Tag: Social network

Alzheimers: Google+ and Facebook all good

Posted on by johndierckx

    

In the past weeks I have been discovering Google+ and what an amazing bunch of people I have discovered there. Some of the best photographers in the world, more on that in another post. Some great artists, musicians, worship musicians and leaders, well it is amazing and never before have I found a social network, social networking site, that tickles my creative tingles than on Google+, and with all the other services available through Google, I hope this will quickly integrate into my own social portal.

For those who have not received an invite yet, leave a comment with an email address here and I am happy to send you one.

Google+ v Facebook v Twitter

In the past weeks many have written about Google+ and especially compared to Facebook and Twitter. I have to admit, my preference for several reasons goes out to Google+ over Facebook and Twitter taken together, but that is my personal taste. At the same time like many I am inclined to break away from both of them completely but there are still so many friends on there. I guess I’ll wait a little while but everytime I go to either Facebook or Twitter, I find it less appealing. With developers picking up on the Google+ enthusiasm, almost daily there is a new extension for G+ or an app  to make life on Google+ even better.

Some are more fanatical in their comments and opinions and urge everyone to leave Facebook and Twitter if they have not already done so, exchange your flickr account for picasa and more like that. I’ll just wait and see, and while my preference for Google+ far exceeds Facebook currently, I also remember how I have enjoyed Facebook and remember how it was such a breeze after some of the other network sites I used to be a member of. Just because Google+ is great that does not mean that all of a sudden Facebook is useless, although some recent changes are less favorable.

Google+ and Facebook all good

In the Star ( a local rag) of last Wednesday 20 July, the Health section had an article by Jolene Williams,  on the matter of Alzheimer’s and the importance of a national strategy. In the side bar on the page there were some pointers as to how to reduce your chances on Alzheimer’s and among them were the use of your brain by playing games and to be social which involves both real life interaction and participation and use of social networking sites.

So then it became all clear to me: Facebook for the games and Google+ for the meaningful communications, the learning new things and the being inspired.

Then I also realized how I do not play online games (anymore) and that brought me the last question: what would keep me on Facebook if all my friends would be on Google+ as well? ACTUALLY NOTHING. hmm.

And for the sake of your mental well being, you now have a good reason to go out on Facebook or Google+ of one of the many many others. But to limit myself to these two, just ask yourself, am I a puzzler, that likes his/her little games, sudoku, scrabble, word puzzles etc or am I always keen to learn more?

 

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Start G+ Extension: Google+ + Facebook + Twitter

Posted on by johndierckx


If the Google+Facebook Extension was cutting it for you (me actually), than this the G+ extension for Chrome will probably do the trick for you if and when  you have Facebook and Twitter accounts and you are a Google+ user.
It adds your Twitter and Facebook streams to your Google+ account and also allows you to simply click once to post something to your Google+, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.  Especially for power-users this will prove to be a timesaver

The Start G+ extension can be downloaded Here >>>

If there are any Google+ extensions you can recommend let me know either here or on Google+ or of course any add- on for Mozilla Firefox, handy for Google+ users.

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Google+ the first days

Posted on by johndierckx

For the last few days I have been trying out Google+ and I have to say I am pleased with what I am seeing. That is not entirely fair as I have always been a great supporter of Google. Not that really matters to anyone but I would like to have it said anyway.

Google+ v Facebook?

I see that there is a lot of speculation going on about whether Google+ is going to be the new Facebook. I will not look at this from a business perspective but all I can say is that so far I can imagine both having their own charm. At the same time, looking at all the other tools that Google already has, I could imagine a that in the future this can all be brought together to have yourself you own social portal. A place to share, read, work, be in contact with your friends, follow the news and all the other things that Google has made available.

At the same time, I like Facebook as well and over time it has proven to be one of my sites of choice both from a social and business perspective (although admittedly these two are harder and harder to separate lately). However with the Google+ to Facebook app, I can follow and update everything that’s going on Facebook. The immediate convert can go for even more drastic measures and export his or her photos from Facebook to Picasa for sharing on Google+

Google+ Features

Personally I have not seen anything on Google+ that can not also be done on Facebook, with a little more or less work. Facebook has lists, Google has Circles. Sure enough I am pretty simple when it comes to matters like privacy or being overblown with comments etc, it’s all fine.

Profile

The Google plus profile page is nice and clean, with not to many distractions. I am curious to see how that’ll pan out after the official launch and when the advertisements are incorporated. So far all good.

Circles

Circles is what the lists are in Facebook, a way of organizing your friends business network, family and whatever you may come up with. It is handy and at the same time I can already see how it is very easy to get over the to with. I could imagine some good use for it, but at the same time nothing too new under the sun here.

Stream

Stream shows you what everyone in your network is posting and sharing. I am particularly happy with the ability to filter out according to specific streams and like facebook those that overdo it and crowd your stream too much can be blocked or hidden.

Further Features

Further features include the possibility to share photos, videos, post status updates and more. There is a buzz option which shows you stream from twitter, wordpress blogs etc works great and a +1 button which I do not quite get yet but seems to be similar to a like button.

For the immediate convert there is already a number of facebook related apps available such as the option to see and update your facebook home page, an option to export to your facebook photo albums to (picasa) google+, an app to export your facebook friends to your google+ account.

Looking Back

Looking back on the first experiences I am pretty happy with it and so far Google+ is seems to be the one with the least amount of deep sighs in trying to get things to work the way I want it. Whatever the experts say I could see this proving to be serious competition.

Looking Forward

Given all the other things Google I already use: email, calender, search, specialist search, docs, picasa (as a backup for flickr), google earth, google reader, notofications, google sites, you tube, google talk and translate I could imagine a merge of all these functionality and see myself having one big social portal with everything in there.  For the time being, Google+ has won my heart.

Want an invite? leave your email address as a comment.

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Huffington Post on Facebook Scams

Posted on by johndierckx

Facebook recently launched a new security wall to block scammers, but many are worried these measures won’t stop spam from spreading and that determined con artists will simply find new ways to get at unsuspecting users.

We’ve all seen suspicious posts on Facebook–a friend’s curiously impersonal message that’s riddled with odd typos, the irresistible app offering a chance to see who has viewed your profile, and more. These scams are sometimes obvious and easy to avoid, other times nefarious and simple to fall for. Despite Facebook’s security features, safe social networking rests in the user’s own hands.

Read the rest of the article here >>>

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Do you know what your children are up to online?

Posted on by johndierckx

As I was reading the news today, the headline “Predatory woman scams boys” grabbed the immediate attention. Here we have a woman with a fake identity chatting up boys with the hormones raging through their systems in order to obtain sensitive information like credit card details. Police confirmed that there was a groping side to her activities. (Read the article here >>>)


While it is great that children are able to be connected through sites such as Facebook I am also convinced that parents have an important role to play in keeping our youngsters safe. I know for a fact that there are several children that are between 6 and 10 that already have their own Facebook profile, despite all the age restrictions. My own boys come home and want a Facebook profile because “everyone else in my class has one.” Once children seemed happy with sites like “club penguin” specifically designed for our young ones and others like that. But no, they need a Facebook page. I will not go into the question whether or not a parent should allow their kid to break age restrictions, as the same would apply to movies, tv programmes, computer games and more. What I do think is that in all this, as parents we have a responsibility to keep an eye on what your kids are doing. I admit that it becomes harder and harder, with mobile and smart phones at every decreasing ages, bit it does not seem to make sense to just let our children go out there unattended, unprotected and basically left to their own devices.

The news story confirmed such a viewpoint:

“It comes down to parents knowing what their children are doing on Facebook and who they are talking to,” he said.

NetSafe executive director Martin Cocker said it was a rare case.

“It is fairly uncommon for an adult female to groom and scam teenage boys. More effective scammers understand the needs of the victim and play on those. With teenage boys, they want to be liked by teenage girls, so that makes it a target,” he said.

Parents should make sure children were aware that scammers operated online, he said.

I previously posted on similar subject matter:

Here are tips to enhance your safety and more importantly that of your child:

  • Most importantly be open and make sure your child can talk with you, make sure it knows it is being loved
  • Be clear in the agreements with your child in what is and what is not allowed and what to do in case of an incident
  • Explain the risks of online sexual solicitation and the risk of talking to strangers
  • Discuss the risks of meeting face to face and be very cautious about it
    • Do some checks first before you give your ok
    • Make sure meetings if any are in public places
    • Make sure that you know where your children are
  • Teach your children to be very careful with sending and posting personal information
  • Install firewall, filtering software, anti spy ware, anti virus software and monitor what is going on on the internet
  • Be open about that and discuss your worries
  • Encrypt wireless networks at home
  • Discourage downloading games and other media that could contain undesired content
  • Supervise contacts and friends the same way as in real life
  • Monitor on line activity of your children regularly
  • Set security settings high of your software (windows, browser and email) high
  • Understand and approve used screen names and ensure they don’t guve away too much private details
  • Make sure that children post only what they and you are comfortable with when others see it
  • Discuss the need of posting a photo in profiles
  • Discuss that flirting with strangers can be risky and even dangerous
  • Trust your gut feeling if you are suspicious or uncomfortable
  • Report suspected behavior
    Read the rest of the post here >>>

Besides that I recommend you reread my 85 tips for staying safe online here >>>. In relation to social networking and child safety I posted the following tips

SOCIAL WEB

  1. You don’t need to use you real name at all times, nicknames are an accepted practice and can help protecting your privacy for instance in chat rooms and on forums and newsgroups. Consider using a web based email address (www.gmail.com, www.hotmail.com etc).
  2. Think carefully before giving out personal information during IM, in chat rooms, newsgroups etc. You don’t always (very often if not always) know who you are talking to.
  3. Remember that people can change their identity or lie about who they really are.
  4. If you want to meet someone you met in a chat room in person, talk on the phone first, meet in a public place and let someone else know what you are doing.
  5. Be careful what you post on your profile at for instance myspace, facebook, hi5, hyves, and consider your privacy options.
  6. If your sharing photos online, check the meta data you are sending out and if necessary remove it. Depending on the camera you used there could be private information on there you may not want to share.
  7. Bloggers and tweeters, keep in mind that people have gotten in trouble about what they post with third parties and employers. Think before you hit the publish button or consider blogging anonymously.

KEEPING THE KIDS SAFE

  1. Place the computer where you can see it.
  2. Set clear rules, which may include time spent online and what is and is not allowed online. Punishing inappropriate behavior afterward. may not be the best solution if there were no clear rules upfront. Banning your child from the net may lead to them finding ways to access the internet out of sight and your control (at a friend’s place, the library an internet cafe).
  3. Make sure you know the password of your children so you can check what they have been doing and where they have been.
  4. Don’t scare your children away from the net and explain that like in the real world there are some fruit loops out there that they may run into.
  5. Take an interest in your child’s activities online, even if you don’t feel confident about your own abilities, encourage them to open communication.
  6. Encourage your child to report anything out of the ordinary or unpleasant they encounter online an be seen to follow up on it.
  7. Do not be intimidated by technology, ASK IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. The dumbest question is the one not asked.
  8. Don’t overreact. Not every incident is as serious as it may appear. Try to determine if incidents are of an isolated, coincidental nature and best to be ignored or a signal of potential trouble that needs closer monitoring. (Keep the communication open see 5.)
  9. Keep credit cards away / out of reach of your children, you could end up with unpleasant surprises.
  10. Check whether any chat rooms your children use are moderated (for instance the Penquin Club). This means that the site has arrenged for someone overlooking the chat sessions and throw anyone out that is a nuisance.
  11. Discourage your kids from having one-on-one conversations as opposed to addressing the complete chat room.
  12. Instant messaging = one-on-one and if you find your child doing that, make sure you know who the person on the other side is. Preferably allow this only with people they and you know.
  13. Consider installing a content filtering system or join with an ISP that tries to filter websites. Remember that there are no 100% fail safe systems so don’t get complacent or a false sense of security.
  14. If possible check your child’s surf history and keep in mind that computer savvy kids may be able to get rid of what they don’t want you to see. If you are of a paranoid nature, consider having all your child’s email coming through an email address under your control.
  15. Don’t think children are just curious about sex and porn, there is a wealth of stuff out there that will be interesting to the explorative youngster including things such as drugs, hacking an cracking, illegal downloading, and even things like making bombs.
  16. Don’t isolate talks with your children from the rest of life, it is all part of the same bigger picture of safety in general.
  17. The internet may be able to assist your child in learning about a lot of things including life but IT CAN NOT BE A REPLACEMENT FOR PARENTAL GUIDANCE.
  18. Don’t automatically assume that inappropriate behaviour is your child’s fault. Building trust and confidence may well be more constructive.
  19. Keep yourself informed about what is going on on the net.
  20. Don’t forget that mobile phones may have internet access as well. If your child has a mobile, make sure you set similarly clear ground rules.

Stay safe everybody

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