Unsocial Media - review of Social Media sites

I mentioned last time I would try and review the 'alternative' social media sites and I've got a few here. Most of which you probably haven't heard of and some are more in the USA than here but they will be coming and its useful to know about them.

The intention is to give a bit of an overview and then give you my personal view as the suitability for children and if parents should beware.

Let's get started

Firstly here's my summary on each, below that is a bit more detail

Yik Yak - Not really suitable for school age kids or below, aimed at college students so some of the content, as you can imagine, is a little colourful

Wanelo - Whilst it's cited as a social network it's not as you would think. Really a shopping recommendation site. Can't see why you wouldn't let your kids use it. If I was being really picky it could be used for unscrupulous people to contact and recommend things they shouldn't

Kik - started off as a reasonable idea but seems to have been taken over by chat rooms and dating. I wouldn't let my child use it. My advise would be to keep away

oovoo- Probably has more business uses than social media. Again it would be possible to get bullied in video chat and this posted to YouTube, so be cautious. On the plus side you can report issues, block contacts and its not anonymous

Omegle - DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD USE THIS

YO - pretty harmless and possibly a fad. I'd be happy with this.

Whisper - Anonymity is concerning but it's certainly for older teens 15+

Again my advices for any of these is be careful and makes sure you know what your child is using. Some of these are absolutely unsuitable and I personally make sure my child will not, under any circumstances, be using things like Omegle



Yik Yak

Service to create groups of users in a particular location (they call herds) and share updates

• Uses location services on the mobile so privacy settings need to be changed
• Potential for data stream of location being stored on both apple and yik yak servers - has to have adverts coming soon. With no business model its about the only option
• Predominantly used by university or college campus
• It's anonymous and has rules of usage - how these are policed is unclear
• You can get 'yaks' in your area (they are basically tweets) other users in the location can then upvote or downvote
• Add a handle (name) to identify your yaks
• Yaks limited to 200 characters
• Supposedly limited to college age but no restrictions or warnings when I've used it
• With some of the content absolutely not for under 17's
• Terms of service state they have the rights to all your data you enter in yik yak and can use that data however they wish
• In the terms of service there is explicitly no monitoring
• Your not allowed to do anything bad, it says and if you do they will terminate the account. Quite how they do this with no monitoring is just a little baffling. Looks more like a nod to the American legal system than anything concrete
• Could be harmless enough but the lack of monitoring, the fact it's predicated on American law including data and the fact it's anonymous I would make sure your kids stay away
• The website, as opposed to the app, wants your mobile number so it can locate you and display yaks. Yep, you've just given them your phone number and explicit location, with content. It's all about targeted ads in there future. Monitoring location, your friends location (herd) and what you are talking about to send ad's to your phone or computer. Even worse if they own the data as the terms state then it WILL be sold on.

Wanelo

Want Need Love.

• Basically a shoppers paradise
• Product discovery and recommendation
• Asks for you phone number after registration to get the app. Hmm not sure you need to do this you've just given your phone number away.
• To recommend you obviously need a list of people you know. So they want to connect to your Facebook account. Once again just remember this is going to be about advertising so be prepared for your data to be shared just about everywhere and that of your friends.
• Not saying this is bad, it actually looks pretty good for present and product ideas but there are privacy issues
• Can't see this being of much interest to teenagers, maybe those that like shopping and new products.
• It's a social network but at least there is a purpose. Granted it's shopping but a great way to discover some interesting things
• With it having a purpose other than streams of consciousness I can't see how it could be used for much more than that purpose.

Kik

Yes another messaging app that is only available on smartphones no web interface I can see

 

• Definitely aimed at the teen market terms state you need to be at least 13 and 13-18 have to have parental consent. Again how this is enforced is non-existent
• Shares data between kick and it's affiliates. Concept you send links (kik) as part of the messaging service
• Provides in-app purchases, so that means things that are extra can be bought so maybe be careful if your child uses your smartphone and you have your card details available for purchases.
• Governed by Canadian law
• They have the rights to use and distribute any content you put on the service world-wide and royalty free.
• It also looks like this Includes private messages and contact details
• Image search and you can search for ANY image so beware, no filters
• Search and add 'friends' to chat with
• You can block kick friends to stop unwanted messages
• Not anonymous
• Not great it links to other chat sites that look more like personal columns. It now gets into the realm of don't touch with a barge pole for your under 17.
• Kick is trying to be a google+ for smartphones and is aimed at teens. In doing that they have effectively brought some of the worse of the web to your Childs phone. Shame it could have been a great idea
• You can de-activate the account but it's a little convoluted

Oovoo

 

Video chat facility similar to Skype and others. Gfroup chat and video upload facilities

• Allows video to be uploaded to youtube
• No age limit I can see
• Instant messaging as well
• There is no anonymity
• Works on PC, tablet and smartphone
• US based business
• Can be used on 3g so watch the data bundle
• You can't contact non friends so calls have to be from contacts
• Just make sure you only have contacts you know
• There is a facility to report harrasement
• You can also block contacts
• You can set certain privacy settings to hide your details and only allow you to invite not be invited
• Just be careful if you do download to the computer and make sure you uncheck all the extras which will take over your browser with ask and search engines

 

Omegla

Online chat facility

• Completely anonymous chat site
• Pairs you with random users
• Strapline is talk with strangers
• Ok I wouldn't touch this its a bullies and paedophile paradise.
• I don't think there is much point in reviewing this further. Please don't allow your children to use this

YO

• The terms and conditions do state it collects data and it will be re-used
• I can only think that again it will ultimately have adverts and your data will be used
• It seems pretty harmless
• No anonymity but to invite friends etc you have to put in your phone number..... Beware!!
• Don't really get it to be honest if it does get traction it can only be a fad
• Interesting to alert you to something but that's about it
• Suggested age restriction of 17

 

Whisper

• Another anonymous services
• Allows you to post a stream of though on any topic
• Being used for dating and meet-ups
• Yet another paradise for bullies
• Capture and sell personal data
• The privacy policy states you don't have to provide your information but if you choose not to you can't register. So in effect you either disclose everything or don't use it. My choice would be not to.
• All the front stories look reasonable, even inspirational but the anonymity is concerning and should be the main consideration for parents
• It maybe a way for your teens to express themselves in an environment they feel is more conducive but it certainly needs policing by parents.
• The terms and conditions mention bullying and inappropriate content but, as usual, there is no where that states how they intend to do it.

 

 

Digital Ninja

Been a while what with summer an all, but hopefully get back to putting my thoughts to (virtual) paper

So where has my thinking been going? Well it occurred to me, during a discussion with my other half, that my two boys 18 and 15 and my 3 year old all have one thing in common, they have never been taught properly about how to stay safe online. To be honest my 3 year old is a bit young but you hopefully you see where I'm going. My two lads have been given some advice at school but it's pretty awful and only skims the surface of what is required.


We tend to skirt around areas that we don't really understand and having had some discussions with teachers, they really do not understand this stuff at all. So do I want to do? Well it's probably a bit late for my two eldest but my youngest I want to make sure I educate her in all of this, not only so she understands the pitfalls but to give her strategies about how to deal with it, the genie is out, you can't put it back, but you can understand how the genie thinks, how they operate, what they want and have weapons in your armoury to deal with it.

I want my daughter to be a Digital Ninja, equipped to understand the technology and what it means but also how to deal with issues in a positive manner, who to talk to if something happens, how to deal with bullies. It's now time for the education system to catch up and start to teach our children how to behave and how to cope, with strategies for both. God forbid what happened to my youngest boy should happen to my daughter or anyone else's child but that really does mean parental responsibility and also school responsibility with classes that 'teach' this subject and not just pay lip service with maybe a one hour dull lecture every 6 months.

Parents, educate yourselves, don't leave it to someone else. Get the information on social networks, not just facebook or twitter but the myriad of other services available, ask.fm, snapchat, whatsapp, tumblr, instagram. there are also ones you have probably never heard of and they keep appearing, wanelo, kik, oovoo, yik yak, omegla, yo, whisper

My next blog will be about these sites, what they are and if they are safe.

Comments welcome

Refusal often offends

So this post is slightly different to the others, in that it concerns itself with the increasing number of areas organisations which to probe into our personal data.

I'll give a few examples

PCWorld - I go into the shop and browsing but really went into buy some papaer. Found the one that I wanted and went to pay. Got the usual questions about if it's business or personal, not that its any of their business but it was personal. Then we get to the next few questions, can we have you postal address and post code. I thought about this for a few seconds...... I'm paying cash in a shop for paper, why on earth would you want my postal address and postcode. So then started the debate with the sales chap. I tell him I'm a cash buyer for 2 reams of paper, why do you need any information at all? He clearly had no idea and thought I was being awkward. When I asked him what PCWorld were going to do with that piece of my personal data, he replied marketing. I politely declined to give the information and the systems were struggling, I paid my cash and left anonymously

Screwfix - Same thing but this time it was for some plasterboard fixings. I was paying cash, about £3, and they wanted postal address and email address. I asked what this was going to be used for and explained I was a cash buyer for a very small item. The sales lady couldn't really tell me, apart from some mumbled comment about marketing, so once again I declined. It started to get a little heated and her voice was raised "it's only your address and email" To which I replied which is mine, not yours and if this is the only way I can do business then I'll go elsewhere. I left anonymously, went to a local independent store, bought the screws and also left anonymously

Local pub - Now this I find staggering. I come out of the pub to the taxi rank, get in the cab and tell the driver where I'm going. Just about to set off when of the door staff come to the car with a clipboard. " can you give me your name and address" I asked what for and once again I got a terse response "because if you want the taxi you need to give me those details" I asked what on earth they were going to use this for and how long it would be kept. He couldn't tell, I refused. So I got out of the taxi and met the driver 5 yards further down outside of the pub grounds.

Want to know what Silicon Valley has planned for your shopping experience of the future. Take a listen to this Radio 4 clip.....Interesting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01z8t6k good or bad? I'll let you judge!!

I could go on but I won't. My point is unless the person asking has good reason and can tell you what they are going to with your data, how long they will keep it, where it will be kept then refuse. There is no legal reason for a pub to take your details, none. This is your privacy and it may offend the requestor but this kind of behaviour is now creeping into every walk of life and most of us are just accepting, well you don't have to be.

Lots of people, especially the younger generation Shovel their personal details around from company to company with little or no thought why. We really need to educate and explain that this stuff is precious, it's the new gold and everyone wants it. The old sign in shops used to read 'Don't ask for credit as a refusal often offends' Well don't ask for my data as my refusal will almost certainly offend.

Comments Welcome.

Digital Footprint

Morning

Got my first blog done yesterday and now starts the work of trying to help parents and children use the internet safely. It truly is a remarkable phenomenon but with every great invention there comes with it issues which not only affects adults but can have a profound effect on children, whether in the  years of primary or just leaving college. On that basis it affects the family unit, how it interacts and how it deals with issues.


So in the blog I just want to bring up the issue of something called your digital footprint.

Courtesy of Digitalfamilysummit.com
 

Just to explain your digital footprint is something that is left behind for all to see. Be it words, pictures, video, tags, likes and tweets, they all leave a trail of your online presence. It's important you know this because it WILL affect how your children are perceived and WILL ultimately be used by perspective employers, Universities and those who provide services. Some of this is happening now. Take the story of Paris Brown (see full BBC article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22083032) She resigned from her PCC post because of the comments she made on Twitter. She was 17 when she was forced out of her job....17!!




The internet allows individuals or businesses to 'mine' for data, that is get access to data you thought was yours. Your digital footprint is their door into your world. How many of us now have shredders? We wouldn't put letters in the bin with our personal details on without shredding the paper first, or at least we shouldn't. So your digital footprint needs to be treated with similar care and attention.

Just take a very simple family scenario. Your off on your annual two week holiday everyone is excited and when you get there you take photos and post them online. Looks like a pretty normal pastime, keeping memories and letting your friends know what you are doing. You post a few pictures with GPS positioning switched on. This is called location data on most smartphones. So back-home everyone knows your in a villa in Italy, Rome to be precise, Casa La Selle if you want to be picky, Casa Religiosa if we want to be absolutely accurate.

All from the GPS data on the picture you took of the Villa. By the way when you checked in at the airport everyone knows when you flew and you probably mentioned the airline and what time. All Harmless? Possibly, but you have just told the world your house is empty!!! But that's ok only your friends can see it...right? One of your friends re-posts this and suddenly it's all over twitter.....wrong!

I did a very simple search yesterday on facebook on one of my friends activities. It was pretty easy to work out movements and habits and with who. Usually the gym visit to the same gym were on Tuesdays and Thursdays and mostly with one of her friends Kate. She has one child of school age and her husband works locally, quite late by some of the posts and they have a really big summer house in the garden they use for regular parties. And just so the world knows there is a picture of the front of the house. So I go onto Zoopla and look for houses sold on that road, bingo, get the house and photographs with a postcode, then onto Google Streetview, so I can see the surrounding landscape and hey presto I can see the summer house and a way in through the neighbours garden. This took me less than 5 minutes.

If you want to scare yourself stupid about how easy it is to get really 'deep' into your data take a look at this video. On the pretence it's a clairvoyant, it's not, it's a bank of computers and hackers in the back and they got every detail, including bank accounts. Well worth a look. This is privacy, this is your digital footprint http://youtu.be/F7pYHN9iC9I

There are really simple things you can do to reduce your footprint and keep yourself safe online. Remove GPS data when you take pictures, don't post any financial details online, that's anything, make sure your children are aware of their digital footprint, how it affects them and those around them. The biggest thing is nothing is free, nothing. It's really easy to like something or get an app but the reality is they want your data, all of it. Data is the new goldrush and privacy is the water they are panning. Ask yourself why the provider wants access to your news, your friends, status, if it's not obvious it's because it will be used and sold....simple.

This is our digital footprint and that of our families, protect it, think about the reasons and educate yourselves. It's really important

Comments welcome

Checks and Balances

This is my first blog on a subject very close to my heart and one I feel very passionate about.

The internet of today is very different from the environment in which I grew up in the 70's and 80's. It feels like we had a series of checks and balances in my day that helped children enjoy their childhood and helped parents be guardians to their offspring, keeping them safe and protecting them from the world at large.

I remember going to the local shop and trying to buy a bottle of cider when I was about 15 for a party at my friends house. The shopkeeper refused and by the time I had walked back home my mum knew and I was in trouble. It seems the checks and balances of society in the 'real' world were working. My mum was a single parent and she welcomed the help that these checks and balances brought. Whilst she didn't find it easy bringing up two 'characterful' boys she always did her very best for us, protected us and kept us safe.

Fast forward 30 years and things are somewhat different. The checks and balances that helped my mum in the past no longer apply, the internet has seen to that. I feel like we have gone from a society that cared and looked after our children to one that is hell-bent on exploiting them, reducing them to digital bookmarks who are to be marketed to by the next big thing. The next big thing that has control so lacking it appears to be deliberate just to get 'eyeballs'. As parents were are trying to cope with technology that is confusing, moving quickly and new stuff popping up quicker than I could eat spacedust from my local sweetshop back in the day. Facebook, Facebook messaging, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, whatsapp and the hideous ask-fm, to name a few. Some you probably won't know about as well, how about WeChat, Vine, FourSquare even Skype.

These services only purpose in life is to get more people hooked. How do they do that? Easy if you bypass the checks and balances, remove a whole raft of protection parents would want and hey presto THE NEXT BIG THING. It's not necessarily their fault after all more people is more marketing revenue, but the landscape for parents is daunting.

So where are those checks and balances? how do we, as parents, protect and keep our children safe? I think we need a fundamentally new approach and in my next blog I'm going to ask for your support to create something that will help parents bring this back to the family and provide something that could change the way we view all this smart new tech

Comments welcome