Real-time social media filter blocks inappropriate posts; educates users on appropriate behavior

Tucson, AZ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/01/2015 --Have you ever posted a nasty comment on Twitter only to wish you could take it back? Or maybe you've known someone who suffered the consequences of a social media gaffe; maybe even lost their job because of it. Start-up tech founder Michele Joel feels your pain, and has developed a new tool to help prevent you from publishing those regretful comments.

"This is the only service on the market that proactively prevents negative messages from being published in real time. Other services just track the comments after the fact," explained Joel.

Like spell-check for your manners, My Social Sitter and My Social Standard work as a filter to help users prevent themselves from posting harmful or damaging content. The software services were designed to help parents and employers manage social media output. My Social Sitter and My Social Standard software can be used either through a desktop or on a free mobile app available for both iOS and Android.

"Today's world of social media gives kids the opportunity to say whatever they're thinking whenever they think it – sometimes to their own detriment," said Joel. "But My Social Sitter instantly prevents users from posting negative social media posts, protecting them and others from harmful content."

Joel came up with the idea for My Social Sitter as she looked back on her own experience with bullying – an experience that shaped her life, yet pre-dated the Internet. As she advanced in her career in product development and marketing, she saw how her personal experiences and professional background could come together to help others.

Businesses too face a new era of risk from employees who might make disparaging comments, or publicly embarrass their brand. On Average companies spent about $3.5 million to combat just one social media blunder, according to Blue Hill Research.

"My Social Standard gives employees and businesses a way to safeguard reputations, by automatically filtering out potentially damaging comments from employees that would risk their job or the company's reputation," Joel explained.

My Social Sitter and My Social Standard use a real-time filter that rejects harmful content using an algorithm based on customized user settings, and filters including slang and sentiment in six languages.

My Social Sitter prevents bullying, helps parents encourage proper behavior

My Social Sitter, the service targeted at parents and kids, stops bullying with a filter that detects and rejects inappropriate social media posts. The service, which comes with a free app, also helps parents prevent their children from publishing regretful social media posts that may compromise future success. My Social Sitter doesn't just stop negative behavior, but serves as an awareness tool to help improve behavior. When negative comments are entered, the message is instantly rejected from going-live and parents are notified by email so they can talk with their kids about positive communication. If the rejected message shows signs of depression or suicide sentiments, parents are text messaged instantly. Users are incentivized to use the app through gamification; for every positive message a user sends, they earn tokens, which can be redeemed for prizes.

"Parents can have peace of mind knowing their child is using social media safely with a real-time filter that discourages inappropriate behavior and nurtures positive communication," adds Joel.

Melissa Anthony, whose daughter was once suspended for an inappropriate Twitter comment, loves the app. "It helps me keep track of my daughter's online behavior. We learned the hard way how one bad tweet can have major repercussions."

My Social Standard protects business reputations

My Social Standard is a separate service and app to help businesses avoid backlash associated with harmful posts. Employers can prevent unwanted social media attention, such as employees who might leak trade secrets, or make disparaging comments that could generate controversy.

Working in a similar manner to My Social Sitter, My Social Standard also uses an algorithm and customized settings to identify unwanted posts, with additional customization and a higher level of customer service. If a post violates the employer's settings, it gives users the opportunity to edit and re-send the post. Users are able to override a blocked post, but there will be record that they were warned not to post the content.

"Many businesses require employees to agree to a social media policy. Now they have a concrete way to enforce their policy and protect their reputation and keep employees employed," said Joel.

Bullied as a child, Joel was determined to help others

Growing up where her father's job relocated frequently, Joel moved often and was bullied as a child. "I remember being teased, and having to eat lunch by myself," Joel noted. "I put up armor and pretended I didn't care, but it really did affect me. Later in life, I was able to conquer my fears but only because I forced myself to," Michele recalls of her story.

Joel adds, "Back then, the bullying didn't follow me home on the Internet. Kids these days can't escape cyber-bullying." According to http://www.BullyingStatistics.org, about 80 percent of all high school students have encountered being bullied in some fashion online. About 35 percent of teens have actually been threatened online. Joel was bothered by the rash of cyber-bullying incidents with tragic outcomes, and wanted to help social media users protect themselves from making life-changing mistakes.

Most of Joel's professional career has been in product development and marketing. In 2001 she worked with the University of South Florida to develop a community-based text-messaging and safety alert system, called MoBull Messenger, named after the USF Bull Mascot. Using her background in product development, and technology innovation, Michele conceived My Social Sitter and My Social Standard after being in that field for many years.

"Parents wish that they could watch over their kids' social media accounts every second of every day, but they can't. My Social Sitter creates peace of mind, monitors 24/7 and instantly stops a negative message from going out," commented Joel, who has dedicated her career to developing this tool with the hopes that it will combat cyber-bullying, and empower parents, and employers.

How it works – register, connect, post

My Social Sitter and My Social Standard are both available either on a desktop computer or through an app. For those using the app, users download it and register on the website for a subscription. The app connects to a user's Twitter account. When messages are sent through the app, they go through multiple layers of the My Social Sitter/Standard algorithms. Instantly, the message is either appropriate or inappropriate based on an individual's custom settings, and filters including slang and sentiment in six languages. If appropriate, it is immediately posted. If an outbound message violates user settings, the user can edit the original message and resend. Users can program keywords and other customized rules to prevent specific behavior.

Free download with yearly subscription fee

The application is free to download, but requires a yearly subscription fee to be used. The application is free to download, but requires a yearly subscription fee to be used. To get started, users must go to the website and register for a subscription. The app can be downloaded on multiple devices.

Non-profits, with the same mission of bullying prevention can also participate as an affiliate. My Social Sitter is working with anti-bullying groups like the Tyler Clementi foundation, Kirk Smalley Stand for the Silent Org, StopBullying USA and many others to give parents tools to combat cyberbullying.