This is the first article I've seen where an adult used a mass-texting service to "reach out" inappropriately to a minor. There are many of these systems out there, and often we get compared to them when it comes to features and price (and still come out on top, by the way). The thing is, ME2U is different.
By requiring parental permission from the get-go and keeping parents / administration in the loop for all conversations going through our system, we promote safety and accountability in ways that just can't be done by the other guys.
Here's the article and an excerpt:
Hampton Roads volleyball coach charged with inappropriate contact with girl
The teenager told a trusted friend, who then informed the 14-year-old's parents. Her parents immediately took the messaging device to police, who began investigating the case on July 24 and collected documents from the texting website, Balthis said.
Cole did not attempt to meet up with the player and no meetings took place, Balthis said. He showed no similar conduct in his history, she added. Based on police investigation, Balthis said Cole was not inappropriately contacting other players through the website.
A comment we placed on the article:
There are so many stories out there like this, but this is the first one I've seen in a while that was done using a web-based texting service. There are so many of these on the market, it's easy to see how they don't "fit" into the relationship between adults and minors.
ME2U.US is a VALUE driven texting service that works differently. We aren't the same as SMS-marketing solutions that allow you to drop in a phone number and start texting. We require parental permission from the get-go, keep parents in the loop through weekly digests of all messages sent, and allow team / school / church administrators to have accountability with all the leaders in their service.
We're still building this tool, but I'm continually seeking input from others as to how this might work in the real world. We as parents must realize that if we don't set boundaries for our kids (and promote the establishment of boundaries at our schools and in our leagues) that those boundaries WILL be set, and probably not in the place we want them to be.
Check out this system at www.me2u.us. I'd love to hear your thoughts.