Facebook for Parents

Mike Murtha

About me

• 20+ years in Information Technology, currently at Hewlett-Packard (HP)

• Web developer – Wall Street Journal (wsj.com)

• Now a Project Manager of web development teams

• Son in high school, daughter in college

Baseline

• Age range of kids? • ‘Regular’ phone in the house, or cell only? • PC in the kids’ room? Wireless laptop? • Kids have account on Facebook?

MySpace? Twitter? Other? Don’t know? • Parent accounts?

Facebook • Name came from the actual books handed

out at college with pictures of incoming freshmen; site started out as a service for college students only – “Friend” your kids – Review your kids’ profile pages – Review who is “friends” with your kids – Select “Info” for your kids – Look for your kids in pictures, ‘tagged’ by

others

Terminology • Profile

– Info about you, that you enter into Facebook • Wall

– Location where you post information to share with others (and if you allow it, others can post info there too)

• News Feed – Information posted by your ‘Friends’

Facebook Home Page

Your Facebook Profile

Preview Your & Your Kid’s Profile

Your Facebook Wall

Privacy Settings – for you and your kids

Privacy Settings

Application Settings – Check this on your both your and

your kid’s profile!

Adding/Managing Posts

Friends/Lists

Make a Post available to a Friend List

General cautions • Ensure settings are set to Private -

nevertheless, personal information is available to anyone you are connected to

• “going on vacation” posting could make your home vulnerable while you’re gone

• College and professional recruiters absolutely look at online profiles to make hiring/acceptance decisions

General Cautions (cont’d)

• “Friends of Friends” – multiply your child’s number of friends by itself – that’s how many people have access

• Be careful of photos that could send the wrong message

• NOTHING is ever permanently deleted on the web

Tips for talking with your kids about Facebook (source: Common Sense Media)

• Encourage kids to be selective about what they share • Use strict privacy settings • Pre-approve tags • Use notification settings • Don't post your location • Set rules about what's appropriate to post • If in doubt, take it out • Watch out for ads • Create your own page • Choose your battles

Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook (source: Yahoo Finance)

• Your full birthdate and place • Vacation Plans • Home Address • Risky Behaviors • Password Clues • Confessionals

Looking under the hood – Beyond Facebook

• Web History – Ctrl-H • Internet Explorer – Tools/Internet Options • Cookies – General/Browsing History • Anti-virus software • Email spam filters • “Google” your kids (and yourself!)

Follow-up requests:

• “Like” my “Facebook Dad” Facebook page, and “Share” any postings that interest you

• Post a link to www.facebookdad.com on your Facebook wall

Thank you!

• My facebook: www.facebook.com/mike.murtha

• My twitter: www.twitter.com/murthamike www.twitter.com/facebookdad

• My blog: www.facebookdad.com

• My email: mike.murtha@comcast.net