Once published, lives are forever changed.

This week I had the chance to read "Once it is on the internet, it's there forever".
This got me to thinking, as a teenager, there are so many exciting events we attend.  These can be as simple as the basketball game or baseball league games during the summer.  As we tend to grow, we go to birthday parties or hang out with our friends on the weekend. We take pictures of ourselves being silly and post them on the social media sites. 
As future college scholars and pillars of the community, these pictures and posts may come back to haunt us as our future girlfriends and peers at work, may not understand the message.  Future employers will be reviewing all social media to better understand their potential candidate and not hire them solely based upon their external behavior. The moral of this post, is to reflect prior to posting any pictures or written thoughts that you would be ashamed or embarrassed for your grandma to read or see.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Facebook+Postings+Gone+Wrong&FORM=IRBPRS&=0#view=detail&id=751D1E7C52F218F9C41FF09B655B0E958582C407&selectedIndex=23

Technology- Robot Dog launch

An interesting article was published on February 10, 2015 on robotic designs by Elizabeth Palermo. This article along with a video was released the same time that Spot was unveiled for mass media outlets. Spot is the newest robotic dog that can perform in rough terrains. The firm that design the robot is Boston Dynamics, a company owned by Google. This recent invention will assist with Department of Defense engagements.  Spot could be a rescue dog in wooded areas or high altitudes, where it is difficult for humans to maneuver.  I believe the most likely assignments for Spot will be in active combat.

For anyone interested in reading the full article, please see the web address below. 

http://www.livescience.com/49760-robot-dog-boston-dynamics.html

http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/073/877/iFF/boston-dynamics-spot-robot.png?1423601867

Safe Passwords..Harder to create than you think!

The unthinkable act may have already happened to you?  Did you account get hacked?  Someone hacked my online gaming account, but I was able to report them and they were able to recover the account and all my games.

Passwords are required for all accounts online.  Did you ever think that you were creative and would never get hacked?  Well, don't think you are alone.  Many people create single level passwords and they get hacked every single day.  Melanie Pinola wrote an article in 2014 titled "Your Clever Password Tricks aren't protecting you from Today's Hackers". The hackers today have developed algorithms and unique software programming to pick out patterns and unique characteristics of passwords.  Something that would take a million years to crack can take less than one spring season to fully infiltrate your life.

I agree with the article that you should always have a two level coded password system to gain access to all accounts.  Secondly, you should always have different passwords to all your accounts.  Finally, you should try out 1Password which is a site that provides different coded passwords for you that will be safer than anyone that you can create on your own.

If anyone wishes to read the article, please go to the following link: http://lifehacker.com/5937303/your-clever-password-tricks-arent-protecting-you-from-todays-hackers.

http://autotraction.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/password-protect1.jpg

Spreadsheet uses for teenagers

Teenagers are always dreaming of making a large profit with a small amount of investment.  A good businesses plan is a vital element of the puzzle that financial institutions review and ultimately make a decision to loan money to you. They approve or reject based upon the payback of product or services that you will be offering. The easiest way to show this in a professional format is using electronic media, with charts and data analysis for the loan officer to quickly decide on the facts, thus yielding a quicker turn-around for you.

To start off at a smaller scale, a teenager can put together details in a spreadsheet on what purchase he or she wants to make and then do a comparison between three companies to quickly show where the best value will be for your investment.  

Teenagers also can do a spreadsheet of expenses for the family and help find alternate spending or saving habits for the family. This can be Internet services, cable, groceries, cell phones, or any item that is not a monopoly or has long term contracts.

I saved the best suggestion for last, in my opinion, and that is the use of excel spreadsheet functionality to perform artistic creations.  One can easily place different colors within the cells to create the image that you desire.  See picture below for an example of creativity using a spreadsheet.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT2MLnOyn8WGE-9Y1yUdvwg6Se24UBuWHyI7WAZZi9rdF8p7X66sA

http://static9.depositphotos.com/1144687/1214/i/170/depositphotos_12140920-Business-plan.jpg

Cyberbullying- 5 Point plan of attack for children under age of 18

To all my dearest friends and online peers, I have been studying the scary world that we live in. This includes children much younger than us that are facing harassment online. All we are trying to do is interact online with each other and have fun.  Unfortuantely friends, I moved to South Carolina and cannot communicate with you face-to-face, unless it is during my family visits to Indiana. I am sad to inform you that there is evil facing us everywhere and this evil is only idenfied through electronic numbers and addresses.  I invite you to review the following statistical information, which should be alarming to you.

• In 2014, 52% of all children under the age of 18 have been Cyberbullied 
• Gender, race, social class DOES NOT MATTER to the bully.
• From 2012 to 2013, Cyberbulling rose 87%

                                                    (nobullying, par.1-4, 2014)


I have recently learned that one of my good friends has been bullied through electronic media. He had contacted me for support.  I gave him the following five points of action to end this cyber criminals actions.

1. Tell your parents.
2. Collect all information and make copies.
3. Contact law enforcement.
4. Change telephone numbers, user names and passwords online.
5. Report incidents to the onsite administrator for the website or social media outlet that the incident occured or is occurring.

I ask that you take this opportunity to become an advocate for all the children that cannot stand-up for themselves.  Let's make today, the last day for tolerating any negative behaviors from anyone, especially faceless cyber crinimals. I have inserted two different games to play, which can help the awareness campaign and be performed offline.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Bullying+Crossword+Puzzle&Form=IQFRDR#view=detail&id=01F7D2483F392FB1E1BB9A3EA888CAC69C8E6532&selectedIndex=0

http://jungsuwonkidsclub.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/anti-bullying-word-search-puzzle.png


References:
 nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-statistics-2014.

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Personal touch - Has all cyber communication gone robotic?

With the fast pace creation of the world wide web and the enhancements of the speed and performance both uploading and downloading, entrepreneurs now have the ability to compete internationally with a small business.  Many people are able to communicate politically correct and review what they have written prior to posting a response to a customer or critic.
The art of debate over the cyber world, allows many individuals to re-think their position prior to hitting enter.  On the flip side of the coin, there are many drawbacks for communication that include the physical touch or the emotional attachment consumers desire.  This is very true for the baby boomer generation, which typically purchase from brick and mortar stores.  In my opinion, the technology improvement has allowed students to be able to design and bring forward their expertise with the world and demonstrate through video's, blogs, and social media, their individuality.
From my viewpoint, there is additional social interaction that happens beyond written communication.  Most non-verbal queues need to be looked at as they bring more depth to the conversation and instantly you can see whether they are engaged in the conversation or are thinking about something else. Student's skill writing capability are increasing as they are able to display their creativity and frankness within the documents they create.
I believe the real challenge that exists today with technology advances is not the written word, but the ability to calculate out change for customer's when the computer is down or a calculator is not available.  There is a larger debate on learning multiplication tables than just knowing how to use the functions on the calculator. In the end, each generator is different in their communication styles and personalities adjust as we age; thus it is more difficult to communicate through generations no matter what has happened in technology.

http://emrefirat.edublogs.org/files/2012/12/gener_gap-wzpiuh.jpg

Cyber Safety in 2014 -ideas to consider for enhancing personal safety and reduce breach of personal information

Social media is everywhere.  The majority of kids have access to social media using their cell phones, iPad, and family computers. In order to have an account, personal information must be provided to get set-up.  Only provide information that is mandatory and set-up a strong password for entry.  In the article from Forbes online, indicates that the one should have the maximum complexity within the email password, as that is the fortress for the hacker once breached. All other social media sites or any account should have different passwords than your email. This will eliminate how quick the hacker can gain access to all your account information. Additionally, there are now double passwords or two-stage verification within the account settings.  Please use this feature on all your accounts. I felt like Danie Taylor, in the 2014 article "In Protecting your privates: How to keep your Personal Data Safe online", was a very valuable and informative instruction to keep my information safe. I did not know that most social media outlets and gaming centers had introduced the two-stage verification protocols.  I have now implemented this in my accounts and have made both my mother and sister perform these additions to their accounts as well. For anyone who would like to read this article online, please go to http://www.forbes.com/sites/symantec/2014/09/03/protecting-your-privates-how-to-keep-your-personal-data-safe-online.

http://loyalty360.org/uploads/images/resources/Depositphotos_18862389_original_downsize.jpg