Ng: Blogging, Facebook

A FEW days ago, I was a guest in the World Blogers’ Day seminar. It is good to see that Cebu bloggers are still quite active and in fact the World Bloggers’ Day, which was blogged about and held in over half a dozen countries and in other Philippine cities, was actually a Cebu initiative.

The other day, there was also another newsworthy event – the American Chamber’s Administrative Professionals Day. It was held in Marco Polo to honor administrative professionals and executive assistants. It was originally called “Honor your Secretaries Day” but I believe the last few years, especially due to technological progress, being called a secretary can be somewhat outdated already. Some consider it as politically incorrect.

The celebration highlighted the role of assistant and I think it was very fitting. It was pointed out that some of the most powerful leaders and business managers in the world are actually helpless without their assistants and many of them function that much better because of their assistants. The guest of honor was Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Elizabeth Francia, the chief of staff of the Cebu Provincial Government.

One of the amusing things that people remarked was how the program master actually used Facebook to collect data to introduce the guest speakers. I guess it has probably become one of the must-have research tools, probably containing the largest database of people in the world at over 600 million) next to the encyclopedia and Wikipedia.

However, one of the things you might want to note about Facebook is that not all details there are correct. For one, a report from Consumer Reports noted that there are probably over 20 million minors in Facebook and that there are an estimated 7.5 million of them who are 10 to 13 years old. The report said there are probably at least 5 million that are even younger than 10. I know. I befriended a lot of my friends’ children whom I know are just a few years old. They are not supposed to be in Facebook because the site requires that users should be at least 13 years old.

The reason Facebook demands this is not just company policy. It is actually a law.

There are concerns that children will be exposed to virus, identity theft and even bullying in the Internet. Because of these concerns, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that was passed in 1998 requires that web sites must get parental permission before it can make any use of data provided by children younger than 13.

In order for Facebook to be compliant, it required that all users must enter their birthdates and certify that they are above 13. I guess not only women lie about their age, the kids do too just to become members of Facebook.

If you are a parent and your child has a Facebook account, be aware that there are always risks in cyberspace. Do take some time to be friends with your kids so that you can monitor what they are doing. (www.ngkhai.net/bizdrivenlife)