#ShareAwesome: A Guide For Safe Sharing

You can imagine, as a blogger, I live a LOT of my life online.  Visibly.  To strangers, as well as friends.  These days – so much is online, and once it’s out there, it’s out there.  That photo.  That status update.  That post.  But that’s a good thing.  That’s connecting.  It’s reaching out.  It’s making friends.  And it’s how I make my living, sharing stuff about creativity and my family.  Awesome.

When I share a photo you readers love, it gets pinned, and shared, and stumbled, and hopefully I don’t have a huge typo in the title or didn’t write a measurement incorrectly, because THAT gets shared right along with the awesome-ness.  So I’m careful about what I’ve written before I publish new posts, but that’s just common sense.  Like anything I share online, I want to make sure it’s sharing the best!

Now – don’t get me wrong.  I don’t stress about being perfect for those of you who read here. Some days I’m playing with my kids instead of creating a Pin-Worthy feast.  Sometimes it’s just pancake day.  From a MIX.

With a messy kitchen behind me.  But those happy kids?  They’re awesome.  In fact, it’s awesome enough to share the other happy pancake photo, too.

All snapped on my phone, from my jammies, slightly out of focus.  Because that’s when the good stuff happens.

And the good stuff is totally worth sharing.

The National PTA has partnered with LifeLock on the #ShareAwesome campaign, to raise awareness about safe sharing online – while encouraging and celebrating the positive and responsible things that parents and kids are already doing.  Safe sharing online is a lot like safe sharing in real life – like, we don’t invite strangers to follow us home, for example.  The #ShareAwesome website has GREAT tips on what’s smart to keep private, what’s more information than you should put out there, and how to respond to discovering inappropriate online behavior.  Because unfortunately – there are people who do take advantage of others on the internet… but you don’t have to miss out on all the great stuff out of fear of those few negative things.  Just educate yourself and your kids about how to be smart, and keep it positive.

My kids are obviously not of an age where they are sharing on the internet – but it will happen soon enough.  Heck, my kids aren’t quite to an age where they consistently wear pants, or use the actual furniture.  (Note, everyone here IS wearing pants, for the record.)

But despite their ages, I do have parental locks on our mobile devices, because my daughter already likes to play games, and on a device with access to the internet, she could inadvertently share MY sensitive info.  I wouldn’t give her my checkbook to play with, so I need to make sure my financial apps aren’t accessible – among others.  And we will have to have conversations early and often about what’s really okay to share, and what’s not.

The stuff that’s okay to share?  The positive, the fun, the funny.  The moments we all celebrate, every day.  In fact, the #ShareAwesome movement also has a social media contest, encouraging YOU to share the awesome moments in your life!  Here’s the scoop:

Snap a photo of an awesome moment in your day and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the #ShareAwesome hashtag!

Students who enter the #ShareAwesome contest between September 15 – November 30, 2014 will have a chance to win fantastic prizes, including tablets and a $2,500 scholarship!

You can visit ShareAwesomeNow.org to learn more, to get tips on safe sharing, and take the pledge to #ShareAwesome.

Meanwhile, if you want to see more of my daily fun, you can follow along on Instagram, and tell me – what was the most awesome thing about your week this week?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.