Over the next few weeks, I will be rolling out the new Surfnetkids design that you see on this page. What do you think?

This project took me TWO YEARS (this is very embarrassing!!!) The artist who originally created it must have long since thought that I had given up!

The paid members of the Surfnetkids Printables Club were the very first to see it, and now here it is coming on the free part of the site.

What do you think? Feel free to post your feedback here or if you’d rather respond privately, over at my help desk Reply to Barbara.

Facebook Privacy Policy

Facebook has come under serious fire regarding their privacy policy and the sharing of personal information with advertisers to generate revenue.  These things have led to several changed to the social networking giant’s privacy stance, and while many are still skeptical, it seems that the changes are designed to ensure that your personal information stays that way.  The former privacy policy was a bunch of law jargon that your average user could never understand.  The new policy page, however, utilized FAQs and a simplified language to convey their position on user privacy and the steps they are taking to ensure it.

The Collection of Information

No parent wants their children subjected to endless advertisements designed to tug at their innocence.  Facebook collects information on its users regarding interests and hobbies and offers that information up to advertisers for big paydays.  If advertisers are getting their hands on the information, who else is accessing it?  However, Facebook states that they strongly recommend parental oversight in the information their children are sharing on the internet.

The Sharing of Information

Facebook’s privacy stance offers you the ability to make a profile completely private, however, when you’re teen is posting on a site that isn’t private, the information is viewable by anyone.  Due to this dilemma, there is never a truly safe and private haven when considering the use of a social networking site.  Predators are crafty, and despite Facebook’s best efforts, they can find a way to your children if you rely only on the site’s privacy policies.

Public Domain

There is a certain element of privacy that everyone is entitled to.  However, when one posts things on the internet, not even the best of security standards can protect you.  If people are having their identities stolen when using secure credit card processing sites, imagine how easy it can be to access information through a social networking site.

Voluntarily Access

It’s also very important to understand that regardless of Facebook’s Privacy Policy, your child may give their information away by simply “friending” people that they don’t know.  When this happens, the dangers can be at an all-time high.  Once someone is a part of your child’s friend list, they can access pictures, employment locations, school locations, and anything else they offer up.  Any of this information will be used by an online predator to gain the upper hand on your child.

Facebook has done a reasonable job of attempting to protect their users’ privacy.  However, like any website, there are no guarantees.  The only way to ensure that your children’s private information is kept safe is explaining why they shouldn’t post it at all.  This ensures that regardless of a predator’s tactics, they will not be able to show up at school or work to meet your child face to face.  Eliminating the threat of this meeting can make a huge difference when considering the safety of y our child.  Facebook is a part of everyday life and many parents have embraced it.  Just be sure that you’ve familiarized yourself with the Privacy Policy and have explained the dangers to your children.

Facebook Privacy Settings

From protecting your identity to ensuring the safety of your children, there are several privacy settings that Facebook uses to help keep private information private.  However, it should be mentioned that if you want to keep things REALLY private, simply don’t upload it to the internet, regardless of how safe a website claims to be.  But, understandably so, in the modern world this is becoming increasingly difficult and good luck keeping your children off of Facebook completely without a fight.  So, when you know that your child will be using Facebook for socialization, there are some key points that every parent should understand about the website.

Become a User

Many parents have found it helpful to become a Facebook user, if even in a casual sense.  Once you understand the basics behind the creation of a profile, the security options available, and the general workings of the website, you’ll have some insight when considering the privacy of your children and their personal information.  Take note that at the bottom of every Facebook page there is a “Privacy” tab that will re-direct you to the privacy features involved in the site’s design.

Limited Visibility is a Must

When you are considering all of the information that an online predator may use against your children, think about what is viewable even when the profile is listed as private.  Sometimes, a picture and a name is all that is needed, but when a listing of “networks” is given, that could give them just enough insight to send a message and pose as a potential “friend”.  The best advice in handling this threat is to turn EVERYTHING off on your child’s profile and work backwards from that point.

Stay Up to Date

Staying up to date on the changes being made to Facebook’s Privacy Settings can help you utilize them to your advantage.  Depending on the privacy settings, however, may not give you the comfort you seek, and there’s nothing wrong with having your child simply omit information like their school from their profile.  Their friends know who they are, and honestly, that’s enough.

Facebook offers quite a bit to teens and many can navigate the website better than anyone.  However, they need to be informed of the dangers involved.  Predators masquerading as teens are quite a threat online.  If they are not taken seriously, they can be entrenched in a child’s life before anyone realizes what’s happened.

Have conversations with your children about online safety and explore the Facebook Privacy settings on your own.  Read them and if anything is unclear, read them again.  There are many tools that will hide important information, but nothing is certain.  The best remedy is simply not posting this sensitive information online at all, and keeping the profile for contact with people that you and your children already know.  As a parent, creating a profile offers a wealth of benefits, so don’t shy away from the site.  Learn its capabilities, understand its dangers, and then relay this information to your children.

Facebook Privacy Issues

Many argue that Facebook and the fun games and applications involved are actually information gathering schemes that are looking to simply document all of your personal interests and information and sell it to the highest bidder.  Because Facebook makes almost all of its revenue from advertising, this argument holds some water.  However, playing these games and offering this information is voluntary, and those looking to stay “off the grid” should simply limit how much information they actually post onto the social networking website.

This issue takes a much darker turn when parents consider the effect this can have on their children’s safety.  As a general rule, you must be at least 13 years old to create a Facebook page, but even at that age, there is plenty of danger lurking.  In fact, many would argue that this is the target age range for online predators and pedophiles.

Private Page Infiltration

Forcing your child to keep their Facebook page private is a must, however there are ways around this, and predators have learned the loopholes.  For example, gaining access to your child’s personality, interests, and even school location is as simple as creating a false profile, contacting them claiming similar interests, and becoming their “friend”.  Once they have joined your child’s friend list, all of the information posted is at their disposal.  Just because a Facebook page is private, doesn’t mean it will stay that way.

Explain the Ramifications

When your teen is posting pictures of last weekend’s party or a day trip to the beach, they are opening themselves up to all kinds of dangers.  Pictures can lure unwanted personalities around your teenage daughter and create all kinds of problems both socially and physically, should the opportunity arise.  Explaining to your children that there are consequences to certain actions on Facebook can be the difference between a fun day at the beach or the notching of another statistic.

Facebook Places Creates Problems

There’s no doubt that your teen will be eager to “check-in” to every establishment he or she walks into.  But, in doing so, they are opening themselves up to a serious threat.  For example, if any of their Facebook friends aren’t really who they say they are and have ulterior motives, your teen has now told them where they are currently at and who they are with.  If they are alone, there’s a chance they may attempt to seize the opportunity.  Teens should understand that the “Places” application may be a bit too dangerous for the time being.

Facebook offers plenty in terms of socialization and the ability to express oneself, but there are lurking dangers as with all internet social scenes.  People can easily disguise their intentions and identity, which could create a situation that may lead to unspeakable consequences.  Don’t underestimate the resolve of sexual predators and their online habits.  Talk to your children, explain the dangers, and monitor their activity.  You don’t need to embarrass them with love notes on their Facebook wall, but being present on their friend list allows you to keep an eye on their activities.

Facebook Safety Issues

In most cases, an individual’s Facebook friend list consists of people they know in the “real world”.  However, at times, there are people that simply have similar interests that you have met once and never seen again.  In cases such as these, remember that when you are broadcasting your personal life and information across the social networking world, everyone who is on your friend list is watching.  Sure, the website is great for networking and staying in touch with distant friends, but there have been cases of job-loss, lost relationships, and stalking through Facebook.  By understanding what is actually occurring when you post anything, and using some common sense, you can ensure that your Facebook experience and that of your children is positive and harmless.

The Danger of Pictures

When your child has a Facebook page, there may be some individuals prowling that you want nowhere near them.  Studies have shown that 25% of all teenagers post sexually explicit photographs on social networking sites.  This creates a danger that could lead to horrible consequences.  There are predators that seek out pages exactly like these and look to create a relationship based on their fantasies.  This is a very dangerous position for a young teen.

Information Can Be Dangerous

There have been plenty of cases that exhibit how information can be detrimental to a child’s safety.  Posting simple and innocent things like which school they attend can give a sexual predator all the information they need to pursue your child.  Keeping their profile private and limiting the personal information that they post can help eliminate some of these threats.  Sure, they’re going to be excited about going to the movies with their friends, but posting this information BEFORE they go can be dangerous.  Posting the details after can offer a bit safer alternative.

Anyone Can be Anyone Else

On websites like Facebook, there are certain dangers that cannot be avoided.  Anyone can upload pictures, falsify information, and create a profile stating that they’re someone else.  This technique is used by many pedophiles when attempting to lure potential victims into a “friendship”.  How do they do it?  It’s simple, actually, which makes it so dangerous.  They will create a profile that gives them the disguise of a pre-teen with similar interests to your child.  From that point, they will converse with them, and in many cases, nurture a long term relationship before ever revealing their intentions.  Explaining this to your children can help immensely.

Facebook offers hundreds of millions of users the ability to stay in touch with friends, express themselves, and at times, make new friends.  However, for children, making new friends through a social networking site is simply too dangerous.  Having a conversation with your children regarding the dangers of social networking can eliminate much of this risk, but staying diligent will be the only way to gain peace of mind.  Create a profile and join your child’s “friend list”.  From there, you can monitor their activity to ensure that their experience is a safe one.

Facebook Safety Advice

For all of the great applications involved in social networking websites, there are some dark undertones that if not considered, can deliver horrific results.  Just about everyone has a Facebook page, therefore there’s a wealth of information floating around that strangers can view if privacy settings aren’t utilized.  For parents, requiring your child to keep their profile private should be a top priority.  Statistics are proving that sexual predators prowl social networking sites like Facebook looking for potential victims, and any information acquired will be used against your child.

Protect Information

As previously mentioned, any child’s Facebook page should be kept private.  Any messages or friends should be monitored by the parents, but how is this possible without watching your child’s every online move?  A technique that many parents have begun to use is simple:  create a profile and friend your child.  In doing so, you’ll be able to monitor who is on your child’s friend list, what they are posting on your child’s “wall”, and what information your child has been offering up for their friend list to read.

Discuss the Dangers with your Children

Nothing offers more peace of mind than a conversation with your children expressing the dangers involved with social networking websites and the internet in general.  Chat rooms are a very dangerous place when a child doesn’t understand that someone may not be who they claim to be.  Creating a Facebook profile is simple.  With a few pictures, some falsified details, and questionable intentions, anyone can appear to be a 14-year old with the same interests as your child.  The danger comes through the deceit.  They will message your child, posing as a peer who shares some common interests.  Once a conversation is underway, things can progress quickly if the child is unaware that the danger exists at all.

Understand the Threat

As parents, it’s important that you understand the tactics that these individuals will utilize on a website like Facebook.  They will comb through pages, looking for troubled children that they can take advantage of, and send them a message requesting friendship.  Never underestimate just how much effort or time they will put into these pursuits.  Some cases have involved several months of contact before ever attempting to induce a child into sexual conversation, or worse, a face to face meeting.  Staying informed regarding the tactics these pedophiles use can be your best defense against them.

When a child uses Facebook, they are at risk.  Keeping a page private can hinder an online predator’s advances severely, but there’s never a 100% guarantee.  The best advice parents can heed, should their child insist on having a Facebook profile, is creating one themselves, adding their child as a friend, and monitoring their activity.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to talk to friends from school, as it is an important aspect of modern socialization.  However, safety should always be a concern, and the watchful eye of a parent can ensure that your child’s Facebook activity is safe and healthy.

How to Use Facebook Chat

As many have already noticed, Facebook is doing their best to eliminate the need for outside programming when looking to communicate with your friends via the internet.  Arguably the simplest of features, the Facebook chat offers users the ability to chat with friends without needing to download an outside program or application.  In fact, it’s one of the first things one notices when they create their profile.

In the bottom, right-hand corner of your Facebook home page, you’ll notice a list that shows you all of your friends that are currently online.  To chat with any of them, simply click on their name and a chat box will pop-up.  From this point, the rest is pretty self-explanatory as you are able to chat away with your friend in complete privacy from your other Facebook friends.

There are small circles next to each of your friends’ names, and just because they’re listed doesn’t mean they’re currently online.  A green circle means that they’re currently on the website and available for a chat.  When you see an empty circle next to a friend’s name, it signals that they are not currently online, but don’t be deterred!  If there’s something you’d like to say, fire away, and the next time they log in, they’ll get the message.

Chat Notifications

Many people aren’t fans of hearing the “ding” of a new instant message constantly, but if you’re logged in but moving around the room, feel free to turn on your “Play Sound for New Messages” toggle.  In doing so, you’ll get an audible notification anytime someone sends you a message.

Controlling the Chat History

When you’ve finished with a conversation, take a moment to clear the chat history.  You’ll find those exact words at the top of your chat box.  Use this feature to ensure privacy in your conversations.  Further, if you have ended a chat session, you are still able to view the conversation by simply opening the chat window again.  You can read everything that was said.  However, once the chat session has been cleared, there’s no turning back.

Everyone Loves a Smile

Remember when online chatting really came into full swing and everyone was in love with the faces?  Maybe you’d use a semi-colon and a right parenthesis?  Any of these emoticons are available, but instead of showing up as typed characters, you’ll actually get a smiley face, frown, wink, etc.  This is a fun little add-in that Facebook decided would give an element of personality to their chat.  Sure, we’ve seen it before, but honestly, it never gets old.

Chatting with friends online has become as common as a phone call.  Because you won’t have to download an outside chat program, Facebook has found another way to offer services to their users.  Like all of the other capabilities, there is no fee for the chat, and the quality is on par, and at times exceeds, other chat devices.  It’s easy to see why so many people are spending hours on Facebook.  If you’re looking for a conversation, simply log in.  You’ll find one.

Of course it’s great chatting with your friends about the party last weekend, but it’s all fun and games until somebody gets their feelings hurt, right?  Facebook has done a great job with keeping people in touch with each other, and their “Groups” application, they are offering some privacy for those conversations that simply aren’t for everyone’s eyes.  This has been a process for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his development team, as they have attempted similar concepts before.  First, they offered the ability to put your friends onto lists that would create a barrier between those that should be reading some of your content and those who shouldn’t.  Users found the process to be taxing and never used it, so they explored the options further.  Coming up with the Groups feature seemed to make the most sense.  The process is much easier as well, which will assuredly facilitate much more use on the website.

How It Works

When you are at your Facebook homepage, you’ll notice the “Create a Group” option in the upper-right hand corner.  Once you have clicked the link, you will notice that there are 3 different options for your group.  You can select from Open, Closed, or Secret groupings.  Open groups are those in which the content and members are for public viewing.  Closed groups keep all of your conversations and content under wraps but allow the members to remain public.  Secret groups hide both the content and the members.

There may be times when you learn that you’ve been added to a group without knowing about it.  However, you aren’t stuck as you can leave a group by simply clicking the aptly named “Leave Group” button.

The Grouping feature is something that Facebook feels was needed to create a genuine social networking experience.  The design is such that people should interact digitally just as they would if they were face to face, and the ability to limit certain conversations to select groups of people should facilitate this.

A chatting feature is also available that will open a chat room for all members of the group that are online.  Another interesting tool, a document sharing feature, allows a groups’ users to work on documents collectively.  It’s assumed that this feature will be popular for study groups, group projects, or general writing needs.

Grouping your friends on Facebook makes sense.  Users have long asked for the ability to have some semblance of “sub-pages” within their friend lists that allow them to separate acquaintances, close friends, and family.  It’s likely that you’ll also see work groups created that will prevent co-workers from seeing too much of your personal life, but still allowing for general conversation and work talk when necessary.

Facebook continues to improve its product which should ensure their reign as the most popular social networking website in the world.  With over 600 million users, there’s no doubt that the need for filtering friends was paramount.  The users asked, and Facebook listened.

Facebook keeps people in touch with friends that are scattered across the globe.  The company continues to add features that allow people to stay in touch with each other, and one of the latest features is the “Places” application.  The app allows users to “check in” to a location via their smartphone or laptop, letting their friends know their whereabouts or what they’ve been getting into lately.

Take this scenario as an example:  You are grabbing some coffee at a local coffee shop, and decide to let everyone know where you are.  You can “check into” the location, and any friends that search for people that have checked in, will see your location.  If they’re in the area, they might drop by.  Maybe it sparks some conversation between you and a Facebook friend about the shop itself or another comparable shop in the area.  Regardless of what stems from your check-in, the sharing of information continues.

How it Works

Similar to Foursquare, another popular locating application, Facebook Places allows you to identify your location at any given time.  When you do so, you will see friends that have checked into nearly locations, facilitating a possible rendezvous.  Use of the application may vary given your digital platform, but users of the iPhone, Blackberry, or Andriod will find the service very user-friendly.  On the iPhone, for example, you can simply open Facebook and click on the “Places” tab.  The rest is quite simple.

Are There Dangers?

Aside from letting everyone know where you are every second of the day, there aren’t many things that should spook a Facebook Places user.  You can avoid being accidentally tagged into a location by having the device require your approval before you are officially posted in a location.  In light of the privacy issues, remember that “checking in” is voluntary, and there may be some social downsides to letting everyone know your whereabouts all of the time.

How Businesses Benefit

Business owners absolutely love this idea, as it gives them advertising every time someone passes through their door.  When someone with 300 Facebook friends checks into a local pizza parlor, all of their friends may ask at a later date, “Hey, is that place good?”  If the answer is yes, that business may have just gained another 15 or 20 customers.  Having your business listed isn’t a free reign situation, however, as Facebook requires all businesses to undergo a verification process to protect themselves and inhibit any copyright legal issues.

Facebook Places is giving users the same service that Foursquare offers without needing to leave the social networking page.  By creating an all-inclusive social online experience, Facebook continues to showcase their willingness to embrace new concepts, and at times, snag an idea or two.  In the end, what’s created is a website that can give the digital social networker everything they could want.  It is easy to use?  Of course.  Is it fun seeing who has checked into the area?  Absolutely.  Do you enjoy the questions from your girlfriend the next day?  Probably not…

Facebook has 600 million users worldwide, and literally became an overnight success.  The concept took shape on campus at Harvard University in 2004, after the site’s designer, Mark Zuckerberg came up with an idea.  He had experimented with a simple program that pitted photographs of two campus students together for members to decide who was “hotter”.  There was a problem with his initial concept, however, as the photographs he used were snatched from the university database which he hacked to gain illegal access.  Harvard quickly shut the website down, but the idea lingered for Zuckerberg.  He designed a new website that allowed the voluntary posting of real identities, voluntarily this time, and launched the website a month later under the title “thefacebook.com”.  He and his 3 partners, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes soon realized that they had created a phenomenon.

Exponential Growth

Within months the website had encompassed the campuses of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Stanford, and the accelerated growth only perpetuated.  When investors began calling, the group decided to change the name to Facebook.com and offer the profile capabilities to high school students, as well.  The sky seemed to be the limit, but there was trouble on the horizon.

Controversy Strikes

There have been many claims that Mark Zuckerberg had actually stolen the idea from a trio of campus seniors that had hired him to design their social networking website.  Their design was coined Harvardconnection.com, was released shortly before Facebook made an appearance on the social networking scene.  The issue eventually ended up in court where the prosecution contested that Zuckerberg had been stalling the completion of Harvardconnetion.com intentionally to give him time to complete his own rendition of the same idea.  The case never saw a verdict, however, as the matter was settled out of court.

The drama didn’t stop there for Facebook, as minority shareholder Eduardo Saverin learned that Zuckerberg had dropped his share percentage from nearly 25% to hundredths of a percent.  The Facebook founder soon found himself back in the courtroom, and Saverin ended up with a 5% stake in the social networking giant.

Facebook now generated $500 million dollars in revenue annually and is showing no signs of slowing.  Creating revenue through advertising dollars continues to funnel money into the concept, but the trouble may not be over for Facebook.  Instead, the investors are seeking returns on their investment money and despite their patience, there will come a time when the bill comes due.  Sure, there seems to be plenty of money to go around, but there are so many factors involved, no one is quite sure where the situation will end up.

From its humble creation in a Harvard dorm room to the half a billion dollar mega-website it has become, Facebook has a story that will rival any company’s rise to power tale.  Mark Zuckerberg created the website, despite the controversy, and with help, created one of the most visited sites in the world.  The beginning of the tale may be over, but there are sure to be fireworks in Facebook’s future.