All joking aside, it’s quite an interesting and well-reasoned experiment in social networking:
A ‘Text Pal’ scheme run by Norfolk County Council to give much-needed peer support to young carers has been so successful that it has been extended to include a safe online chat forum. Due to the popularity of the Text Pal scheme, where volunteer ‘Text Pals’ and young carers are both provided with a mobile phone to text and call each other free of charge, Norfolk Blurb – Norfolk County Council’s website for young people – has launched an online version of the service. Sharing a similar format to social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace, Text Pal online, which will go live at 12pm today (Friday March 23), enables users to hook up and exchange messages within a safe environment, as all messages are moderated prior to being published. It is hoped that more young people will use the Text Pal network to gain vital peer support and to use Text Pal as a safe alternative to the thousands of un-moderated social network sites available.