A Facebook group called Blame Cho Seung Hui has over 1,000 members. Other groups include Cho Seung Hui is Pure Evil and Cho Seung-Hui does NOT represent Asians. In all, there are 131 Facebook groups that contain the name Cho Seung Hui. Each has a least four or five members, many have hundreds. In terms of the tasteless, some groups contain fake posts with a picture of Mr. Hui made to look like he actually made an entry.

Many of the victims had their own Facebook pages that as of this morning are still available. I can see their listings as I search Facebook, though I cannot view the details because I am not a part of their network. Their profiles have been augmented by the creation of new groups in their names, memorializing them and celebrating their lives.

One boy who put up a collection of photos to commemorate one of the young students, Caitlin, posted a message asking reporters for their understanding in not asking him for information. His space was meant as a memorial. Another girl publicized this commemorative necklace designed by her mother (see photo). All proceeds from the sale will go to a memorial fund at the school.

USA Today called technology a coping mechanism, reporting that that many students’ first reaction to the shootings were to update their profiles with I’m OK messages. Students, they said, including ones from other colleges, replaced their Facebook profile photos with a VT logo shrouded in a black ribbon as a symbol.

Facebook groups that contain the words Virginia Tech in the title now number over 500. Many of them are from other universities all over the world. All of them are expressing their sadness and vowing to make this a part of Facebook’s collective memory.

Parents often ask me whether anything good can come from social networking sites. “What’s the point?,” they ask. “Why is this even necessary?”

Looking at the words written from the hearts of these young faces throughout the world, it’s clear that Facebook is the glue of a new, virtual community where words of hope, peace, and understanding prevail.

The lessons are hosted by Jason Illian, a motivational speaker and cultural expert, who has a nice rapport. He’s youthful enough for you to believe that he understands the kids, but old enough to speak politely to you as their parent. His delivery is straightforward and sincere. This is information, not entertainment. Throughout the lessons, Jason appears on the left side of the screen alongside either animated screenshots of MySpace or highlighted bullet points.

After explaining what MySpace is and how it works, he offers advice on how to use tools (both online and offline) to make sure your kids are safe. He demonstrates how to change privacy and profile options to make your kids safer online, and dispenses some no-nonsense advice like why they shouldn’t give out their school name or lie about their age.

Jason’s MO is for parents to locate their child’s profile on MySpace and then sit down with them and develop a safe strategy concerning privacy options and what kind of information their profile contains. It’s not uncommon, he believes, to discover what he calls a “misalignment” between their life in the real world and MySpace. And so, if a parent discovers their child’s profile is profanity laden or has suggestive photos, he suggests using MySpace as the basis for a conversation.

A few things to point out. There are no previews of the tutorials before you spend your $50. The screenshots that you follow along with as Jason speaks are pretty small and were difficult for me to read on my laptop. It would have been nice if parents got to interact with the program a bit, too. As it is, you watch and listen, but you don’t have any interaction or get to try things out for yourself. Hopefully the next revision would build some interaction in.

But mostly you need to understand that this course is not showing you how to go into your child’s profile and fix it while they’re not looking. It’s about learning enough to sit down with your child and have a conversation where you’ve got the knowledge to tell them what you want changed about their online personae.

Thumbs up to MySpaceMyKids for recognizing that parents need to become educated about MySpace. If you haven’t a clue and you’re too afraid too learn on your own then you’re in good hands with these lessons.