Social networking can be fun, but there are several things to keep in mind when setting up a page on a social networking website.
1. People may not be who they seem. It's very easy for people to pretend to be someone they really aren't. It's particullarly important for young girls to realize that there are predators on social networking websites who would like nothing more than to exploit them.
2. These websites are public. You never know who might be looking at your page. Future employers can see these pages. If you're not careful of what you say and who you're linked to, you could be passed over for jobs, raises, or othere benefits.
3. Anyone can put anything on their pages. This means that some of the links may lead you to places that will put spyware or viruses on your computer. You need to be very careful whenever you use one of these sites.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Social Networking
There are some very nice things about social networking. It's nice to be able to keep in touch with friends who don't live near by. Social networking provides an opportunity to search for friends who would otherwise be impossible to find. It's also nice to be able to meet other people with similar interests.
There are dangers, however, whenever you give out information about yourself.
There are dangers, however, whenever you give out information about yourself.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Blog vs. Wiki
Today's question for blogging: What is the difference between a blog and a wiki?
Miss M's answer is that a blog is an internet journal of one person's opinions. While everyone can comment, usually only one person edits. A wiki is a collaborative software that allows many people to edit a website. Often, this can increase the accuracy of a web page, however some people like to insert incorrect or misleading information onto wikis.
Miss M's answer is that a blog is an internet journal of one person's opinions. While everyone can comment, usually only one person edits. A wiki is a collaborative software that allows many people to edit a website. Often, this can increase the accuracy of a web page, however some people like to insert incorrect or misleading information onto wikis.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Super?
What's so super about the super bowl? For the first time in my life, I watched a professional sporting event on TV. Now I'm thinking to myself "What's the point?" I got nothing out of it. By half-time, I was bored.
Sports are so much more fun when you know the athletes personally. I enjoyed last night's basketball game a whole lot more that the super bowl. I guess professional sports are just something I will never get into.
Sports are so much more fun when you know the athletes personally. I enjoyed last night's basketball game a whole lot more that the super bowl. I guess professional sports are just something I will never get into.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Send This to All Your Friends, You Win Nothing!
As the technical coordinator in a rural school I field all kinds of computer related questions. My community relies on me for instruction on the proper use of technology and for technical support when a computer breaks down. Most computer issues I have no trouble solving. Tightening a loose cord and re-installing drivers fix many things. But most often the questions I hear the deal with using e-mail.
When e-mail works properly, it is a great invention! In my tiny school district we use our e-mail system to send urgent messages to others in the building, pass along helpful teaching tips, and remind our students of important events. We use it for our daily announcements, to send lunch counts to the cafeteria, and to communicate with our contacts outside of the school.
Our school receives e-mail through the K-12 Data center in Pierre. Pierre helps us to avoid many problems and resolve many of our e-mail questions. All e-mail sent through the K-12 system is scanned for viruses and the K-12 Data center has an excellent spam blocker. But even with an excellent system scanning for problems, people still have trouble with e-mail.
Much of this trouble comes from Mass e-mailings. One e-mail managed to crash the entire K-12 Data mail system when many people clicked “Reply to all” instead of “Reply.” Inboxes filled up more quickly than users could handle and the system crashed. Some of the trouble with mass e-mailing comes from spam (even the best e-mail systems can’t catch it all .) But most, I am convinced, comes from forwards.
I classify forwards into three groups: keepers, annoying, and exploding forwards. Keepers are those cute forwards that uniquely comment on life. Sometimes they contain pictures of animals or babies with cute sayings that help us to remember that wisdom truly does come out of the mouths of babes. These are the ones I keep to look at when I need encouragement. These usually don’t cause problems.
Annoying forwards are those that were amusing the first time, but the 2nd or 10th time you receive them they have lost their charm. These rarely cause problems because most folks delete them as soon as they read the subject.
Exploding forwards are those that race through the web exponential because they either promise you something, “Send this on to 10 friends and be eligible to receive a new color TV!” or threaten you, “If you delete this you will suffer 7 years of bad luck!” These types of forwards can be frustrating as well as annoying.
Guilt-tripping is what exploding forwards do best. They try to make you feel bad if you delete them without passing them on. “If you don’t send this to your entire address book today then 1,000,000 Rwandan children will starve!” they claim. “5 cents will be donated for each address this e-mail is sent to.”
But even worse than the “starving children” forwards are the “You don’t love God enough” forwards. These claim that if you don’t harass your friends with e-mail, you don’t love God. “Read only if you have time for God,” is the title of an e-mail I recently received. The e-mail then goes on to quote scripture out of context to prove that if I delete this forward without sending it, I am a wicked person who hates God.
I can’t imagine that God approves of these e-mails! God desires our love out of free will, not coercion. Our e-mailing habits are not the standard by which our faith is measured, nor are e-mail forwards our only testimony. What’s more, those who have true faith in Christ are willing to share it without guilt-tripping our friends. This is why I hesitate to pass on “Religious” forwards.
Do I have time for God? Certainly! I’m not ashamed of it, nor do I keep my faith in him hidden. However, I believe that sending on guilt-tripping forwards is not an expression of faith. It takes no courage to pass them along and the forwards that do the most good are those that contain no threat or promise.
When e-mail works properly, it is a great invention! In my tiny school district we use our e-mail system to send urgent messages to others in the building, pass along helpful teaching tips, and remind our students of important events. We use it for our daily announcements, to send lunch counts to the cafeteria, and to communicate with our contacts outside of the school.
Our school receives e-mail through the K-12 Data center in Pierre. Pierre helps us to avoid many problems and resolve many of our e-mail questions. All e-mail sent through the K-12 system is scanned for viruses and the K-12 Data center has an excellent spam blocker. But even with an excellent system scanning for problems, people still have trouble with e-mail.
Much of this trouble comes from Mass e-mailings. One e-mail managed to crash the entire K-12 Data mail system when many people clicked “Reply to all” instead of “Reply.” Inboxes filled up more quickly than users could handle and the system crashed. Some of the trouble with mass e-mailing comes from spam (even the best e-mail systems can’t catch it all .) But most, I am convinced, comes from forwards.
I classify forwards into three groups: keepers, annoying, and exploding forwards. Keepers are those cute forwards that uniquely comment on life. Sometimes they contain pictures of animals or babies with cute sayings that help us to remember that wisdom truly does come out of the mouths of babes. These are the ones I keep to look at when I need encouragement. These usually don’t cause problems.
Annoying forwards are those that were amusing the first time, but the 2nd or 10th time you receive them they have lost their charm. These rarely cause problems because most folks delete them as soon as they read the subject.
Exploding forwards are those that race through the web exponential because they either promise you something, “Send this on to 10 friends and be eligible to receive a new color TV!” or threaten you, “If you delete this you will suffer 7 years of bad luck!” These types of forwards can be frustrating as well as annoying.
Guilt-tripping is what exploding forwards do best. They try to make you feel bad if you delete them without passing them on. “If you don’t send this to your entire address book today then 1,000,000 Rwandan children will starve!” they claim. “5 cents will be donated for each address this e-mail is sent to.”
But even worse than the “starving children” forwards are the “You don’t love God enough” forwards. These claim that if you don’t harass your friends with e-mail, you don’t love God. “Read only if you have time for God,” is the title of an e-mail I recently received. The e-mail then goes on to quote scripture out of context to prove that if I delete this forward without sending it, I am a wicked person who hates God.
I can’t imagine that God approves of these e-mails! God desires our love out of free will, not coercion. Our e-mailing habits are not the standard by which our faith is measured, nor are e-mail forwards our only testimony. What’s more, those who have true faith in Christ are willing to share it without guilt-tripping our friends. This is why I hesitate to pass on “Religious” forwards.
Do I have time for God? Certainly! I’m not ashamed of it, nor do I keep my faith in him hidden. However, I believe that sending on guilt-tripping forwards is not an expression of faith. It takes no courage to pass them along and the forwards that do the most good are those that contain no threat or promise.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Orly
Alas, this last endevorhas caused me grief and pain
I thought that I was clever
and couldn't help but gain
Hindsight is 20-20
I hang my head in shame
For when I glace behind me
I find I was to blame
I couldn't resist! He looks so ashamed of himself!
Friday, April 15, 2005
"The time has come," Miss Mar said, "to talk of many things."
How changable is life! So much both high and low,
There's very little middle ground to stand on.
Sometimes so filled with strife, we see nothing but woe,
And nothing turns out quite the way we planned on.
But sometimes life is sweet. It elevates our souls
And it seems to show us nothing but the best.
Sometimes we face defeat, sometimes we fill our holes
And sometimes we seem to be both cursed and blessed.
This has been quite a month! There have been so many downers: Terri Schiavo, the school shooting in Minnesota and the Pope's death all were so close together. There have been days when looking at the news has just been depressing!
There have been some real positives for me this month too! My seniors came back safely from their trip with no major disasters and I discovered that I'm closer to getting my endorsement than I'd thought.
People keep complimenting me on things. It's somewhat embarassing for me! I sometimes feel like they think I'm looking for praise.
Well, I've rambled on enough for now.
Signing off,
Miss Mar
There's very little middle ground to stand on.
Sometimes so filled with strife, we see nothing but woe,
And nothing turns out quite the way we planned on.
But sometimes life is sweet. It elevates our souls
And it seems to show us nothing but the best.
Sometimes we face defeat, sometimes we fill our holes
And sometimes we seem to be both cursed and blessed.
This has been quite a month! There have been so many downers: Terri Schiavo, the school shooting in Minnesota and the Pope's death all were so close together. There have been days when looking at the news has just been depressing!
There have been some real positives for me this month too! My seniors came back safely from their trip with no major disasters and I discovered that I'm closer to getting my endorsement than I'd thought.
People keep complimenting me on things. It's somewhat embarassing for me! I sometimes feel like they think I'm looking for praise.
Well, I've rambled on enough for now.
Signing off,
Miss Mar
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
