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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?

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

First Lady Obama Seeks Apps for Healthy Kids, Are You Up for the Challenge?

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First Lady Michelle Obama and the USDA has launched a competition for developers, game designers and students to develop the most fun and engaging tools and games that will encourage children, specifically “tweens” (ages 9-12) to eat better and be more physically healthy and active.

Apps for Healthy Kids aims to halt the increasing rate of obesity among children which have tripled in the past 30 years which may shorten the expect lifespan of chilren.

If you’re up for the challenge, the Apps for Healthy Kids  is requiring that any tools and games that you will develop be built based on USDA nutrition dataset which is available through the Open Government Initiative. These datasets provide information on total calories, calories from “extras” and MyPyramid food groups for over 1,000 commonly eaten foods.

So here’s how you can enter the contest:

During the competition submission period (March 10 – June 30, 2010), first register here (registration is free) and read the complete Official Rules and Questions and Answers. After you register you must verify your email address via the registration email sent to the email entered in the registration form. You will then be able to enter a submission. Fill out the submission form on the submit application tab, including your submission title, text description, link to game or tool, data set(s) used, and whether you are submitting in the “tool” or “game” category. A picture is optional but helpful. Be sure to read the terms and conditions, and if you agree, check off the box, and submit!

Finally, the prize, not much at $40,000 but hey, it’s for a good cause anyway.

Originally posted on March 15, 2010 @ 9:14 am

Tell Your Kids “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” via a Cool iPhone App

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Aside from being a very useful all-around mobile phone for business professionals, students and your average joe’s, the iPhone is also very child-friendly.  My 5 year old daughter loves using her mother’s iPhone 3G to listen to music, play kiddie games and even take photos.

I’m pretty sure  my daughter as well as the million of kids who are allowed by their parents to use their iPhones would love this new iPhone app – “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Yes folks, it’s the classic Christmas tale from Dr. Seuss getting a fresh treatment by way of a cool iPhone app.

The good thing is, it’s not only just your ordinary kiddie iPhone game because it is sort of an interactive ebook as well. Your kids could learn about this classic tale by letting the app read the story to them or they can read them on their own.

The app is also an educational tool for kids. They can tap on an item on the screen and listen to how it’s name is pronounced as well as see the word itself. The app also allows panning and zooming on the content of the ebook through touch gesture – hence the interactivity part.

When you’re kid choose to let the app read the ebook, each of the words are highlighted – an effective way of teaching kids some language lessons.

Ok before this post starts to sound like an iPhone app review, let me end here.

If you’ve got kids whom you think will enjoy this app, you can grab it from the iTunes Apps Store for $3.99.  A bit higher than your usual $0.99 iPhone app, but is definitely much cheaper than standard ebooks you find at Amazon.

Originally posted on December 12, 2009 @ 3:04 am