August 16, 2017

7 Tips for Facebook Messenger for Back to School, Students & Parents
Facebook Messenger offers a variety of features that students and parents might find particularly helpful for Back to School and during the school year.
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September 27, 2014

Parents Guide to Social Media Apps Used by Kids
I was recently asked by a reader of my site (Denise) if I could put together a chart that lists out some of the main social media sites used by tweens and teens and if I could provide some commentary on how they are dangerous (or not) for kids - essentially, a Parents Guide to Social Media apps used by…
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September 11, 2014

How to Turn Off Facebook’s Auto-Play Videos & Save Data
If you are anything like me, you watch your cell phone's data consumption very closely. And given that I have 4 other people on my family shared plan (3 of them being teens & almost a teen), there are some apps that simply gulp down data. Tweens and teens absolutely LOVE image and video apps (think Instagram, Vine, SnapChat and…
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April 10, 2013

Social Media Policy for Families
Quite a few years ago, I came up with some Social Media Guidelines, primarily geared towards businesses. I realized I also seem to write a lot of tips and recommendations for parents on how they can help their kids with social media. That got me thinking. Perhaps, I should come up with a social media policy for families (kids and…
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April 26, 2012

Using Cloud Computing to Test, Develop and Innovate
Are you using cloud computing yet? If so, that's great. If not, what is holding you back? Do you know enough about it? Do its capabilities confuse you? Have you not found a good use for it? I would guess that you are using cloud computing without even knowing it. As I work in the cloud industry, I get to…
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April 11, 2012

Win an LG Home Entertainment Makeover! See How LG Did a “Techorating” Makeover of MY Living Room!
I always thought that those home-makeover stories were fictional. But how wrong I was! A few weeks ago, my dusty and technology-tired old living room was completely upgraded and given new energy by LG, a major electronics company that specializes in home entertainment products, home appliances and mobile phones. And I'm going to tell you the story behind it. But…
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August 5, 2011

10 Ideas for Facebook Parental Controls and What You Can Do Until They Are There
Facebook needs parental controls - although I will bet that if you ask kids between the ages of 13 and 16, they would say that it definitely does NOT need ANY type of parental control whatsoever. But, being a parent and a bit of a social media junkie, I know that something is definitely needed. Children are simply too young…
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May 9, 2011

LocalMind Makes Social Check-ins Engaging, Interactive and Helpful
We all know about social check-in services like Gowalla, FourSquare and even FaceBook Places. These services allow you to announce that you are at a particular venue, event, company or location, quickly and easily all via your mobile device. With some, the more places you go, the more credibility and achievements you get (e.g., badges). Some people might question why…
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March 16, 2011

IMPORTANT: Enable SSL on your Social Media Accounts NOW! – Twitter and Facebook
As hacking into people's accounts has become a "clear and present danger", it's important to note TWO quick and easy configuration settings that you can now enable within both Facebook and now Twitter that can make your Social Media account just a bit more secure. While it won't protect you from other types of hack attacks, phishing or other social…
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July 21, 2010

HTD’s Tech News Snippets – July 21, 2010 (Ford, Skype, Antennagate, Facebook, Apple & Blackberry)
Once again, scouring the web for the latest tech news that grabbed my attention. Below are some links to some Amplify.com posts. You can see the beginning of my commentary below. Clicking through the links gives you the rest of the commentary as well as the article that I snipped. I LOVE the NEW Ford Motors - 2011 Explorer Unveil…
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May 11, 2010

Social Media for the Rest of Us
I heard an interesting statistic today that the smartphone sales accounted for only about 20% of all of the cell phones sold this past quarter. I was actually a bit surprised with that number. I would have thought that the percentage would have been a lot higher. Of course, I live in a technology bubble. Not only do my various…
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February 23, 2010

Cast of Dads: Podcast #10 – “Kids Online & How To Do It Right”
In this tenth episode of the Cast of Dads podcast we discussed a very important topic that all parents should seriously be considering, that of educating your children about the various social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. This is particularly personal to me as my oldest daughter (a "tweenager" – pre-teen) is starting to ask more about various social…
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