Web Parenting

Last week, I spent some time discussing whether or not the techno-corps (Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, et al) were trustworthy.  The short answer is that I trust them to do what they say they are going to do in their Terms and Conditions.  I do not trust them to protect my personal information because 1) they can be forced to reveal that information by my government and 2) there is no such thing as a perfect defense against hacking.

But that's not the end of my thoughts on this topic because I am a parent.  My Middle School Daughter (the MSD that has been missing from several months of these posts) is swimming in these technical waters as well.  Teaching her how to navigate them is my responsibility, one that is almost more difficult to explain than why we have to say "Please" when we ask for things (instead of "Boop" or "NOW!").

Always Google

Keep in mind that she has never known a world without Google.  Knowledge is no more than an "Okay, Google" away.  Encyclopedias and research libraries are foreign to her.  She has had a presence on Facebook almost since before she was born thanks to her mother, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles and me.  She's had no control or consent to these social media postings, but she also does not complain about them.  At least, not yet.

The point is that on-line is part of where she lives.  It's not the only place she lives but it is a part.  She hangs out with her friends on Hangouts.  She posts her artwork on Instagram.  She comments (endlessly) on YouTube.  She has three email accounts.  (But not Google+: "Nobody uses that, Dad!" eye-roll)

Technical Parenting

Most other parents that I know tend to restrict their children's use of technology: smartphones, tablets, the Internet.  The feeling is that kids need to spend time in reality, facing the physical world and its challenges.  And there is certainly some truth to this: the only way we all learn to roll with the punches is to by having survived a few punches.

However, the punches are no longer only physical punches.  Where is she going to learn how to deal with phishing scams?  Cyberbullies?  Nigerian Emails?  Not by avoiding them but by encountering them and asking questions.   Usually of me.  That is behavior that I want to encourage.

If I restrict her use of technology because of what might happen, then I teach her that technology is to be feared, or, worse yet, that it is forbidden fruit that must be used in secret.  Then she will not ask me questions about it because she will be afraid of being caught.

Instead, I am her technical support.  It's a role that I sometimes enjoy, sometimes dread, but at least it creates a habit of coming to Dad to get help.  I ultimately want her to be able to answer her own questions around technology, but for the moment this is a better solution.

Cyber Boundaries

Understand that I do not agree with all of the choices that she makes in her use of technology.  She feels entitled to comment on everything on YouTube, something that I do not do because I do not want to start a flame war.  But all of her comments get forwarded to my email thanks to Gmail auto-forwarding.  On top of that, the content that she consumes is not interesting to me, but she wants to share it with my and so I make the effort.

And there are boundaries.  Her Instagram account is private and I know who she has allowed to view it.  I follow her and know what she posts.  If she kicks me out, then the account goes away.  I know the channels to which she has subscribed on YouTube; I don't watch every video, but I know the general tone of each channel.  Some of them use swear words, but instead of restricting them, we have talked about it.  If she starts using those words in casual conversation, then she knows that the phone will go away for a while.

Features not People

The bottom line is that my daughter needs to learn to live in both the real world and this on-line world.  It has always been a part of her life and it always will be.  Both have rules of behavior and conduct, but she is not going to learn them by avoiding either of these worlds.  I certainly do not want Google, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Amazon raising my child.  Fortunately, by being her technical support, I can help her understand that these companies are features of the on-line landscape, not people who can be trusted.

Will this apporach always work?  No, but it seems to be working for now.  When it stops, I'll have to change how I parent the internet.  But change is nothing new; it's what technology is all about.

My Cord Cutting Journey, Part 1 [Guest Post]

My Cord Cutting Journey Part 1

By One and Zeros

[

Editor's Note: I've asked a friend of mine to write up his cord cutting experience.  He has gone through it more recently and embraced it more deeply than I have.  I hope that you enjoy his journey as much as I have. 

                                                                                                                                              - Schmoid

]

A Brief History

I can track my love of all things tech to two very distinct moments in my life. The first occurred shortly after my high school graduation in 1982. My father gifted me an Audio Receiver and speakers. The setup was straightforward and the quality of sound was, to an 18 year old, superlative. But it was the first time the thought popped into my head that the experience might be better with a larger, and yes, more expensive pair of speakers. I grabbed every audiophile magazine I could find from the newsstand and spent months obsessing over that perfect pair of speakers. I was hooked, and that started my audiophile compulsion. The computer side of my tech love affair didn’t manifest itself until 1992 when I met my future ex-wife. It was yet another gift from my father: a 486SX computer with 4 MB’s of RAM. I knew very little about computers and the gift was meant to stimulate my interest so I could be better prepared for the business world. Mission accomplished. And like my audiophile lifestyle, this new passion came with the desire to constantly upgrade.

Trusting The Web

Recently, I was asked by a friend (the same friend that introduced my to drones, BTW) if I trusted Google.  In the context of our conversation of the time, the implication was that that might not be the wisest thing to do.  At the time, my answer was highly qualified:

"I trust them to do things that are good for Google.  And abusing what they know about me and everyone else that uses their services is will only be good for them in the short term.  If they go to far, then people will stop using their services and they will stop making money for their shareholders."

 - Schmoid

 Which is only a sort-of answer.  And, as things like this often do, it got me thinking.  Should we trust the large tech companies that know so much about us: Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.?  I don't really like my answer above, so I'm going to type my way into a better one.  Come along for the ride, why don't you?

Drones Are a Thing

It's time we talked about drones.  GoPro is launching the Karma, the new registration rules have gone in affect and I got the opportunity last weekend to fly some.  With all that going on, it's a criminal shame that I have not tapped in my hot take on these things any earlier.

Are UAV's 'Things'?

(courtesy The Verge)

But before we get rolling, a point of order: drones/quadcopters/hexi-copters/UAVs/whatever are things, but are they 'things' for the 'internet' to be 'of'?  After all, most of them are not directly connected to the internet or even to a network.  Having said that, I do not believe that I need to use my 'because it's my blog and I say so' trump.  The starting point of the Internet of Things is the rise of  the smartphone, cheap chips, sensors and connectivity.  Drones take advantage of that same paradigm.  Most are controlled through a smartphone, often with little input from the purported pilot.  They use various wireless networking protocols for that control and to send the video feed back.  So, while not directly connected to the internet, they are a product of the same culture.  From that view point, they are subject to my keyboard.

Tackling Cordcutting

To this ol' Schmoid, one of the essential tasks in the modern, Smart, home is to cut the cord.  Finding alternative ways to watch/listen/consume content other than the traditional cable/satellite company and, thereby, reducing your bills and time watching advertising is smart.  It just is.

Streaming Downs

Of course there are challenges.  Football in the US right now being a big one.  There are contracts between the league and the networks.  There are black out dates.  There are advertising revenues and player endorsements and usage rights and 'express written consent'.  Somewhere in there are the fans, but they don't matter as long as they watch and buy.

Given the start of the NFL season and the recent attempts by Tom Wheeler (hallowed be thy name) to change how the cable box works, it seems time to revisit this topic since I last touched on it in June, 2016.  Follow along, intrepid explorers, and lets see where my typing fingers take us.

Internet of Philosophy: Consumer

Over the past two weeks I've been throwing words at the internet about how I think certain IoT systems should be implemented.  Specifically, Municipal (Government) and Enterprise (Business).  But really, all of that blah-blah-blah is just an introduction to this post: the Consumer (Home) side of it all.  After all, I'm not a government official nor am I employed in any way by a business.  However, I do own a home and I do consume.

The not-so-old adage that 'If you're not paying, you're the product' is what got me thinking about all of this in the first place.  Whether that saying is a complaint, a compliment or just a bunch of extruded male bovine waste is up for some debate.  However, is a decade that has seen the rise of Software-as-a-Service and attempts to add subscription models to everything (thanks Obama Amazon), it is worth taking a some time to analyze how it might apply to the SmartHome space.

Internet of Philosophy: Enterprise

Last week I started in on a series of articles around three implementations of the Internet of Things: Municipal, Enterprise and Consumer.  I covered off on the Municipal side of things within that opening article and this week I want to dive into what Enterprise or Commercial IoT is all about.

Enterprise Internet of Things

The Basics

When the government is installing an IoT system, they are doing it under the auspices of better serving their constituency.  Business installations are different.  They are all about maximizing return, whether that is for the business owners or for the shareholders.  While there is certainly a cost saving side to governmental IoT, that's all that there is for businesses.  If it won't increase profits, why do it?

Profits, then: the difference between expenditures and earnings.  IoT can help the businesses increase profits in two ways: lower costs per unit produced and lower liability.