Piggy Bank as Parental Password Safe

Product design is difficult enough for one user at a time, but when products are meant to mediate between two people, it gets even more complicated.  Still, there's a good amount of cleverness out there - and this example uses an existing product to solve a problem between parents and kids.  Danah Boyd writes in the Social Media Collective blog about using a piggy bank to store kids' passwords (email, voicemail, whatever) in case of emergencies.  As Danah say, parents "don’t want to access their teens’ accounts, but they want to have the ability to do so... A piggy bank allows a social contract to take a physical form."  This is a brilliant system, which demonstrates to the kids that their parents are honoring their promise (since the piggy bank hasn't been broken).  A single physical token establishes trust while providing reassurance to both parties.  What a way to adapt a nearly-obsolete product for the digital age!
[via Lifehacker]