Cyber bullying: What It's All About

Cyber Bullying - What the heck is it?

As a computer repair company we feel a responsibility, not just to fix computers, but to also be a positive influence in the world of technology. These days we spend more of our lives online than ever before and our kids are certainly no exception. Parents and caregivers hear more and more about the risks our kids are exposed to on the internet and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the flood of risks and tips. One question we get over and over from parents is how to protect their family from cyber bullying. In this 2-part series, we'll explain the lingo and give you some tools to arm your kids in cyber-land so you can protect them even when you're not with them.

There are so many terms that refer to online abuses; it can be hard to keep them straight. "Cyber bullying" is harassing or intimidating someone over the internet through mediums such as email, instant messaging, social networking sites (e.g. Facebook and MySpace) and cell phones. There are several types of cyber bullying:

Flaming and Trolling - sending or posting hostile messages intended to '93inflame'94 the emotions of others.

Happy-Slapping - recording someone being harassed or bullied in a way that usually involves physical abuse, then posting the video online for public viewing.

Identity Theft/Impersonation - stealing someone's password and/or hijacking their online accounts to send or post incriminating or humiliating pictures, videos or information.

Photoshopping - doctoring digital images so that the main subject is placed in a compromising or embarrassing situation.

Physical Threats - sending messages that involve threats to a person'92s physical safety.

Rumor Spreading - spreading gossip through e-mail, text, or social networking sites.

Cell Phones Risks: A recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org) shows that teens (ages 12-17) use text messaging to communicate with their friends more than e-mail or instant messaging. "Sexting" is a sexually-explicit text or picture message sent by one minor to another. According to Pew, only about 4% of the teens they surveyed say they have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude image of themselves to someone via text message; however, 15% have received one, and older teens are more likely to be the recipient.

Online Gaming: Online gaming allows your child to communicate with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of other people inside a giant chat room (which is not always bad, in fact we have also talked about the positive effects of gaming here). The anonymity can provide your child with some safeguards - if they don't tell anyone who they are then no one is likely to target them. However, they can leave themselves pretty exposed if they share too much personal information, or get too emotionally invested in the game. These games often have a competitive aspect to them, from fighting with other players for in-game items to "killing" other players, sometimes extremely realistically. Bullies may feel empowered to be mean and can go to extreme lengths to follow another player around, mock them, repeatedly "kill" them or spam them with nasty messages.

Social Networking, Email and Instant Messaging: Children sometimes forget that what they share or post can be forwarded just as instantly as it was received, setting themselves up as a potential target if they share private information. Some kids intentionally post or share intimate details of their lives because they believe it will help them gain popularity. This can leave them a prime target for a cyber bullying.

read part2

With all the ways they're potentially exposed to danger, should you just unplug and live off-grid? Next week we will share our tips and tricks to help keep your kids safe online. In the meantime, drop us a note on Facebook or email us at nerdchick@callnerds.com for help with your family's cyber situation.

photo by: cc511

Facebook's Timeline? Take control now

I've been dragging my heels about adopting Timeline, the Facebook profile introduced in September. I haven't wanted to accept that my comfy, familiar profile will soon be gone for good. But there's no delaying anymore: Facebook announced last week that "over the next few weeks, everyone will get Timeline."

Instead of waiting for Timeline to be sprung on you, I'd suggest that you jump in now and spend a few hours on www.facebook.com/about/timeline. Watch the tutorial video. Then click the "Get Timeline" button to get started, which I find preferable to logging in one day to a different layout.

Timeline makes sense. It aims to present your life in chronology, compiling your manual entries and status updates, threading them with photos and videos. Think of it as a huge digital photo album chronicling your life, with all the things you've posted to Facebook over the years. Your "News Feed" remains unchanged, so you can see your friends' status updates just as you're used to.

Timeline changes only the layout, not your privacy settings or options.

Once you switch to Timeline, you can't go back.

You'll have seven days to review what will be presented to your friends before it goes live -- unless you choose to have it go live sooner. During this time, you can fill out your timeline with important events, modify your entries and photos, and adjust settings on anything dredged up from your past that you don't want to make public. If you don't want your boss perusing the photos from your best friend's bachelorette party, you can hide them from your timeline or set their privacy settings to close friends only. Depending on how much you've shared on Facebook, this may be time consuming.

Instead of just having a profile picture, you can choose a "cover" image to set the theme for your profile page. It stretches across the top of your profile, and you can change it whenever you like.

Your Timeline appears below your cover, chronologically showing major events you've logged on your profile, photos, status updates and activities. You can jump to a specific year, or keep scrolling to see your Facebook life in one super-long, detailed page.

Expand a story by hovering over it and clicking on the star button in the upper right corner. Hide or delete it entirely by clicking on the pencil image. Add important events right where you want them on your Timeline, or insert additional status updates to explain photos or events that need context.

Apps linked to your account will show your recent activity, so the details of your last run, places you've visited, what you've watched on Neflix or listened to on Spotify will show up on your Timeline if you've linked them to your Facebook account. The same goes for game updates.

If scrolling through your whole Timeline seems daunting, use the "Activity Log" -- a quick preview page that lets you see everything you've posted to Facebook since you created your account.

You can control everything that is viewable on your Timeline, adding, removing, or hiding. Just don't work too hard trying to perfect your Timeline. Facebook will surely change again, just when you get used to the new version.

(Andrea Eldridge is CEO of Nerds on Call, which offers on-site computer and home theater set-up and repair. Based in Redding, Calif., it has locations in five states. Contact Eldridge at www.callnerds.com/andrea.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)

Use Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest to follow the candidates

Nerds On Call: Getting Political

From 24-hour news streams to Facebook rants about hot-button issues, the Internet allows so many voices to shout that it can feel like a lot of noise. Yet it also allows the candidates to present themselves and what they stand for, communicating with constituents in a way that is unparalleled. I searched out where to go to see what they have to say, not what CNN, MSNBC or Fox News wants me to hear.

The best place to start is at each candidate’s website: Use the candidate’s name followed by .com (not .gov as I anticipated). You don’t have to enter your email address if you don’t want updates; just click “Enter the Website” or “Continue.” Read updates from the campaign trail, choose to follow them via Facebook or Twitter and, if you’re inspired, you can make a donation or volunteer. Learn about their stances on topics that are important to you so you can make a more informed decision at the polls.

If you’re one of the more than 900 million people who regularly log on to Facebook, consider following your candidate of choice, or both if you’re undecided, by “liking” their page. You’ll get regular updates posted to your newsfeed and have the opportunity to join the debate among the more than 26 million following President Barack Obama or roughly 2 million following former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. You can even personally message the candidates — I’d love to hear if you get a reply!


YouTube allows the opposing camps to post videos describing where they stand on issues, motivating followers or bashing the other side’s position. You can also view ads if, like me, you use your DVR to skip them during your primetime TV watching.
Pinterest profiles are image-heavy and primarily focused on personal interest. For example, each candidate’s page maintains links to recipes. Romney’s page is run by his wife, Ann. This medium appears to be the candidate’s way to connect with constituents on a more day-to-day level, centering on family, personal lives and behind-the-scenes photos from the campaign trail.

When politics are involved, it’s difficult to tell fact from fiction when perusing the latest sound bites. Enter Politifact (www.politifact.com), a Pulitzer Prize-winning website run by the Tampa Bay Times. It claims to be your nonpartisan fact-checker when it comes to just about every public political statement out there. The “Truth-O-Meter” lets you browse by subject or truthfulness, from True to “Pants on Fire,” with links supporting their judgment of accuracy. The mobile application lets you track the progress of the campaign, even after it’s over, to see if the winner follows through on his promises once elected.

If you spend more time on your smartphone than your computer, Pulse (www.pulse.me, free) allows you to set up a custom reading list of RSS feeds, from news sites like Fox News or The Wall Street Journal, to your favorite blogs. Politico (www.politico.com, free) delivers late-breaking headlines, analysis and opinions about the 2012 elections to your mobile device. You can even download content to your phone, in case your connection’s sketchy.

4 Secrets Online Job Hunting

How To: Online Job Hunting

If you're one of the millions of Americans looking for work, the Internet can be a key resource, albeit a daunting one. Spend time searching through Monster.com online job listings, and you may even argue that the Internet is counter-productive to your job hunt. However, a discussion paper written in September 2011 for The Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany, found that Internet job searching "reduces individual workers' unemployment durations by about 25 percent."

Here's how to use the Web to connect with the right people for your job hunt.  Ironically, the best time to prepare for looking for a job online is before you're unemployed. If you've established a connection with others in your field, or those in the field or company you wish you worked for, you won't be scrambling to find them when you need them. But don't despair -- it's never too late to (social) network your way to the connection that might hook you up with your next job.

BE Positive

First, regardless of the circumstances, never post negative comments about your past or present employer or co-workers. Words typed online stay there forever. You don't want to appear negative, catty or hard to work with to someone who may hold the key to your dream job.

BE Careful

Second, don't broadcast your newly unemployed status. It's much harder to get someone to connect with you when the only thing driving the connection is your desire for help. If you send out Facebook friend requests, be sure to include a personal message with why you'd like to connect -- something other than your hope that the person will help you find employment. If the cat is already out of the bag, try to present your situation in a positive light, such as highlighting the time you've been able to dedicate to perfecting a skill you feel makes you a great fit for their company.

BE Social

Determine those professional colleagues with whom you've bonded and add them to your social network through Facebook, Google Plus or Twitter. Touch base with these contacts frequently through "liking" their posts or commenting on them. If you stay on their radar, they're more likely to know who you are and think of you in a positive light when the time comes to ask for a recommendation.

While existing social networks are a good place to start, consider LinkedIn, a professional networking resource that allows you to stay connected with colleagues (past and present), others in your industry and personal contacts that may know helpful people in your field. It's free to establish a profile, but a monthly fee applies for some services, such as getting in touch with hiring managers through their network and access to professionals who provide advice related to your online job search.

LinkedIn allows you to create a resume-like profile listing your work experience and maintain a collection of personal recommendations. Take advantage of this. Offer to write recommendations for friends and colleagues, and ask them to reciprocate before you fall out of touch. Search your network for links to a company or industry to find out if, for example, your college roommate is connected to the head of sales at your dream company. This mutual contact may be your "foot in the door."

BE Specific

Finally, use the Internet to your advantage. Instead of sending a resume "to whom it may concern," search a company's website for a specific contact in the appropriate department. Try to connect with them personally in a friendly, non-aggressive manner. If the company has a RSS feed or a LinkedIn page, subscribe to it. This may let you see when people retire or change positions, giving you an inside link to possible online job openings.

Photo used by permission: Robert S. Donovan