Blogging/Internet
Blogger, Politicians, and Disclosure
I read a really interesting article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday. It was about who pays for campaign ads.
Now, as a blogger, if I receive a free item or payment for something I write, I must disclose it per the FCC. That way, people know who sent the item even though I write impartial reviews anyway. Whatever. I do it, because I have to. I happen to think my average reader is pretty smart, and this is completely unnecessary. But whatever.
However, what gets my goat is that the identity of who is paying for all the nasty election ads is shrouded in secrecy. You have no idea who is paying for these ads. Business groups, unions, and interest groups had spent $264 million as of Tuesday. You heard me right — $264 million! At least $128 million of that came from groups that are not required to disclose their donors. According to election law experts, loopholes and lax enforcement by the FEC, corporation and wealthy donors can donate huge sums confident that their identities will not be disclosed.
Now, why did this happen. Well, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans would know who was paying for these ads. Really? They can’t figure out if a post on a blog is sponsored but they can figure out who is paying for election ads?
Am I the only one confused?
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SafeSocial
As a blogger, I know how important my child’s safety is in this online world. However, what can a parent do to protect their kids online as well as off? It’s scary that your kids ”friends” aren’t just the kids hanging out in your family room – they’re also the hundreds of contacts on their online “friend” and “buddy” lists. Did you know that more than 50 million teens (ages 13-17) are online worldwide? Or that the average number of “friends” on a list is 130? The totals are much higher for many teens.
SafeSocial, a new AOL product that launches today, can help you protect your children, even if you aren’t a social media expert. SafeSocial helps you:
- Find out where your child has online accounts
- Know who your child is “friends” with online
- Get notified if your child is in a conversation about violence, suicide or drugs
- See photos your child has posted online, and others’ photos in which your child has been tagged
Another benefit? You can monitor all this activity without being a “helicopter parent.” Your child will have to agree to be monitored, but you won’t need to connect with them on the social media accounts, or hover over their shoulders in person. (Which I personally think is great).
Since this is a tool that I think is great in your arsenal to help protect your kids, I wanted to let my readers know about it and let you also know that you can sign up for a 30 day free trial!
How do you protect your kids offline and online? Is this something that you’d use?
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Five Lessons Every Kid Should Learn
1. Learn how to love. Love truly does make the world go round. I also think kids who know they are loved do better in life. I’m not quite sure how to teach that, but by showing my kids love everyday, they have learned it.
2. Empathy. For the same reasons as love. They have to understand how their actions effect others.
3. What the naughty words. So they don’t use them and get in trouble. :)
4. Who the boss is — whether they are at home, at school, or at work later in life. You need to know who the authority figures are in your life.
5. Sometimes it’s okay to cry. A good cry never hurt anyone.
What five lessons do you think every kid should learn?
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Nanny McPhee Returns blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
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