MPowered Solutions

Improve Your Social Media Experience - Use Lists!

2012-02-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

While most of us are aware of Facebook's feature to manage your connections by establishing lists, many don't take advantage of it. But there is much to be gained from utilizing this feature that enables you to segment all of your friends in to groups and and assign privacy settings to each list. Just like setting up bill pay or any other online automation it may sound daunting and even excessive to some, but separating out your Facebook friends into even a couple of lists can be extremely valuable to you and your network. One approach is to setup two or three friend lists: A Family, Social and Professional. Facebook also helps get you started by offering default lists that you can readily assign friends to.

Close Friends: You can add your best friends to this list to see more of them in your News Feed and get notified each time they post. You also have the option to turn these extra notifications off. Acquaintances: This list is for friends you don’t need to stay in close touch with. People on your acquaintances list will rarely show up in your News Feed. You can also choose to exclude these people when you post something, by choosing Friends except Acquaintances in the audience selector. Restricted: This list is for people you’ve added as a friend but just don’t want to share with, like your boss. When you add someone to your Restricted list, they will only be able to see your Public content or posts of yours that you tag them in.

A bonus feature for lists is that they can have specific privacy settings applied to them so the practice of using friend lists also helps protect your privacy. Why? Some of the privacy settings allow you to select which of your friend lists have access to certain content you post.

Keep in mind that if you assign a friend to multiple lists, that friend will only view content according to the list with the most restricted setting. For instance, if you have a friend on both a Neighborhood list and the Restricted list s/he may only be able to view content you post according to the privacy settings of the Restricted list and not those of the Neighborhood list as the Restricted list, or one like it, might have additional privacy settings.

This can be confusing, but allowing the placement of people on more than one list is very beneficial when it comes to sharing content so take a few minutes to learn more about it. Facebook has a great resource page to help you understand how to use lists and questions to many of the most common questions people have around lists such as, "Who can see my lists?", "How do I use lists to control what I share...?" , etc. You can find this page in Facebook's Help section under Lists or click here.

By using lists you can increase your privacy by sharing content with only those that truly share an interest in the content you post. And it eliminates others, like that person from high school that you friended but really know nothing about, from knowing more about you than you care to share. The more your online community uses lists the better your social networking experience becomes as you start to see more of the content that's relevant to you and less that holds little or no value.

EXAMPLE: You have a cousin located five states away in Colorado who is holding a school rummage sale and is constantly posting about the wonderful items being donated and asking for donations from Facebook friends. The likelihood that you or anyone not residing within your cousin's local community would be able to donate or even attend the rummage sale is rather low. Your cousin would serve her Facebook friends well by posting all rummage-related content to her list for School or Colorado, thereby sharing her content with those with whom it is relevant and avoiding the risk of being de-friended by others who no longer want to receive irrelvant information.

If you want to start creating your own friend lists now, click here, Or, type "friends" in your Facebook search bar.

Eek! My Friends Can See What I'm Doing!

2011-10-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you've been on Facebook you've probably noticed Facebook's new real-time friend activity ticker on the right-side of your profile and you may have asked yourself, "Do all my friends see my activity? The answer to this depends on how you've chosen to manage your privacy settings.

How to do people manage their privacy settings on Facebook? The short answer is to go to your privacy settings, click on the downward arrow net to HOME. A drop-down menu will appear, select Privacy Settings (see image to the right). From here you should review all of the categories in this section and edit or set the sharing defaults to whatever you prefer. For example Public, Friends of Friends, Friends, or Custom. NOTE: Custom settings allows you to select specific people or just you as your default privacy setting.

If you need more guidance, than you here's the long answer. Go to WikiHow's article on Using the Privacy Page for Facebook. There you will find a much more detailed overview of how to control your privacy settings defaults and how to manage the privacy of your content per post that you share.

While Facebook and other applications may not be set up in exactly the way we might always prefer, it's important to remember and to take advantage of the wealth of useful information available online, for instance Facebook"s Help Center and the many online user forums. On the other hand if you just don't know where to look or have zero interest or time to spend looking, then just ask someone who knows, like me. Because when it comes right down to it, whether you are a casual or everyday user, you are the only one responsible for your information so it is important to understand how it's being used and shared.

Keeping Our Kids Savvy, Smart and Safe

2011-08-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

A primary focus in parenting is the safety of our children. This is equally true offline as it is online. In fact, there really should be very little difference in the boundaries and rules set online as those that are in place offline. (e.g. Don't talk to strangers, curfews, etc)

The level of comfort and knowledge parents have personally navigating online communities and processes varies drastically across families and can be an obstacle for effective online parenting. Keeping our kids from being active online would be a challenge and it really won't benefit them as you might think. The world is online and this is the world they are growing up in. Social networks, rapidly increasing online learning tools, financial management, purchasing power, managing information and gaining employment - it's all taking place online now and this is their world. So, the goal is to teach them to be savvy, smart, and safe offline and online.

As with anything we teach our kids, one of the best ways is to model that behavior ourselves. How effective could we be teaching kids to drive or swim if we aren't able to demonstrate these skills ourselves. It's important that parents be present online:

monitor security settings
be active in the online world
model safe and appropriate behaviors
ensure online boundaries are set similar to those already set offline

If you feel you aren't there yet and could use some help getting started then I would recommend starting with understanding online safety. (Hint: You do need to get online for this.) Here are three great steps to get you headed in the right direction.

Be sure all devices - I mean ALL desktops, laptops, iPads, iTouch, smartphones, game consoles, etc. - have security and privacy settings that are properly set. Everyone one of these is a computer with internet access.
Connect online. The best advice is to get online before they are, but if you haven't made that leap yet there's still time. You may need to take it slow being careful not to upset their world too much. Try connecting first with people you have in common and they are already "friends" with (e.g. one of their friends parents, a coach, a neighbor, or a relative.) Eventually, they'll want to be part of the conversation too and may even "friend" you!
Be sure your own privacy settings and online behaviors are safe, smart and savvy. For instance, learn what privacy settings are available and how they work. Facebook's Safety Center is wonderful and is a useful resource for parents. In fact, if you have kids on Facebook right now then you should familiarize yourself with how Facebook works to protect kids. Highly effective tools to protect our kids are available but need to be turned on, so make sure they're turned on for your family. (e.g. Facebook profiles default setting is "public" where anyone can view it. Ensure your kids' profiles are set properly.) In addition to tools and settings, consider your own activity - posts, language, topics. Reflect the behavior you'd want your kids to demonstrate. One again, online really isn't any different than offline. Think before you speak or act- if you wouldn't share your thought with a group offline then don't do it online either. I once spoke with a mother who was upset that her 14 year old daughter's profile picture was her wearing a little bikini at the beach...the mother's profile picture was a picture of her with her husband on vacation in Mexico wearing a bikini! THINK! Check out this helpful article form Common Sense Media, Manners in the Digital Age.
Be consistent with your rules. If you teach your kids not to talk to strangers offline, then be sure they understand how that applies when online. Just because someone says they are a friend of a friend does make them a friend. Help them define what a friend is - share with them what your rules are for "friending". At a minimum this may make them think before accepting a friend request instead of just hitting ACCEPT.

The best way to keep your kids savvy, smart, and safe is by doing it yourself and having conversations about it with them. Explain why you do what you do with online banking, making purchases, networking both personally (Facebook) and professionally (LinkedIn), etc. One day they will leave the nest and it's our job to be sure they can do this on their own.

Finally, here are some great resources that I like which may help get you started on this very important journey.

A Back-to-School Focus on Social Media

2011-08-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Since the development of social media platforms in the last 10 years the general understanding of social media, both by non-users and even some users, has stalled at the first term in the phrase “social”. Those less curious have overlooked the equally important term in the phrase, “media” and the reputation of social media has been burdened by the perception that it’s all about being social – which it is, but not as one might think. It’s about both the on-going dialogue now made possible by social media platforms, the access to information and the growth of cloud and mobile technology.

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (two really smart people with Ph.D.s who do a lot of research analyzing and decrypting social media) define social media as:

"a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content."

While it might still sound like just an opportunity to be social, especially to those who do not participate in the conversation, it is so much more than that. The way dialogues and technologies come together is changing how we manage information in our daily lives and even the way our brains think. Truly! Research evidence on social media and the brain suggests a shift in how our minds work.

It stands to reason that with growing influence social media is having on our daily lives we might want to devote a certain amount of energy towards being literate in this arena just as we do in other areas of information gathering. Because when you get right down to it, it’s about managing information - or having information literacy.

So, what’s the connection with back-to-school? While people need to learn (sometimes the hard way) how to avoid getting caught in embarrassing Facebook pictures or inappropriate Twitter feeds, we should also be learning how social and digital media is impacting our lives and how our lives can be more productive. This is a very large topic to undertake in just one blog post.

Here are some tips with a back-to-school focus that will help students take advantage of these tools:

ü Target and limit your online footprint: With hundreds of social media sites available it can be overwhelming if you engage in too many. Focus on a couple key platforms and really target your use. Aviod “Likng” too many groups and select only those that add value to your life. This will help reduce news, information and updates that appear in your network news feeds.

ü News and information should come to you so you don’t have to find it. Twitter is a useful tool as it enables students keep in touch with the school, administrative staff and groups at college and even in high school now. (e.g. Students can keep up to date on school news and events, and even on “did you know” type items like school policies.) You can also use Twitter to pose a question. Use it to ask the school or other students a general question. Note: this can return an answer often times faster than looking it up!

ü Know the Code: Take a moment to understand the rules and regulations around the use of social media in your school. Understand the limits and terms of information sharing and avoid violating privacy policies.

ü Stay or Get Connected: Social media sites can be great tools to create study groups or be in touch with class members. Note: Don’t share notes or essays through these methods. Plagiarism is always against school policy.

ü Information Access: Students can take advantage of the wealth of information social and digital media can provide. Using search engine tools like Quora or Google can take any type of research to the next level and can make a difference in the grade.

ü Discover the Hardware and Apps: Digital media tools are also a great way to help you get ahead.

Tools: Moblie tools like an iPad can be very handy but know first how it might fit into your study style what you might be able to access on it before you spend the $$$. With Wifi not available throughout most campuses, laptops are much more handy than a desktop due to their ease of mobility.

Apps: (To name only a few!)

o Evernote: A suite of software for your smartphone/tablet that enables you to take notes and archive anything you’ve missed through voice recording and photos of hand-written notes. It can help you during those times where your professor goes over things so quickly that you can’t quite catch what they wrote or said.

o Sparky: Sparky was developed by the website sparknotes.com. a resource you can turn to when you're in need of help understanding books, write papers, and study for tests. It’s clear and concise and gets to the point! It’s easy to search for those last minute plot summaries when you’re on the way to class and don’t have time to stop by a computer.

o Focus Booster is a great app that can help you organize your study time and break time. Based on a countdown, you set the timer to suit your needs: i.e., 20 minutes of study time and a five minute break, etc. Knowing a break is coming can help you stay on task.

o Self-Control, an app for Mac users, can help get your attention away from browsing time-wasting websites. This self-set site blocker can optimize your work time by restricting your access to distractions.

ü Online Calendars: (e.g. Google Calendar) Most online clanedars can be easily synced to your phone, where you can access, transfer and edit important times and dates as well as your class schedule. You have no excuse not to attend class when you have a trusty calendar app in your back pocket!

ü Google docs: By using Google Docs, where your documents are never more than a click or two away can also help you get through group projects without disputes. Each team member can upload their work on Google docs, and other members can edit and create other work without having to physically meet during crunch time.

ü Soapbox and Hitsend: Looking to help crate change? These are online platforms for community based change that allows each person to have a voice and an opportunity to get their idea into the hands of key decision makers.

These are just a few great tips for students to help them manage the mountain of information they’ll encounter on a daily basis at school.

Parents, you can do your part by getting online if you aren’t already and being a positive role model for your younger kids. After all, they are growing up in a world where they won’t know life without social and digital media. If they can’t use you as a role model for appropriate online etiquette and being smart about your online behaviors, then who will they follow? Think about it.

Understanding the Influence of Social Media

2011-08-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Social Media Influence

Social media. It's an integral part of today's communication and a primary means of influence - online and offline. Some people grasped it right away and for some it's taking awhile. Eric Qualman's 2009 video, "Socialnomics", did a great job in getting initial adapters onboard fast and did much to keep others tuned in.

Qualman has released an updated video that adds more clarity explaining the impact of social media on us today...and tomorrow.
I love Qualman's quote,

"We don't have a choice on whether we DO social media. The question is how well we do it!"

If you are still wondering this will help. (I wouldn't be surprised if you watched it twice.)

Just Browsing or Surfing Safari?

2011-08-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Surfing the web used to sound like an activity that some would do in their past time. Today, surfing the web is how we access important and necessary information. It's how we get things done. (On a side note, the term "browser" is far too laid back for what Safari, Firefox, Chrome and other web browsers do for us on a daily basis on each of our devices, be it desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.)

The endless number of web users unfortunately excites those despicable elements of society who will spend hours attempting to take advantage people like you and me. Which brings a whole new meaning to "Surfing Safari". Safari indeed! While browsing we are out there amongst the wild creatures. Our online and offline environments aren't terribly different in that it's just as it's necessary to protect ourselves off-line as we do online. So what can we do to protect ourselves?

The first and foremost thing to remember or realize is that your own surfing decisions play a larger role than any piece of software can. Think before you click! In addition to you, there other things you can employ to help protect yourself. Below are some great tips from Charles P. Jefferies, a professional writer for tech-related sites: TechnologyGuide.com Network and NotebookReview.com, taken from one of online safety articles. Here he provides some simple tips to help you safeguard yourself from the most of online threats - and most these are free!

(The following excerpt is taken from Internet Safety Guide: How to Protect Yourself Online by Charles P. Jefferies)

BACKGROUND - KNOW THE TERMS

Malware: Short for “malicious software”. Resides and runs on a user’s computer without their consent or knowledge. Malware can be used as an all-inclusive term for viruses, spyware, keyloggers, worms, and Trojan horses, and other Internet threats.
Spyware: A type of malware that collects information about users, including personal information and habits (sites they visited). It can also trigger popups and install additional malware.
Virus: A type of malware that can replicate itself and infect other computers through a network or media (such as a flash drive). Viruses can do multiple harmful things to a user’s computer, such as taking it over and using it for malicious purposes.

3 STEPS FOR INTERNET SAFETY

This guide will take you through three relatively simple steps to protect yourself on the Internet:

Install Mozilla Firefox
Install the McAfee Site Advisor tool
Change your online habits

STEP 1: Install Mozilla Firefox
Yes, “Install Mozilla Firefox” may be cliché; however, there is sound reasoning why this is a good piece of software. Let’s cut the marketing nonsense — here are the tangible things I like about Firefox:

Pop-up blocker: Pop-ups are perhaps the most annoying form of advertising, and Firefox takes care of them for you. It will let you know a pop-up was blocked in case you were expecting one.
Unsafe site warnings: If you go to a website that is fraudulent, untrusted, or has known security problems, Firefox will actually prevent the site from loading.
Integration with anti-virus software: Firefox works with your resident anti-virus program to scan downloaded files for security threats.
Automatic updates: Firefox automatically updates itself, so your defenses stay current.
Private browsing: Firefox normally remembers what websites you visited, however in private browsing mode (which is easy to toggle on and off), it will not remember anything you did. This feature is handy when logging into banking sites that you want to leave no trace of on your computer (or someone else’s). Private Browsing can be activated from the tools menu and clicking “Start Private Browsing”; do the same to turn it off:

Without further delay, follow this link to Mozilla’s official website and download Firefox for your computer.
Firefox is a small 8MB download. Click Download and then save the file to your computer to a location you know (such as My Documents). Double-click the downloaded file and install Firefox with the default settings. Done? Great! Those familiar with Internet Explorer should be able to adapt to Firefox without much trouble — it gets natural after a day.

STEP TWO: Install the McAfee Site Advisor Tool

Certain websites are created with malicious intent; for example, some might try to infect your computer with malware and others might be fake phishing sites designed to steal your personal information. McAfee, a computer security company, has a Site Advisor tool that displays ratings next to links in search engines (such as Google and Yahoo), indicating whether or not the listed sites are safe (see here for thorough information on how it works). Site Advisor works with both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. Simply download and then install McAfee Site Advisor using the default settings (leave everything as-is, though I recommend unchecking the option to install the unnecessary Yahoo toolbar).
Once installed, restart Firefox and test Site Advisor out. Make sure your default search provider is set to McAfee first — in the top right next to the search box, click the down arrow and select McAfee Secure Search:
Now search for something and check out the results page — each link has a little icon next to it that indicates whether the site is safe or not.

Green means good, yellow is caution, and red means unsafe/untrusted. A question mark indicates the site has not been scanned yet. As a rule of thumb, only click on the green links.
Below is an example of what search results look like after installing the Site Advisor tool:
And yes, NotebookReview.com is totally safe — but you knew that.
The Site Advisor tool is great to have when you are searching for things you do not usually search for (and thus might be unfamiliar with sites that come up). It never hurts to double-check. As always, use your judgment when clicking on links. If something is too good to be true, it is.

STEP 3: Change Your Online Habits
The single greatest danger you face on the Internet is yourself. More specifically, there is no software that can compensate for your poor Internet safety habits. Let’s start with how much critical information you willingly give away. This is the Internet — information posted online can be seen by almost anyone, and secure websites can be hacked. Even restricted pages such as your Facebook profile are not entirely safe — someone with access (such as your “friends”) could copy and paste the information to a Web page that isn’t truly private. The bottom line here is that you need to be extra careful with yourself on the Internet. Below are a few of the habits I see daily that present huge security risks to the users:

Connecting to unsecured wireless networks: You know that coffee shop down the street that offers free Wi-Fi? That free Wi-Fi access could cost you a lot if it is unsecured (Windows will indicate whether a network is secured/unsecured when you try to connect). An unsecured connection is an open network that allows anyone to connect — information passed from your laptop to the wireless router and vice versa can be intercepted by people with the right tools since it is not encrypted. Additionally, network attacks can be made from other computers connected to the network.
Internet Safety Habit: Avoid unsecured Wi-Fi. Accessing secure websites in public: Even on a secured network, remember that people can see what you type on your laptop screen. All it takes is one person to walk by with a camera phone and snap a picture of your online banking page. The same is true at your office, where all it takes is one nosy coworker poking over a cubicle wall or an unscrupulous network administrator spying on your workstation to snag your passwords.
Internet Safety Habit: Access secure websites only at home. Saving personal information on shopping websites: Most shopping sites offer to save your credit card and address information for easier checkout in the future. While this is convenient for the few sites you shop at regularly, please do not opt to save info on every site you shop. Though the information is supposedly secured, successful hacking attempts have occurred in the past and personal data has been stolen. Also, there are too many stories of personal information getting “lost”.
Internet Safety Habit: Don’t save credit card numbers on shopping sites. Posting personal information on social networking sites: I find it amusing that people post the details of their personal lives on social networking sites such as Facebook, give a platoon of their “friends” access, and then complain about privacy issues. Am I the only one that can see the issue here?
Internet Safety Habit: Only post information online you want everyone to see. Keep your computer personal: Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox make it easy to store password and form information (such as names and addresses used in order forms). Anyone that opens the web browser on your computer can check your browsing history, visit your “secure” sites (like your Web-based email) and automatically log in as you because you opted to have the browser save your password. Avoid storing passwords, or better yet, password-protect your computer and lock it when not in use (press the Windows key and L to lock your computer). Make a second account on your computer for other people to use so your information is kept separate, and make sure that account is password-protected and not an administrator.
Internet Safety Habit: Never save passwords on any computer that you share. Do not install software you do not explicitly want: Many software vendors try to sneak additional pieces of software on your system during the install process. For example, toolbars for your Internet browser, updater tools, and other unnecessary (and annoying) items. If you wanted those pieces of software, you would have installed them on your own.
Internet Safety Habit: Install as little software as possible.

Conclusion
Your online safety is 10% dependent on someone else and 90% dependent on you. The majority of risk factors can be controlled through the simple steps outlined in this article. Number one — control the online environment with a safe web browser. Mozilla Firefox has numerous advantages — it prevents you from going to malicious sites, scans files you download, blocks pop-ups, and helps safeguard personal data. Number two — links in search engines can be dangerous. McAfee’s Site Advisor tool helps identify which links are safe and vice versa — know something about a website before you click. Lastly, consciously think about your online actions and what you do with your personal information. Avoid unsecured wireless connections, lock your computer with a password when not in use, stop saving your credit card information on every site you visit, and last but not least, do not post information on Facebook you would not be comfortable sharing with the rest of the world.

While these are not the only ways to help you stay protected, these are simple and a great start if you aren't doing anything. One additional tip, be sure you are sharing online safety advice with your children. The internet is so very accessible to them and most of their surfing is not monitored - even if you think it is. Help protect them from having a negative online experience by being a good role model and protecting yourself.

3 ways to Get the Most Out of Your Smartphone

2011-02-22T14:37:00.000-08:00

If your Smartphone is much more than a way to call and text others and it has become your mobile office then you're well on your way to making the most of that device you pay monthly for. Being able to do work while you are away from the home or office is one of the useful benefits of a Smartphone. On most high-end Smartphones you can read, compose and sometimes update documents too. But being able to use a device for more than just work makes it productive too. Most people are familiar with how they can use a Smartphone to be entertained such as watching movies or videos and having your playlist downloaded to listen to your favorite songs means you have just one less device to carry around.

The most significant advancement the Smartphone has made from the traditional cell phone is the ability to stay connected with family and friends and anyone in your network no matter where you happen to be. Smartphones are Internet enabled, meaning you can connect to the Internet just like you can on your computer. People want more than a text message and Smartphone's let you do much more than text. No matter where you travel these days staying in touch is as easy as turning your phone on.

The way I see it, the more you do with your Smartphone the greater value you receive from that monthly fee. In addition, the ability to use one device for multiple tasks makes you more productive because it's always at hand, if not in your hand. Here are five great ways your Smartphone can help you be more productive:

Think one record source! Whether you use an online or offline email, calendar or contacts system, it's accuracy is only as good as what you put into it so you must be sure to keep it up to date. Having your information systems synced between your computer and Smartphone will help encourage you to do this because you'll quickly come to appreciate having this accurate information at hand and will be happy to leave the redundancy of storing information in multiple places behind.
Bookmark or set common website pages as icons. Most of us have places on the Internet that we frequent (i.e. movie searches, school or class websites, sports team website, etc.). So to help you get to those sites with ease be sure to have them marked on your phone for quick retrieval and depending upon the phone you're using this can be done in a few different ways. An iPhone and some other touch phones allow you to create an icon for a web page which is visually appealing and can help you organize icons into meaningful groupings. Other phones will let you bookmark pages you frequently visit on the phone's browser.
Pass the time with a favored pastime. While I don't believe one should always be on their phone, I do believe in having all that we need on our phones. So when you have downtime such as waiting in a doctor's office, in between your daughter's soccer games or riding the bus connect with a hobby via your phone. There are wonderful apps for online books that you can access via the eReader or your smartphone. The Kindle app is a great example. So even though you may have left your eReader at home, your book is still at hand via the app on your phone. Other ideas would be Scrabble, Sudoku, crosswords, chess, fantasy football, and many other entertaining apps and games can be accessed on your Smartphone.
Stay connected. All of the big social networking sites have apps that can be used on a Smartphones and allow you to post status updates, photos, share videos or follow friends or fans no matter where you are.
Account management. Many banks and other organizations where you might have an account have apps to help you manage your account and personal information. Need to pay a bill or two? On a Smartphone you can safely log on to your account via your bank's app or directly through the bank website via your phone's browser. Within minutes you can check off those bills as having been paid. The evolution of mobile technology has made mobile payments more secure. Newer smartphone apps facilitate direct connection and authentication of payers and recipients. Technology security companies like VeriSign are used to create trusted sites and apps accessible to mobile users.

The bottom line here is that our world is converging online and the our mobile devices, whether Smartphone, tablet or laptop, are what we use to stay connected with our world. So make the most of that device you're already paying monthly for. Why use out-dated methods of managing your life when there are numerous productivity benefits to be gained from a device you are already using.

To "Like" or Not to "Like"

2011-02-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

Learning to navigate Facebook and other social media sites sometimes leaves us a little apprehensive when we aren't exactly sure of the implications of our actions. Clicking the "Like" button is one of those actions that cause many of us to pause, asking ourselves, "What will happen if I click it and how will it affect my online presence?" It's a good question and one that should be understood.
A "Like" button can be associated with 1.) a piece of content that 's been posted on Facebook, or 2.) on a Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook. I went to Facebook to help unravel the mystery behind the two.

To "Like" A Piece of Content

Clicking "Like" under content you or a friend posts on Facebook is an easy way to let someone know that you enjoy it, without leaving a comment and it is noted beneath the item. For example, if you click a Like link beneath a friend's video:

It'll be noted beneath the video that you liked it
A post will appear on your Wall that you liked your friend's video.
Your friend will get a notification that you liked his or her video

To "Like" a Page, in an Advertisement, or on Content Off of Facebook

When you click "Like" on a Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook, you are making a connection.

The connection will be displayed in your profile and on your Wall and your friends may see in their News Feed a post about the connection.
Your "Like" may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you like.
The Page may also post content which will appear in your News Feed or send you messages.

Unliking

You can unlike a piece of content or a Page on Facebook.

To unlike a piece of content that you or a friend has posted, just click the "Unlike" link that appears beneath the content itself.
To unlike a Page (which will also remove it from your profile), go directly to the Page and click the "Unlike" link in the lower left-hand column.

Remember, you have control! You can unlike content, manage your connections on your profile, and restrict who you share your connections with in your privacy settings.

Hope this helps you in managing your online presence!

10 Ways to Control Your Inbox

2011-01-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

The first of the year is a great time to reorganize, purge and prepare the new. We do this at our home in our bedrooms, with bills and documents and even our clothing. But we often overlook our email, specifically our inbox. Most people use their email each and every day and it is becoming the central hub of how you communicate. It's is easy for this inbox to fill up but it's also easy to get control of it. Like anything, you do need to set aside time to make this happen and like most things you do need have a system or process in place to keep it under control. Here are 10 key points to help you start taking control of that ever-growing inbox.

LIMIT CONVERSATION: DO be concise. DON'T extrapolate no matter how much of a comedian you think you are or how irritated you may be about the subject.
INCLUDE ACTIONS: DO communicate "action steps" first. DON"T leave directives for the end or embedded somewhere in the email where they may get lost.
INFO ONLY: DO use "FYI" for emails that have no actionable information. DON'T overuse FYI...be sure the receiver really needs/wants to receive your email and others will begin to do the same to you.
ORDER: DO number your questions/requests/points. DON'T be so overly verbose that the receiver misses out on the message you are trying to send.
TIME: DO be sure to include deadlines where appropriate which is most of the time. DON'T perpetuate an open ended conversation.
CHRONOLOGICAL vs. PRIORTY: DO prioritize items based up importance and due date. DON'T allow the chronological format of your inbox define when items get addressed. It's okay to say you'll get to it later. Try setting the order of email the sort by date with most recent email at the bottom.
NO "THANK YOU"s: DO be sure to send thank you emails and show good email etiquette. DON'T automatically reply "Thank you" as way to close a conversation. Include comments like "no response necessary" or "no need to reply" to reduce the amount of unnecessary email you receive back
MAKE THE CALL TO "REPLY ALL" : DO be sure that only those who need to receive your message are on the email distribution list. DON'T "reply all" unless requested to do so or you absolutely must.
FILE IN FOLDERS: DO take advantage of creating folders to store and manage you emails based upon subject matter. DON'T leave emails in your inbox unless they have not been read or require attention.
UNSUBSCRIBE: DO take 30 minutes or so to unsubscribe to emails you really don't need. DON'T sign-up to receive newsletters or emails unless it's pertinent to your life at the moment. (e.g. travel destination, college application, buying a car, etc.) Remove your subscriptions when you no longer need it. For further information on protecting your email address from SPAM click here.

The next steps to controlling your inbox is to schedule time to clean it out, create folders and remove unnecessary subscriptions. If you don't put time on your calendar now it will never happen. Don't let yourself down! Once that's done you can begin implementing the strategies mentioned above and enjoy and much tamer inbox.

Good luck!

Using Secure Passwords: How to Stay Protected

2011-01-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing you are reading blog if you are still using you dog's name or your birth date as a password. In a previous post I discussed a couple methods of creating secure passwords which I still really like. But I recently came across this video from Common Craft who are wonderful at "explanation" and this is no exception. If you prefer the ease and brevity of video tutorials, then take a look at this short video on password security.

There's never going to be anyone more concerned about your online security that you, so be sure you are taking the right steps to keep yourself protected starting with your passwords.

Media Literacy within Families: 5 Ways You Can Gain Confidence Online

2010-12-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Weather or not you welcome our growing dependence on digital media it is in fact here to stay. Just like managing nutritional intake and establishing a healthy diet, the task of raising a healthy family must incorporate a media plan too. It's unavoidable, but everything we do is converging through cloud technologies via internet-ready mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Communication, purchasing, entertainment, learning, etc., it's all occurring online. It has become a crucial component of good parenting to incorporate digital media into everyday family life. Family and child psychologist, Dr. Eitan Shwarz, explains how "...kids need healthy media diets now to create nourishing futures. Otherwise, kids will consume junk media as they do junk food." You can listen to his ideas about technology and it's importance on family relationships, socialization, values, education enrichment and entertainment here.

In addition to the above I would also add that involving the family in the use of digital media versus restricting media from kids or not being involved alongside them serves only as detriment to preparing them for effective digital life skills. Lead by example, be online with them and before them if you can. Be there to set examples for what is appropriate online behavior and creating a balance for how much digital media exposure one consumes. I've always said to parents that are uncomfortable with and lack confidence on navigating technology that you should parent he same online as you do offline. But, in order to do that you need be online too.

In the following video clip Marc Prensky, author of Don't Bother Me Mom -- I'm Learning, discusses how shools and parents need to catch up with all the information kids are receiving from everywhere else.

Getting started may seem daunting but it's important. There many resources you can pull from and here are a few to get you started:

Dr. Eitan Shwarz's book, Kids, Parents & technology: A Guide for Young Families offers some wonderful advice on helping parents establish a media plan.
Google has produced some really great quick how to video on everything from how to cut & paste to changing your web browser. You can see a list of these videos on the Google's Teach Parents Tech Youtube channel.
Like most of the social networking sites Facebook has a wonderful online help center that can answer all of your questions, even how to get started. But if you prefer a video, check this out.
Ask you kids for help! Okay, not all the time, but work with them to learn the ins and outs of social networking, navigating the web, doing searches, etc.
Talk with other parents. In any group of parents or friends you are likely to have a range of technology expertise and it's likely you have a friend or two that is quite savvy. Buy them a cup of coffee and ask them to help you get started. Chance are they love to help and be your friend online.

No one will have the best interest of your kids in mind more then you, so be there for them.

Productivity All Around: Be sure to sync your tools!

2010-12-01T01:33:00.000-08:00

Experience would tell us that we tend to expect to accomplish more in any given day then what actually gets done. That's life as we know it. And there's a great deal of research and advice being handed out with road maps to increasing the percentage of accomplished tasks, this post included. Experts overwhelmingly profess that to be productive you must:

Rise early

Start with the most important task

Do not multitask

Prevent interruption

Actually do what you need to

On some days, or even most days, it may be hard to hit all of these. Strategy is one thing but the day-to-day tools you use are equally important. The probability of incorporating each strategy into your daily regime increases dramatically when your productivity tools (P-tools) are synced, aligned and communicating with one another. From hardware to software no matter where you are P-Tools will help keep you on track provided they are working together. Mobile technology is helping make this much easier accomplish.

That smartphone you hold in your hand should be doing much more than serving as cell phone. After all, these devices are not cheap, so get more bang for your buck and make them work for you. Here some great ways you can be more productive by turning your phone into a P-tool.

Calendar Sync: It’s a hassle to go back to your home or office and have to enter in all kinds of phone numbers, email addresses, appointments — and let’s face it, most of the time we’ll never get to entering that stuff at all. Use your mobile device to keep your information up to date, when you get the info, and the data entry periods will be kept to a minimum. If you use the wonderful Google apps you don't even need a smartphone to accomplish this. Appointments can be updated on your calendar with a simple text right before you walk out of the dentist office. Lastly, make your online calendar the homepage on your browser. So every time you access the Internet it's there and ot out of sight and out of mind.

Contact Sync: As with the calendar, be sure your contacts are synced between your desktop and your mobile device. You should never have to wait to look up a number later.

To Do Lists: To be productive writing down your to dos is important to ensure they get done. If you decide to use technology to manage your daily functions and productivity then use it all the time. We tend to write things down on paper which is good but that paper doesn't always follow us to the store or throughout the day when we need it. There are countless ways in which a mobile device can used to make daily lists. There are apps like 2DO for iPhone or MyListy for Blackberry or some may prefer to simple use emails or texts. You may need to fiddle around at first to find what works best for you, but you'll enjoy having those lists it with you all the time. It's an amazing feeling to be in a store unexpectedly and know you pull out your mobile device and see what was on your list!

Bookmarking: With the multiple computers and internet accessible devices most people own today it makes much more sense to bring your bookmarking activity to the cloud. You can greatly benefit from a social bookmarking tool like Delicious or Stumble Upon. These tools will automatically sync the bookmarks from each of your workstations using a single login, giving you easy access to all your favorite pages without having to re-bookmark the website on a separate computer. In addition, you can choose to share your bookmarks with others like your spouse. Social bookmarking tools are much more robust and effective than the bookmarking features in your browser. The addition of tags and categories will help you manage and organize them quickly and in a more meaningful way for easy retrieval.

eReading: I wouldn't recommend reading an entire book on a phone, but if you are someone who finds it difficult to incorporate reading into your busy life look into an eReader! These are fabulous devices and easy to bring with you especially if your travel a lot. In addition, by purchasing book online with an eReader often times you can access the book and even exactly where you left off via an app such a Kindle on your mobile device even though your eReader is at home for those times when you have 20-30 minutes and catching up on that compelling novel you're working on.

Family: If you have a family P-tools couldn't be more important. You shouldn't be the only one maintaining the calendar and nagging teens about practice or events to prepare for. I'll give another shout out to Google for the fantastic calendar app it offers. This calendar works in the cloud and each of your family members can and should be accessing it on both the home computer and their mobile devices. Check out how you can use Google Calendar effectively in your life.

Balance & Boundaries: Being productive is a good thing, but too much of anything isn't. Balance is important with everything we do and it’s not healthy to be working all the time, wherever you go. Set times to work, and times to relax, and don’t cross the boundaries. Rarely use your mobile device at the table and limit the use of it on the couch or at a restaurant to quick check-ins with people or places. Use it when you have down time, when you can’t do anything but wait. When you are with others, be with them and not on your mobile device, disconnect, put the device away, and relax.

If you don't find yourself to be much of a techy to get started with syncing and setting up these P-tools on your own don't let this stop you! These is such incredibly useful methods of getting things done and relieving stress. Find someone in your community who offers services to get you set up, it's worth it! As a solutions consultant I find the greatest joy in helping others navigate through these sometimes complicated but almost always beneficial features of technology.

5 Privacy Settings You Shouldn't Overlook

2010-11-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Participating in social networking using Facebook can be fun and useful. And while it can also open an individual up to unnecessary exposure to others it doesn't have to. If you have a teen on Facebook be sure to sit down with them and review their Privacy Settings and don't forget about your own. While adults may not need the same level of privacy protection, often times it's what we'd prefer anyways. Model for your kids how to protect yourself online, they learn best by what they see you do versus by what you tell them to do. Anyone with a Facebook profile can control who sees their personal information by selecting a privacy level. Most privacy levels are defined as viewable by:

Everyone

Friends of Friends

Friends

Only Me

No One

You can even customize some features to be viewed only by specific friends

To adjust your Facebook profile privacy settings start at the privacy settings page. You can find this under the "Account" menu at the upper right-hand side of the page. Click on "Privacy Settings". If you then click on the "Customize Settings", you can view all of the controllable privacy settings of your Facebook profile. For the safest setting choose the option to allow only friends to view all of the settings on the page.

There is a lot you can control, but be sure to set the following to a level you are comfortable with:

Personal information you share. Profile information includes such things as photos, interests, videos, friend list, and anything else you may include on a profile. Know that you can control who has access to the elements of the information you choose to share. For instance each photo album can have a different level of privacy. So you may share the family vacation photos with all of your friends, but another album you may choose share with a specific group of friends.

Personal information Other Share About or with You.  It's one things when you post photos, but you don't need to allow just anyone to tag you in photos for others to see. You can control if friends can see photos that other people tag you in. In addition, teens like to post photos of themselves and their friends, definitely something you don't want a predator to see. This is a setting you should teach your teen to use, or go in occasionally and do yourself. Each photo has it's own tag so every time a photo is added, you can choose remove the tag or you can remove everyone's ability to view pictures you are tagged in if not your own.

Who Can See Contact Information? Information like your IM screen name, email address, website URL, address and phone number can also be controlled. Personally, I think it's great to have it as an option, but I'm not sure it's necessary to reveal. If a friend wants to contact you personally, they can always send a private message to you. And to help to protect the privacy of your teen I recommend that this never be made public.

Who Can Find Your Profile by Doing a Search? Facebook's default setting allows your profile to be found using Facebook's search tool. You can control people from finding your profile in the first place by changing this Facebook privacy setting.

Teens and Mobile Phones

2010-10-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

As smartphones become more of the norm than the exclusive exception, it's increasingly important that parents understand the full capability of the device they might view as merely a cell phone. Smartphones are more like a computer than they are merely a means to keep in touch with your teen. In fact, they really are computers possessing the same capability to excess a plethora of information on the Internet and often times with far less restriction.

Recently, I came across a resource guide provided by SafetyWeb which offers a service that generates activity reports and timely alerts when inappropriate content is posted by your child online by way of their email address. Monitoring your child's every move online is a personal decision and there are certainly circumstance where this is necessary, so this may be worth checking out. In additon, as crafty as teens are today, don't ever assume they are using only one email address. However, as it relates to mobile phones, I wanted to share with you their Teen and Kid Cell Phone Use – Guide For Parents. It provides some useful insight into what you are handing over to your teen. For instance:

Definition & background of mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones, etc.

Data & Research

Harmful Effects

Recognizing if cellphone addiction has become a problem with your teen

What to do if you discover a problem?

Laws Protecting Your Child

and more...

As useful and incredibly productive smartphones are, and I'm productivity enthusiast, it's technology used being in a whole new age which means we need to treat it like fire. A valuable tool that must be used with safety in mind.

So check this resource if you think you could learn a thing or two.

Facebook’s Privacy Crisis: Our Privacy, Our Responsibility

2010-05-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

It’s likely that you’ve heard about the battle users have been having with Facebook over their privacy settings. While frustrating for sure this well-publicized war over how users want to be able to manage their privacy has been a great example of the beauty of social media. This is an issue born out of the growing pains of social media, but it’s clear that due in large part to social media users have a voice that is finally being heard in volumes like never before. It brought together people, organizations and legislators to advocate for what users want and what they believe they should be able to rely on.

This new-found voice is great for the individual user and we will all benefit from it. However, users have responsibilities too. Here's a question ask yourself. "Is your voice credible?" So often we can jump on a bandwagon because it sounds like a good cause yet so often people know very little before taking the leap. I admit to having done this myself. While I believe there were a number of reasons why the recent crisis over privacy issues is a worthy one and Facebook did need to step up and make some changes, I have also seen that most Facebook users I work with have done very little to educate themselves about how their information is being shared and use their privacy settings to their advantage and that’s not Facebook’s fault. So I would add that another beneficial outcome from this crisis is that users might just become interested in understanding Facebook’s privacy settings.

The new privacy settings that will be rolled out over the next few weeks as announced by Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, yesterday. These new features were announced and promised and now we have to wait to see them. I don’t know anyone that has seen them available on their profile yet, but I’m hopeful it won’t be too long. Insight into these changes were presented in Zuckerberg’s video blog yesterday. So, while you're waiting, be a responsible Facebook user and take a moment to watch the video to learn what’s being rolled out. Look for three primary changes he discusses:

One simple master control so you can set who see all of the content you share on Facebook. You still have the option to control content at a more granular level.

Reduction in the amount of information that has to be available to everyone in order to use Facebook.

Simplified the control of whether websites and application can access your information.

I have not seen these new features as they are not yet available for my Facebook account, so I can’t personally speak to how simple they really are. In a blog by Caroline McCarthy she explains that where previously there were 50 settings that members would have to tweak in order to make all information private; now, it's more like 15. The number of Facebook "privacy center" pages has dropped from 13 to eight. In addition, my friends at AllFacebook have taken the time to look at the settings and share what they believe is most important. They have put together a short guide with what looks like all the information that you need to know. It includes information on the following:

You Can Opt Out Of Applications

You Can Hide Your Friends List

You Can Hide Your Interests

Much Information Is Still Public By Default

Instant Personalization Is Still Opt-Out

You Can Hide Information From The Past

You Should Review Your Settings

Privacy Now Only Takes One Click

I would also add that there is lot of information not required in order to use Facebook and whatever content you put out there is your choice. So be responsible, and a good model for your children, and take the time to know.

It's great to see Facebook answer a call from the user community and I hope users will become more curious and responsible about how they put information out there. There are well over 400 million Facebook users worldwide and in the U.S., 1 out 3 people have a Facebook account. Social media definitely presents a shift on how we think about technology, share and receive information and ultimately how we will live our lives day-to-day, so take control of your presence in what is undoubtedly becoming a very social world.

Twetiquette?

2010-05-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

If you've made the first step getting onto Twitter but find the lingo to be a bit foreign at times or maybe you're unsure about the protocol here's a good article by Joanna Pineda of Matrix Group to help bring you up to speed and help you speak intelligently with other Twitterers...yes, that is a word. Check it out!

Are You a Twitter Newbie?

2010-04-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

While there are over 17 million active Twitter users in the U.S., that represents only about 7% of the U.S. population. Add to that Facebook's usage which now has over 41% of Americans engaged in social networking on some level. (Source: 2010 Edison Research/Arbitron Internet & Multimedia Study). But social media continues to be on the rise. Why? Because it's inexpensive technology that continues to be more and more accessible. And social media has an unbelievable reach. In a recent article about the Future of Social Networking, Andrew Nathan says,

"By 2015...expect to see more mobile applications and virtual networking a stronger part of our everyday social networking experience."

From what I can tell most people who are active on Facebook but haven't yet made it onto Twitter are interested and even eager to try it out, but don't know where to start. I recently came across a simple and straightforward tutorial that addresses just that. It walks you through the simple steps of setting up an account which is all most people want to know in the beginning.

But before getting to the tutorial, let's start at the very beginning...which is a very good place to start...and revisit just exactly what Twitter is and how you might use it in your daily life. According to the Twitter website the social media tool is defined as:

Twitter is a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now..

The operative phrases here are "real-time", "people around the world", "share" and "discover". Similar to, but better than, other social networking sites Twitter provides us with a means to connect with a multitude of people and organizations who:

share the same interests on some level

provide information that we find interesting and valuable

find what we have to share is interesting and valuable

This vast and viral network helps us discover more about our world - how we add to it and how we benefit from it - then we could ever discover offline or via email. It also functions quite well as a search engine and a good one too! Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch explores just how valuable Twitter has become as a search engine. He says, "People searching for news. Brands searching for feedback. That’s valuable stuff." And that value will continue to grow as social media usage grows.

A final quick note regarding the numbers. It's common for users who are new to Twitter and other social media applications like Facebook or LinkedIn to be caught up with growing their friend/follower base. "Look how many friends and followers I have!" But, truly, it's not about the numbers, it's about collaboration. Collaboration and social media are most commonly used in relation to business and marketing online, but it's really what we are all doing out there. We are searching, sharing and seeking a greater knowledge base than what we have today. For each of us this will look different and that's the beauty of it. People can collaborate in ways they never have been able to before on subjects like:

how I handle curfew for an 18 year old living at home

how should I invest my money over the next six months

tips on taxes

buying a house

where to take the family for Mother's Day brunch

There is no end to what you can discover. So go ahead and get started! Good luck! Here's that tutorial I referred to at the beginning of this blog. Hope it helps!

(Thank you to Brian at homebasedblogging.com for this quick and easy Twitter startup tool.)

Protecting Your Child From Cyberbullying

2010-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve always said that technology is like fire – a powerful tool that really we can’t live without, but one that must be understood, controlled and channeled in a way that adds value to our lives. And we also have a parental and social responsibility to protect those who don’t know enough to protect themselves, like our children. We would all love to eliminate bullying but that’s not likely to happen in the near future. It exists everywhere, offline and online.

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, is no different from the offline bullying that occurs in the classroom, school hallways, sporting events and in the neighborhoods where our children live except that cyberbullying is done using technology. Cyberbullying is defined by Netzsmartz Kids as:

Cyberbullying - sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices.

(NetSmartz Kids is a national organization dedicated to teaching parents/caregivers, educators, government officials, law enforcement, and youth organizations that want to learn more about the Internet and the possible dangers to children online.)

Like offline bullying, parents can educate themselves to help protect their children against cyberbullying. What follows are tips for preventing cyberbullying from the Cleveland Clinic.

Parents can take a proactive, preventative approach to cyberbullying by dong the following:

Learn! Go on a fact-finding mission. Learn what your kids are doing online, which sites they visit and what they post on sites like Facebook or MySpace. Monitor cell phone usage, especially text messaging. Because much of Facebook is public information anyway, many parents make an agreement with their kids that if they are going to use it, the parent is given the log-in password so that they can review what is happening at any time.

Sharing isn’t always a good idea. Teach your kids not to share anything that they wouldn’t want the entire world — including their parents, grandparents and teachers — to see.

Discuss the ethics of Internet use. Encourage kids to develop a code of ethics for Internet use. Start a discussion of “right” versus “wrong” uses of technology. Then clearly set your rules and expectations for cell phone and Internet use.

Watch for signs of cyberbullying. Kids who are cyberbullied are often reluctant to go online and find excuses to avoid school. If you think your child is a target, take immediate action. If the bully is a classmate, tell school officials. Report online harassment and physical threats to local police. If bullying involves mobile phones, report it to your phone service provider. Tell your Internet Service Provider (ISP) about email or social networking threats. On Facebook, kids can click “report” if they are uncomfortable about what they’re reading.

I think this is a good list and I would add only this, "Lead by example!" If your kids are on the Internet then they are old enough to learn from your own behavior. Be aware of how you use the Internet and other technology. What might be acceptable or appropriate for adult communication may be very inappropriate for your 12 year old.

Regardless of how much you choose to use technology, if you are a parent or a caregiver you do a have responsibility to learn enough to ensure children can be protected.

Here are some other helpful inks:

Facebook, Twitter and Online Bullying

National Mental Health Information Center

How to Stop Bullying on Facebook

Social Media: Whose World Is It?

2010-04-15T03:47:00.000-07:00

Lately I've found myself in a number of conversations with parents discussing social networking/media, most often Facebook, and their involvement or participation in this still relatively new mode of communication. I'm struck by the variety of opinions regarding how much involvement parents should have in what many perceive as their child's social world. There appear to be three main camps parents fall in with regards to their position on social media.

Nope: Not interested in getting involved with Social Media, "It's not for me."

On the Verge: Would like to understand more, but don't know where to begin.

Plunged: Have made the leap and have a social media account and are either actively involved or slowly becoming more familiar with it.

I don't know that there is a "right" position to take, but before you take any position, it might be helpful to take a moment to look at social media separate and apart from being a parent and explore what social media is in general, how people are networking, where is it going and what that might mean. As I write, the world of social media is evolving rapidly and a precise definition is a bit difficult to pin down. There are many definitions for social media out there which try to explain it from specific angles from marketing to educational to personal. For the purposes of this discussion and my focus on the everyday user I'll be addressing social media from a personal perspective as it relates to social networking.

What is Social Media?

In my opinion, social media could be defined simply as,

"Social Media: Tools that assist us in engaging with a far greater number of individuals and groups than would otherwise be possible given traditional methods of social networking (i.e. school, church, special interest groups, etc.)."

In essence, it's where sociology meets technology and the synergy created by this pairing is growing providing an incredible amount of potential for us to connect with, interact with, share and learn from others. And it's right here where I believe many of the "Nopes" and those "On The Verge" run into a stumbling block for two reasons. First, if you don't have comfort level with technology jumping onto the bandwagon with yet another new application using a device you have not yet mastered might seem unappealing and not worth the effort. Secondly, the exponential growth of the network and the vast number of people, products and services one may be networked with can be daunting. Together these can make the thought of becoming involved in social media and growing a social network seem very unattractive, understandably. That said, let's go back to what I said about social media - it allows us to connect with, interact with and learn from others. In other words, it helps us create relationships with one another and it will - slash that - it is now becoming one of the most common ways in which we connect with one another.

How to People Use Social Media?

I could not name all of the social media sites currently being used, but suffice it to say that there are many and it's growing and changing too. The most commonly mentioned sites are probably Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and while those are robust in their user-ship the social media world is quickly redefining itself as the number of users grows. More sites are being added, many are growing and others are losing ground all due in large part to the users who are helping define what is valuable. To help us grasped what this bucket of social media sites looks like without naming them all let's break them down into some categories.

[caption id="attachment_130" align="aligncenter" width="372" caption="Social media categories with examples. Not intended to be a complete list."][/caption]

The graph below was presented by Amy Portfield in an article recently published by the Social Media Examiner in which a study of 1000 social media users wee surveyed to understand when, what and where they use social media. The graph underscores a couple of things. First, social networking sites attract different types of users. (Notice the absence of a "news" category for Myspace users where this is a predominate area of interest for users of other sites.) People have a presence on certain sites because there can find and share information that interest them. Second, it's not just about being social. In fact, you might say that learning and sharing is just another way of being social because I do find it interesting that there is not a "socializing" category anywhere on this graph.

Source: Amy Porterfield, "Study Highlights Growing Social Media Addiction" Social Examiner, Web April, 16, 2010.

Does everyone who participates in social media have an account on all of these sites? Certainly not! Just like choosing where you shop, travel, socialize, eat, etc., individuals determine which sites are valuable to them based on their own interests and what they find meaningful. Having a presence on at least one site, such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to get started, will allow you to connect with, interact with, share and learn from others. And that is how relationships are built using social media.

As I've mentioned a number of times, social media is changing rapidly and weaving its way into our lives whether we like it or not. It's a social phenomenon driven by tecchnology. Think about it, the Facebook application was launched in 2004 and Twitter saw it's first Tweet in March of 2006. Today if Facebook were a country it would be the third most populated (Techxav) at over 400 million while Twitter's population has grown to 27 million in just four short years. Compare that to the evolution of cell phones which also received a lot of initial resistance from users, do you recall?! The first truly portable cell phone was released to the public by Motorola in 1983 and it took 12 years before the number of wireless subscribers reached only 28 million n 1995, whereas Facebook hit 100 million in four and half years. And where did they announce this? On Twitter which was only two years old at the time. And remember texting? Do you recall ever saying, "Texting? I don't get it. When would I need to use it?" Now, we have laws in effect because people text too much and at the wrong times. (One unfortunate side effect that accompanies rapid growth as seen with cell phones, texting and social media is the lag in establishing social mores and proper etiquette in how we incorporate such things into our lives.) Today there are over a billion cell phone users and the majority have text-enabled phones. I think it's safe to say that social media is here to stay and the number of users will only continue to climb.

What Does the of Social Media Look Like?

Big question! Good question! What we can be fairly confident of is that is will continue to grow and weave itself into our lives and we will become more connected because of it and maybe smarter as well. Communicating with social media makes it so easy to share information with others and that's what people find valuable and meaningful. And when there is valuable and meaningful information to be had people will remain connected. I'll refer you to two articles that delve into answering this question and you may find of interest.

Convergence: The Future of Social Media - by Julian Hall

Social Media in Higher Education: McGraw-Hill Brings Together Social Media and Education Experts to Discuss the Future of Social Media in Higher Education

The first provides some insight as to why social media is here to stay specifically as it discusses how social media brings together the many aspects of our lives. The second is important for parents to understand how social media will become an important tool for how children learn in school. What also might be helpful is to understand how others like you are participating. Here's a great link to social media demographics from Flowtown illustrating who is using social media which may provide some insight as to where you might want invest your energies. What's interesting to see is that the age group most engaged in the popular social media sites are those 35-45 years of age which might be a surprise to many who associate social media only with young adults.

What Might All of This Mean to Me?

The answer may be different for all of us except for a few points that appear to be universal.

Social media isn't going away.

More and more of our lives will converge into the space of social media.

There are many benefits to be had being involved with social media, not the least of which is having a deeper connection to the world in which we live.

Want it all in a nutshell? Here's a very short video portrayal by Erik Qualman of how far social media has penetrated our lives and tries to help you answer the question, "Is social media a fad or a revolution?".

Turning back to the original discussion of this blog which was about parents involvement social media? The first thing that should be clear by now that the world of social media is not just a kid's world and it's certainly not just for socializing. I would also add that, parent or not, there are many good arguments for at least dipping your toe into social media if you haven't already made the plunge. If you think you're ready, here are ten things to consider that may be helpful as you think about getting started:

Safety/Security: Social media is not unlike any other type of communication or interaction we have in the offline world. There, we take measures to be safe and to protect our valuables. Being online isn't any different. We should be concerned with those very same things, it just may take a little more effort and patience to learn something new. There are tools in place to provide you with the security you need and there are also some things you may need to learn too. The information is out there, just ask.

Etiquette: Social media as about relationships and while there may be some logistical bumps in the road as we learn to define what's appropriate and what's not in this online world, the golden rule still applies. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Just like you wouldn't walk into a group of your son's classmates and show them pictures of him as a little boy on a toilet, you also wouldn't post those pictures on his Facebook Wall for all to see. Yes, this has happened.

Quality Not Quantity: You may see kids and even some adults try aggressively to ramp up their friends or followers. To each his own. I mean, when do you have enough? There's no trophy when you get there, wherever "there" is. The win is by engaging with people, groups and organizations that add value your life. How do you teach this to your children? Lead by example! Talk about what you've learned, what you've shared and how others have benefitted from their relationship with you.

Relationships: As in the offline world and in life, people can benefit from and they can be hurt by their relationships with others. So have discussions with your children about who they friend, why they friend them and who they should not friend. This is probably a good topic for another blog, but I do want to point out a few things here.
- Kids and Adult Friends: You may think having your kids "friend" family members is just fine, and for the most part it probably is. But, if there are cousins, aunts, uncles or any adult whose profiles have the potential of displaying information that may not be age-appropriate for your children, then you need to either discuss with your child why that may be okay and have them de-friend them or have a conversation with the adult and ask them to place the child on a limited profile. This is a privacy feature on Facebook that provides the user of the account with flexibility when it comes to who is allowed to see certain portions of the users profile. You can establish a limited profile for selected people and these individuals will never be informed that they are only viewing a selection of the features that are available on your profile.
- Social Media Can be Good for Those at Risk: The relationships established through social networking can be very supportive and have been found to be effective tool for suicide prevention. According to the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE), social media is proving to be a relevant tool, not a passing fad, which is used to provide health information to support suicide prevention efforts.
- Bullying: While social media can be a very positive experience for most people, bullies still exist. Does the venue make them any worse? I don't know, but I do believe it may make them more visible. In any event, it is our responsibility as parents to start conversations about bullying early with our kids and on some level monitor who their friends are. And there's no better way to do this than sharing the social media experience with them while respecting their space, of course.

How to Begin?: If you don't know where to start, then ask. Ask me, ask friends or jump online because there are a variety of ways to learn how to begin. (Hmm? Maybe that should be another upcoming blog?)

My mission is to help others find more productive ways of doing things via technology and understand the capabilities that are available to them to help reduce stress of this chaotic world in which we live. Social media is sometimes viewed as an interruption of sorts, rather than anything remotely productive. The purpose of this blog was not to be an advocate for social media, but rather to provide some insight into social media and help others make more informed decisions about being an online social networker. Whether you are a "Nope", an "On the Verge" or you've "Plunged", we can always learn something from each other, so please share this with someone you think might benefit from this blog.

For Your "To Do" List, Get Yourself the Quickie App!

2010-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

As far as productivity tools goes I'm all over this one. Quickie is one of the best newer productivity apps for the iPhone and was recently reviewed JAiB [JustAnother iphone Blog]. I feel as though I utilize the features and apps on my iPhone fairly well, but I have had a hard time finding a "To Do" app that works efficiently with minimal messing around. So I often revert writing things down. Still a good practice, however I am often times away from my written to do list when I need it and wind up being far less productive in the end.

What I like about Quickie is that it's just that, "quick". There aren't a lot of screens to move thorugh and you can tap your way through lists fairly quickly. Read the the full review by JAiB and the many other iPhone app reviews they have as well. They have provided a lot of iPhone app reviews so if you're looking for a specific type of app then search by category.

Data: When It's, It's Gone!

2010-04-07T02:59:00.000-07:00

As someone who is intellectually curious about and places a great of productivity dependency in hands of technology I am a bit embarrassed that recently my hard drive took a turn for the worse and died without having performed a recent backup of my data. Truly, I couldn't believe! Probably what most people say as a response to this unexpected event. I had been rather religious about backing my files until I moved out of my home office and into a place that did not aesthetically and functionally allow for my external hard drive to be permanently set up which it was when I was located in my home office. In my previous arrangement I had set up my Time Machine to perform automatic weekly backups which were running smoothly. I recall having an inkling that without automatic back up cycle running I would need to rely on myself and would be vulnerable to losing data, so I would just need be sure to manually attached the external hard drive and run the backups on my own. That lasted about 3 three weeks. Five months later my hard drive died. Argh!

I place a high level importance on productivity and should have known this was not a productive decision. Anything that involves doing something "manually" usually isn't. We tend to take for granted the reliability of our technical support staff who arduously oversee the protection of massive volumes of data at our places of business and forget that similar chores are also required for our personal computers. So I wanted to share this as a friendly reminder to those of you who may have let this critical exercise fall by the wayside And for those of you who don't even know where to begin, what follows is a brief overview of ways in which you can perform data back-ups.

DVD/Jump Drive/Etc.: I really don't recommend using DVDs discs or jump drives to perform data backups for your computer, I only mention it here for two reasons.

a.) When working on a critical document or file and you want to ensure it's protection you can make a copy or back it up to have on hand until your next full system backup is performed.

b.) If you truly do not place high priority on data backup and have no plans to do so in the future, then you probably don't have much on your computer that you fear losing, or at least you believe that's the case. For this reason I would encourage you at a minimum to pick up large capacity jump drive (e.g. 16G or so) and take 30 minutes out of your day to take another look at yours files. Chances are that you will find an important document or two, pictures from a special event, or music files you would rather not lose. Copy them over to the jump drive and place it is a safe place.

External Drives (Local Backup): There are so many options now available for external drives both in capacity and physical size. And the cost is coming down as well. CNET has done a fairly extensive review and comparison of external hard drives and I would encourage you to take a look at their review before you buy. Also, before you buy you should check out your computer's system requirements and the capacity required to backup your system. One thing to consider with an external drive is that the backup of your data is still vulnerable to theft, loss, fire, etc. If this is a factor that concerns you then consider the use of a remote or online back up service.

Remote/Online Back Up: These are services that can backup your entire system via the internet with very little work required on your part. Though some are free there is usually a monthly or annual fee and different service levels are also available usually dependent upon capacity. The more you require backup for, the more you'll pay. The amount of data you are backing up also needs to be considered for how long it take for a remote backup. While most remote backups will take about a day for the typical user, some could take as long as two or three days versus a local backup which can be done in a much shorter time and even minutes in some cases. In addition to cost and backup time you will also want to understand what it will take to set it up, how easily you can access your data if needed and whether or not the service provider offers encryption services that protects others from viewing your data. In February of 2010 Techsoup, which offers technology solutions for nonprofits, conducted a review of top online backup service providers and discusses these questions in more detail.

Once you've decided upon your method of backup, then do it! It's one thing to have a backup plan in place but if you aren't undergoing regular backups then what's the point. So the last bit of food for thought is to make sure your backups run automatically. This will surely help you avoid huge headaches because when it's gone, it's gone...or be subject to costly data recovery fees to get at lost data that could have so easily been saved.

2 Important Reminders for Managing Your Mountain of Passwords

2010-04-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Passwords - ugh! While absolutely necessary and critical for our own protection they are nevertheless cumbersome, lack uniformity and can be difficult to retrieve at times. The idea of this article was triggered as a result me having ignored what is a pretty efficient system for managing this growing library of odd phrases that have become critical keys in our lives. It comes right down to security and access.

Security

In order for our passwords to be secure they need to be private and not easily unraveled by someone else. You probably know by now using your birthday or phone number as a password comes close to advertising access to your private information on a billboard. These are some of the first things a hacker would try to get passed your "secure" sign-on. Nicknames, middle names, your kids' names, school mascots would be other examples of password with very low security. This information is plastered all over your social media and in other places where information about you is generally well-known. All are easy targets for would-be hackers. We use these because they are easy to recall which makes sense. Unless you use it everyday it's difficult to recall passwords like "dZ45!yP". There are some simple ways around this that I think you'll find useful.

First, some things we know about creating an effective password are:

Use a variety of character types, such as alpha, numeric, and symbols if allowed.
The more characters the harder it will be to decipher so use at least six to eight characters unless otherwise constrained to smaller number.
Use both lowercase and capital letters.
Avoid passwords that are based on personal information that can be easily accessed or guessed.
Paraphrase when you can.
Avoid using repeating or consecutive sequences (8888, 1234..., abcd.., xxxx...)
Use different passwords on different systems.
Add complexity. Make only the letters in the first half of the alphabet uppercase.
Avoid using words if possible. Try using a an acronym for a phrase you recall easily. (e.g. My favorite food is chocolate. = mffic)
Use a number sequence that you can easily recall but is virtually unknown online or by others like the year you got engaged, the year you hope to retire. Some people can never forget the last four digits of their first phone number...I'm not one of those.

Now that you understand some parameters around creating a password you can come up with a password that is fairly well-encrypted yet easy to remember. A little trick I use comes from what I learned in Kindergarten, well sort of. First, most of us recall that favorite teacher from our elementary school days or maybe it's a coach or favorite toy. Whatever it is, there's usually something that still stands out in our memory from long ago. If you can recall it now, chances are you'll still be able to recall in a month or year from now as well. Next, select that number seuqence that is meaningful to you in. Maybe it's a year, stay away from the year you were born though. Using these two pieces of information we can create a password you'll find easy to recall but attackers won't.

For example, let's say you chose the last name of your first coach, [Aldrich] and you choose the year you started kindergarten [1970]. From those two pieces of information and applying the rules above you can get [Aldrich.1970]. We know that password authentications are sometimes limited to a certain number of characters and character type, so create a long, medium and short version. In this example, the long will be the one we already created [Aldrich.1970] and medium and short version might look like this [Aldrich70] and [A1970], respectively. Using this method you'll easily the pieces of info that make up your password and only need to determine if it's the short, medium or long version. And it's personal information that would not be easily discovered if at all. I will often times use those terms (short, medium or long) as my password hints to keep them even more secure.

Access

Try though we might to devise highly secure passwords that we can easily recall we sometimes just can't seem to remember. In addition, systems may lock you out after a few tries, so ensuring you have the correct password without making extra attempts is important. Where do you store your passwords? Let's hope they aren't on a Post-It note by your desk! Yikes! Here are a couple of ways to make passwords easily accessible for when you need to recall them.

Remember the the address book? No, not the Mac application on your computer, but the little black book with names and numbers listed alphabetically. I can't imagine they are getting much use anymore, but they are indeed still available. Get yourself one, I use a small pocket-sized one because I can easily store it in a secure place. And each time you set up an new password use the address book to record two things: the login ID and the password hint instead of the actual password. For example, record whether you used the short, medium or long version of your main password. That way an intruder searching for access to your stuff would get nowhere.
Another option which is more accessible and can be secure but will require some work on your part is to store your passwords in an email folder or on your computer IF and ONLY IF your internet service provider offers encryption, your computer is password protected and you are accessing the information in a secure area. If you don't know these answers you'll need to do some work. Leo Notenboom wrote a great article addressing this issue. I would encourage you to see what he has to say, it's very helpful.

The bottom line is that ultimately you are the one responsible for ensuring the security of your personal information. The use of passwords to access restricted areas isn't going away in the near future or maybe ever. So, it's important to have a plan around how you create and manage them. Maybe one day we will all have one password that is as secure a Fort Knox which we use for accessing all of our private information and personal accounts. Wouldn't that be nice!

Two Keys Ways to Increase Productivity with your Family Calendar

2010-03-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Let's talk productivity! We all know it takes a lot to manage the calendars, emails and to do lists in your work life and in your personal life. Sometimes your work life is your personal life, but that doesn't make it any easier especially if you're trying to managing them separately. Yes, they are separate parts of your life but these are all aspects your one life so why do twice the work by managing them individually.

For those of you who are still working two calendars, and maybe even trying to keep the hard copy version updated on the laundry room wall, here are some options to consider that could reduce some of that complication and work.

USE A COMMON ONLINE CALENDAR

A good place to start is getting everyone (you, your spouse and children and possibly your work) on a common calendar platform. Yes, that also means doing away with the one on the wall in the laundry room. Instead, have the home page for the central computer in your house be the family calendar instead of the wall. That way it's still in a central location where everyone can see it. In our house we use Google's Calendar and have for years now. It's our home page for not only the main computer but anyone who has a their own laptop also keeps the Google Calendar page as their main page. That way it's always top of mind. With Google Calendar, and many other calendar applications can do this as well, you can set up an individual calendar for each of you and for each part of your life. If you already use a calendar at work than you can usually subscribe to your family calendar at work so you have the option to see your whole scheduled life in one view. This will eliminate your honey saying, "But I didn't know we had conferences tonight!"

When sharing or subscribing your calendar you can also select privacy settings and edit controls. For example, in Google Calendar I may want to share my calendar with my family who can see the details but only give my spouse and I the option to edit events. Alternatively, my kids calendars are shared with me and I am able to edit, add and delete events as needed...which is a must for a mom. So take some time to check out what you can do with Google, Apple Calendar/MobileMe, and there are many more. Or check out this article from About.com and see what they think the top online calendars are. Some are free and some cost a bit, but all can add some productivity to your life.

PUT CALENDARS TO WORK WITH YOUR MOBILE PHONE!

Let's take this new found management tool up a notch and incorporate our cell phones. (This will make you feel even better about what you spend every month on your cell phone service plan.) So, it's safe to say that you have a cell phone and if you have anyone over the age of 13 in your house s/he may likely have one as well. Using features in your calendar application you can make both tools work better for you and your family and ultimately do more more of the work for you.

There are many features available that may be offered but one you should look into first is notifications. Notifications or reminders are settings you can select each time an event is entered which will remind you of an upcoming event. You can select various ways to have notifications sent to you (e.g. By email or text. Days, hours or minutes prior to an event. Number of notifications to be sent.) We aren't in front of our computers all day and this is a handy tool to keep you on track and on task. And regarding your teen-aged children with cell phones and who have test-pertise, this is a great opportunity to have them take on more responsibility by giving them the tools to manage their own calendar via texting. It's what they do best so let's put it work for you. It can alleviate being the nag and give them a great sense of independence.

If you already have a smartphone take it up one more notch. Consider syncing your calendar application with your smartphone. I have an iPhone and I sync my Google calendar with it and I LOVE it. I am able to see what my whole family has on the calendar and make updates too. This portability is incredibly convenient, especially as my memory becomes less reliable. The help section of your calendar application will typically have step-by-step instructions on how to do this. If you are not able to locate that information, just send me an email. I'd be happy to help find what you're looking for.

Your Laptop, Your Latte and Your Privacy.

2010-03-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

So you just grabbed that latte and found a little space for yourself in your favorite coffee store to spend some time alone getting caught up on emails, work, Facebook, banking, etc., right? Maybe wrong, while that may be your intent, you may very well not be alone if you have accessed a Wi-Fi hot spot. Unfortunately, hackers have become more and more skilled at getting to you. Through Wi-Fi hot spots hackers use spybots and sniffers to seek out information on your laptop. Hopefully, you are already utilizing antispam, antivirus and antispyware appliactions. For a higher level of protection follow these steps to help make sure you are indeed alone!

Step 1: Disable your laptop's automatic connect feature. Manually select available networks to ensure you are not unintentionally getting on a network that makes you susceptible.

Step 2: Use a firewall. A firewall has been installed on your computer if you use Windows Automatic Updates. Unless you turn the firewall off, it runs automatically. You can make your Windows firewall more secure in a public Wi-Fi location by changing your firewall setting to Block All Incoming Connections. Even with that setting, you will be able to view most web sites, check your email and exchange instant messages. For more information about firewalls for Windows click here. For Mac users, Mac OS X comes with one built in, always has, always will. Just be sure you've turned it on.

Step 3: You do not want other users on the network to be able to see the files on your computer. Check the public network's website to see if the network uses encryption to hide users' files. The web site should include a privacy statement. If there is no privacy statement, do not use the network.

Step 4: Protect yourself from Wi-Fi hackers:

Do not keying in any passwords, credit card information or other data that you want to remain private.

Do not check your bank balance in a public place. If it is necessary for you to type the information, do it only on a secure web site.

Look for https at the beginning of the web site address. The "s" stands for security. Also check for a padlock on the bottom right in the browser toolbar. Using your company's virtual private network (VPN) increases your security.

Step 5: Watch out for impostor web sites that replicate the Wi-Fi login screen. The source of the evil impostor site could be someone sitting near you. If you get caught using an impostor, your information goes through their computer before it reaches the Internet.

Step 6: Be aware of your surroundings. Prying eyes may be lurking over your shoulder in an effort to steal your information. It's not being paranoid it's being smart! Just like you conceal and protect your PIN number from lurking eyes at ATMs., you also need to protect passwords and private information while in a WI-Fi hotspot.

Step 7: If you are able to accomplish what you need to on a 3g network (e.g. either your phone or using a 3G network card) rather than using public wireless connections. There is a higher level of security.

Be safe in your solitude!

-M

Smartphones for Smart Kids - Smart Choice?

2010-02-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Parents, you're familiar with the persuasive efforts of your kids to get you to purchase $100+ athletic shoes and designer jeans that top $150. You may also have heard the newest persuasive arguments for smartphones.   So what's a smartphone? Well, it's the product of two devices, a cell phone and PDA (personal data assistant). Cell phones and PDAs, like a Palm Pilot, were previously used in tandem with one another. The latter organized and stored your digital information like contacts, to do lists, emails, etc. And the former was used for making phone calls. Then the PDA gained wireless connectivity and two became one - a smartphone.  As parents, it might be helpful to imagine your computer gaining a cell phone. A smartphone is really a palm-sized computer with its own operating system and applications just like your computer. And like your home computer is also comes with online capability with built-in browser also allows for email and Web access,. Newer models have a camera which allows you to take still pictures and even videos. That's a lot of capability at the hands of a teenager!   We sure are fortunate to have these gadgets available to us, but we may need to stop and think before giving one to our children. Here are some things to think about before you make this leap and it's a big one.

CONTROLS
Be careful not to just hand over the smartphone to your very eager teenager without taking time yourself learning about how to manage things like Web access and downloading of applications. Remember, it's just like your home computer and which gives your teen access to many areas on the Web that may want to prevent him from accessing. Most cellular providers provide information online to help you or speak with a sales representative at the local cell phone store. In addition, there other third party applications available to help monitored or control your child's mobile. Mobile Nanny is one such provider. (Go to www.mobile-nanny.com to learn more.)

COST
It's expensive! Smartphones almost always require a data monthly data package fee of $20 to $30. That's up to $360 a year in addition to the fees already being charged for the monthly service plan. And that's for each smartphone! Is this really a necessary expense? Did you know that an iTouch has the same capabilities as an iPhone less the cell phone and less the monthly data package fee that goes along with it. Instead of using the cellualar data package It has wireless Web access if it has Wi-Fi within range which is most places these days. So another option could be to get your teenager a regular "old fashion" cell phone that doesn't require a monthly fee for a data package and an iTouch. (You'll want to set appropriate parental controls on the iTouch just like you would a smartphone.) That's huge savings per year. Another benefit is that kids tend to lose things and if they lose a smartphone they've lost all those applications which are now housed in device (cell, music, email, etc.).

RESPONSIBILITY
Personally, I think this is as much if not more important that cost or parental controls. Given the powerful capabilities and the cost associated with having their own smartphone this is fairly big privilege, it probably falls just behind getting a driver's license. So let's think about that for a moment. Are you taking time to prepare your teen for this responsibility? Here 5 things you may want to consider before making the next step towards this purchase.

Care: Keeping track of the device itself should be a given resposbility but help them understand the implications of losing it or allowing it to be in a postion where it might be destroyed. If you don't have insurance (and some smartphones can't be insured) replacing it is quite an expense. Discuss what your expectations are if it is lost and who is responsible for paying for it.

Self-Management: Use this opportunity to help your teen become a better time manager. Since smartphones have access to the Web and email, your teen would have access to a calendar management system like Google Calendar. Using an application like this you may want to consider having your teen take on greater responsibility for their own schedule. Since they have this device with them most if not all of time it's always available for them to update their calendar and they can set up alerts such as SMS or email notifications to remind them of the soccer meeting the coach set for Thursday after school. In addition, if you utilize the same calendar application that can subscribe to your teens calendar you see their calendar and know where they are. Starting off load some of the calendar management to you teen will help prepare them for being completely responsible for this post high school and may reduce the amount of nagging you are required to do.

Security: Teens tend to be trusting of their peers and can be open to sharing their "stuff". This is an important conversation to have with them as it relates to their smartphone. Help them understand that they should think twice before allowing others to use their phones and be careful that it is not being used for pranks or fraudulent activity. Sounds scary and even absurd I know, but this is a very powerful device and transmitting things like inappropriate pictures of their peers is against the law. And it's not just the camera that can be abused. There are numerous other ways in which a smartphone and regular cell phone for that matter can be used illegally. Unintentionally, most likely, but all the more reason for kids to keep their phones to themselves and if they feel they are safe to let someone use it make sure they stay with the phone and know how it's being used.

Financial: Based on family values and what parents are financially able to provide there will be differing opinions on this, but I believe along understanding that it's a privilege it's also a financial responsibility. Money doesn't grow on trees and either do cell phones. I think it's important that on some level teens, especially those in high school, should begin to share the burden of this monthly responsibility. Even paying just $5 a month gives them a sense of how this will impact them one day they are expected to take on the responsibility for themselves.

Kids are smart these days and smarter than their parents sometimes when it comes to electronic devices like smartphones. Though we may not always be as up to-speed on the devices we need to be careful to neglect our responsibility help keep them protected, offer sage advice and set expectations that help them to grow and mature. So, a smartphone for a smart kid can be a smart choice provided the parents takes some smart steps first. Consider the alternatives, expect responsible and safe use and take time to know what your putting in the hands of your smart teenager.

Welcome!

2010-02-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog MPoweringU and website for M-Powered Solutions! I have been bridging technology gaps for a lot of you for awhile now and I’ve finally found the time to get my own blog and website underway. ( Amazing how we don’t give ourselves the same attention as our clients when it comes to doing what we know best.) But I am here now and I’m excited to be able to share more effectively my favorites tips, tricks and tech news with all of you. I appreciate the support I’ve received in getting started and I hope you will continue to use me and this site s a resource for communicating and being productive with the technology that’s now available.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with me, let take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Monica and I am passionate about ‘M”-powering you! Get it? While a bit cutesy it’s also true. We have an abundance of technology available to us to be applied in so many different ways. What we don’t have is abundance of time and energy to learn an stay atop what all that is changing every day. Fortunately, it is what I enjoy and that’s why I want to do that for you!

Technology shouldn’t be a drag on your productivity it should be what makes you productive! An that’s my hope, to help you become M-powered with productivity tools available. My business is M-Powered-Solutions and my blog is M-Powering U! I look forward to your comments and questions about applications such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. The more questions you ask, the more answer you’ll get.

Thanks for stooping by and let me know how I can help!

-M

2009-08-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

MPowered Solutions: Empowering You!

2008-12-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome

2005-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog M-Powered Solutions! I have been bridging technology gaps for a lot of you for awhile now and I’ve finally found the time to get my own blog and website underway. ( Amazing how we don’t give ourselves the same attention as our clients when it comes to doing what we know best.) But I am here now and I’m excited to be able to share more effectively my favorites tips, tricks and tech news with all of you. I appreciate the support I’ve received in getting started and I hope you will continue to use me and this site s a resource for communicating and being productive with the technology that’s now available.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with me, let take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Monica and I am passionate about ‘M”-powering you! Get it? While a bit cutesy it’s also true. We have an abundance of technology available to us to be applied in so many different ways. What we don’t have is abundance of time and energy to learn an stay atop what all that is changing every day. Fortunately, it is what I enjoy and that’s why I want to do that for you!

Technology shouldn’t be a drag on your productivity it should be what makes you productive! An that’s my hope, to help you become M-powered with productivity tools available. My business is M-Powered-Solutions and my blog is M-Powering U! I look forward to your comments and questions about applications such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. The more questions you ask, the more answer you’ll get.

Thanks for stooping by and let me know how I can help!

-M