ConnectSafely
This site is a god-send for a culture full of fanatical social networking fans, but not many security buffs. Everybody these days has a MySpace, FaceBook, or some other form of Internet profile. Through these, friends stay in touch, people meet new people, and even businesses are run! While this all sounds good and dandy, it would be naïve and idyllic to believe that these sites only bring good things to the table. After losing our hedonistic outlooks, the fact of the matter these communication websites can be dangerous if not used correctly, and it’s scary how many people don’t use them correctly.
Enter ConnectSafely.com. This site is full of information. news, and guides to educate, inform, and help to protect social networking users online. Upon first entry, you’ll see that the site is quite aesthetically pleasing. A soft white background provides a perfect backdrop for nativity scenes of the information generation, skateboarders with iPods, kids using video cameras, and especially the woman on the computer. A quick viewing of the “About Us” page shows that the site is totally non-profit, and its sole aim is to propagate safety knowledge and make young people and adults more aware and cognizant of their roles online and how to become more safe.
The site is very easy to navigate and quite ergonomically laid out. The main functions of the site are all in the left hand corner of the screen on every page you will visit, so you can always quickly move from one page to the next with ease.
If you are a concerned parent, safety tips and advice is the tier you will find yourself browsing. All articles are laid out in chronological order and all contain information pertinent to online safety and other technology based precautions and advice. This section can bring an adult who didn’t know what a modem was to a buff about advanced concepts such as anonymous proxy servers, and how to surf the Internet anonymously and securely; and they would know everything about secure tunnels. The point is, there is quite a bit of imperative content on this site, and the information can be passed on quite easily.
“News And Views” is a section dedicated to new laws, technology updates, and just general information about the information generation. There is also an interesting section where the staff voices their opinions and you get to hear candidly what they believe about the state of technology and communication sites today. Have no fear though! If you wish to speak your voice, there is a guest commentary section where just about anyone can write in and have their voice and opinions read and commented on by anyone that visit’s the site.
The most intuitive part of the site though has to be the forum section. This is an area where registered users can congregate, and discuss all topics ranging from Internet-related stuff or just about kids and school! The community here is very friendly towards each other and the forum is patrolled by moderators to make sure no one gets out of line, and no spam is posted. This can be a very useful tool even if you are unregistered; with a quick search bar entry, you could find a thread that asks and answers your specific question. If not, signing up is free and easy and only requires a couple of clicks and a valid e-mail address. While articles and other documents are very useful, sometimes it is more reassuring to read something written from somebody who has responded to you directly.
There is another section of the site that hosts various videos and other streaming content. Luckily these are streaming videos, which means they require no downloads. (think YouTube) The content ranges from lectures and seminars delivered by the staff and other spokespeople of the site, and the comedic portrayal of “The Webs.” This is a parody of the stereotypical sitcom family and it hilariously introduces and reinforces Internet knowledge and security information. This is great for kids who would faint at the sound of the word “lecture”. This allows them to glean the same content, but enjoy it in a tasty and funny fashion.
The Press Room will tell you how popular and widely revered the site is; awards and features galore. http://www.connectsafely.org/ is exactly what this world needs right now and appeals to every demographic and age group; kid or adult, Internet savvy or not. One cannot even comprehend the importance of being safe online these days, especially with all of the online thievery and children exploited online everyday. If you’ve come for Internet security and tips for remaining anonymous and safe online, look know further: http://www.connectsafely.org/ has what you need.
