“If we’re looking at the current zeitgeist, you have a consumer base that’s looking toward tech companies to showcase moral guidance.” — David Ryan Polgar
Users are fed up.
Tired of rampant harassment and abuse in social media, consumers have finally begun to demand safer online spaces that encourage and reward good digital citizenship. And they’re starting to hold social networks accountable for dangerous behavior on their platforms.
But what exactly are online safety and digital citizenship? And what can social networks do to make safety an industry standard?
We spoke with Trust & Safety experts David Ryan Polgar of Friendbase and Carlos Figueiredo of Two Hat Security to get their thoughts on changing attitudes in the industry — and the one thing that social networks can do today to inspire civility and respect on their platform.
Click play to listen:
Highlights & key quotes
On safety:
“Online safety… is very similar to driving. There are lots of dangers to getting on the road, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get on the road.” — David Ryan Polgar
“It’s important for us to consider not just safety, but what is a healthy online experience? It’s okay to have a certain amount of risk that will vary from community to community… We don’t want to focus just on the dangers and risks.” — Carlos Figueiredo
On “safety by design”:
“There are lots of examples where a company scaled up quickly and aggressively got millions of users, but they didn’t necessarily have the features in place to have a safe experience. We want safety, but we also want vibrancy, that happy mix — what I call a ‘Goldilocks zone.’ And the danger is, once you get labeled as a place that allows for toxic behavior, it’s very difficult to alter that perception, even when you change some of the tools.” — DRP
“Whenever possible, safety needs to be a product and design consideration from the very beginning… by having this proactive approach, you can prevent a lot of issues.” — CF
On setting a positive tone in your product:
“I think the big thing is intuitive tools. That’s always been a big complaint for a lot of individuals. Once you have a problem online, is it intuitive to report it? And then, potentially more importantly, what’s the protocol after that’s been reported?” — DRP
“One thing that I would definitely recommend that people start doing is, if they don’t have an individual or a team in charge of community well-being or community safety, have somebody where at least a big chunk of time is dedicated to this – and a team, even better. Put that as a key priority of your product. Employ really solid people who understand your community.” — CF
Online safety & digital citizenship resources
David is a board member for the non-profit #ICANHELP, which holds the first annual #Digital4Good event next month at Twitter HQ. This highly-anticipated event brings together students, representatives from the tech industry, and teachers to discuss and celebrate positive tech and media use.
Learn more on the #ICANHELP website, and follow @icanhelp and #Digital4Good on Twitter.
Don’t miss the live-streamed event on Monday, September 18th. Carlos will be moderating a panel with three very special guests (more info to come!). They’ll be talking about player behavior in online games.
Two Hat Security is hosting an exclusive webinar about community building on Wednesday, September 13th. In The Six Essential Pillars of Healthy Online Communities, Carlos shares the six secrets to creating a thriving, engaged, and loyal community in your social product. Whether you’re struggling to build a new community or need advice shaping an existing product, you don’t want to miss this. Save your seat today!
David is a prolific writer who thoughtfully examines the ethical consequences of emerging technology. Recent pieces include Alexa, What’s the Future of Conversational Interface? and Has Human Communication Become Botified? Follow @TechEthicist on Twitter for insights into online safety, digital citizenship, and the future of tech.
About the speakers
David Ryan Polgar
David Ryan Polgar has carved out a unique and pioneering career as a “Tech Ethicist.” With a background as an attorney and college professor, he transitioned in recent years to focus entirely on improving how children, teens, and adults utilize social media & tech. David is a tech writer (Big Think, Quartz, and IBM thinkLeaders), speaker (3-time TEDx, The School of The New York Times), and frequent tech commentator (SiriusXM, AP, Boston Globe, CNN.com, HuffPost). He has experience working with startups and social media companies (ASKfm), and co-founded the global Digital Citizenship Summit (held at Twitter HQ in 2016). Outside of writing and speaking, David currently serves as Trust & Safety for the teen virtual world Friendbase. He is also a board member for the non-profit #ICANHELP, which is planning the first #Digital4Good event at Twitter HQ on September 18th.
His forward-thinking approach to online safety and digital citizenship has been recognized by various organizations and outlets across the globe and was recently singled out online by the Obama Foundation.
Carlos Figueiredo
Carlos Figueiredo leads Two Hat Security‘s Trust & Safety efforts, collaborating with clients and partners to challenge our views of healthy online communities.
Born and raised in Brazil, Carlos has been living in Canada for almost 11 years where he has worked directly with online safety for the last 9 years, helping large digital communities with their mission to stay healthy and engaged. From being a moderator himself to leading a multi-cultural department that was pivotal to the safety of global communities across different languages and cultures, Carlos has experienced the pains and joys of on-screen interactions.
He’s interested in tackling the biggest challenges of our connected times and thrives on collaborating and creating bridges in the industry.
About Two Hat Security
At Two Hat Security, we empower social and gaming platforms to build healthy, engaged online communities, all while protecting their brand and their users from high-risk content. Want to increase user retention, reduce moderation, and protect your brand?
Get in touch today to see how our chat filter and moderation software Community Sift can help you make online safety a priority in your product.