There’s been a lot of media attention on the subject of cyber bullying and sexting. And some great resources like Cybersmart have been developed to help families and young people manage their presence online.

What I want to blog about today, is the pain of being a teenager in the Facebook generation.

I am so grateful Facebook wasn’t around when I was in my teens.

I was a diary-keeping gal. And a photo-taking gal. I have hundreds of photos of my girlfriends and I, in very bad acid wash jeans, perms and knitted jumpers. Wearing braces, sporting spots, holding up Midnight Oil tickets, reading Dolly magazine, drinking cask wine, and all the things you generally want to forget now ...

If Facebook had been around, I would have undoubtedly been growing up online, sharing every painful experience and gauche thought, stumbling through relationships and avowing to the world that I wanted to dedicate myself to saving the seals.

Instead, I’m 40 years old and have reluctantly accepted the friend requests of a few teenagers. And their status updates make me squirm. It’s natural for teenagers to struggle along through puberty, to feel hyper sensitive at times, or like they can’t do anything right. But somebody needs to guide them and advise them: YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHARE IT ALL ON FACEBOOK.

Let’s put together a 101 for teens. A 101 that will save them pain later on. Just as we do with career advice, or relationship advice. My top 3?

1.Less is more. Don’t give us a blow by blow – the highlights will do. Don’t post every photo, just the best one.
2.It CAN happen if it doesn’t happen on Facebook. Make sure you enjoy your time in the real world. Don’t get hung up on recording everything for your Facebook friends. Keep some things to yourself – it makes it more special. And you’ll look cooler. Not desperate.
3.Think of your Page in 10 years time. This is a digital record of your life that your future husband/wife/children/employers might read. Don’t argue with people online. Don’t wail at the world when your boyfriend dumps you. What seems like a disaster today will only be a blip in a few months time. Take a breath before you post. Write it down somewhere else if that makes you feel better.

What do you think? What would you say to the Teenage You?

This is my second blog about the positive power of Facebook.

To me, Facebook isn’t a ‘place of evil’ or ‘destroyer of young minds’ as some traditional media would have us believe. It connects people, resurrects friendships, reminds you of great times and helps you look forward to new ones.

Today I’m blogging about charities on Facebook.

Charities use all sorts of communications channels to tell us about their causes. For years, their efforts have been supported by direct mail, telemarketing, fundraising events, sponsorship and so on.

But Facebook has allowed charities to set up shop in a community environment, where people can connect with them and easily share their favourite charity with their social circle. When was the last time you deliberately set out to visit a charity’s official website? Then consider how often you come across a charity (or cause) on Facebook.

Here’s some good examples:

Australian Red Cross

UNICEF

World Vision Australia

McGrath Foundation

Of course, Facebook application 'Causes' has enabled many not-for-profits to share their cause on Facebook. It's an app specifically designed for mobilising the power of Facebook to support worthy causes, and is used by millions of people around the EVERY MONTH.

Do you have a favourite charity or cause on Facebook? Has Facebook enabled you to learn more about that cause and get involved? Tell me about it – see the Comments link above.

Yes, you read it right.

This is a pro-Facebook article.

It's not something you'll see every day. Nowadays, we’re used to media coverage blaming Facebook for most of society's ills: it's been blamed for everything from teenagers being distracted from their homework, through to increasing the incidence of syphilis. (Note: everything distracts teens from their homework - Facebook, TV, snacks in the fridge, a fly buzzing past the desk .. don’t we remember what it’s like to be a teenager? It’s hardly news).
I’m sick of it. This is the Facebook Fightback.

I’m going to start regularly featuring alternative examples of the world of Facebook. I’m going to publish a Facebook ‘happy story’ to remind us that it’s not all bad. And I hope you’ll contribute your examples too.

Here’s my first one:

March 2010 Facebook-is-Awesome-Example
I grew up in Whyalla, South Australia. There’s a Facebook group for current and former residents that allows us to share stories. Many of the posts are lengthy, with eloquent and colourful details that bring the town to life and even make readers emotional.

For those with a connection to Whyalla, this group – with its recall of local characters, the streets we grew up in, the schools we went to, the trouble we got into - broadcasts some powerful stuff.

There’s a Discussion called “The street you grew up in” which is nothing if not poignant. Here, you have people recounting their movements from house to house in Whyalla, and then coming across old neighbours. They can ask each other questions, sing out ‘I remember you!’ and piece together their funny stories.

Here’s some examples posts:
I remember Loring Street the most. I used to walk to school at Scott Street Primary and my brother and sister went to Stuart High. I remember walking to One Stop to get an icy pole in 40° heat and getting fish and chips on a Friday night.

I too remember walking to the corner shop ... with my empty coke bottle to get a big bag of 20 cent lollies ... and at the end of the street in those days was the bush, endless days out looking for sleepy lizards and bearded dragons and building cubby houses......sigh.....

I must certainly say that just the mere mentioning of Whyalla brings a lot of memories and feelings back. Whyalla, for me, was the entrance door to Australia, it was the first place/city I resided in, and also the place where I got married (Ada Ryan Gardens)... Now I have jumped to and lived in so many cities and countries that is hard to keep track of all the places, but Whyalla will always have a special place in my heart...

It's great reading these posts. My mum is in Adelaide too and she always runs into someone from Whyalla ... The town doesn't make the people, it's the people that make the town.

Omg Allison, reading your post is like reading verbatim my childhood and teenage years!!!

Jeez, weren't we so carefree, safe and happy in them days, as poor as we were.

I have had the best time reading all these memories.

Click 'Comments' above to post links to any Facebook groups or page that have made you feel warm inside. If you’re a Facebook fan, join the Fightback!

Businesses and not-for-profits are increasingly adopting social media as part of their communications programs.

This isn’t a blog about how ‘social media has become mainstream’. What I do want to ponder is: who’s best suited to manage these social media strategies?

Is it an organisation’s:
• marketing department
• public relations team
• advertising team or
• (if an organisation is lucky enough to have it) its digital marketing department
• a multi-disciplinary team?

I tweeted the question recently and received a variety of responses, but little agreement. It reminds me a little of the great website debate of 10 years ago: who owns the company website? Corporate? IT? Marketing? [Sadly, some companies still haven’t resolved this.]

So where does social media sit? This is a real issue for me.

I work within the public relations field, and the social media campaigns I help manage often delve into the world of marketing. I’ve got a BA in Journalism and Masters in Communication Management ... I don’t have the energy to become a marketer, too. But I know the marketing discipline would add definite strengths to some social media projects.

But do marketers care enough about regular two-way conversations with stakeholders? Probably not as much as PR bods, who are charged with caring about what all audiences say about their clients, wherever they say it.

Social media and PR work well together.

A PR professional can see where social media fits within a business’s overall communications strategy. Good PR bods recognise the need for two-way communication within an organisation, and social media is today’s key to two-way communication tool. PR professionals are also focused on outcomes, on reaching the right audiences in the right place, with the right message. We won’t play with social media just for the sake of it.

As Lee Hopkins has said (and said often), it’s about strategy. Who’s best able to steer your social media strategy for you? It’s not just about opening a Facebook page, boosting membership numbers, and blasting followers with regular marketing messages. There’s got to be a rhyme and reason to all this. If you’re not asking that question yet .. believe me, your followers soon will. Consumers are becoming more savvy and selective: they won’t follow everyone forever.

There needs to be a long term view. What’s going to happen to that Facebook page in a year, in two years? What does the organisation want to achieve? What does it believe in? What type of relationship does it want with its stakeholders?

New ‘Social media specialists’ who are setting up shop specifically to push organisations onto platforms like Facebook need to take a chill pill. They’re membership factories ... with a finite membership. It’s a recipe for disaster.

IN SUMMARY: social media is turning into a specialist role for people with multi-disciplinary skills. The ones who rise to the top will be those who respect other specialities, ask for advice, and follow a STRATEGY.

I was staring at my PC screen recently.

Staring at an owl wearing a hard hat. Hootsuite was down for maintenance and it was darn annoying.

It brought home the fact that I rely on Hootsuite a great deal to manage multiple social media accounts. Many of us do it now – we’re using Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Seesmic, Facebook, YouTube, FlickR, YouTube, Blogger – for business.

When our telephone line goes down, we call our phone provider. If the electricity fizzles out, we call the building manager. If the newspaper doesn’t get delivered to the office on time, we can call the newsagent and ask what’s going on. They’re all being paid by us. They’ve got service agreements with us. And there are consequences to those services being unavailable.

But when happens when our free online tools fall over?

Not much.

Services like Hootsuite, quite rightly, do not promise they’ll always be there for you. In its terms, owner Invoke Media states in part:

“Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis ... Invoke Media does not warrant that (i) the service will meet your specific requirements, (ii) the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, (iii) the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable, (iv) the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the service will meet your expectations ...” http://hootsuite.com/terms

But it’s no fickle matter if these services are unavailable. Increasingly, we’re relying on free social platforms as main communication channels. We’ve all read about major companies like Pepsi, Coca Cola, Ford and Holden devoting more resources to sites like Facebook, rather than official sites. When these online tools are gone, it’s an interruption to our services.

Imagine a world where social media is ‘taken away’ (hideous, isn’t it?) The Social Media God decides the experiment is over, and we all need to go back and play on our standard dotcoms.

Boom! In an instant, you’ve lost your thousands of Fans – their names, locations, likes and dislikes. You’ve lost all the comments you’ve been gathering, all the interaction you’ve built up. You’ve lost photos and videos. Not to mention search engine listings.

That’s why it’s important to back up that information. How many of us do that? When was the last time you archived a social media account? (I’m making a mental note ...)

This is a blog about South Australia’s new internet commentary laws. For background, you might want to read this article on AdelaideNow .

Myth 1:If you’ve got something to say, you should be brave enough to put your name to it

Guess what. We’re not all brave, chest-beating types prepared for the wrath of family, friends and colleagues based on what we’re written.

There are legitimate reasons for people to want to blog anonymously. Take these scenarios:

· Government is proposing new laws on child abuse. A woman has been abused as a child; she wants to take part in the debate but doesn’t want to let her partner know of her past just yet. She writes an anonymous blog. Outlawed under SA censorship law.

· Government proposes new immigration laws. Man wants to support them, but is afraid to share his name and address because of the ethnicity of the community he lives in, where there is high sensitivity to the issue. He outlines his well-thought out comments in a blog without using his real address. Outlawed under SA censorship law.

· Married couple decides to write a story (let’s face it, that’s what forms many blogs) about their experience living in the same street as a bikie gang, also debating anti-bikie laws. They decide not to publish their name and address because they don’t want a Molotov cocktail thrown onto their front lawn or Harley Davison’s riding past at all hours. Outlawed.

· A man’s employer has made it clear where he stands on the subject of a new local development. The employer is overbearing and petty. The man feels differently – he wants to protect his local park. He writes a blog to share with other community members, but doesn’t sign his name in case his employer can identify him ... outlawed.

It’s okay for journalists to use confidential sources. And anonymous columns (particularly political) have been a media stalwart for centuries. How so? We need to recall the reasons for this, to understand what is so wrong with the new SA censorship laws.

Journalists use confidential sources so that source can speak without fear. Anonymous columns are published for great debate to be shared rather than hidden. Which brings me to my next myth ...

Myth 2:Bloggers only want to share outrageous, defamatory comments

Mr Atkinson has said he wants people to stop calling him outrageous names. In an email to me, he said it’d be nice if people refrained from calling him a ‘kiddy-fiddler, paedophile, douche bag ..’
I can’t begin to outline how paranoid and self centred the laws are.

I’m a blogger. I’m not interested in calling Mr Atkinson any names. And yet the new laws would have affected me.

Many bloggers are eloquent, cautious people who take time to think through debate. They may or may not like to use curious pseudonyms. They have their own readers and followers. They usually allow comment on their blogs, and are ready to debate on their blogs. They are also governed by the same defamation laws as the rest of the public.

Believe it or not, there are bloggers who like to write about issues; their world doesn’t revolve around anonymously defaming politicians.

Myth 3: “I’m not interested in what you have to say unless you put your name to it"

Really? Content is king – and for my money, I reckon you’ll read great content whether it’s signed or not. It’s human nature.

‘Anonymous’ is one of the most prolific, funny, sarcastic, witty and pertinent writers of our time.
If we didn’t like to read comments unless they had the name and address of the author, the many ‘Diary of a ...’ publications would never be read.

In election periods, I would have thought the veracity of the debate, the genius behind the ideas, were always more compelling than whether or not it’s signed.

The most boring pieces you’ll ever read? Those signed by a politician, with their profile picture published alongside. And why is that? They’ve got their name attached, so they’re scared to say anything of substance ...

Myth 4: Bloggers are the 17-year-old ‘net generation’

Attorney General Michael Atkinson – and some mainstream media commentators – has contributed to the myth that the censorship laws were overturned to meet the needs of the ‘blogger generation’. Mr Atkinson even went so far as to say he consulted his own children, who helped attune him to the expectations of ‘young bloggers’.

Young people aren’t bloggers. They aren’t even microbloggers (that is Twitter by the way).
By and large, they focus on Facebook, SMS and email. They want to talk to their friends, not debate policy with strangers. This has been backed up by published research this week.

The people up in arms about the censorship laws and most active are 30+ and, dare I say 40+.
Anyone with a real interest in public debate should hook into Twitter, the ultimate debating forum. In my Twitter stream over the past week, it’s been people in the 30+ age bracket who have been up in arms over Michael Atkinson’s actions.

I’m 39. I have ethical standards. I am sensitive to others. People opposing the censorship laws were most decidedly not young ‘net gens who imagine they can get away with anything online, in some abstract new brutal netiquette age.

Myth 5: The new laws are all about honesty

The new laws are all about protecting politicians.

If they were about honesty, they’d exist outside the election period.

The laws are completely politician-centric. Mr Atkinson’s comments about the names he’s been called confirm this. Some people want to debate policy and social change and guess what –sometimes this can be achieved without mentioning a single politician’s name!

The new laws are about making it more difficult for party stooges to enter debate anonymously. But in trying to protect pollies and make political hacks more accountable, they’re reducing safety for the general public. We need to err on the side of safety for the rest of us; politicians have entered the political fray, they’re protected by defamation laws, and need to ‘take their lumps’ as Mr Atkinson would say.

Why do I blog?
Please don't debate about blogs or social media if you don’t understand them.

Why did I choose to write this as a blog?
· This text wouldn’t fit in a Letter to the Editor
· I can publish my own blog – maybe other publishers wouldn’t consider it fit to print
· I can share my views with my connections
· It helps me think through my views – and indeed, debate myself

As always, I’d be glad to read your comments.

Have you ever noticed that on social networks the spelling can become, well, a little sloppy?

What does this mean to you? Does it tick you off? Or do you believe that it’s part of the fast-paced, casual atmosphere of the social media environment?

With tweets, I can forgive a typo – particulary if it’s from a mobile application. Those tiny keys on your mobile aren’t always your friend, are they?

But it’s absolutely unforgivable if somebody creates a Facebook group and has mistakes in the group name. So I’ve very happily joined the Facebook group: I’d join your group but there are spelling errors in the title.

Now, I’m no grammar queen. I’ll leave that to my good friends at Leviathancomms. Heck, I know I shouldn’t have started a sentence with ‘but’ (as I did earlier in this blog).

But spelling when you’re creating something, when you’re promoting a business online, when you’re writing about yourself and building your own personal brand? Come on!

I’ve noticed that age makes no difference. I looked up a former colleague on Facebook and read her profile. She had listed her children’s names without capitalising them. She’s in her 50s. What had possessed her? She wouldn’t have let happen in an office document. Why let it slip through on the internet, where people search for you and, frankly, judge you?

It gets worse when texting lingo and shortcuts enter the fray. A family member’s status updates are barely decipherable. Take these examples:

Wld lyk 2 know wtf....happend 2 my hotmail n facebook accounts, it said username/p-w unknown..lyk wtf...so i had 2 reset em both

OMFG..Im getting SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO frustrated, trying 2 load a pic bt its taking 4 eva cuz everytym I load a pic frm my dig. Camera its huge..YYYYYYYYYYYYYY????????

One final thought: social media is about sharing. You’ve joined in because you’ve got something to say. If you want people to read your message, slow down and get the spelling right.

I’m getting a kick out of using Foursquare, a social network newly available in Adelaide. Foursquare has been another phenomenon in the US, but only recently added Adelaide to its list of cities (read Foursquare Goes Global).

Foursquare is so new, when you Google it, the first page of search results contain references to the old schoolground game.

Foursquare is for mobile phone users who like to get out a lot. Every time you visit your favourite coffee house / restaurant / shopping centre or other venue, you can ‘check in’ there on Foursquare. It gives you points for your check ins, and you can become ‘Mayor’ of the spots you frequent the most.

Your friends on Foursquare (who you find like you did when starting out with Twitter or Facebook), can see where you are. If they’re at that same spot, you’ll both know via Foursquare.

You can add tips about your favourite places, building up a wealth of shared information. (For example, I let people know that Kwiksticks in North Adelaide has ‘kids eat free’ nights every Tuesday).

So it’s part game, part locator, part status update, part venue review.

It launched in the US last year and had an estimated 100,000 users in November 2009.

It’s been called “addictive and slightly creepy”...

Using Foursquare
Here’s some good advice from Jason Moffatt, in a recent review of Foursquare vs Gowalla: if you want to avoid ‘stalkers’, check in on Foursquare as you’re leaving a location. (And remember – when you check in, you don’t have to share with friends at all. You can gain points by checking in, but untick the normal friend feeds that disseminate the updates).

What’s in it for me?
Personally, it’s only week one on Foursquare for me, so with these fresh eyes it’s too soon to judge whether a) I will quickly grow tired of it and let it lapse or b) I become so addicted my family arranges an intervention.

For the application itself, people are really talking up its potential. And why wouldn’t you – for an application that encourages people to get out and about, invite their friends and write reviews? If user numbers grow, it will be of obvious interest to countless industries.

“So far, about 200 venues, as diverse as bars and frames shops, have promotions offering discounts and other perks to Foursquare users in the system … “ read more.

Get on board, give it a go. Oh, and apparently it’s already overtaken Gowalla in terms of user numbers. Available in iPhone app, Blackberry app and on m.foursquare.com

More good Foursquare articles:

Why Foursquare Might Matter

Now you can play Foursquare anywhere

Lately I've been pondering .. all this hoo-ha about our Twitter and Facebook feeds being indexed by Google and Bing.

This means our status updates can be seen on search engine pages. It has the potential for embarassment. (Like the time I Googled myself, only to see my Twitter ranting about 'earwigs' was on page 1 of the results).

However, on the flipside: it's possible to write glowing things about yourself on Twitter and Facebook, in the hopes of seeing this reflected in search engines. Right?

So what would happen if I tweeted things like:

• Having fun being a model citizen. And gosh gee, I love my job!
• Children are precious. I love my boys. Spending time with them is the highlight of my day.
• Working extremely long hours for a client. I'm committed. I'm doing my best!
• Was tempted to water the garden. But then I remembered our water restrictions. And I didn't turn on the hose. No sirree.

Or even:

• Michelle Prak is the very model of a modern Major Social Mediarist ...

So I'm feeling like Google's eyes (the Eye of the Spider?) are watching my every move. I need to behave. And this is where we move into science fiction mode ...

How does God assess us? When we reach the pearly gates, what key words are important? What will get us through?

God surely doesn't need to watch over us any more. He can just Google us. If the right words match our names, we're in. So if he Googles 'Michelle Prak' how will weigh up words like 'bourbon, Buffy, hangover, marshmallows, Bruce Willis' against words like 'swimming, typing, grammar, early night, parent teach interview"?

Does this mean then, that Google spiders are the new Gabriel? They're God's angels?

Mind you, I don't believe in God. Just musing. Unless of course he IS real and indexing this page. In which case, can I add these key words quickly: hard working, striving, clean, made beds every day, loved my children, cherished my friends ... and fed the fish.

Status updates ...

... they're a touchy subject. Some people think status updates in social media are childish timewasters (the Twitter naysayers), others think they're a valuable and fun way to keep our networks updated.

I like them.

But I don't like swearing in status updates.

I'm getting a growing number of Facebook friends who feel the need to vent, using every expletive, on their Facebook status updates. And frankly, it's leaving me feeling kind of soiled. I'm reading updates like:

• f*#k sick of people f*#kn jerking me around. say what you mean!


• i hate fat f#*k bitches throwing their weight around trying to tell me what the f#$k to do with my life. get outta my face!!


• why is life always so F#$kn hard? i need a f#$kn holiday now

You get my drift ... [and yes, I am as offended by double exclamation marks as I am by the cussing].

Now, many of you will begin wondering about my friends. I have to put it on record: the majority are fab, wholesome go-getters who - although occasionally drinking themselves into oblivion on a Friday night after a hard week at the office - wouldn't swear on their status updates and are altogether 'clean cut and law abiding'. They know the thin line between having a Facebook profile that your buddies see, and having a Facebook profile that's visible to 1) your potential future employers and 2) your dear sweet old granny.

However, I've connected with a small amount of old, old friends ... the ones I went to primary school and high school with for example. And some have gone in weird and wonderful directions, with divorces, mid life crises and so on. And they DO like to say f#$k the world.

I'm no prude. I say f##k it all the time. When something surprises me, I say f##k me! But I don't feel a need to use the ol qwerty keyboard and share it with Facebook friends young and old.

There's a Facebook forum on this topic. [Of course there is, I hear you say]. I think popular opinion swings my way ...

Recently, I had to ditch an old acquaintance. I couldn't take her angry, cursing status updates anymore. It was clear her life had turned sour and she was using Facebook as a forum for a continuing argument with people unknown ... But for me, this friend was yelling at me. She was swearing at me. I couldn't take it anymore. And I clicked on the ol' 'Remove Friend" button. Adios.

And f##k you, too.