• Ad Age, Tuesday, July 18, 2006 11:15 AM

The marketing folks at Wal-Mart have given the green light to a new quasi-social online network for teens designed to let them "express themselves." It's called "School My Way," but it's nothing like MySpace, which is clearly hopes to imitate. Ad Age reports that all content is screened, parents are alerted once their kids join, and users, called "hubsters," are forbidden from e-mailing each another. Wal-Mart wants teens to create MySpace-like profiles that let them post pages about themselves and their favorite Wal-Mart clothes, as well as personal videos. Wal-Mart's agency is GSD&M, Austin, Texas. Pages are limited to a headline, a fashion quiz, and a favorite song. So far, there are less than 80. There's no interaction between members whatsoever, and because of the site's rigorous scanning process and prohibitions, one finds "pending approval" on most pages.

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