Guard Your Privacy
The first thing a potential date might do before going out with you is look you up on a search engine. So any pictures, personal information, and contacts you have may be visible. Until you know someone, you certainly do not want him or her to have access to things like your friend’s names, address, place of work, and photos. Set your privacy settings so that strangers cannot see your information.

Don’t Friend Right Away
When you first meet someone new, you probably want to hang out with them and find out all about them. But I would caution against adding them as a “friend” to your social networking site. What if you break up? Have a fight? Realize you can’t stand the person? He or she is now a “friend” and has seen photos you might have wanted to keep private, thoughts you wrote in a moment of frustration, or even correspondence you might have had with an ex. Sure, you can “unfriend” or block them, but the best way to deal with this is not to friend at all in the beginning.

Be Careful What You Post
You might think the picture of you and your new partner out on the town is the cutest thing ever, but your partner may be annoyed that you posted it. Be cautious before scribbling down details of your dates or giving out information that your new guy or gal wouldn’t appreciate.
It’s a different dating world right now with social networking, so make sure you are safe and smart in how you deal with information. Always protect yourself first. If the new guy or girl in your life is the right one, they’ll understand!

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Social Networking Rules in Dating

It’s LawDate, the “Attorney Dating System.”  Today is the official launch date for the new service that was founded by Wendy C. Freedman, CEO of The Dolce Network, Inc., and an attorney herself.

The Dolce Network, Inc., was created to help eligible professionals meet other people in their field (and beyond). Other online dating sites that will be launched shortly include TheDrDate.com, CapitoHillDate.com, and EntertainmentIndustryDate.com.

The purpose of the service is to match up singles with like-minded interests, personality, and I’m guessing lifestyle, since the name of the company and the target client – lawyers -  is right there in the title.

Singles are not limited to the matches they receive, but will be able to search other members based on interests and preferences.

Some of the services offered at LawDate.com include areas where members can chat, blog, or participate in forums and bulletin boards.

To subscribe to the service, you do need to pay, but if you subscribe for 3 or 6 months, you get 1 month free.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Find Yourself a Lawyer With LawDate.com

Image: MrsGooding

Washington Post reports

Across the country, Facebook users are contemplating similar questions when they log onto their accounts. More and more moms and dads are signing onto Facebook to keep up with their offspring. Not only are they friending (or attempting to friend) their sons and daughters, they’re friending their sons’ and daughters’ friends.

Some, like Matt, take the requests in stride. He ultimately friended his dad. Others are less sanguine, voicing their dismay via online groups that decry parental intrusion and offer tips on how to screen out mom and dad. (”Just go onto their computers and delete their accounts.” “Just don’t add them as a friend or any1 that is a co-worker with ur parents duh.”) Even parenting experts are getting involved, offering their own tips on proper Facebook etiquette.

But as Facebook’s popularity soared, its founders sought to expand its audience. In 2005, it allowed high school students to sign on. But it was the 2006 decision to open it up to the general public that drew howls from its original audience — and opened the door for the parental invasion.

In protest, several “abolish parent” groups have sprung up on the site.

Yeamans and a few of his friends started “What Happens in College Stays in College: Keep Parents Off Facebook!” in 2007. They meant it partly as a joke but were stunned when more than 500 people signed on, each with a tale of parental intrusion.

Post from: Blisstree

Parents should not be on Facebook?

The winner of our giveaway was Joey! Congrats to Joey and for those of you who didn’t win, remember to check out some of the other awesome giveaways we have going on right now. Just click on the “contests” button at the top of the menu.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Winner of VTech Phone

We’ve known for a long time that spending time with friends can make you have a better outlook and “may even increase longevity.” But now researchers believe even connecting with friends on social networking sites could provide a similar benefit.

This is great news if you are someone that works at home or has family and friends out of town. However, don’t let Facebook become a substitute for human interaction, either! See your pals when you can and use Facebook to say in touch with those you can’t.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Facebook is Healthy!

A death of one’s own child is something I don’t think a parent can ever go though unscarred. Yeah, I know, how can I connect one’s child asking permission to join Bebo and her death. But….it’s me…I’m a parent. I will always worry.

My Husband and I have not come close to making a decision regarding this matter. I know our daughter wants to fit in as most of her school friends are on Bebo . We are seriously putting in conditions to her joining the way we’ve put restrictions on her usage of her mobile phone and Macbook.

Ahhh…one’s struggle as a parent never ends methinks.

Sigh.

What about you? What are you going to do? Will you let your 11 year old child join a social networking site?

Yay or Nay?

Image: Christine Gooding

Post from: Blisstree

To Bebo or Not…

I never imagined how much drama a handful a teens could build with something as simple as a MySpace account. I had no idea that my just slapping up my “friends” list on my own MySpace indicated my favorite person to my least favorite.

How is a mother supposed to handle that one with three kids? There’s no random shuffle I can do with just those three – it’s Cr-A-Zee, let me tell you.

Further, the teen girls – Oh Dear God girls are so dramatic!

My son is head over heals in love with one girl who is dating another guy. The girl has been friends with my son since 3rd grade and still talks to him often – apparently the boyfriend is jealous, but the girl is standing strong in her value of her friendships. Now, I’m not so sure I’m comfortable with that. See, I’ve seen how jealous teens handle some situations and frankly, I don’t want my son becoming the target of some deranged teen boy because his hormones are all outta whack.

It’s terribly frightening, as a parent, hanging back and watching from a distance. I do try and instruct my son on the safest direction to take, how to keep neutral and have told him to show the boy that he respects the fact that he is the boyfriend.

Trying to teach my kids to always treat others the way they want to be treated is a doozy job – but at the same time, I think it’s the safest direction to take in a world that seems to fight all their problems with their fist or a gun.

Post from: Blisstree

Teens and Online Social Networking