New adverts show parents how to keep their children safe online

A new campaign has been launched in the UK for children as young as 5 to keep them safe online.

What has the world come to? 5 years old online?

Bet similar comments were made when children had to learn to cross the road safely – damn those motor cars!

View the campaign at:  http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk/lee-and-kim/default.aspx

World first as Derek Wyatt launches iPhone app ‘MyMP’

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt has become the first politician in the world to have an app on the iPhone.

Mr Wyatt is hoping ‘MyMP‘ will encourage younger people to get involved in politics.

Topics already up for discussion on the app include bankers bonuses, broadband for rural communities and the future of local newspapers.

The application, which will be officially launched on February 8th, has been designed by the Sittingbourne and Sheppey representative and not for profit company Public Zone.

Mr Wyatt said: “We want to encourage more MPs to put their application on the site so we have designed it so every MP in the United Kingdom can participate if they just fill in their details.

Broadband users pay over the odds

The majority of broadband users in the UK pay for download limits that they come nowhere near reaching, according to a survey.

Research conducted by broadband site broadbandchoices found that three quarters of those on unlimited broadband packages downloaded just 20GB (gigabytes) of content per month.

To read the full story log on to: www.citizensonline.org.uk/conline/news/display?contentId=5896

Twitter Helps in Haiti Quake Coverage

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, social media site Twitter has proven to be an important tool for fundraising and relief efforts to help the disaster’s victims.

According to Twitter.com, five of the most popular topics posted on Thursday on the mini-blogging site were related to Haiti. Recent reports have said that the death toll from the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck on Tuesday might have surpassed 100,000.

Funds set up via Twitter.com cropped up rapidly, and aid to Haitians has been one of the most popular topics on the site. People also posted photos of the quake and added links to sites where you can donate to help the victims.

Organisers of mobile donations set up by a company called mGive said on Twitter that they have raised over $2 million dollars. A message on Twitter confirmed that people donated $5 million dollars to the Red Cross.

Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder

A bit of a controversial statement from Mark Zuckerberg – or further attempt at justifying the privacy changes made to Facebook in December 2009?

Talking at the Crunchie awards this weekend, the 25-year-old chief executive of the world’s most popular social network said that privacy was no longer a “social norm“.

“People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people,” he said. “That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.”

In his talk, Zuckerberg said it was important for companies like his to reflect the changing social norms in order to remain relevant and competitive.

To read the full article log on to http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/11/facebook-privacy

So is privacy a thing of the past?