What are they?
Micro-blogging sites are social networking websites that people can sign up for, and send out regular updates on what they are doing. The catch is, it needs to be said in a very limited number of characters.
How do they work?
Firstly, you sign up to get a free account. Then you can search for people to follow—that can be anyone from friends of yours to celebrities or politicians that you are interested in. People may ask to follow you too, and you can accept them so they can see your regular updates. On your homepage, you simply type in a sentence about whatever you like and it posts to your profile—your micro-blogging has started.
Why are micro-blogs useful?
People use micro-blogs to share information and discuss subjects of interest. They are usually free to use and really easy to update quickly.
What do you need to keep in mind if your children are using micro-blogs?
Most micro-blogging sites have a minimum age limit of 13 years old. Your child needs to be conscious of their choice of screen name—nothing that might provoke the wrong type of person being friends with them.
Anything your child says on a micro-blog can be seen by anyone else looking at that micro-blogging site. Remind your child:
- Not to say anything they wouldn’t want the public to know—this includes any personal information about their school name, address, sports teams, etc.
- To use the settings section to protect their updates from being viewed by anyone who they haven’t approved as a follower. This will also keep your child’s updates from appearing on the public timeline.
- Never to arrange to meet up with anyone they meet through these sites unless they speak to you first.
- To choose a username (online computer nickname) that doesn’t give away their real name or age.
- If someone says or does something that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should tell you.
Want to know more about micro-blogging?
Sign up and start micro-blogging:
What is it?
Using your mobile phone to publish information on the Internet.
How does it work?
You can publish information, photos and videos directly from your phone to the Internet. Another method involves sending an MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service - like an SMS but with photos) to a moblog online site.
What's great about moblogging?
You can easily put your photos and videos from your mobile phone online where your friends can view them.
What do you need to keep in mind if your children are moblogging?
If your child is constantly sending MMS to moblog sites, or is logging on to the Internet from their mobile phones, this will increase their phone bill.
Want to know more about moblogging?
Some examples are:
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What are they?
An MP3 player (one of the more popular brands is the iPod) is used to play MP3 audio files. ‘MP3' is a type of compression technology that minimises the size of audio files.
How do they work?
To put music onto an MP3 player, you need to either load (called "ripping") your CDs onto your computer, or buy music online at places like iTunes.
What's great about MP3 players?
MP3 players can keep all of your music in the one convenient and portable location.
What do you need to keep in mind if your children are listening to MP3 players?
Noise levels and your child's hearing is important to consider. Pirate music has become a problem so it is important to remind your children that copying music that they haven't purchased is stealing.
Want to know more about MP3 players?
See the following websites for more information:
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