Protect Your Kids Online with KidsWifi: Spokesperson Cheryl Hickey

I'm always interested when my TV personality friends put their support behind causes or companies, and when ET Canada's Cheryl Hickey let me know that she was the spokesperson for a worthwhile new product called KidsWifi, I immediately wanted to share it with my readers.

Here's how it works: KidsWifi provides your children with their own plug-in-and-go online network (using your home internet connection) which filters, monitors and controls all of their (or their visiting friends') online devices in your home: iPods, tablets, computers, game consoles, it's all covered.

Through the Parents' Dashboard you can set KidsWifi to filter adult and mature content, social networks, gambling, illegal downloads, ads, even Google searches and YouTube videos. It can be automatically turned off at bedtime, and you can even disable it through your phone if you want the kids offline for a period of time. You can also review the sites your kids have visited (by each device); a very helpful feature to spark discussions.

When kids are really young (as Cheryl's are) KidsWifi can be helpful for making sure they don't accidentally stumble upon undesirable content. As children get older, and conversations are ongoing about what's appropriate (in terms of videos, social media use, amount of time online) you can gradually release responsibility as your kids earn it by adjusting the settings. They still maintain some privacy, as activity inside a site or app (e.g., messages sent or received) is not recorded. KidsWifi can handle dozens of devices at once, while devices on your regular ("grown up") network are unaffected, unfiltered and run at regular speed.

At one point we took internet browsing off our younger daughter's iPod, as she loves to look up videos for the songs she hears on the radio, but some of them were just not appropriate. With KidsWifi, the device could be set to run only on YouTube Restricted mode, blocking the more mature content. You can even make personalized exceptions to block or unblock a particular site for the whole network or a specific device (helpful if you have kids of different ages hooked up).

Here's what official spokesperson Cheryl Hickey has to say:

“Take it from me – a busy mom, wife, entrepreneur and host of ET Canada. I can’t monitor my kids’ screen-time 24/7. KidsWifi enables me to provide my kids with the joy of the Internet, with the peace of mind knowing they're safe while surfing and I can set the boundaries of when it is time to shut down and head outside!"

The price for this peace of mind: a one-time cost of $99. Plug it in and go. (There's even a great "Support" page right on their website if you have any technical questions.)

Thanks for sharing this with me Cheryl! I think KidsWifi is going to be a great resource for parents.

Why "Outsmarting Your Kids Online" Should Be Required Reading For All Parents

*Note: Giveaway has ended*

Yesterday I purchased Outsmarting Your Kids Online: A Safety Handbook For Overwhelmed Parents by Amber Mac and Michael Bazzell.

I couldn't put it down, and I finished it before I went to bed.

Here's why I think this book should be required reading for all parents:

• It is SO thorough. There are chapters devoted to all of the most popular platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., as well as online video and mobile apps.
• It provides info you won't get anywhere else. I consider myself moderately tech-savvy, but even I was blown away by all the great back-door methods for finding someone's profile on a social media site (because yes, lots of our children will create profiles they don't want us to see).
• It provides the right balance of parental fear (the horror stories of Rehtaeh Parsons and Amanda Todd) and encouragement (including all of the amazing benefits of screens for kids - with some great fun and educational app recommendations)
• It applies from preschool through the teen years (and while preschoolers likely aren't hiding Instagram accounts from us, parents of preschoolers are at the perfect phase to get ahead, and stay ahead of the Internet game)
• It embraces practical and flexible - not radical or judgmental - parenting philosophies and advice: how much to trust your kids, how much to spy, how much screen time kids should have, etc. I especially love how they reference author Lisa Guernsey and her three Cs: Content (what's on the screen - educational games shouldn't be looked at the same as violent videos), Context (has your child been outside all day? are you on a road trip?) and Child (each one is different in terms of their reactions to and reasons for using screens - is she addicted? does a video help him relax?). 
• It also provides a wealth of information that can also be helpful to teachers and administrators 

A final reason I really love it:

• It includes lots of Canadian content. While Internet information really applies anywhere (it is called the www for a reason) and this handbook is just as helpful for American parents, the patriotic side of me always likes to see Canadian references included in my reading. (Come on, when watching a big TV show or movie you've had a "They just said 'Canada'!" moment too!)

Photo: ambermac.com 

I'm a longtime fan of Amber MacArthur, and know her best from all of her fantastic tech segments on The Marilyn Denis Show (okay, fine, when she followed me back on Twitter and Instagram I loved her even more), and her insights combined with Michael Bazzell's experience as a computer crime detective really provide comprehensive coverage of this huge topic. 

You can purchase Outsmarting Your Kids Online: A Safety Handbook For Overwhelmed Parents here.

The book has already sparked a great conversation with my ten year old, which ended like this:

Her:  Actually, I don't think I really want an Instagram account yet anyway.

Me:  Really?

Her:  Nah. I'm not that interested anymore. But I do want guinea pigs...

It's always something. (I think I'd prefer Instagram.)

************

To enter to win your own copy of Outsmarting Your Kids Online: A Safety Handbook For Overwhelmed Parents, you can do one or more of the following:

Retweet this tweet

Like and/or comment on this Facebook post

Like and/or comment on this Instagram post

Total number of possible entries is five, and the contest ends Sunday, May 29th at midnight, after which time I will choose a winner using random.org.

Good luck!

Our Visit to the digiPlaySpace

A short time ago, we kicked off our March Break with a super fun visit to the digiPlaySpace at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where my girls had a blast!

The digiPlaySpace is designed to stimulate imaginations and inspire a lifelong passion for creativity and invention - and they certainly hit the mark with my daughters! During our visit, both my ten-year-old and seven-year-old were drawn to many of the installations (there are 25 of them, from nine different countries), where they could play and explore different video games and digital effects in an extremely hands-on environment.

Tickets are timed, which is great because you don't want to be in the space with too many other kids. I found my girls rarely had to wait more than a minute or two to try an activity, and you could easily keep an eye on them without crowds in the way.

There are so many sensory experiences here, as well as chances to explore the arts (you can turn your doodles into a digital pinball game!) and be active...it's not about sitting still in front of a screen. They definitely put the "Play" in "PlaySpace".

Some of our favourites:

Oh, did my girls love the green screen experience!

As a teacher, I really loved seeing this:

My mom came along with us, and while she was camera-shy, she did have opinions to share, one being that she was very impressed by the number and expertise of the volunteers working in the space, who kept everything running smoothly and helped explain different activities to the children.

The digiPlaySpace is open until April 24th, and if you have kids and live anywhere in the GTA, I strongly recommend you check it out! While our visit was complimentary, tickets are $10.00, which is a very reasonable price for an hour or more of educational fun (sorry, there's the teacher in me coming out again!) For more information go to http://tiff.net/kids-family/digiplayspace16.

***

P.S. Speaking of TIFF Kids:

Are your kids budding film buffs? Did you know that the TIFF Kids Festival takes place from April 8 - 24 and features 139 films from 35 countries? They're holding a kickoff party on Friday April 8th at 5 p.m. with a screening of Oddball, with food and fun activities beforehand.

Visit http://tiff.net/festivals/tiffkids16 for more details!

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by TIFF Kids. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Your Kids Can Code! Microsoft's #CodeGeneration Campaign

Kids love coding. Really, they do. We hear so much about technology and job prospects (did you know by 2019, the project skills gap in the Canadian IT sector is expected to be 182,000 jobs, and youth unemployment in Canada is at an all-time high? Makes that field pretty tempting...) but it's also important to emphasize how many children (and adults) actually love these activities. Whether our children end up employed in IT or not, coding is a fun way to explore the possibility.

This past summer I did an online training program for teachers through Code.org, and showed my girls the activities. They were hooked...and you and your kids might be too! (If they're hesitant, you'll probably have them at "Minecraft".) My grade 3 students had the opportunity to do some coding with the principal one day as well, and raved about it afterwards.

To celebrate Computer Science Education Week (happening through Sunday December 13th), Microsoft Canada has launched the #CodeGeneration campaign, encouraging students to learn to code.

With free online coding challenges, in-store "Hour of Code" sessions and a partnership with Code.org offering students and educators a Minecraft coding tutorial, Microsoft wants to show students that anyone can learn to code, and the power to create technology is at our fingertips.

If you've never heard of "Hour of Code", it's a global movement launched by Code.org and supported by Microsoft, reaching tens of millions of students in over 180 countries - students as young as four years old can get involved.

#CodeGeneration will wrap up Computer Science Education Week with a bang on Sunday, December 13th by hosting "Hour of Code" Minecraft-themed coding workshops for teens in Microsoft stores nationwide.

If your teen is interested in one of the Microsoft Hour of Code sessions, here are the details:

• Who – Students between the ages of 13 and 18
• What – In-store “Hour of Code” sessions
• When – Sunday, December 13 2015 (all local time zones)
  • Session 1: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Session 2: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
  • Session 3: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.      
• Where – Microsoft Stores nationwide:
  • Calgary, Chinook Centre
  • Edmonton, West Edmonton Mall     
  • Burnaby, Metropolis at Metrotown 
  • Vancouver, Pacific Centre
  • Mississauga, Square One Shopping Centre    
  • Toronto, Eaton Centre
  • Toronto, Yorkdale Shopping Centre

•  Register online at http://www.microsoft.ca/codeoff.

Kids (and parents, and teachers) can get involved from home too...be sure to check out Code.org and get started!

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by Microsoft. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Samsung Tab S Giveaway and Solve for Tomorrow STEM Challenge

(SORRY, AMERICAN FRIENDS: CONTEST OPEN TO CANADIANS ONLY)

Okay, dear readers: I have a fantastic giveaway for you! Samsung is offering one lucky This Mom Loves reader a Samsung Tab S tablet (worth $399.99) as part of their mission to spread the word about the Samsung Canada National Education Challenge!

Whether you're a teacher or a parent, I'm sure you're well aware of the importance of STEM (more on that below), and Samsung's new challenge gives students in Grades 6-12 the opportunity to identify a challenge and use STEM to help solve it...with the chance to win some amazing grant money for their schools! This is definitely a project worth sharing.

Here are some more details about the Challenge:

Taking a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outside of the classroom and into the community was never this much fun for students! Samsung Electronics Canada today announced the launch of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge, a national educational contest designed to inspire Canadian students to get closer to the real-world possibilities of STEM by applying them to help better their communities. Students in Grades 6 to 12 will be asked to identify an existing challenge or issue they are passionate about in their town, city or neighbourhood, and use STEM to help solve it.

Finalist schools will share in $500,000 in Samsung classroom technology grants. Solve for Tomorrow Challenge partners include Canadian YouTube stars Mitch Moffit and Greg Brown of AsapSCIENCE. With a passion for science and education, Mitch and Greg started AsapSCIENCE as a community for people to learn and be entertained through a unique online educational content that highlights the neatest aspects of science. Mitch and Greg will visit two grand prize winning schools and their communities to learn about their winning student projects and feature them in an AsapTHOUGHT video. They’ll also host a special and unique STEM lab experience at the winning schools.

“Samsung is committed to supporting schools when it comes to classroom technology, support and research, and we know STEM is critical for 21st century learning skills and the careers of tomorrow,” said Mark Childs, CMO at Samsung Electronics Canada. “In collaboration with our partners in education, through the Solve for Tomorrow Challenge we’re introducing a totally new and engaging challenge where Canadian students will be able to learn about STEM topics, work together as a team, have fun, and help their communities, all while working to win some very cool experiences and technology products for their school.”

Along with AsapSCIENCE, the Solve for Tomorrow Challenge is supported by The Learning Partnership, a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing public education in Canada, and Let’s Talk Science, a charitable organization which looks to create and deliver unique learning programs and services that engage youth and educators in STEM subjects.

Click here for the entry form for the Solve for Tomorrow Challenge! 

To enter to win the Samsung Tab S I have up for grabs, all you have to do is help spread the word about the Samsung Canada National Education Challenge on social media!

(NOTE: CONTEST IS OPEN TO CANADIANS ONLY)

First, do one or both of the following:

Share the following tweet on Twitter, then paste a link to your tweet in the form below:

Win a Tab S from @SamsungCanada @ThisMomLoves and learn about #SamsungSolve here: http://bit.ly/1WXde0i

AND/OR

Share the following post on Facebook (you will have to type in the tags - not copy and paste - for Samsung Canada and This Mom Loves to make them work properly), then paste a link to your post in the form below:

Win a Tab S from @SamsungCanada @This-Mom-Loves and learn about #SamsungSolve here: http://bit.ly/1WXde0i

Once you have completed one or both of the mandatory sharing entries above, you get bonus entries for:

*Following This Mom Loves on Twitter
*Following This Mom Loves on Instagram
*Liking This Mom Loves on Facebook

You have a total of five chances to win this incredible prize - and how great would a Tab S look under your Christmas tree?

Contest ends on Monday, November 30th 2015 at 11:50 p.m. Eastern. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

I'm Finally On Instagram!

This post will be short and sweet, dear readers: I finally joined Instagram!

As a blogger who wants to continue to have a social media presence (as well as a teacher and parent who wants to keep up to date with what the kids are doing) I thought it was about time. I also can see a huge difference in the amount of interaction Instagram posts get, compared to when they're posted simultaneously on Twitter. It seems people are much more "like happy" on Instagram, and I will try to follow suit.

Speaking of following, you can find me here:

http://instagram.com/katethismomloves

And unless there's a compelling reason not to (e.g. porn, vegetables), I'll be happy to follow you back.

My very first post was this Throwback Thursday pic of my girls, one of my favourites:

Thanks, everyone!

Why I'm Switching To The BlackBerry Q5

Ever since I got my first BlackBerry (a Torch, over two years ago) I've been hooked. Sure, I was a little bit behind the original CrackBerry crowd, but being able to access email and internet on my phone? Awesome.

The time was approaching for me to look at an upgrade (as most of us do, whether we "need" it or not), and when I was contacted about testing out a brand-new BlackBerry Q5, I jumped at the chance. Some of my friends were surprised by my brand loyalty, but I think people can be a bit too focused on company stocks, trades and sales and lose perspective of the fact that what you really want is the best possible tool to last you for a few years, max. I'm not buying the company, I'm buying a smartphone. And as you'll read, BlackBerry certainly continues to suit my purposes nicely.

The appearance of the Q5 would put you slightly in mind of the Curve, with a screen and Qwerty keyboard both on the front of the single piece, only this screen is touch, and twice the size. (I actually quite like the look of it.) The touch screen and Qwerty are both must-haves for me now, after using them on the Torch, which automatically rules out many other brands.




BlackBerry calls the Q5 "gesture based", but in my own layperson's terms I think of it more as "swipey". Swipe your finger up to wake up the phone, and down for settings, etc. To the right: your message hub, to the left: all of your programs and apps. It's very comfortable to hold, and while I didn't exactly weigh them both, it feels lighter than my current Torch. Getting set up was an absolute breeze (especially the email accounts - just enter your username and password and you're hooked up). I found in the beginning that my Yahoo email notifications were delayed, but tech support helped me adjust a setting and now it's much better - almost real-time.

Some of my favourite features of the Q5: the "Remember" app - it replaces the Memo Pad and Tasks, and is also where I can record my voice notes (I use that feature quite a lot for Momterviews, or when interviewing sources for magazine articles - quite an upgrade from the old Califone cassette player that I brought home from work to use in the past!)

Storymaker is another cool feature that I plan to explore more. You can select any pictures, videos and music from your phone that you wish, and combine them into a video that can be edited with titles and effects like filters to polish it off.

Another amazing upgrade is the Time Shift feature that comes with the camera. You know how some cameras now will take a few rapid shots in a row, just in case someone blinks? Well, this goes one step farther. You can actually look at the shots that were taken with the Time Shift feature, and choose each person's best "face" to combine (e.g. Frannie looks best in shot one, Maggie looks best in shot two) and combine the faces together to create a photo that did not even exist before. Is that cool or what? There are also tons of editing tools, including the one I use the most, which is filtering pics (to sepia, etc.) Plus, this phone has both front and rear cameras...so look forward to a lot more selfies from This Mom! (You can relax: there will be no selfies.)

I also plan to check out the new BlackBerry Travel app, which can keep trip information all in one place - it might come in quite handy for an exciting fall trip I have planned!

I can honestly say that there is only one thing that I don't like about the Q5, and it's pretty minor: the free Twitter app doesn't currently include a "Lists" feature...and you know how important my Twitter lists are to me! Now, I could easily download a cheap app (like Blaq, which I believe is only a couple of bucks) but I'm all about the free apps, especially when just reviewing. (Speaking of free, the games that my 5 and 7 year old girls are loving: Bubble Buster, Jeweled, Word Search Blitz and...wait for it...Angry Birds Star Wars, of course!)

Music is something else I'll be figuring out shortly, but it's good to know that there is a way to put your iTunes music - or other music files from your computer - onto your BlackBerry as well, just in case you didn't realize that.

Something I learned from the experience of reviewing the phone is that actually reading the user guide is fairly helpful. I always figured that I just need my BB for basic functions, which I can pretty much figure out on my own, but in the blogging world it's good to know random tidbits, like the fact that I can capture and save a screenshot by pressing both volume keys simultaneously. Who knew?

I would highly recommend the BlackBerry Q5 for anyone looking to use a smartphone for the same functions as me (a mom, teacher, writer, blogger): phone, texting, email, web browsing, Twitter/Facebook, camera/video, keeping track of information, games (for the kids, of course)....what else do you need? In fact, I like it so much that I'm going to head to Bell asap to make the switch. If there's anyone out there who wants a two year old BlackBerry Torch, in excellent used condition, make me an offer!

Disclosure: I was provided with a BlackBerry Q5 for review purposes. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Promoting a Facebook Post: Is It Worth It?

This Mom Loves has 1325 fans on Facebook. (More or less. More once you click on over and "Like" it. See how smooth I was there?) Anyway, the number seems pretty respectable, doesn't it? But with the way Facebook works, most of my posts are seen in the timelines of only 50 - 100 people, which to me does not seem at all fair. If people have clicked on "Like", I'm pretty sure they're agreeing to allow my headlines to pop up in their feed. But that would be too easy.

Facebook does give business pages the option to have posts "promoted", which means you can pay them to show your updates to more people. While opposed to the idea in principle, I decided to experiment with this option and see what results I would get.

After the show Big Brother Canada got off to an amazing start in the ratings, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, I posted a Momterview with the show's host Arisa Cox. I figured there would be a lot of interest out there, if only people knew the interview existed.

I posted an update on Facebook with a photo of Arisa and her kids and a link to the interview, and then made a commitment to spend $5 to promote the post, with an estimated reach of 1190 to 2210 people (compared to the 60ish people who usually see my updates).

The final results:

• 1486 people saw the Facebook post pop up in their timelines.
• 10 people clicked on it (yes, 10. Out of 1486. Obviously my fans are not all Big Brother fans.)
• There were 4 "Likes", 1 "Share", and 1 "Comment"
• Total cost of $4.28 to my Paypal account

My analysis:

While $5 is a small price to pay to have that many people see a Facebook update, I think it would be most worthwhile if it was some sort of announcement or information contained right in the Facebook post that you wanted people to see. What I really wanted was for people to click on the link and visit my blog to read the interview, which it appears only 10 people did. That seems like an incredibly small percentage to me.

I might do it again in the future for a post if I have any reason to believe that it could appeal to a large number of people, but I post about three times per week, and even if I stick with the $5 per, that still really adds up. I don't think I should have to pay for people to read my blog.

And I really do resent giving Facebook money for this. If 1325 chose to "Like" me, I'm assuming they're open to having my occasional updates appear in their stream, so it seems pretty underhanded that I have to pay to have more of them see it. Especially since while I am a "business" page, I'm not seeking out any income or sales results from the people who read my posts. Just more traffic and reach, that's it. But what can you do?

What are your thoughts on paying to promote posts on Facebook?

How I Spring Cleaned My Twitter Account {And Tim's Card Up For Grabs!}

{Prologue: If you read to the end, you could win a $25 Tim Horton's gift card!}

Twitter can be wonderful, especially for bloggers. Last week, I sent out this tweet:

I was published in @todaysparent! Ok, so they just quoted my tweet on their letters page but still. Totally a foot in the door, right?
— Kate Winn (@thismomloves) March 22, 2013

Within minutes, 8 people had "Favorited" the tweet (Why? I still don't understand "Favorites"; can someone please tell me how you use them?), 9 had replied to me with their support, and 5 had very kindly retweeted my message. Including Today's Parent, who sent it to their 423,753(ish) followers. Which then (again within minutes) landed me 14 new followers. When I checked them out, I followed several back, and noticed that I shared something fairly important in common with one, which led to a series of interesting DMs (Direct Messages). All because of one Tweet.

But I know I haven't always used my Twitter account to my (or my followers') advantage, so I decided it was time for a Spring clean.

I reread my copy of Twitter For Dummies, basically because one night I wanted to have a bath and had no reading material (which will make sense to some of you) so I went down to the reference section of my bookshelf (yes I have a reference shelf, and no it is not alphabetized, thank you very much), chose an old favourite and gleaned some new ideas.

Here's what I did to refresh @thismomloves on Twitter:

• Updated my profile photo. The last one was three years old, but I liked it! And yes, I've taken some other decent pictures over the last three years but some have other people in them, or distracting backgrounds or were from when I was blonde, and now I'm brunette again so that seemed silly. You may be able to see the new shot above on my tweet, but just in case you desperately want to see it in detail:

(By the way, I was dressed up for an important reason. Which I will share here someday once I get my nerve up. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm wearing a LOT of makeup.)

• Updated my profile page. It used to just have the boring and functional description: "Mom, teacher, freelance writer, blogger". Lately I've seen some inspiring profiles that were more personal and/or clever, so I decided to add a few more details (more personal, still not clever). You'll have to check out my profile to see!

• Checked my Settings, and visited the Help Centre to learn more about Twitter. I wasn't sure about some things, for example why I wasn't seeing when the people I followed sent @replies to others  (which I would sometimes notice when looking at a person's profile). Here's why:  "People will only see others' @replies in their home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the @reply." Learn something new every day. (When your kids come home from school and say they learned "nothing", they are lying.)

• Found Friends: when I joined, not a lot of my friends were on Twitter. I used the Find Friends feature to search my Yahoo mail contacts to see who else is on. I actually only found a few to follow (wow, tongue-twisters galore here)...and how did I not know my Mom is on Twitter?

• Checked in with JustUnfollow.com: This app shows you the users you follow who do not follow you. Most of the celebrities I follow show up on this list (I can "whitelist" them so they don't pop up every time I check) but I can also see if anyone has unfollowed me lately. Case in point: someone who just followed me last week, whom I followed back because she looked interesting, proceeded to unfollow me a day later. Nice. So yes, I unfollowed her too. Maybe she is indeed interesting, but no longer someone I want to support if she's that shady about boosting her Twitter numbers. I'm sure some of my followers have checked out because the only reason they followed in the first place was for a giveaway...which is why using that as a bonus entry sometimes seems ridiculous to me, but I still do it occasionally to reward those who do follow @thismomloves.

• Rethought how I use Triberr. Long story short, Triberr is a network where you form a "Tribe" with other bloggers, and tweet out their post headlines, as a way to help increase each other's reach. I did a whole post questioning the value of Triberr a few months ago, and finally decided to just relax. I check in every couple of days, and only tweet out headlines that really interest me, and which I think my followers would also be interested in. And yes, I do this more often for my Tribesmates who actually go to the effort to tweet out my stuff too (I'm talking about you, Raylene @OKtobeWEIRD, you generous Tweeter).

• Made a decision to use Twitter less as a "Here's a link to my post so come on over" tool. I've posted a few favourite quotes (from The Little Prince, most recently), retweeted some interesting things I've come across in my stream, and I've been making an effort to (in a genuine way), engage with others by replying to things they say.

• Tried to start using more photos, like the one last week that showed how my new Target dress was falling apart more and more - in several different places - as my workday went on (see below). Yeah, it was so embarrassing that it became funny. At least I never flashed more than my arms and some upper-leg tights. In other questionable photography, there was also my 4 year old with her temporary Guinness Shamrock tattoo on St. Patrick's Day.

When it comes to Twitter, one thing that frustrates me is when I send out a general question, e.g.:  "Anyone see anything good at the movies lately?" which theoretically goes to 2200 people, and I get crickets in response. Christy from @morethanmommy commented somewhere  (sorry I can't be more specific) that is seems like "Everyone is talking and no one is listening", which really resonated with me (I mean, if I can't keep up with 300 people, how can others actually see tweets from the thousands that they follow?) but I think the more I engage with others, the more I'll get back in return.

In closing, here is my secret for not being overwhelmed by Twitter: As of the writing of this post, I have 2230 Twitter followers, and I am following 298. Many whom I follow are those who followed me from the beginning (lots of Mom bloggers) and I don't have the heart to unfollow them, despite the fact that I cannot possibly keep up with the stream. On my BlackBerry, I can scroll for a full minute, and not even get through the last hour's worth of posts, which is crazy if I'm trying to read a day's worth in one sitting (and I can also scroll for minutes and only see giveaway tweets).

While I do offer giveaways on my blog, at my readers' request (I actually did a poll) I'm not a big entrant so these tweets aren't helpful to me. So what I did was create a list I first called "Celebs", but where I have basically listed anyone whose tweets I don't want to miss (about 50 people. And the list is private, so you'll never know who's on it!) When I log in, I go straight to my "Celebs" list, and within a few scrolls I can catch up on the entire day for these Tweeters. Or Twits. When I have more time, like on the weekends, I scroll through my general timeline but can't possibly read every tweet that's been sent out.

So that I never miss anything that's personal to me, I have my e-mail notifications set up so that if anyone @mentions me or sends me an @reply or a Direct Message, I find out right away and can respond.

I'm hoping this Spring Cleaning will help me to use Twitter in a more meaningful way, and to give my followers a better experience with @thismomloves too.

How about you? Are you a Twitter boycotter, newbie or expert? What will you do to Spring Clean your Twitter account?

{Epilogue: This is a bit of an experiment. Here is a link to the tweet for this post:
https://twitter.com/thismomloves/status/317248721215692801
 Anyone who retweets it before Sunday, April 7th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time will be entered to win a $25 Tim Horton's gift card. Your odds are good, because I am predicting that maybe a dozen people will do this, but perhaps I'll be surprised. Good luck!}

Microsoft Surface Fiasco - Update

You may have read my previous post on How To Order a Microsoft Surface in 31 Painful Steps. (You would remember. It was pretty painful to read, too.)

Here's an update, as of today.

To begin, the tablet was a total hit as a Christmas gift, and all four of us love it and use it constantly. The girls use it just as they would an iPad for games and taking pictures and videos. We can also use it for work, as it comes with Microsoft Office and a built-in kickstand to hold it up. I purchased the type cover as well, which is a click-in keyboard also conveniently doing double-duty as a cover when you fold it up.

So you get the idea that product quality is not at all in question.

Customer service, however...

I returned the second tablet (which was sent to me in error) on December 12th, and as of January 2nd, the amount was not yet credited to my Visa. My next step was going straight to Visa themselves, and they began the process of disputing the charges, which means that they credited the money back to me while they investigate.

I let Microsoft know about this, and was told that once the dispute process has begun, there's nothing else they can do. I disagreed, and said that they still had not yet done anything to compensate me for the ridiculous waste of my time. (This is very much not like me, which tells you how incredibly frustrating the experience has been.)

So, after more time passed, I was sent a $50 code to use towards another online purchase (not valid in-store). I don't know what I was expecting, but trying to make me feel better by allowing me to once again shop online with them didn't exactly do the trick. However, they did make an effort (they could have done nothing), so I went online and chose a $34.99 case to use for the Surface. I went through all the steps and at the end was told that the code was not valid. I'm not kidding.

A couple of days and e-mails later, I was sent a new code (this one had a "CAN" instead of a "US" in it, which I assume was the problem) and the order went through. Three days later, the case was sitting on my front step.

A happy ending? I guess so...(she typed halfheartedly)...

How To Order a Microsoft Surface in 31 Painful Steps

I am not a demanding customer. I hate to return things, I apologize for bothering staff, and I avoid conflict at all costs. You need to know that before you continue.

You also need to know that this post could potentially put you to sleep. So if you're just surfing mindlessly during a bout of holiday insomnia, then please proceed, and good night.

However, just to make this interesting (and keep you awake) I'd like the rest of you to turn on your powers of empathy full force. Imagine you are me. Put yourself right in my shoes. They're 10's, so they might be big, but you're not going anywhere, believe me. Okay, not quite so close to my husband...good, right there.

As you read the details of the saga I endured just to order a Microsoft Surface tablet (which is a Christmas gift for my family by the way, so please don't tell them) I guarantee that if you empathize fully, your (usually low) blood pressure will begin to rise. You may experience heart palpitations and sweats, and horrible words that you have never even dreamed of saying will be on the tip of your tongue. Sounds fun, right? Damn that Oprah and her "Favourite Things". Here we go.

Monday December 3rd

• Went to Microsoft website at lunchtime and ordered a Microsoft Surface, type cover and insurance. Website promised delivery to Canada in 3 -7 business days.

• Checked my account a couple of hours later, and it said there was no order history.

• Did the online ‘chat’ with an employee who told me that my order had been cancelled for some reason, but that he could help me do it again through chat.

• Spent a great deal of time communicating back and forth and going over the order and at the end he said that he couldn’t ship it to me because I was in Canada. (I had been on the Canadian site when I hit ‘chat now’.)

• He provided me with a different number to call for Canada. I called that number, but while waiting on hold, I went online and tried to put the order through again myself.

• I finally got to speak to a person who said that it looked like both orders had been cancelled but to wait until morning to see.

Tuesday December 4th

• Overnight I received two separate confirmation emails from Microsoft with tracking numbers saying that the product had been shipped to me...so I was getting two, when I only wanted one.

• I phoned again to cancel the second order, and was told that actually nothing had shipped at all, those emails were both in error, and I would probably have to go through the order again with a different credit card. (I don’t have one. I have one Visa, with a healthy limit and excellent credit.)

• E-mailed back and forth with a Customer Service rep who said that she would process my order over the phone. Had to play e-mail/phone tag throughout my work day, and then wait by the phone when I arrived home as she was on another call.

• Finally spoke with her shortly before 5 p.m. and she attempted to process the order again, but then informed me that I would need to set a Microsoft security question and answer, and provide the answer to complete the order. I did not have a computer at home, and attempted to do this on my BlackBerry, but the site told me I had to be on a PC to access the options.

• Was told to call in the morning to complete the order.

Wednesday December 5th

• Arrived at work, went into my profile to set a security question and answer, and emailed my answer to the rep.

• She then said she would have to call me to complete the order, as the final go-ahead has to be verbal.

• Waited on my lunch hour for her call.

• Provided my Visa number again and order details, and she assured me it would then be processed.

• Received an e-mail a few minutes later saying that I needed to call Visa to authorize the charge, as they were not authorizing it.

• Spent more time getting the number for Visa and waiting to speak with someone there only to be told that there was no problem at all at their end authorizing the charge, and that in fact the charge had gone through.

• E-mailed rep to update her, and she said she would go ahead with the order.

Thursday December 6th

• E-mailed rep to ask for an update and received a reply that “Your order is still in review. Our fraud team is running behind with all the orders that are being placed this holiday season.”

Friday December 7th

• Checked online banking and discovered that my Visa had indeed been charged TWICE for this order, which "had yet to be processed".

• E-mailed rep prior to 8 a.m. and received no response.

• Called Microsoft, was put through to the Microsoft Store customer service department.

• After a 40 minute phone call, was told that all three orders were cancelled and they had no record of me ever being charged. I was asked to send copies of my invoices and proof of being billed to my Visa, which I immediately did, yet heard nothing back.

Okay, stop skimming and wake up. Here's where it gets good.

• Arrived home to find two boxes on my doorstep. Yep, the two orders HAD gone through, and I was the proud owner of two Microsoft Surfaces.
• I immediately e-mailed for instructions on returning (and most importantly, being reimbursed for) the second tablet.
• No response.

Saturday December 8th/Sunday December 9th

• Nothing. Didn't really expect to hear over the weekend, but it's Christmas season and we are talking about Microsoft. Not exactly a little mom-and-pop storefront.

Monday December 10th

• Nothing.

Tuesday December 11th

• Called Customer Support for the Microsoft Store and was told that they would issue me a UPS return label for the second tablet, and start the process of refunding my Visa.
• Then I got as demanding as I could possibly be with a stranger, and politely asked to whom I needed to speak to see what they could do about making me a satisfied customer. The response to that was that the "volume" of this problem is so high that they are unable at this time to offer any sort of compensation (so the fact that it's happening to lots of people is supposed to make me feel better?), but that he would let his supervisor know. Wow.

Wednesday December 12th

• UPS picked up the second box.

As of this date, I am still waiting to have my account credited back. And I'm sure I will be waiting a long time to be compensated in any way for the hours and hours of my time that I spent just to order this product.

Can you believe how long this story took? You were so sweet to stick with me throughout my ordeal. Is your blood pressure up yet?

Now, let me be clear: each rep I spoke with was polite and apologetic. Obviously they have a good (though slightly patronizing) script and know how to talk people off a ledge. It's the system that I have a huge problem with. Why did they think multiple orders were cancelled when they weren't? What did I do to make them think my order would need to be checked by the fraud department? Why did I deal with multiple people, playing e-mail and phone tag to get answers?

So, what do I think of the Microsoft Surface? It was easy to set up, but I won't know much until after Christmas when the family gets using it. All I know is it better be worth it.

(And for you iPad fans who cannot fathom why I went this route, I really wanted Microsoft Office on our tablet, as it will be for business and pleasure.)

How To Save an iPod That's Been Through the Washing Machine

Let's cut to the chase here: an iPod went through the laundry at the Winn house just recently, unnoticed until the wet clothes were pulled out of the washing machine. Whose was it? Now that doesn't really matter, does it?

I didn't even try to turn it on, which is VERY important (I know this because I have looked up the same information as it relates to Blackberrys, just in case the unimaginable ever happens to me). Apparently trying to operate it while it's wet causes the device to short-circuit and you're out of luck permanently. You also should NOT plug it into the charger while wet.

The most popular online suggestion was to put the iPod in a bag of rice, sealed tightly, which is exactly what I did. (Of course our pantry is stocked only with Minute Rice, but it didn't work any faster. Ha ha.) I left it for about five days, forgetting to change the rice every 24 hours as recommended.

When I finally braced myself and turned it on, of course nothing happened because the battery was dead. I plugged it into my computer and got a message on the laptop screen saying that the USB device had malfunctioned and the computer didn't recognize it. However - the low battery sign popped up (looking normal) on the iPod screen so I held out hope.

I left it to charge, and after about an hour I attempted to turn it on and play it and...HALLELUJAH!

Obviously I can't guarantee these results for anyone else, but I know for sure this iPod was completely immersed in water for the length of a cold permapress cycle and is now back in perfect working condition with all data still on it.

I hope this can help someone else...or perhaps inspire you to train all family members to check pockets before throwing laundry in the washing machine. That would be even more efficient.

P.S. Since originally writing and scheduling this post, the iPod user has discovered that our solution wasn't perfect, as he/she (not to implicate the negligent pocket-checker) has detected an issue with the volume...in that once the volume is raised, it cannot be lowered. Oh well, at least it's still usable.