Data Privacy Day: keeping our online identities safe

Today is Data Privacy Day, an annual initiative to raise awareness of online privacy, celebrated in the US, Canada and Europe, with a focus on educating young people and their parents in the matters of online safety and security.

Although Data Privacy Day is not officially recognised in Australia, the matter of online privacy is still a very important issue here. There were around 8.4 million active internet subscribers in Australia as of June 2009, and a study on social networking usage found that over 70% of Australians visited a social networking site in June. Social networking is fast becoming one of the largest networks in the world. In fact, population wise, if Facebook was a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world with over 300 million active users. This is only a few million less than the population of the US!

In Australia, 93% of kids from 12-17 are online. Of these, 55% have profiles on one social networking site or another, 78% play online games and 64% upload content such as photos, videos or blogs. And perhaps not surprising, although shocking, children today spend more time on the phone, online, texting, watching TV and movies, and playing video games than they do at school and with their parents.

With these activities now playing such a predominant part in children’s lives and a major part of adults’ also, we need to consider how the information we share online can be kept safe from misuse. Here are some basic pointers:

Create a dedicated email account, (like a Gmail or Hotmail), which is separate to your personal email address. Email addresses that are posted online are an easy target for spammers. Use this email address when entering competitions, joining mailing lists or any public online space like chat rooms or forums. If your account gets overloaded with spam, simply kill it off and create a new one. This will leave your personal address free for use only by trusted friends and business contacts.

Don’t reply to spammers, even if you want to request ‘STOP’. This will only confirm that the email is being received by a real person, and the spammers may pass or sell your address on to more spammers.

Don’t reveal personal information to strangers or new “friends”. Details such as your full name, place of employment, street address, phone number and of course credit card should be kept private. What you post online can be found by anyone, including identity thieves. They make their living out of stealing information, so they know how to find it, if you upload it.

If you choose to meet someone in person who you’ve met online, do so wisely. Meet in a public space and bring a friend along. Remember, you can never be sure that the person is who they say they are.

Be wary of sites that offer a prize or reward in exchange for your personal information. In most cases, your details will be on-sold to other marketers.

Make good decisions about what you upload. What might seem like a hilarious photograph from your friend’s birthday party might not seem so funny if a potential employer sees it. If you have personal information to share, consider sending it in a text message instead of online.

Manage your privacy settings. Some social networking sites like Facebook allow you to put privacy locks on your account, so that only your “friends” can view your photographs and information.

If you found this article useful, make sure to forward this link to family and friends: [http://grlmobile.blogspot.com/2010/01/data-privacy-day-keeping-our-online.html]. Let’s stay web-safe in 2010!

References:

Nelson, D. 2010Some 2009 Social Media Internet Statistics, Corporate Blogging, viewed 22 January 2010 [http://www.wiliam.com.au/wiliam-blog/some-2009-social-media-internet-statistics].

Dellinger, J. 2010 Data Privacy Day 2010 Blog, Data Privacy Day 2010, viewed 18 January 2010 [http://dataprivacyday2010.org/blog/].

Dawson, R. B. 2009 Facebook is the 4^th Largest Country In The World + Why It Matters To You, Top Search Result, viewed 22 January 2009 [http://www.topsearchresult.ca/facebook-would-be-4th-largest-coutnry-world].

KISS MY GRASS MELBOURNE 2010 (a long blog...)

The daytime

The day started out a crisp 20°. We arrived at 10am for set up. A light mist of rain fell, but it wasn’t too annoying, so we zipped around and checked the place out. An annual Australia Day tradition, Kiss My Grass follows an Aussie Day theme, and this year, stages were named after Australian icons, like the Lamington stage, the Bindi Irwin stage, the Lifesaving stage and the Neighbours VIP area. Aussie fun!

GRLmobile was at Kiss My Grass in our big pink shipping container, with our DJ Skool ready to rock the hizzo and our promo crew armed with condoms and tattoos to keep the punters amused. We had a mini VIP area, decked out with astro-turf, blow-up palm trees and bean bags.

Guys and gals started filtering in as soon as the gates were open – it was still a little cold, so we sold a few hoodies straightaway. For the rest of the day it was top fun seeing girlies and dudes decked out GRLstyle!

We had a steady crowd at the trailer all day – not surprising – DJ Herbie J and DJ KC from the GRLmobile DJ Skool, and DJ Dirty Diggs were slammin’ out some of the phattest beats at the festival (remember last year? Same thing!).

By 1.30, chicks were coming up to have a spin on the decks. By 2pm, the container was packed and pumping. Chicks were stoked to have a go. “I’ve always wanted to be a DJ, but I never knew how – this is so cool!” one spunky diva said. We love watching how much everyone enjoys it. We reckon some of our budding DJs would have seen their time in the spotlight as the highlight of their day, by the looks on their faces after they finished!

DJ Nugget (our fave chick on the decks) took over from 3pm and amped up the crowd like a superstar with some smooth, driving beats. The crowd was digging the tunes and dancing shoes were out in force. It’s funny how otherwise shy people will come out of their shell when there’s a maxxin’ PA system and a stage to get up and dance on. The front of our container became a springboard for aspiring Pussycat Dolls and hot rock chicks.

The only time our music stopped rocking was when one of our GRLfrnds lost their mobile phone – we turned off the music so we could hear it ring. Our phones are our lives, so that’s a good enough reason to put the party on hold, right? P.S. she found it!

The evening

As the sunshine turned orange and slowly subsided, the DJ Skool boys jumped back onto the turntables and welcomed some new wannabe DJs up onto the stage. The audience was still psyched from Nugget’s set, and DJ Herbie J and DJ KC kept the vibe electric with more deep ‘n’ dirty beats, perfected by some sweet scratching by our new BFFs.

To be honest, our container was bouncing up and down so hard that it was difficult to write this blog [I’m writing this from inside the container, behind the decks. It feels like we’re on the high seas the amount this thing is moving at the moment! I can hardly control my mouse…]!! I also uploaded over 400 photographs to our Facebook fanpage. You can check the pix out here. There are more to come, which I’ll put up on Monday.

At ten to eight, we started ushering people out of the container. We were actually scheduled to finish at eight, but the power cut out at five minutes to. There was much booing, and the crowd started up with a chorus of We Are The World to encourage us to stay. Yes, people were begging us for one more song. Yes, people really, really wanted us to keep the party going – what can I say? For one more year we rocked the house…

The crowd finally filtered away, and wandered off to find their next aural adventure leaving us to deflate our palm trees, roll our cords and stack our boxes for our next festival journey (Future Music in Brisbane anyone?). The festival was another unbridled success, with thousands of new GRLfrnds getting to know how rad GRLmobile is, and us gaining a whole bunch of street cred all over again with a new fan base.

Kiss My Grass? We’d love to. Bring on 2011.

Mwah mwah

From MissGRLmo @ KMG 2010

Xx

New Year’s Blues & Breakthroughs

New Year’s Resolutions can be an inspiring and exciting way to enter the new year. But it’s almost customary to allow your newfound enthusiasm to fade as the weeks roll by and everyday life gets in the way again. You could say ‘oh well, that resolution was a bit ambitious for me anyway’, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself so your New Year’s Blues become New Year’s Breakthroughs:

1. Make it fit your life

Tailor your new goals to fit into your existing lifestyle. If you’re not a morning person, don’t plan to go for a jog every morning. Figure out your high-energy times (maybe you have heaps of energy just before bed, or on the weekends?) and schedule small tasks toward your goals into those times.

2. Do one simple task every day

Although you’re enthusiastic to get your life overhauled, you don’t have to re-strategise your whole bedroom set-up, you just need to take down that broken blind – and do it today! Write your goal down and work backwards with the steps you need to do to get there. When you first get going, it may be hard to remember to actually do the task! Set a recurring reminder in your mobile phone until you’re in the habit.

3. Reduce temptation

If you’re trying to cut down or give something up, stay clear of places or situations where you may be tempted. Clear the cookies out of your cupboards and fill up the fruit bowl. If you’ve quit smoking, avoid outdoor bars. If you’re a spend-a-holic, don’t go into the shopping centre unless it’s for a specific purpose.

4. Track your progress

Create a Success Map for yourself by writing your goals down the left side of a page, and dates across the top:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Eat healthily	ü	û	ü
Exercise	û	ü	ü
Less drinking	ü	ü	û

Each day, give yourself a big pink tick if you’ve stuck to the plan, and a red cross if you haven’t. Filling your page with ticks will motivate you, and a page of crosses will indicate you may need to re-think your plan of attack. If you’re out ‘n’ about, send an SMS to yourself with your results and update the Map when you get home.

5. Handle your bad days

It’s natural to have days where you couldn’t be bothered, but these are the times you need to pick yourself up and keep going, before your resolution gets laid by the wayside! Firstly, accept the task as a simple and essential step in achieving your goals. Keep some motivating music on your phone so you can pump yourself up whenever you’re feeling lazy. Then just do it. Remind yourself that the actual task won’t take long and you’ll be so proud when it’s done! If you do have a few ‘failures’, don’t let it break you. Have a think about why you didn’t stick to your plan and figure out how to avoid it happening again.

What's your new year's resolution?

WIN A DANGLE YR DONGLE MOBILE BROADBAND + IGB DATA!!

Become a fan at GRLmobile’s Facebook page and leave a comment with your New Year’s resolution by 31 January. The best resolution will WIN a Dangle Yr Dongle + 1GB data! Details @ Facebook.com/GRLmobile.

I apologise if I hit you with a flag last night :: Festival Annual 09

The UK festival season runs for a mammoth 96 days – from June to September each year. For a group of countries whose frigid temperatures usually keep inhabitants snuggled indoors cradling cups of tea, the practice of getting loose in a field full of beer, bands, and babes has become an annual pilgrimage.

Documenting the memories of festival folk from the Isle of Whight to Glastonbury, Reading to Bestival and all those in between, Festival Annual 09 is a glossy retrospective of the 21 major festivals held in the UK in 2009. ‘Rain cannot dampen our spirits and we laugh in the face of mud. When we have to tighten our belts there are many things in life we’d sacrifice before giving up on a weekend at a festival.’ writes the introduction, and what truth.

Burning sun or slippery mud, the energy at every festival is the same, even though the music isn’t – a fantasy world where one can dress up in a horse suit or paint their face without judgement. Where every move is in sync with the pulse of a drumbeat or the grind of guitars. Where night becomes day without the party stopping, until all that’s left is an empty field strewn with stomped bottles, cigarette packets and other scraps.

Our fave inclusion of the book is a collection of tweets from festival goers, including gems such as If you’re called matthew and your dad’s called howard and you’ve lost your wallet at leeds, call your dad. or @JBenni is hanging, burnt to a crisp and has no voice… and I LOVE IT!! Roll on next year! and Rougher than a badger. I apologise if i hit you with a flag last night.

It was kind of hard to get a hold of (thanks eBay!) but if you live and breathe music festivals as much as we do, you’d best get your hands on a copy. As soon as you start flicking through the 300-odd pages, you’ll be aching to book your ticket to whatever’s coming up first!

Festival Annual 09 is published by Independents United and 10% of all proceeds go to Oxfam.

GRLmobile is rocking Kiss My Grass Melbourne this weekend. If you partied with us last year, you’ll know how maxxin’ it was. HURRY! Tix still available for $48.70 + BF @ Ticketmaster or call 136 100.

Wh@ 2 do w/ yr phone @ a music festival

In this age of mobile-everything, we’re continually reminded of how mobile phones have made our lives easier and more fun. There are a number of situations where we’re forced to question ‘how did we used to do this without mobiles?’ Like when you lose your friends at a festival…

To commemorate our sponsorship of Kiss My Grass 2010, we’ve compiled a list of neat ways you can use your phone at a music festival, for those who still have the cognitive capacity to operate a piece of electronics after two hours of drinking Breezers in the sun:

Set reminders 4 the DJs u wanna C

Before the festival, get a hold of the set list from the festival’s website and set reminders so you don’t miss your fave acts. Nothing worse than realising that you’ve missed a sick DJ coz you’ve been waiting in line for the toilets for half an hour.

Cre8 a festival contact group

Create a Group in your phone’s contact list with everyone who’s coming with you. That way if you need to contact everyone (ie “Where r u all???”) you can just send one Group txt.

MMS yr mates 2 explain where U R

If you get a “Where r u??” txt, take a shot of a landmark near you and MMS it back as a visual reference: “I’m @ that big ferris wheel thingie!”

Take a video of yr fave DJ

Grab some footage of your fave DJs to show your friends who couldn’t make it. Take note though, some artists will ask not to be filmed. Be cool and respect their request.

Use yr notes to write down nu DJs that u discover

If you find some sweet beat mixers, use your mobile phone’s Notes to write down their names, coz you probably won’t be able remember them the next day.

Bluetooth gr8 photos 2 yr BFF

No doubt you’ll be snapping pix all day. Exchange the best ones by Bluetooth.

Get online & tweet about it

You’ll have some of the funniest experiences of your life at a festival. A day’s craziness in tweet form makes for great reading for your followers.

Hold it up like a lighter @ night 4 the songs th@ rock

If a DJ is just rocking out (and it’s dark enough), show your appreciation by holding your phone up like a lighter, just like they used to do at rock concerts. From the DJ’s perspective, it looks awesome to see a sea of lights in front of them.

Use a photo from the day 4 yr wallpaper

Choose your fave image from the day and use it as your phone’s wallpaper, so you can keep the dream alive for a little bit longer.

Log on to Facebook 2 C yr pix

If you get snapped by the GRLmobile team, log on to Facebook.com/GRLmobile and check out the pix!

GRLmobile is Rocking Kiss My Grass again in 2010!

The sun was beating down, the tunes were pounding and we were all jumping up and down. Yep, GRLmobile rocked the house at Kiss My Grass last year. Our shipping container was pumping out some of the phattest beats at the festival and the crowd was amped! We were packed; bumper to bumper good times.

This year, we’re back to rock it again!

Our DJ Skool will be back with a vengeance, and like last year, YOU CAN COME UP AND HAVE A SCRATCH ON THE DECKS. Tell your friends you played at KMG! ANYONE CAN HAVE A GO – it’s fun-as to get the crowd dancing. Seriously, though, how many festivals can you get up and be a DJ at? Like, none! So come on down and show us how you rock out.

The GRLmobile team will be there of course, HANDING OUT LOTS OF FREE GOODIES for you. We’re not going to tell you what they are yet…it’s a hot secret! We’ll also be TAKING HEAPS OF PHOTOS THROUGHOUT THE DAY and UPLOADING THEM STRAIGHT TO FACEBOOK! We’ll also be Tweeting and Blogging on-site as well.

Show us your GRLmobile phone or sign up as a BFF and YOU CAN CHILL OUT IN OUR SWEET VIP AREA! Nothing like being behind the velvet rope and crashing out on a beanbag during a festival! For more neat ways to get the best out of your KMG experience, check out our Music Festival Survival Guide @ GRL A-List.

Totally can’t wait.

Kiss My Grass at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on Saturday 23 February.

Grab your tickets now from Ticketmaster

Happy New Gear!

Ah, I love the smell of a brand new year. We’re all amped up on our resolutions and champing at the bit to get our new selves started. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s say thank you:

For your ongoing dedication to reviving a whole bunch of trends we thought we’d never see again after 1993… we salute you, mighty 2009!

The way we were

Forget GFC gloom, 2009’s obsession with all things vintage was a nod to the ostentatious eighties and innocently dagwah nineties. This was the over-arching theme of the year and all other trends followed. Most importantly, the vintage craze allowed us to have fun with fashion again.

Rumble in the jungle

Animal print took off in a way that would make Maria Venutti proud. From swimmers to leggings, bags to jackets, this timeless classic usually reserved for wealthy European women finally filtered back in the mainstream – and flooded the place!

Bold shoulder

Operation shock and awe – shoulder pads came back. Met with utter confusion at first, then denial, and finally a timid acceptance, the pad fad turned into a catwalk staple and aspiration for girls worldwide. With an upwardly pointed and slender silhouette, the modern shoulder-pad design is bringing the power-woman back, sharper than ever!!

Cold shoulder

All over the red carpet, the Grecian one-shouldered gown lends a subtle sexiness and refined femininity to any body shape. Floor length or above-the-knee, the one-shoulder look has never really gone out, but it was bigger than ever in 2009.

Smells like teen spirit

Just when we thought grunge was behind us, in walks its younger cousin, Glunge (glamour + grunge). Torn jeans and ripped black stockings are coupled with faded band t-shirts and Wayfarers to create a look that says ‘um… whatever. It’s from Top Shop’.

Grin and bare it

Another one to add to the ever-growing ‘if I had the body for it, I’d wear it’ list is the resurrection of the 1990s midriff top. A loose fitting t-shirt, cut just above the belly-button teamed with denim short-shorts and a leather satchel across the shoulders will create this Pixie Geldof inspired look.

Form one lane

Women around the country are wiping away tears of joy. The one-piece swimsuit is back. And no, it’s not a blue and yellow racer-back, we’re talking serious seaside sophistication that’s sleek and (yay!) slimming. Embellished or fringed, cut-out or jewelled, this craze is big and one of the few that will be here to stay.