I’m always a bit scared of crystal-balling the future, but my good friend Dan Tynan is not. And he’s not talking about the way distant future, either. Nor, is he far from wrong.

So, imagine a world where you’re connected all the time, and not just to your computer. Every machine from the gas pump to the coffee maker knows who you are and can offer you information on everything from the weather to where your kids are. Read more »

Preschoolers can’t understand the difference between content and ads on a website and like to shop despite the fact that money is an abstract term.  Parents don’t mind straightforward advertising, but they can’t abide by sites that try to blur the line between the two.  Those are just two of the takeaways you’ll find in the new study,  Like Taking Candy From a Baby: How Young Children Interact with Online Environments. Read more »

For everyone who’s spent hours of time asking people they don’t even like to be their friends, writing on walls, or reaffirming the complications of their relationships, you’ll get a kick out of this YouTube video   that parodies real life.  It’s making the rounds of the viral videos, but there’s more to it than a good laugh.

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Once a year comes the payback for 364 days of “me last.” Mother’s Day has been transformed from a buy-a-box-of-candy holiday to one of those major consumer fests. And of course, technology is being hawked as this year’s equivalent of the 50s’ diamond necklace or trip to Maui.

But what technology does mom really want or need? Here’s my list as written for Discover Card Edge.

Listen to a bit of the dialog from Grand Theft Auto IV, the newest release of the game classic that has come to epitomize violent gaming, and you’ll think you’re listening to a parody of a bad gangster movie. The game features an illegal Eastern European immigrant as a low-life thug trying to get his piece of the American Dream the easy way, through petty crime and womanizing. –>

Think of parental controls like you’d think of those tummy-tightening undergarments. They help to a degree, but the best way to hold your stomach in is with exercise and diet. <sigh>

While there are no silver bullets in these products, they each provide options for parents to feel a bit safer. They also send a subtle reminder to your kids that, in fact, watching them on the Internet is an important part of your job. Read my column at DiscoverCard for a new look at an old subject.

Joining Intel’s Classmate PC and the One Laptop Per Child PC, the Mini-Note is the latest foray into the sub-notebook PC for the classroom.

To laptop or not to laptop, that is the question many schools are asking. Parents should take heed. More and more schools have begun to require a laptop and at younger and younger ages.
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It’s raining new websites for kids, and ZooKazoo is one of the newest in the shower. ZooKazoo is both a social network and a casual gaming site. It’s housed inside a safe environment that you enter with a subscription bought by parents. Read more »

Many of you have asked me to post a recent copy of my presentation for parents. Here you go. The first part of the presentation sets the stage for why the Internet is causing such a rift between parents and kids. The next part looks at the economics of the Internet, which explains a lot of why kids are innocent collateral in the war for web traffic. Third, it takes a look at the stuff kids do every day — games, contests, chain mail, and how those can appear to be deceptively safe. Next, it’s on to kids communicating with kids for a look at IM, social networking, and phone messaging. Finally, we look at cyberbullying. There’s a lot in this presentation and you may wind up with a huge headache if you try to consume it at once. Take it bit by bit and remember to pay closest attention to Robin’s five Internet rules.

Click here to download the presentation.

You remember it, don’t you? A paper plate with a fastener holding moving paper arms that rotated around the plate and pointed to your next familial task: mow the lawn, do the laundry, set the table. At our house, we got our allowances in return for doing what the wheel said. Some families had Patton-like plans down to how many times per week a chore needed doing; others had a complex merit and demerit system. In hindsight, our family work wheel was often woefully ignored, but wonderfully sweet. I’m glad to see the work wheel sensibility meet the digital age in a web site called Handipoints. Handipoints lets you create real-world goals and chores using an online chore chart and rewards system. Parents create the task list, and those who do will find that no chore is left unturned on the Handipoints’ list — from brushing your teeth to bathing the dog. Read more »