This is a really good article where experts weigh in on Facebook Places and give advice about how to use the feature. Click here for the full article.

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The lure of the Internet continues to sap productivity at work and in some cases leave businesses vulnerable to potentially expensive lawsuits, according to a series of reports released in recent months. The new data highlights the need for online filtering programs like Safe Eyes Business, which can reclaim more than $185,000 worth of lost work time for a 50-person company in which $15-an-hour employees spend just one hour a day in personal Web surfing.

In March, for example, Nielsen’s quarterly Three Screen Report on U.S. media usage showed that approximately 44% of all online video is being viewed in the workplace. In April, it was revealed that U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission employees spent up to eight hours a day accessing Internet porn while the country was in the throes of an economic meltdown. The same month, Nielsen disclosed that more than 21 million Americans – or 29% of working adults – now access adult websites from work computers.

Last year, Nucleus Research released the results of an employee survey showing that companies that allow users to access Facebook in the workplace lose an average of 1.5% in total employee productivity. Some employees said they accessed their Facebook accounts as much as two hours a day on the job, with 87% of those surveyed admitting that they had no clear business reason for using the social network.

And just two months ago, the Commissioner of Human Resources in Vermont reported that Internet usage at the agency dropped by 25% – a full 2,300 hours – in the first week of a new program designed to monitor their web viewing habits. The change suggests that state employees were squandering the equivalent of 57 full-time positions per week, or almost 120,000 employee hours over the course of a year.

“Web surfing on company time robs the employer of paid work, and it exposes companies to legal liabilities associated with inappropriate or illegally downloaded content,” said InternetSafety.com CEO Forrest Collier. “The mere presence of pornography in the workplace is grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit, which can cost an average $250,000. Even a small company can lose tens of thousands of dollars in work time over the course of a year from cyberslacking.”

InternetSafety.com’s Safe Eyes Business can stop the hemorrhaging by blocking computer access to selected categories of websites in the office or on the road for just $24.95 per seat per year. The cost for the 50-employee company mentioned earlier would be just $1,250 compared to $187,500 lost to social networking, online shopping and other non-work pursuits without a filtering program, yielding a net productivity gain of more than $185,000 by eliminating online distractions.

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In an attempt to make parents’ heads explode, Facebook introduced another possibly perplexing wrinkle to their ever-expanding social web. Places is a new app that will allow users to share their real-time location data, commonly referred to as geolocation, with their friends and possibly friends of friends.

Places is a natural extension of Facebook’s core functions as a social network. Rather than turning Places into a game, like Foursquare, by including elements of user competition, Facebook is looking to Places as a way for users to get more real-world benefit from their network of Facebook friends. Though I am not yet able to test Places (test-drive coming soon) I have done enough reading on it to discover a few facts and a couple of things parents and privacy-minded adults should look out for.

Places is currently only available for use on Smartphones though it will likely be rolled out for Facebook’s desktop version as well soon. I see no reason why someone carrying a netbook or laptop won’t be able to participate shortly. It is an opt-in service, meaning it has to specifically be chosen and interacted with by the user. No one will simply begin sharing their current location without their knowledge, which shows that Facebook is learning from past mistakes about being too liberal with user data.

People that participate in Places will be able to check in at a location and share their location with their network of Friends. So Johnny and Suzy are friends, and Johnny checks in at his local coffee shop and Suzy gets his status update that he is there. Meanwhile, Johnny on his smart phone sees a “Here Now” screen displaying which of his friends are at the coffee shop.

There are two specific measures people can take to lessen the chances of sharing their geolocation data with too many people:

• Don’t allow friends to check you in. Places has a feature where one of your friends can check you in at a location without your knowledge. This just jumps off the screen as a bad idea, especially for younger users.
• If you use lax privacy settings (Share info with everyone) and use Places you are going to automatically included in the Here Now list, and it will be visible to everyone who uses Places. I would choose stricter settings and if you are really concerned about your data, opt out of this altogether.

Here’s a video showing how to do both of the above:

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The unfortunate practice of “sexting” has spurred a new and more potentially damaging hazard into teen lives: Sextortion.

Sextortion describes blackmailing someone into performing sexual acts, ranging from posing for webcams to physical intercourse, and usually happens in the following way: a teen will upload revealing/embarassing photos or videos of him or herself via text, social network, or some other mean common to “sexting.” Then someone will find the photo or video, contact the teen, and blackmail them into some sort of sexual act, usually recorded via webcam or documented in other digital means.

These cases can go both ways, as we’ve read of teens who immediately turned the tables on their blackmailers and involved the police immediately. This is the best means that teens have to fight back: do not participate, and immediately turn the evidence over to their parents and the police.

Unfortunately, there have been several documented cases where teens have succumbed to the blackmailers demands, and in doing so have given the blackmailer even more control by providing him/her with more blackmail material.

Most cases begin by a teen providing blackmail material of their own free will, either by posting inappropriate pictures on web sites, or by “flashing” on a video chat or chatroom. One case in Wisconsin involved an 18-year-old male who posed as a girl on Myspace and tricked teen boys into sending him nude photos of themselves. He then used the photos to extort sex from the boys.

The main reason that kids succumb to the blackmailer’s demands is that they feel they are trapped and can’t go to their parents or the authorities. We have a few recommendations for how parents should deal with this:

• Block: Safe Eyes customers and should strongly consider blocking chatrooms (for this and many other good reasons) for children of all ages and monitoring both sides of IM conversations, as both are vehicles for both the initial sexting and blackmailing.
• Communicate: All parents should talk to their kids about this problem specifically and make sure that they know to tell if anyone is trying to make them do something that makes them uncomfortable. This part really can not be stressed enough.
• Teach:Parents should also remind teens that anything they text, post, or distribute electronically will be around FOREVER and to never put anything out there that they wouldn’t want on the front page of their school or local newspaper.

For more info on Sextortion, here is an interview with Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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We found this on a series of YouTubes. Apparently our product elicits all kinds of reactions, from Facebook groups of teens that hate Safe Eyes, to this:

We have seen the wave of the future, and it’s filtered aviator glasses. Thanks to YouTube user thedeadwalk2nite for showing us the way.

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In the wake of yet another bug harvesting data from Facebook accounts, now is a good time to go over some basic Facebook safety.

First off, Facebook has once again taken a lead role in policing itself by publishing their own fan page strictly dedicated to safety on the social network. In addition to educational and awareness pieces surrounding Cyberbullying and responsible digital citizenship, they have a series of videos dedicated to explaining their privacy settings and sharing options, which have recently been simplified.

Everyone concerned about what they might be sharing and with whom should take a look at the videos marked “Learn More” starting with the first one. Even though the controls are simplified, sharing information on Facebook remains a multi-faceted and complicated matter.

Computerworld shared their five tips for Facebook safety, which include learning the privacy settings but also common sense tips such as being careful about who you friend, what you post, what information about yourself you share, and probably most importantly what applications you give access to your Facebook data.

Any parents who friend their kids in order to keep tabs on what they post should also read our post on how privacy settings can work against parents using this technique.

If you have any thoughts about how to keep your data and/or kids safe on Facebook, let us know and we’ll post them here.

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As the role of technology as teaching aids continues to evolve, do you know how your school uses it in the classroom? What are the policies for Internet use? What about mobile devices? Is your school using a filter, and if so what are the monitoring policies?

With back-to-school time right around the corner, now is the time that parents should ask teachers and administrators about the school’s technology policies. But as Internet-enabled devices take on more and more varied forms—pacing the Internet itself—just what questions to ask has itself become a complicated and multi-faceted question.

Here are the top five questions every parent should ask their child’s teachers and administrators at the beginning of this school year.

5. What technology does the school provide for the classroom, and how will the teacher use it?
Internet connected devices today range from your standard desktop computer to SmartBoards and iPads. Ask how the technology will be used in the lesson plan, and if you have questions about the educational value of something—like YouTube—ask why it’s being included.

4. What are the rules regarding mobile devices at school?
Are children allowed to use a mobile device for calculating and research? Is there a punishment for texting in class? Or, are mobile devices not allowed in the classroom at all? Knowing the answers to these questions can help your child steer clear of trouble.

3. What are the social-networking rules regarding student/teacher interaction?
Many teachers use Facebook and other social networks to connect to students and make themselves available for questions, while others do not allow such connections. Ask your child’s teacher what their ground rules are, and make sure any social-networking requirements for your child fall within your comfort level as well.

2. Does your school have a Cyberbullying policy?
Cyberbullying refers to bullying through electronic means, and is an emerging area of concern for educators and parents alike. Ask about your school’s policy for dealing with Cyberbullying, and what is expected from both the parents and student when it comes to dealing with Cyberbullying incidents. Many schools have recently implemented harsher penalties for Cyberbullies, including suspension and even expulsion.

1. Does your school filter?
Filtering school networks is becoming more common but is not yet ubiquitous. Find out what measures your school has in place to protect your child from harmful online content and contact while they are at school, and what steps are followed if a student tries to access banned material.

Make sure to review your school’s rules with your child so he or she clearly knows what kind of online activity can get them in trouble. Establishing your own Internet usage rules at home helps kids carry that same care into web usage at school. For more information about building a game-plan for home and school Internet rules, visit our resources section.

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A new study surveying over 1000 teens in China reveals that teens with heavy Internet use habits are more at risk for depression.

“Given the results obtained from the study, even mentally healthy young people may succumb to depression after a long exposure of problematic use of the Internet,” says Lawrence T. Lam, Principal Investigator of the study. “The mental health consequences of problematic Internet use for those who have already had a history of psychological or psychiatric problems would be more damaging. Parents should be vigilant about their children’s online behavior.”

Michael Gilbert, senior fellow at the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, told BusinessWeek that the study results are not surprising given what he hears from parents about their children’s Internet use.

“Parents are indicating to us that a lot of their children’s friendship circles are contracting by reason of the fact they are spending too much time on the Internet,” he said. “This ties in generally with the notion that Internet behavior is becoming disruptive in the family.”

For the readers that have kids, do you set rules on how much time your child is allowed on the Internet? Do you find the results of the study surprising or are they what you would assume?

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Aaron Kenny is interviewed on Cyberbullying and what parents can do to keep their kids safe online.

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Education of both parents and children is key to any successful online safety strategy, and the founders of KidSafe are taking just that approach. [read more].

The article points out that parents should create an Internet safety contract with their kids, but the article does not go into detail about what the contract should contain. To those parents interested in the idea and seeing what such a contract would look like, I invite you to read our Gameplan. The InternetSafety.com Gameplan sets out core agreements that a family can make together about responsible online use, and provides a solid bedrock of principles that if applied will lead to safer online interactions.

The one part of the article that I find a bit strange is the following sentence: “In fact, 95% of all abuse and exploitation can be prevented through education.” 95% is a pretty big percentage to be throwing around without any source or research to back it up. While we see education as a core necessity in Internet safety, I fail to see how this deals with situations like typosquatting and some cases of predation and cyberbullying.

Do you believe that education alone can keep a child safe online, or do you believe that a combination of both education, rules, and the necessary tools to enforce those rules is the safest route?

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