Helping Families Cross The Digital Divide
In today’s Facebook world, there are still many parents who are concerned with over-sharing. Not everyone needs to know the whereabouts of you or your child at all times, but, darnit it’s convenient for you to have that info yourself via the latest location-sharing app or Facebook’s somewhat dubious “Places” feature. Fear not fathers and moms, the fine folks at Qualcomm have an app that [Read more...]
A new update for the Facebook Android app showed up yesterday. It contains the usual bug fixes, but parents should be aware that the official app now supports Facebook Chat and Push notifications. What does that mean to you, the parent? Well, if your child has an Android phone, he or she can now chat in real-time with any of their multitude of Facebook “friends” and they’ll also now be getting real-time inbox messaging receipt if they’re on the newer Androids [only on phones with Android 2.2 aka Froyo, or better] with the Push notifications. To be clear though, there were already apps available in the Android Market which allowed for your child to use Facebook chat, but they were just separate, third party apps. This latest addition to the official app just allows for them to do it all in one place, from one app.
As usual, if this brings up any questions or concerns, leave a comment and we’ll get them addressed!
[via Droid-Life]
So often, we here at Digital Shepherds spend time warning parents about the perils and traps of internet use that it’s great to have a chance to share a little slice of family friendly techno-awesomeness with you! To that end, today’s post is a product review AND contest. A little family friendly gaming fare is what’s on the menu so read on, check out this great new game and then the contest details at the end of the post. [Read more...]
Recently, I found an app which is quite cool! It’s called Togetherville. I don’t think anyone can deny the impact that Facebook has had on our culture, capturing the “free time” of both parents and children and connecting families. One of the issues of great concern with Facebook use is the number of under 13 year olds who use the site – which is against their TOS. While I have my own thoughts on that issue, which I’ll save for another post, there are real problems that may arise from younger children being on social media sites. Generally, those problems are peer related but whatever they may be, Togetherville aims to allow children ages 6-10 to get online and involved in social media, minus the inherent caveats.
What Is Togetherville?
According to the site, “Togetherville is a new type of online community specifically designed for kids 6 to 10. However, any kid under 13 can join. Kids play and connect with real-life friends and family in a safe, child-friendly place with parents and trusted adults close by, just like in a good neighborhood. The site mimics the experience of adult social networking sites, but it’s age-appropriate and parent-monitored.” That’s great for a general idea of what Togetherville is, but I’m going to take you through what exactly that looks like. [Read more...]
CYBER-bullying. DIGITAL citizens. Adults, researchers, academics, we all have a need to understand, explain and categorize phenomena which is foreign to us. This is important to us because when speaking about certain phenomena we need to have some common ground from which to start our conversations. A place of common understanding. A springboard with which to dive into the subject matter. That’s great. It’s necessary. What’s even cooler is the fact that we even have a “phenomena” to discuss at all because, well, that means it’s being discussed and recognizing there is a problem to begin with is the first step to solving that problem.
All that said, STOP PREACHING THOSE THINGS TO THE KIDS! Outside the hallowed halls and convention tables frequented by those of us who are in the minivan stage of life, DON’T USE THESE TERMS. “Why,” you ask? [Read more...]
On Wednesday, August 18th, Facebook announced it’s latest addition to the family: Facebook Places. As a parent concerned with the internet safety of your children, this is definitely something you should know about and make a determination if you need to have your child’s privacy settings for this feature turned off…now! We’re going to make it clear what Places is all about and help you make an informed decision. [Read more...]
When we hold the “Parent Watch” portion of our seminars, Chatroulette and related services are one of the items we bring up and talk to parents about. If you don’t already know what Chatroulette.com is, it is a webcam site which allows its users to be randomly paired with an individual from anywhere in the world for a webcam chat. It’s interface is very simple, the focus here being on the random experience. As you can see from the screenshot, it’s nothing more than a white page and two windows, nothing fancy here it is all about function and “fun.” One of the interface features is the ability to “next” a user you’re not interested in chatting with. That is, you can click the “Next” button and you will draw another random stranger. What’s wrong with that you ask? Statistically, the site produces a male holding/fondling his nether regions 1 in 8 “nexts,” even though they have a disclaimer right on their homepage which states that people who abuse the site will be reported to the proper authorities and according to their terms of service, repeat offenders will be banned eventually (my paraphrase). The problem is that, well, young hormonally driven guys are young hormonally driven guys and they’re not complaining if a gal is showing off her body parts. And that is the majority of those who frequent the site…guys. [Read more...]
Convergence. It’s a notion I often prepare parents for when speaking to them at PTA meetings, schools or wherever I may find myself. I make it a point to tell them about Windows Phone 7 and how it will allow the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE experiences to become increasingly mobile, taking advantage of something as ubiquitous as the cellphone. I tell them about Netflix access through their children’s Wii or PS3. I tell them about the future and how IPTV (Traditional TV programming delivered through you broadband internet connection) will eventually see their children’s gaming consoles become, for all intents and purposes, “cable boxes.” This isn’t to scare them, or make them fearful that Skynet is after their kids through their gaming consoles but to inform them that video games aren’t the only thing they need to consider when deciding when is the right time to get their children their first system (if dad doesn’t already have one in the house). [Read more...]
Long overdue, today we’re putting out our video review of one of our favorite cellphone parental control and monitoring applications, SMobile Systems’ Security Shield with Parental Controls and Monitoring app suite. Will it prevent sexting? The short answer is yes and no. “Yes,” because perceived threat is often a great deterrent and when your children know that it’s possible for mom or dad to see everything that goes through their cellphones – even if you’re not monitoring every jot and tittle – they’re less likely to engage in risky behaviors. “No” because it won’t necessarily stop people from sending lewd images to your children, though your children will be more likely to tell their friends, “Hey, don’t send that kind of stuff to my phone. There’s a chance the ‘rents could see it!” The great thing about this software is that if by chance your child is an unwitting recipient of a sext message, you can actually delete that photo on the phone directly from the web interface itself, then have a chat with your child about the ramifications of having such media on his or her phone. So, check out our video review below and then read on for a few more bullet points on the software, as well as a coupon code below. We connected with this company and asked them to offer our viewers a discount and they were nice enough to do so, so give them a try and see if you like the software. We’re getting nothing from the discount, no kick-backs, nada….just good software we think you should be aware of! [Read more...]
Let me start this blog post off by saying that I’m not a gamer in the traditional sense, I only play now and then with my sons who are young gamers. The last time I did a serious stint of gaming was with Dragonball Z: Budokai. I beat the game, of course but I just don’t find much time in my daily, or weekend routine to invest in beating games. In the business that I’m in, I read a lot of blogs and visit trade shows so I stay abreast of the latest gadgets and often times, they don’t live completely up to the hype. I even find myself underwhelmed more than I’d like. In the case of Microsoft’s Project Natal, which was released to the public as Xbox Kinect, I’m giddy.
I got a chance to see it first hand at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center last week. I can completely see myself throwing down on some Dance Central with the family. One of the most impressive things I watched the system do is take a full body scan of individuals and give their measurements. Arm length, inseams, waist, hips…the whole deal. It was very cool! In addition to the titles I saw demo’d, there are other titles that I’m excited to see make their debut like Kinectimals and more Gym/Sports titles. The Kinect itself is a black “T” shaped piece that Microsoft has placed at the retail price point of $150.
Here are the videos I took of the product at E3. I edited them into one 2:30 piece so you’ll see Dance Central first, then Kinect Adventures! and then a little yoga for your high stress lives. Enjoy!
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