This is a great article every facebook user should read & follow:

If you haven’t checked your Facebook privacy settings lately, it’s time to revisit them. I’m amazed at how many people think they’ve taken adequate precautions, yet I can waltz right onto their wall or view all their personal photos, even though I’m not a friend or even a friend of their friends.

Fortunately, Facebook now places privacy and location controls next to everything you share. You can choose who sees your status updates, photos and location before you even post them.

You’ll still want to check your default settings. You should also edit your profile to make sure you’re not sharing unwanted information. If you’re the parent of teenagers and you allow them on Facebook, it’s important that you help them lock down their settings, as well.

Let’s start with the profile. Click your name at the top of the screen. Then click the Edit Profile button in the upper right hand corner. Check out the whole article

As a constant facebook user, I was drawn to this article, so I wanted to share it with all of you. We’ve quoted Kim before and actually have a link to her tutorial on mistakes not to make when you set up your first social networking page. See it here on our site: http://www.inobtr.org/tutorials/10-myspace-page-profile-mistakes/ . Great teaching moments to take with your kids and work out your privacy settings together. We all need to pay attention to this! from INOBTR

Tweens all around the world will tell you that Justin Bieber got his start by uploading videos to YouTube where someone noticed him and urged Usher to check him out. The rest, as they say is history. So, along comes a young lady named Rebecca Black who stars in her own video and uploads it to YouTube and iTunes with the help of ARK Music Factory.  (See Wikipedia- Justin Bieber-Rebecca Black for full stories). So here’s the part that I find fascinating. Her video loads in February and goes viral by March. As of today almost 90 million people have watched this video. It has sparked hundreds of “response videos”, parodies and evidently a chance at a record deal. But all is not pleasant in this viral world. Some have lambasted her as “the worst singer ever”, people have criticized the fact that the teens in the video (who may not be 16) aren’t wearing seatbelts, sitting on the back of the car and driving, going to parties. It’s a video, kids! You watch them every day and laugh at the antics of others. Is it because she is pretty? Is it because we’re jealous? Is it because it has just become okay to try to tear down anyone who is successful and appropriate? What is wrong with us??? Why have we turned into a nation of “haters”? And, why are we adults setting such rotten examples (pick any topic: our government, Libya, taxes, the war - how do we show our children how to express our opinion?) ?

An interesting outcome of the video has been a form of cyberbullying that has one of the “extras” in the video as its target. She has been dubbed ”that girl in pink”. In the video she is in the back seat of the car and hundreds have posted all over the world that she can’t dance.  Well, Benni Cinkle (that’s her name) has chosen to respond with humor and a little website/blog of her own. She admits she’s never had a dancing lesson, but was excited to be in her friend’s video. She’s actually taken the whole experience of being the target of Internet bullying and offers some advice she calls an Internet Survival Guide – and it’s good.

Some days I think we all just need to get a grip on our opinions. And on other days – I’m excited to find an 8th grader who can laugh at unfair (and ridiculous) criticism and offer her thoughts to those who need someone to understand what they might be going through. Give it a look, encourage your kids to check it out. She’s already got 154,729 fans, and 1 more when I finish this…

Let me share the story of what took place at a local high school this week. I show a particular website that aggregates information from public records. Using myself, I share with them the amount of information that is deadly accurate and the equally scary inaccuracies. I’ve used this slide for several months now, but a unique thing happened that morning. As I was telling the story, one teen in the back of the room pulled out his iPhone and looked up his own name. It freaked him out sufficiently that he wanted to share it with the class. And it sparked a discussion about where the information could actually come from. I happened to be speaking at the school the entire day, so when I got to that same slide later in the day – one teen raised his hand and said ”you don’t need to go into that – we were all checking it out at lunch”.

You see, that is how our kids handle information – virally and electronically. What freaked out a few kids in the morning led to them telling everyone they saw and a flurry of activity at lunch.  It is the good news/bad news about teens today. A new video on YouTube gets passed around quicker than last night’s homework. An inappropriate picture of a classmate in the wrong hands becomes fodder for ridicule with the first text of the morning.  But, the thought that any stranger could check out things like the value of their home complete with number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether they were republican or democrat and their home phone number and pictures…was something they wanted to tell everyone immediately.  And they did.

I don’t want to get carried away with the impact of the number of hits generated by those kids that day, but interestingly, the next day, this website changed what information it shared for free and what information was now only available for the $2.95 per month access fee. Coincidence – probably…but interesting.  However, the true lesson here is we need to be aware of the information about us that lives online. And we need to take our cues from our kids – check it out and then spread the word so you can protect your family. Here are just a few of the sites that contain information garnered from public records. It’s time for some Ego Surfing!

http://www.spokeo.com/name?g=name_bs_spokeo01

http://www.pipl.com/

http://www.zabasearch.com/advanced.php

http://www.peekyou.com/

Check out all of the tips from one teen to another!

Besides the pledge, there are interesting videos and more information on the hazards of cell phone use while driving.  Check it Out.

Please Help Me STOP CYBER BULLYING and Help Keep Teens Using the Internet SAFE! Cati Cares is dedicated to serving teens by providing a valuable resource for internet safety tips and cyber bullying prevention.
My name is Cati and I am a 16 year old junior at a local high school in San Diego, CA.  I want to help make our world a safer place! I decided to start this site on my 15th birthday as a way to reach out to other teens about how important INTERNET SAFETY is and how we can join together to STOP CYBER BULLYING. 

TURNING TEARS INTO ACTION…….

Unfortunately, many teens have been the victims of internet crimes and cyber bullying.  
Take the pledge to not be a bully and to BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!
If you have a problem and don’t know where to turn, please CONTACT ME and I will offer some helpful advice and  a safe haven to share your story and seek help.
 
I continue to strive to be better everyday of my life and I live my life to the fullest. Being a teen isn’t easy and each teen should be able to face middle school and high school prepared and ready for some of the tough issues they may face. 

Cati has also been chosen to attend Kids Are Heroes Day 2009 on October 24th in Frederick, Maryland. Help Cati take part in this day and bring attention to the seriousness of Cyberbullying.

See Cati’s website:

• Start a Cati Cares Club at your school
• Help Cati attend Kids Are Heroes Day
• Take a Cyberbully quiz – are you a Bully?
• Read Internet Safety Tips from a teen who cares
• Pledge to help stop Cyberbullying

Everyday Stuff:

8  Be sure you know how to use the school website for all your needs.

8  Homework assignments, lunch menus, holidays and sports schedules are all online these days. Be in the know –

8  Know your school’s policies on all issues, but especially technology – can you bring your cell phone to school, what is the policy on texting during recess, how do you report cyberbullying?

8  Be sure you know your teacher’s feelings about electronics and Internet use in the classroom and on homework assignments.

Homework Already?

8  Wikipedia is a good starting point, but remember that anyone can contribute to the definitions, check multiple sources to be sure your facts are correct.

8  Always use a search engine (Google, Bing, MSN, etc) and don’t just type in what you think a web address might be – you may find yourself in unpleasant territory.

8  When using a search engine, remember that the first few entries are “sponsored” or paid for, and may not be the best resource.

8  Notice when a site says “cached” – that information has been stored and may not be as accurate or timely as the day it was posted.

8  Know the copyright laws – if you didn’t write it, you can’t claim it as your own.

8   Learn how to give credit to the sources you use.

I Got an iPhone!

8  Are cell phones allowed at your school? Where can you keep them and when can they be turned on?

8  Don’t let someone use your cell phone when you’re not around – they could send an inappropriate message or picture and it will look like you sent it.

8  Avoid annoying spam, potential viruses and other things that could hurt your new laptop by adjusting the parental controls, virus protection and spam filters.

8  Be sure your backpack or laptop case is protective enough to handle the school bus or the backseat of your friend’s car.

8  Got a new iTouch or Game Boy – school is not the right place for those items, not to mention they are tempting for others to “borrow” and forget to return.

8  Check the privacy settings on all of your electronics, your profiles on Social Networking Sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc), gaming systems and cell phones. They may have changed and you want to be up to date.

New Faces, New Friends:

8  It is never smart to share passwords.

8  Always protect your personal information (birth date, phone number, address, etc).

8  While it is important to label your books, backpack, etc, be sure you don’t include sensitive information like passwords or social security numbers.

The Bullies are Back:

8  Bullying is NEVER okay.

8  Don’t respond to bullies, they are hoping for a reaction or for you to show fear.

8  Remember there is a difference between tattling and telling.

8  Stand together against bullying – a bully’s strength is one-on-one or when he/she can get others to join in the teasing. Stand with the victim instead and bullies lose their power.

8  Don’t retaliate – two wrongs never make a right.

8  Don’t take part in bullying – talking about, making fun of and being mean to others makes you a bully and not someone who others look up to or want to be around.

8  Encourage your friends to help stop bullying – the truly powerful person is someone who doesn’t belittle others just to make themselves feel good.

8  Know how to report an offline or online bully to the right person.

Make a Pact with your Parents:

If you help set the rules and stick to them – your parents will be more likely to appreciate your time online.

8  Agree to balance your online time with offline activities.

8  Make a deal on when homework has to be finished and the computer fun can begin.

8  Give your texting thumbs a rest by agreeing to set your phone aside for family time (telling mom about your day, at the dinner table, family conversations, etc).

8  Agree to use your computer, laptop or gaming system in a common room so it is obvious that you aren’t doing anything online that you shouldn’t.

8  Show your parents your Social Networking Profiles and get their opinion on what pictures are appropriate and which could lead to problems, what information you share and what is too much, and who you accept as friends. Have them help you with the privacy settings and show them how they could have a page and connect with their friends.

8  Be sure your online activities are age-appropriate and show your parents that as you get older, you can handle more responsibilities because you’ve learned to avoid the bad side of the Internet.  

Ø      We spoke to one mother who asks potential baby-sitters to show their social networking site before she’ll hire them.

Ø      According to careerbuilder.com – 22% of hiring managers said they use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 11% in 2006. An additional 9% don’t currently use the sites, but plan to start.

Ø      According to a 2008 Kaplan study, 1 in 10 college admissions officers regularly check out college applicant’s profiles

Ø      Business & Medical schools admissions officers surf sites in even greater numbers

Ø      Some parents are checking out sites for their college bound teens and asking for new roommate assignments.

Is it time to forget Facebook, say so long to Hi5 or move off MySpace? NO!

But it is time to protect your profile, no matter which sites you’re on. Here’s how:

8                   Check your privacy settings – are all of those “friends” really someone you want to share everything with? Use groups, limit who can see what. Some privacy settings have changed, check them out and use them – that’s why they’re there. (Check them out often – they change)

8                   Sort through your pictures and content. Maybe you’ve forgotten that your friend tagged you in a photo that doesn’t show your best look. Move those pictures to your computer and be sure what you say and how you look is who you want to be online. Remember that a funny picture out of context may send the wrong message.

8                   All of those gifts, bumper stickers, shout outs and apps may be fun, but do you really want someone thinking you fancy yourself as Marilyn Monroe in another life or that you have nothing better to do than have a virtual snowball fight? Be sure you monitor comments and shout outs that could pop up at the wrong time. Read and delete.

8                   Consider joining a professional networking site like LinkedIn, Spoke or Plaxo. These social networking sites are much more about the business of business. Plus, it never hurts to get your name out there in a good way and use the Internet to your advantage.

8                   And remember, once you put it online it can be forwarded, altered and saved forever – be sure it’s something that can stand that test. Enjoy social networking sites – they’re a great place to hang out – but be sure you know the real world implications of what you post, how you say it and how it looks. 

  I would say see you on Facebook, but my page is set to private…