Yesterday I saw a very interesting story on CNN about the “Tween Angels” network, started by the owner of Wired Safety.
She started the program to help tweens (and the sister group “teen angels”) and parents deal with safety issues online. Issues ranging from fraud, cyberbullying and cyberstalking.
I was especially taken by the young children in this video:
Tweens Push Online Safety
If you’ve been following my previous posts about getting your life in order, specifically the family calendar, you’ve also heard that for you Windows folks, Google just recently announced a tool to sync your Google Calendar to Microsoft Outlook.
Thank goodness because before this, it really wasn’t very easy to sync calendars to Outlook. It still not as easy as syncing between Apple iCal and Google Calendar, but at least it’s a start.
If you’re like me, keeping your schedule together is anything but easy. Between my work schedule, my kid’s schedules and finding the occasional opportunity for my wife and I to get time together, it’s amazing I’m still able to function. Looking for the perfect solution to manage it all not just for me but for the rest of my family has been a constant challenge.
Many years ago we started with the large wall calendar - you know, the month-at-a-glance type you find at any office supply store. This works fine especially since we put it on the wall between the kitchen and the dining room where we must pass it a hundred times a day. The problem with it is that it’s physically fixed in the house - many times when making appointments or schedule activities I’m not at the house.
The next natural step was to use a PDA (personal digital assistant). Even better is if it also is a phone. We can all thank Palm for the Treo - one of the many wonderful devices available on the market that combine both phone and calendar (and a bunch of other stuff I rarely used) that I can fit in my pocket. I can even sync it to my computer’s calendar so my stuff is there too. The downside is that only I have my schedule with me - what about everyone else? And what if anyone else I deem important (aka my wife) wants to see my calendar and vice versa?
One technology that might help is called iCal (which is sometimes known by its computer filename extension, .ics). Built into the Apple OSX operating system is a great program called simply iCal. A great online calendar system that uses iCal is the Google Calendar. And there are tools available to connect these two so your calendar can exist in many places - for example, on your phone, your computer and online. They can be protected so only specified people can see your calendar too.
UPDATE: Google just recently announced a tool to sync your Google Calendar to Microsoft Outlook.
There are many ways to do this depending on the operating system you use, the phone you have and the number and types of people you with which you want to share your information. I’ll share with you how we do it, if for any reason, to provide inspiration.
My wife has a Palm Treo 650 and an Apple Macbook. I have an Apple iPhone and a Mac Powerbook. Both the Treo and the iPhone can sync easily with iCal on our computers. Then I can publish each calendar to a website and password protect it. Finally, I setup my iCal to subscribe to my wife’s calendar, and her calendar to subscribe to my calendar. That way we both have not only our calendar, but also the other’s.
To do this right it’s probably best for each person to have multiple calendars, if you will. I have a calendars setup for work, home, volunteer stuff, birthdays, holidays and travel. That way I only publish which types of events my wife cares about.
It’s not as difficult as it sounds. But if you want to start someplace, check out either Google Calendar, a wonderful online calendar you can share with others. Or Plaxo, a free online site to host and share (with permission) your contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, etc. with specific individuals you grant permission.
In the end, it’s all about 24 hours in a day. Perhaps these ideas will help you avoid trying to squeeze more hours into the day than possible, and enjoy the time you have with your family. Best wishes!
This time of the year it’s become common to receive along with a holiday card a multiple-page, photocopied update from the sender on how their family (and others I probably don’t know) are doing and succeeding (my dad and I were talking this weekend that isn’t it funny that they never say anything bad in these letters? “Well, John was arrested in August and still serving time …”).
In this “social networking” age, why not think about putting all of this online and keep it running all year long? As you’re sitting by the fire, surrounded by opened presents, perhaps on your new laptop you just received, why not think about starting a virtual site to share with others about what’s going on with the family. Updates on the kid’s sports, travel experiences, accomplishments, favorite videos, etc. - the possibilities are endless.
There all types of really great tools that are easy to use (and many are free) to do this. Here’s a list of possibilities:
Flickr.com - create photo albums online
Wordpress.com - go beyond just photos and start a family blog
MyFamily.com - get the family online together (best part are the birthday reminders!)
Twitter.com - regular, quick posts you can enter from the web, from IM or text message
Facebook.com - sure, why not? My 70+ year old dad just became my friend!