It’s Choose Privacy Week in the US, which prompted me to research issues of privacy myself, but me – I am increasingly interested in privacy of kids and teenagers as they are the early adopters of new technologies, as well as active users of social media – and it’s time to start taking them seriously instead of talking over their heads. I know I might sound harsh, I am just worried that 1. the amount of discussion around kids online privacy is small and limited to locally supported initiatives, 2. the importance of those conversations with kids is nowhere near enough, 3. it is us, parents, who take should understand the tools kids are using to be able to protect their privacy.

I do not live in the US, but I see my local library taking action for kids’ sake by giving away flyers on children on-line safety, as well as placing them in their IT section. I really wish it would happen everywhere.

I am using this occasion to spend more time talking to people (as I will be less online due to my trip to GV Summit), but I hope to finish the week with a small virtual presentation on kids on-line safety during UAE Barcamp in Dubai, so if you have any ideas or comments, do share them now. And me, as usual, I will keep you posted;)

‘If you are 5, 6 or 7 I bet you probably like to use the computer for fun….’ – this site is going to be the opening site of my son’s laptop which I intend to give him for this 5th Birthday. Why? Because it is exactly the tool I need to educate my son on kids safety online using his language, responding to his needs. I strongly encourage every parent to check it out, together with other sections of ThinkUKNow here:

It is our responsibility to listen to their needs and expectations and make the web a safe place for our kids to develop with! I really hope you agree…

My country is in the state of deep sadness today. We have lost our President, his wife as well as many leaders and representatives of various areas of Polish life. As every accident, it took us by surprise. I personally, despite having written a post for Global Voices, still cannot comprehend it. We seek explanations, we look for comfort, we cry. It’s extremely difficult times for my homeland, and all I can do is join everyone else in putting on dark colours and sharing the grief. If you are a believer, pray for those who passed away so abruptly but also for the rest of the nation. If you believe in the power of ourselves, please send us words of comfort. If you know a Polish person, please say a kind word to them. Regardless of where we are today, we are all living the tragedy of what happened in Russia.

I only hope that the tragedy will help us and our Russian neighbours unite, put aside the divide caused by the history of Katyn, and focus on re-building our future in peace.

“Let’s rush to love people, they go away so fast” Jan Twardowski

I am not sure what to write really…this book is very good and I suggest it as a must read for those who want to enter social media as an organization or a personal brand, of course. It’s full of good tips, and as with his previous one, I ended up with a copy full of notes made on the margin (with a pencil, so almost naughty of me to do;)). I also think it’s a great follow up to ‘Trust Agents’, as it puts all the more theoretical ideas into practice. Once again I had a pleasant feeling of agreeing with Chris on most of the points, and having a little bit to add at the end of each section (I like the idea of asking questions, as it makes it sound more like a student book really; it also in itself is a key point – on having to question everything ourselves).

Personally, I enjoyed reading the book simply because recently, in last 12 months really, I came to question everything I knew about social media living few smaller or bigger disappointments especially in the field of experts. As an educated teacher and specialises in communications I cannot stand bullshitter’s and words without actions – I am physically allergic to it. (it sounds horrible to say, as I am one of them when it comes to attendance at events sometimes – even though it’s due to me being a single parent working full time, I think I need to learn to manage that bit better!). I also think social media as a ‘science’ or shall I say an area of understanding is still a minefield. During almost every single event I attend in a very narrow area, really, I come across people who two, sometimes a year ago had no idea what a blog is or claimed blogging is too geeky for them – and now they give presentations on its power! And maybe I feel unfair, but it is really people who do not make a case of their experience (it’s so darn obvious anyway!) whom I appreciate and learn from the most. Going back to ‘Social Media 101’, Chris is fairly pointing out the issue giving few hints on how to find a ‘social media practitioner’ (I love and intend to use the term!):

• • A person, who knows more than one social network;

• • A person, who makes some kind of media themselves;

• • A person, who has a long experience related to social media;

• • A person, who is relatively ‘known’;

• • A person, who is ‘able to make something happen by way of the media [they] create’;

• • A person, who is transparent, open to criticism and wiling to discuss their points.

That pretty much sums it up and made me calmer, as well as more determined to look for more and more examples of social media practitioners to learn from. I myself usually check two things: via quick Google search of person’s name I look for their on-line presences (in the end we talk about on-line tools, even if combined with off-line communities), and I look for recommendations and case studies of their work. But there is also another aspect of people’s presence I tend to be tuned into – whether they call themselves specialists in the field and if so – how do they do it? You see, in my life so far, I have experienced a strong correlation between people praising their own achievements and lack of actual solutions behind those. In a way tome it’s a question of consistent message… I also experienced myself a very stunning moment, when after conscious decision to position myself as an emerging fan of social media tools in spring 2009 via my blog and other presences, I ended up discovering my fellow social media colleagues refer to me as ‘social media strategist’ (something I never actually thought off!). Interestingly enough once I dug into the whole idea of strategic thinking I came to realize that public opinion is more true than what I thought of myself (working in ethics at the time). I did not refer to my interests in strategy at all, up until the point when I felt I heard it about myself so many times, I felt the term stuck to me and actually made me happy – as I discovered I did enjoy working on strategies as opposed to tactics and it was strategic decisions of mine that  resulted in over-delivered projects. So no matter how ‘smart’ we are with our on-line positioning techniques with a bit of honesty and genuine tone we will end up re-discovering ourselves, which is why I like social media channels so much. As for social media professionals, I remain cautious and keep on reading the content of people I do trust based on what they have delivered so far – like Chris Brogan;). Do read his books! It’s worth it!

Just wanted to share with you few interesting points made by Andy Sernovitz on social media ethics. You can download the whole document here. I think the ideas mentioned here are valid for any social media activity, if not for business in general. It’s always worth to start with doing things right (with ethics of your business) and train your employees to understand the difference between their professional and private opinions. As social media presences become increasingly important for brands in many sectors, re-thinking your ethics (if you still do not have it written down) becomes crucial!

I am very privileged to be invited to the third edition of TH!NK in Brussels this March! Very impressed with Diego’s blog from the last edition I applied to take part in this year’s competition which resulted in an invitation! I really hope Diego will be there this year too! During the Like Minds 2010 yesterday I flagged up the difference between journalism and blogging as way of presenting facts, where bloggers focus on opinions, and journalists created edited and checked content (very, very simplified distinction, nonetheless valid when it comes to building trust around delivery of facts and looking at citizen journalism and where that fits in). In response to that I was faced with different look at it – where journalism is a profession, blogging is about the form of presenting content – I feel a bit weary of this distinction, but probably because I know more of blogging than journalism and somehow I feel my point was made based on content not form. Jeff Jarvis is writing a blog – yes, but its content is private and opinionated, as opposed to what he posts in press (yes, cheekily linking to someone who is actually posting about the issue himself;). Comparing profession to a form was not my intention, on the contrary, I talked purely about content. When we talked about it with bloggers and journalists in Cairo it became apparent that journalists are worried about the impact blogging (as an activity, not form) will have on the press in those challenging times, when news needs to re-evaluate their business model. I am happy to see leading bloggers working with journalists and vice versa. I am happy to see an increase in the importance of trust in building the online presence of a blogger. I am happy to see journalists involved in citizen journalism. And I am very happy that Global Voices is there providing a quite unique twist channelling the citizen journalists and bloggers content because mainstream media start to refer to it to enhance the perspectives on events – which at the end of the day is the ultimate aim. I am glad that my point generated discussion though! I am happy to see every single instance of questioning one’s opinions and I really hope that TH!NK will give me a chance for more of that;) Stay tuned for more updates!

Brilliant day at Like Minds Conference 2010 in Exeter. Nice to see so many passionate people and so many approaches to social media. Happy to hear different approach on blogging and journalism distinction, or lack of it! Happy to meet Benjamin Ellis, Amanda F Clark, Darwin and many other very friendly faces. Lovely to meet Chris Brogan and to share power with Dave Briggs, after inspiring lunch with Steve Bridger. I think I mentioned many times on this blog how much I appreciate meeting authors of books I treasure as I strongly believe in the power of words to change our lives for better. Tonight watching Chris Brogan on the scene after exchanging few sentences, but mainly after enjoying his very subtle, humble – yes, humble, and friendly attitude towards people- which obviously just reinforces the message of ‘Trust Agents’  – I was happy once again. I cannot wait to read the next book of Chris! Only a few more days to go, and we can order it int he UK;)

Did you hear of Ada Lovelace Day? Well, now that I decided to help out in organising Oxford Girl Geek Dinners, I am getting increasingly interested (or maybe going back) to women topics.On the 24th of March, exactly day before Twestival, bloggers will celebrate their favourite women in technology:

The first Ada Lovelace Day was held on 24th march 2009 and was a huge success. It attracted nearly 2000 signatories to the pledge and 2000 more people who signed up on Facebook. Over 1200 people added their post URL to the Ada Lovelace Day 2009 mash-up. The day itself was covered by BBC News Channel, BBC.co.uk, Radio 5 Live, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Metro, Computer Weekly, and VNUnet, as well as hundreds of blogs worldwide.

I think I know exactly who is my personal hero, so the task will not be so difficult, although I do hope to find a second to interview her as well;) For now though I strongly encourage every one to take part, follow them on Facebook, sign the pledge and blog, blog, blog!:)

Is there a day of blogging to celebrate men in technology? If so, do let me know when!

Big hug to Filip for flagging it up originally, and to Amira for reminding me I was supposed to share this info!;)