Family Tech Blog

Author: Michael

  • Snap INC and NBC are Working on Snapchat Scripted Shows

    Snap INC and NBC are Working on Snapchat Scripted Shows

    While our TVs are getting more and more similar to our computers and our Computers are being used to watch TV, Snapchat is taking steps to make their Social Media platform another major purveyor of original video content. Snap INC announced today that they’re joining with NBC to turn your phone into another TV. Since everyone’s eyes are always on their phones, NBC sees an opportunity to put their content on what people are already viewing.

    Snap Inc, the company that owns Snapchat is launching its first scripted series with NBCUniversal and the Duplass Brothers’ Production company, Donut. Not only are they working on scripted shows, they’re also building a studio to be ready to film content made to fit the vertical format of a Snapchat story. 

    What Parents Should Know

    There was a time when we were super careful what we allowed our kids to watch. If the shows are on the Social Media apps they are already using for hours every day, it’s going to get more difficult to keep tabs on what content they’re watching. Moms and dads should be aware of what shows are being produced for Snapchat, Musical.ly, Facebook, YouTube, and any other video streaming service.

    The Duplass’ brothers are known for producing more mature content so the fact that their company is working on this shows provides evidence that Snap INC is trying to appeal to a more adult audience. This could pose a problem for those with younger teens who use Snapchat. My advice is to keep your eyes on the shows that are being released and talk to your kids about what they’re watching on their phones. Screen or WiFi/Data bedtimes are a good idea, as are time limits. Whether you use something like Circle or GoogleWiFi to set your bedtimes or use the more manual, “phones in the basket” approach, you should be aware of how much time is spent watching shows, and what shows are being watched.

  • Amazon for Teens will Teach Your Kids to Shop with Them

    Amazon for Teens will Teach Your Kids to Shop with Them

    Amazon has launched a new service that will allow you to set up a dedicated login for your teenager so that they can shop on the Amazon app. The goal is, first of all, to give parents a way to allow their kids more freedom to shop for things they’d like online while providing some realistic boundaries. It’s most likely, also, a great way to get your kid used to just buying whatever they need on the Amazon app.

    Amazon for Teens will allow your children to shop on the Amazon app and make purchases for themselves. You have the option to allow them to shop for whatever they’d like with a budget that you set or ask permission for every item they select to buy. If you choose the budget option you will have access to their purchase history and be able to cancel a purchase or request a return. So far there is no way to have teens use their own money within your family account. Currently, all shopping is done with a shared credit/bank card.

    The service is available to set up for your kids’ ages 13-17. They’ll be able to select whatever items they’d like to purchase and attach a note for you. You will be notified when they’ve made a purchase and you have 30 minutes to cancel the order if you don’t approve. Of course, if you’ve set it up to ask permission you’ll be able to approve or deny the order before it’s completed. Also, the default privacy settings will hide parent’s purchase history and credit card information.

    What Parents Should Know

    Amazon.com/teen is a way for Amazon to introduce your teen to their shopping app. For some, this may seem like a great way to teach your kids about finances and shopping. For others, there’s an obvious stench of commercialism and consumerism. If you’re so inclined, Amazon Prime for Teens seems to have a pretty good handle on what parents need to feel confident that their teens can shop on their own. In fact, they claim they used focus groups of parents in order to help them create the service.

    I say that if you’re going to use this service, be sure to keep the default settings to not allow your credit card and purchase info to be shared. I also think it will be even better when you’re able to set an Amazon Prime exclusive allowance for them to use with this service. Boundaries are the key to allowing your teenager to have independence while keeping them safe from their inability to make quality and safe decisions. Amazon for Teens could provide the exact boundaries you’re looking for to keep from having to order those new boots for the coming fall weather while making sure she orders the ones that are on sale.

  • Snapchat Brings the “Real World” to Your Story with Context Cards

    Snapchat Brings the “Real World” to Your Story with Context Cards

    Snapchat is hoping to make your Snaps and public story even more beneficial to advertisers. This is becoming more and more possible as they continue to update. The recent addition of “Context Cards” may be the feature that sets Snapchat apart as a social media advertising. Context Cards is an informational feed that highlights content from Snapchat’s partners. This content will include information like phone numbers, menus, maps, and ratings.

    Context Cards display information about the Snap you’re viewing – powered by amazing content from our partners like TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Michelin, and goop. – SnapInc.com

    Here’s how it will work. You will see a Snap shared to a public story and it will say “More” at the bottom. When you swipe up you’ll see the timeline style list of different information cards. Continue swiping up to see more or tap on the information to learn more or perform an action. You can hail an Uber or Lyft ride, make a call, view a menu, or see reviews or a website. The goal is to take you to the information you need without leaving Snapchat, as well as to encourage advertisers to build more ads for Snapchat Stories.

    What Parents Should Know

    These new features in Snapchat are meant to encourage more real-world engagement. You probably noticed the video featured college kids going all over town joining their friends at their current party location. They use Context Cards to know exactly where their friends are and what they’re doing there and even how to get there themselves. The problem for parents is that your kids aren’t members of the age group that is featured in this video. Decisions made to strengthen a company’s advertising abilities can often introduce more safety or privacy concerns for our younger users.

    I recommend encouraging your kids’ to have location information turned off for Snapchat. The especially should turn their SnapMap to ghost mode. Young users should always set location and sharing settings to as private as possible. Leaning towards privacy is going to render Context Cards basically useless on Snapchat. This may annoy your kids. (It may not because it may just look like annoying advertising.) If it does annoy your kids I recommend you stand your ground and still encourage them to keep their online presence as private as possible.

  • Families Receive Threatening Messages after Iowa School Network Hacked

    Families Receive Threatening Messages after Iowa School Network Hacked

    A school district in Iowa canceled a day of classes after a network breach allowed hackers to send hateful messages to families from the public school. The messages contained personal details about students and threatened to do harm to them and their families. Apparently, the threats weren’t credible except to stir up fear and make a show of their ability to access the information. There is a theory that this could be an attempt to threaten people as to warn the FBI to stop investigating them.

    The group is called “thedarkoverlord” and they’ve been responsible for recent info leaks and hacks of organizations like Netflix and Larson Studios. They have been under investigation for these hacks and could have performed this recent “attack” as a warning. They even tweeted out links to the contact information of the students from the school district, stating that predators can now use that information to plan their targets.

    With the student directory from JCSD we released, any child predator can now easily acquire new targets and even plan based on grade level.

    — thedarkoverlord (@tdo_hackers) October 5, 2017

    What Parents Should Know

    Network security is becoming a more and more serious issue. We live in a world where all of your personal information is available in multiple locations online. If you, as a digital citizen, aren’t thinking about important tools like passwords and usernames your information can end up in dangerous hands. The best advice I can give you is to ask your school district if they have someone responsible for the security of their network and if so if they can keep something like what happened in Iowa from happening at your school. Then make sure you follow some simple network security rules yourself. Use different passwords for different sites. Use passwords or passphrases that, while easy for you to remember, aren’t easy to guess, and don’t ever use default passwords on websites, routers, modems, or computers. 

  • Interactive Polls Have Come to Instagram Stories

    Interactive Polls Have Come to Instagram Stories

    Instagram has been updating furiously to add innovations that seem to be getting people’s attention. Adding polls to their stories feature is just another one of those attempts to bring what people are loving about newer, popular apps into their social media platform. The polls are pretty simple. You open the “Sticker” menu in the Instagram Camera and select “Poll.” Then you just type the questions and change the two answer buttons to say whatever you’d like. It’s a new feature that is already seeing a lot of use by Instagram Stories users.

    What Parents Should Know

    The good thing about these polls is that you can see who’s looked at your Story feed. That means answers to the polls aren’t anonymous. Most of the polls you’ll see will be silly or just in good fun. I would be concerned if you saw polls posted by your kids or kids’ friends that could lead to bullying or hateful replies. You can respond to Story posts with private messages so make sure your kids know that you are there for them to come and talk if they get a message that makes them feel uncomfortable or seems mean or hateful. Your kids are talking to someone about what they see on social media, shouldn’t it be you?

  • Instagram’s Comment Controls Can Help Parents Breathe a Little Easier

    Instagram’s Comment Controls Can Help Parents Breathe a Little Easier

    Cyberbullying and suicide are two of the most dangerous symptoms of our digital culture. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among teens and half of all teens admit to having been bullied online. One of the major ways these bullies find their foothold is through comments on social media. My advice to parents is always to keep their kids away from online comments as much as possible. Instagram’s new comment control feature will help moms and dads be more effective. Their new live video reporting feature could even save lives.

    Comment Controls

    Instagram wants you to have control over who sees what you post. They’re also giving you control over what people say about your selfies and food pics. Well, not as much what they say but who is saying it. If you are concerned about random strangers contacting your kids on Instagram through their comments section you can have them set their post comments to private. There are actually four settings, Everyone, Your Followers, People You Follow, or People You Follow and Your Followers. These settings allow you to set a smaller group of folks who can comment on your kids’ posts. This can be very helpful but only if your kid agrees with your motives. These settings aren’t password protected so they can be reset at any time. The best way to ensure they’re keeping their settings as you’d want them is to check in on who’s commenting on them. If you don’t recognize them from your child’s account then you should ask about it.

    Live Video Reporting

    Instagram has also added a reporting feature to highlight when someone may be considering self-harm or harming others while filming a live video. If the video is reported they’ll be shown a message that encourages them to reach out for help. Instagram has trained staff available 24/7 to accept messages from people who reach out via the Instagram Live reporting feature. Their hope is to give friends a way to help friends stay safe and maybe even choose to stay alive. What a great way to be encouraged that people care about you. This feature is also available on Facebook Live.

    What Parents Should Know

    Some social media sites are leaning towards the most public and open atmosphere possible (here’s looking at you Snapchat) which can be dangerous for our kids. Instagram and Facebook seem to be taking notice of our desire to keep some things private or in our chosen circle of friends. Understanding and using these features is very important for parents as we work to keep our kids safe online. Be sure to keep yourself informed.

    If you’re looking for even more info about how to protect your children online, you can contact me (Michael) about hosting a workshop to train you and your friends on family internet safety. Home workshops are free and are available all over the country through Skype. Email me at BecauseFamily@gmail.com to learn more.

  • Snapchat News: Are You Being Recorded?

    Snapchat News: Are You Being Recorded?

    Snapchat has been busy with updates lately. The latest numbers show their user numbers barely rising when compared to Social Media giants like Facebook and Instagram. Some of these features are just to lure more users and some are to increase revenue. Either way, you should know what they’ve added.

    Sky and AR Filters

    Snap Inc. is working very hard to highlight the creative possibilities with their Snapchat camera. The sky filter allows you to change what the sky looks like. This feature shows off the ability for the Snapchat camera to detect what’s being photographed and then apply effects. You can turn a clear sky cloudy, a day sky to night, or just add a rainbow. Augmented reality filters were updated last week and you can now place your bitmoji (an animated character that you make look like you) onto different spaces in your photo or video and record different animations.

    iOS Update Allows Capturing of Your “Private” Snaps

    iOS 11 was released last week and it includes the ability to record your screen by simply tapping a button in your control panel. This has been cause for concern for Snapchat users. Especially for those who use Snapchat for very private or personal conversations. As of the publishing of this article, Snapchat currently has no way to alert you that what you’re sending or even your live chat is being recorded. This means that as our kids are chatting with their friends, those friends can record their messages and then post them later. This could be a pretty big problem. It is likely that Snap Inc. will eventually add the ability to be notified when someone is screen recording your Snaps. You’ll see an article about it here, for sure, when that happens.

    Ads will Open New Games, Videos, and Interactive Ads

    Snapchat also announced a partnership with content creators who will be providing new ways for Snapchat users to experience ads. The new format for ads will include videos, interactive ads, and built-in games. Their goal is to cause users to interact more with advertising in Snapchat and lure more marketers to the platform. 

    What Parents Should Know

    Snapchat continues to be a popular social media platform for teens and preteens. Internet Safety experts show concern about Snapchat because of its Discover page, private messaging and video messaging, and disappearing photos and videos. It is important to stay informed as to what the app is capable of when they release updates. Hopefully, this information can help you make a quality decision on what to do with your teen’s Snapchat account.

  • “Anonymous” Polling Apps Your Kids ARE Using

    “Anonymous” Polling Apps Your Kids ARE Using

    I wrote about Sarahah and even discussed it on our podcast a while back but there are competitors for the anonymous messaging app now and they’re climbing the App Store charts. Polly and TBH (To Be Honest) are taking the social media category by storm. These apps are made to allow people to communicate with each other anonymously and share their deepest secrets. They encourage downloads with phrases like “Learn who likes you.” or “What do your friends really think?” Are these apps harmless or is this a disaster waiting to happen?

    Polly

    Polly is a polling app that allows you to create a link to questions you want your friends to answer and share a link in Snapchat. Polls are recommended at random and range from “What’s my spirit animal?” to “What is something I’m really good at?” Or you can create your own. One of the samples on the app store images is the question “What am I to you?” with answers like “Friend, Enemy, and Crush.” Polly boasts the following features:

    • Create a Polly lightning fast
    • Add your Bitmoji to be more stylish
    • Customize your Polly’s look & feel to reflect your vibe
    • Just 1-tap to add it to your Snapchat Story
    • Get notified when your friends vote
    • Track the results to all of your Pollys in one place
    • Share a screenshot of the results with your friends

    Polly is rated for ages 4 plus. 

     

    TBH

    TBH, which stands for To Be Honest, calls the app a combination of ask.fm and Sarahah. TBH allows you to ask people questions about you and allow them to answer anonymously. You can add yourself and your friends as answers to the questions so you can be voted on by your friends. The testimonials in the app highlight the fact that users feel good about themselves because they’ve been picked in the polls they’ve set up.

    From the app store description: “That tbh app makes me feel so good about myself”
    “tbh is really having a positive impact on people”

    TBH is only available in ten states because you have to choose your school from a list when you sign up for the app. This means you’re polling the people who attend school with you. The app basically sets up a network of high school and college kids who attend the same school and allows them to secretly say what they really feel about each other.

    What Parents Should Know

    The question stands, what do we, as parents, think about our teens posting anonymous messages about each other. Is it a good idea for our kids to be revealing their deepest thoughts about their friends. Sometimes, yes, it could lead to kids starting or strengthening their friendships, but how likely is that to be the norm? Remember what it was like when you were a teenager. Remember the jealousy and shallowness of your feelings toward the other kids around you? In a world ruled by hormones and feelings, it’s tough for me to see anonymous messages, question and answer sessions, and polls as a good way for our kids to communicate. Maybe we should be encouraging them to make eye contact and speak to their friends and potential romantic interests in a way that puts everything on the line.

    Your kids need to understand two things. First of all, nothing is ever truly anonymous online. The sense of secrecy in these apps is really a facade and someone knows who they are. Secondly, the words they say and the votes they cast may seem fun and silly but they can have very real consequences. The teenage psyche can be fragile. Putting someone’s emotions out there waiting to be crushed with too many negative votes in an anonymous poll seems, at least to me, to be a very dangerous proposition. I’m going to recommend uninstalling these apps if you see them. Disagree? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear why.

  • Here’s How to See if the Equifax Hack Leaked Your Information

    Here’s How to See if the Equifax Hack Leaked Your Information

    Reports yesterday confirmed that Equifax, a credit report bureau, was hacked and that the hack leaked private information of over 143 million Americans. The information leaked includes names, social security numbers, drivers license information, addresses, and birth dates. Some credit card numbers and credit dispute documents may have been leaked as well. Equifax will alert those whose credit card numbers were affected by mail. You can find out if any other information was leaked by submitting some info into their site. Then, if you were affected, you can enroll in one year free of their premium ID Protection plan, “Trusted ID.” This will give you the ability to check your score and credit report, scan your social security number, and lock your credit score. Hacks like this are becoming far too common and it’s likely only going to increase in frequency. This is why you should take precautions to protect yourselves and your family.

    How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

    Passwords

    Most people who are affected by these hacks are hurt the worst by their lack of proper, strong, and effective passwords. You should follow a few rules when setting passwords. 1. Never use the same password twice. If a hacker gets a hold of your username and login information for a site, they can try that information on any site on the internet and if you have an account and used the same login info, they’re in. 2. Use strong passwords or pass phrases. Don’t use simple words or obvious information. Never use password as your password and don’t use any set or any length of chronological numbers. 3. Use a password manager. A PW manager like LastPass or Avast Passwords will allow you to set a different, strong password for every site you use and manage them by having one strong password that you use to login to your manager.

    Check for “Secure” Sites

    Never put any sensitive information on any site that doesn’t have a green lock symbol at the top of your browser next to the address bar. Sites that don’t have this should never be used to make credit card purchases, enter sensitive contact information, or share location data.

    You should also use the tools Equifax provides to keep tabs on your credit report and check for transactions you don’t recognize. Setting up an identity theft protection plan may not be a bad idea either. Especially since our lives are becoming increasingly dependant on what we do online, and what we do online seems to be becoming increasingly easier to exploit. 

     

     

  • You May Soon Share Your Instagram Stories on Facebook

    You May Soon Share Your Instagram Stories on Facebook

    Facebook Stories still hasn’t taken off. Despite putting them on the desktop site and constantly encouraging you to use the feature in the app, Facebook hasn’t been able to increase usership of their stories feature. In fact, if you look at the top of your Facebook timeline you will probably notice that only one or two of your six hundred Facebook friends have actually posted a story for you to look at. In their latest attempt to lure users onto stories, Facebook may soon allow you to share your Instagram story to Facebook. 

    Instagram is testing a “share to facebook” feature in the story camera. Once you’ve taken your video or photo for Instagram stories, you’ll then be able to share it to Facebook or share screenshots to Twitter. This is one of the first times we’ve seen Instagram test a feature that will integrate directly into Facebook, even though both networks are run by the same company. We haven’t seen them cross over much since Facebook bought Instagram in 2012.

    What Parents Should Know

    Instagram stories is still the most popular feature of its kind in social media. Hundreds and millions of teens and adults alike use stories every day to share what’s been going on and what they’re into. Facebook, while they are obviously reaping the benefits of Instagram’s success, they’re also wanting to block Snapchat out of the picture completely. Pulling the 2 billion Facebook users into the story feature could go a long way to make Facebook’s social media selections stand far above those of Snapchat. Most likely, however, your kids are still going to be using the service that their friends are on and the fact that parents don’t really “get” Snapchat makes it more appealing to them. Be sure you spend some time using Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook so you’re familiar with all of the social media options available to your kids and teens. Set notifications so you’ll know when your kids are posting, and you can even log in as their accounts on some of the social media services. Whatever method you use, don’t be outside of the loop when it comes to your kids’ social media preferences. Talk to them about it, follow them on their favorite social media accounts, and use their login information to stay informed as they post and receive private messages.