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Inc.com seeking best American lemonade stand

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inc-lemonade.jpgInc.com is gearing up to run an online contest which will honor the CEOs of the classic summer lemonade stands found across America. The “Best Lemonade Stand in America” contest starts July 9 and runs through Sept. 3.

Children (and their parents) are being encouraged by Inc.com to submit photos of themselves and their lemonade stands along with a short essay describing their “business,” including what motivated them to go into the lemonade trade, what they named their stands, what products they used in their secret recipe, and how much money they made in a single weekend. Each week a lemonade stand will be chosen as a stand of the week and its photo will be featured on the contest’s Web site.

A final Grand Prize will be awarded based upon a final pick made by Inc.com editors. This winner will receive “a $1,000 college savings bond and super backpack filled with back-to-school supplies. Winners of the “Best Lemonade Stand Design,” and “Coolest Lemonade Stand Story,” will each be awarded a $500 college savings bond and a super backpack filled with back-to-school supplies.”

Originally posted on July 9, 2007 @ 5:41 pm

NoodleNet provides kids shielded Internet experience

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NoodleNetA Texas company announced today it has launched a “safe desktop and online environment” targeted towards kids age 3-11. This environment is called NoodleNet and it’s designed to be installed onto a PC.

NoodleNet acts as “a secure gated community with simple controls for parents and age-appropriate content pre-loaded for instant access to hundreds of screened games, books, videos, puzzles and online activities.” It uses a team of experts to review and approve Web sites which is considered age appropriate. The program is designed to lockdown the Internet experience, limiting control and exiting of the program to authorized people such as parents and caregivers.

“The relevancy today of both parental involvement and the need for a safe online environment has never been more evident,” said Michael Callahan, president of NoodleNet. “All of us here at NoodleNet are focused on leveraging our expertise and technology to create a truly unique consumer offering modeled around the family — one that will make meaningful impact in the lives of children. We are delivering an experience that truly enables the whole family or the individual child to explore the Internet without the parent or guardian ever having to worry or fear what their child may encounter. This is our assurance that children will not intentionally or unintentionally view inappropriate material online or access your desktop files.”

Originally posted on July 9, 2007 @ 5:31 pm

Understanding The World Of Disappearing Messages

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Rebecca Sedwick was a 12 year old girl suffering at the hands of her bullies that committed suicide. Her mother, Tricia Norman, thought she had protected her daughter by taking her out of school and removing social media from the computer. Although Norman thought she was protecting her daughter, she failed to realize that Rebecca’s cell phone allowed bullies access to Rebecca with disappearing messages.

What Are Disappearing Messages?

Disappearing messages are the newest app trend to hit the social media scene. Snapchat, Wickr, and ask.fm are popular apps that feature messages that expire after viewing. Disappearing messages can be viewed anywhere from 10 seconds to 6 days, it all depends on the app.

Disappearing Messages Versus Traditional Social Media

Common social media icons, like Facebook and Twitter, keep a running list of your activity, likes, and friends. These sites monitor your activity to gather data- phishing for statistics. Other users may be able to view your comments and photos that create a database of your thoughts and activities. This collection of personal data and lack of personal boundaries can turn people away from traditional social media.

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People are turning to disappearing messages as an alternative, because disappearing messages promote authentic communication without the fear of being monitored. Many people enjoy the spontaneity disappearing messages provide, because they aren’t worried about bosses or nosy neighbors scanning their feed. People feel liberated by removing the restrictions and fears of grooming profiles to protect their images on traditional media.

Disappearing Messages Can Promote Inappropriate Uses

The spontaneity of disappearing messages can become the ideal vehicle for bullying, sexting, and criminal activity. Disappearing messages are hard to trace after they disappear, creating a platform that fosters racy or inappropriate messages. For many people, these are valid concerns regarding disappearing messages.

Rebecca’s mother was unaware of the possible dangers of disappearing messages. Social media can be a wonderful tool to bridge miles or time to encourage communication. It’s important for people to understand the platforms they use and look for ways to protect themselves. Screenshots are a good tool to defend yourself from bullying messages.

Do you have any tips regarding disappearing messages?

Image source

Originally posted on September 23, 2014 @ 3:54 pm