Incredible Internet is an online safety resource for parents, children and educators. The program was founded in 2004 by Denver-based communications and entertainment provider Qwest Communications. In 2005, the program expanded through a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Incredible Internet’s stated intention is “To help people of all ages cut through the Internet’s clutter to improve their everyday lives, while keeping families safe online.”
Topics covered on Incredible Internet’s Web site include virtual worlds and Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs), identity theft, cyberbullying and social networking. A downloadable parent guide entitled “Understanding a Child’s Virtual World” penned by Dr. Linda Young is also available on the site.
The program’s stable of experts include psychologist Dr. Linda Young and virtual world expert Dr. Nick Yee. Other contributors include NetSmartz411, Microsoft and TransUnion.
Incredible Internet is included among Project Online Safety’s collection of online safety resources alongside those of AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner.
Partnership with NetSmartz411
Since 2007, the Qwest Foundation has funded NetSmartz411, a free Internet safety online-help desk and hotline provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. NetSmartz411 provides families with general information about social networking, instant messaging, text messaging and online gaming.
Content from NetSmartz411 can be found on Incredible Internet.
Online Safety Coalition
In December 2006, the Incredible Internet program convened community, government and law enforcement leaders to address online safety issues and ways to reduce child exploitation. The group was named the Online Safety Coalition and is led by Shirley Bloomfield.
In April 2008, members of the coalition were honored in Washington, D.C., for their contributions to online safety awareness and education.
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