Broadcast a Podcast

Podcasts are simply radio shows on the internet.  You can listen to them on your computer or download them to your iPod or MP3 player.  If you have something you are burning to say, or you are looking for a way to share news about your family with far away relatives, you too can be a podcaster.  The simplest method is through Blog Talk Radio.  Once you set up an account, all you need is a telephone to call in and record your show.  Friends and family can also call in and join your live broadcast.  Once the recording is complete it is saved and hosted on the Blog Talk Radio website for you and others to listen to any time.
www.blogtalkradio.com

Managing Cell Phone Use

Parents are concerned about letting their kids have a cell phone because sometimes kids use them a little too much and parents pay the high price to the cell phone companies. Also parents are concerned that kids may use cell phone inappropriately, like in the middle of the night. The flip side is that it is good for your kid to have a cell phone so you can stay in touch with him no matter when or where you are. Fortunately for the good parents of the world, there are technology developers coming up with new solutions everyday to address your concerns.

Kajeet
Kajeet phones are, hands-down, the smartest, easiest way to let your child have a cell phone and maintain control over its use. Kajeet is a real phone designed for kids. Kids can use it to text, play games, download ringtones, and receive instant messages. Its use is pay-as-you-go with no contracts, no activation fees and no termination fees. Parents can set the phone to operate only during certain hours. Parents can also set who can or can’t call or text the phone. This phone is for sale at Best Buy and Target. You can find out all about it at kajeet.com And the website is actually a lot of fun. Its worth a look anyway.

Radar
Another option is Radar, which is a software program you can install on any cell phone that will allow you to monitor your child’s phone use. This is not “spyware” that is a hidden software to be used without your child knowing about it. This software notifies the phone user that they are being monitored, making it impossible to track their usage secretly — and that is good. You don’t want to undermine your child’s trust, you just want to keep them safe. Radar lets parents set up appropriate times for phone usage and approved contact lists. If there is phone usage outside of those settings, the parent receives an alert to his or her own cell phone. Information about Radar is at mymobilewatchdog.com

Start A Family Website

The very best thing about maintaining a family website is that distant friends and family can tap in anytime to see what your family is doing and what the kids look like. Believe me, they appreciate it so much. And their warm emails about the new pictures you’ve posted are reward enough for keeping the site current.

There are seemingly infinite options you can use to create a family website, but here are two that are very popular, easy and free.

Flickr
The first is Flickr.com This is primarily a photo album sharing tool. You upload your photos and organize them into albums. Then you can choose how you want them shared: to a private group by invitation only, or viewable to any site visitor.

MyFamily
Another option is MyFamily.com If you are familiar with MySpace at all, this can best be described as a MySpace page for your family with a more user friendly interface for uploading and viewing large numbers of photos. You can very easily upload photos and videos. You can also invite friends and family to become members of your website. Members can leave comments and updates about what they are up to. You can even build family trees.

CommonCraft.com does a great job demystifying online photo sharing in this video:

Be A Blogger

Do you always hear about parenting blogs, but wonder where to find good ones? The Mom Blog Network is a site developed exclusively to showcase the ever-growing community of mom bloggers. It’s a place for readers to discover new blogs and share content with each other. The Mom Blog Network helps you find the best new content because the good posts are voted on by readers. This is a great place to get your feet wet in the blogging world.

All you have to do is set up a user id and then you are free to post anything you like. You don’t have to maintain your own blog page, yet. You can just post here and there to comment on a current event or even just talk about your family. Really, anything goes. And the best thing is that all the established bloggers who post to this website link their posts back to their blogs. So pretty soon you will find yourself reading kids product and book reviews, smart social commentary, and tips on everything written by fantastic bloggers that you would have probably never found on your own.

The Mom Blog Network is at momblognetwork.com

Here is a CommonCraft.com video that explains blogging “in plain english”:

Get a MySpace Page

At first glance, MySpace can be intimidating. It is stuffed with profiles designed by kids who have less of an interest in design symmetry than they have in expressing themselves. But then how is that any different than a child’s (especially a teenager’s) bedroom? No matter the age, their stuff is everywhere! Music cds on the floor over here, books or magazines all over the bed over there, “Erin Loves Hudson” painted on the wall … that is an exact translation of all the mish-mosh you see on MySpace profiles.

Let’s look past the personalization and examine the bare bones. It is a fill-in-the-blank presentation of you. Name, location, interests, and a personal statement. Your bedroom, I mean MySpace page, doesn’t have to be messy like your kid’s. It can be nice and tidy with a place for everything and everything in its place, and furthermore, that is the easiest kind of MySpace page to make.

Do it now. It will take 5 minutes.

1. Go to: www.MySpace.com
2. Click “Sign Up”
3. Fill out the form.
4. You will be prompted to upload a photo. This can actually be a photo of you or any image you want. (You can skip this step.)
5. You will be prompted to “Invite your friends”. (You can skip this step. It is just a way for them to get more people to sign up.)
6. You will be prompted to verify your email address. Do so.
7. You will be prompted to choose your MySpace url, this is your personalized MySpace web address.

You now have a MySpace page. Don’t be creeped out when you see that you already have a “Friend” and his name is Tom. Tom is everybody’s first friend. He is a MySpace tech guy who is the human MySpace personality that will send you special MySpace notices from time to time.

What would be really cool is if you sit down with your kid and have them show you how to set-up a MySpace page. Have them show you how to add them as a friend.

Now just play with it. Get as into it as you want. Explore the features, add music, pictures, friends … go ahead and mess up that room if you feel like it.