the goal, has been pledged in the first few days of the campaign. SmartFeed will be a great resource for parents, one that also provides peace of mind. If you’ve ever had children or helped a child online, you will surely realize the value and importance of a platform like this.

You can learn more about SmartFeed on KickStarter!