Sunday, October 17, 2010

Keeping up with the kids

Do you like my fancy new Facebook 'like' box (way down there on the right hand side if you missed it)? I'm sitting here, wrapped in my granny rug because winter has made an unseasonal and unwelcome return, chuffed because I've actually managed to whip up a bit of HTML widgetry on my own. I'm not actually sure it works as yet - feel free to 'like' me with genuine enthusiasm and let me know.

Any wizardry you see here on the Fibro is thanks to Maxabella, who spent a few minutes this morning, in the aftermath of the Mermaid & Pirate party, to show me how to deal with blog buttons. I was so empowered by her lesson (and her throwaway comment that, really, this was 101 stuff) that I branched out on my own. Ta da!

I haven't always been such a Luddite. Once upon a time, I was the online editor for the CLEO website, gaily resizing pics, entering code and gasping at the questions sent through to the Sex Q&A. I'm not a natural gasper. Too many years in women's mags. The nature of those questions and the age of many of the questioners was enough to make anyone gasp. But I digress. We were talking HTML, not anonymous queries about - yes, well, that's enough.

My foray into blogging has shown me how quickly it is to get out of touch. A couple of years in the wilderness of WAHM-ville, where even using Microsoft Word's Track Changes is a hassle, and it's a learning curve to get back in. Now that Mr6 is taking baby steps onto the internet, I can see how important it is to keep up. Every piece of advice I've ever read about kids and cyberspace has one major message for parents: Keep Up. Know what's happening. Don't throw your hands up in the air and say 'too hard'.

I don't know whether importing code for a 'like' box classifies as keeping up, but, hey, you've got to start somewhere, right?

{image: etsy/barkingbirdart}

17 comments:

  1. Oooh Al, you did do some wizardry!

    I keep thinking I should get my arse into geat and have the Facebook thingo, but.......hands in air "too hard" springs to mind....

    BUT, I very much agree that we do indeed need to "keep up", for ourselves, and for the sake of the little peoples...

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  2. My son only looks at the Lego Star Wars site right now, but I totally agree that we need to keep up with all the advances in technology (within reason of course) and what the kiddos are into as they get older.

    Great job with your little Facebook like box. I've been thinking about making a little Hibiscus Bloem button and just need to find a spare 10 days to work it out !!!

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  3. My hubby marvels that I have gotten this far in blogging with such little knowledge. Spent all weekend trying to work out why my blog images wouldn't load... what a waste of time... hubby pushed safari reset after 4 hours of my whinging... problem solved. You are way ahead with the facebook thingy!.. well done. We do have to keep up don't we! .. those kids of ours are coming up behind and will eventually be overtaking! A-M xx

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  4. Happy to see your gorgeous blog on Facebook!

    And yes, agreed, it's so important to keep up with this world that our kids will - whether we want them to or not - enter. I shudder to think what sorts of things I'll need to know by the time Miss 2 gets online. Eeeek!

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  5. It is scary when your kids overtake you with their IT knowledge. I've always considered myself fairly techy, but now I often "can't be bothered" and just ask Mr 18 to fix it. It makes me laugh when they tell me I'm too old to be on Facebook, Twitter and on line generally - I kindly remind them that I was on Facebook & MSN long before them and in fact taught them about being online. Kids!

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  6. I am so hopeless with the HTML thingy widget thingy import thingy. On Wordpress I just can't get my head around it! Oh, I sound so lame! So what am I left with? A blog that barely passes as a blog as I can't pretty it up! Yours on the other hand is pretty, pretty, pretty. :)

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  7. Oh Al, you can do anything you want to. Ya just gotta want to...

    Over at our place Max has learnt how to bookmark. Big mistake. He now searches for toys he wants and bookmarks them for Santa. All of them. It's like the world's biggest catalogue and everything is circled. Poor Santa. x

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  8. Keeping up also keeps the fear out of the technology. My Mum was trying to look up something on the net here the other week, she seemed panicky that she might stuff something up, was all nervous. She can barely use a mobile phone or email, she is not even 60 but never embraced it all and now feels so far behind and terrified she might break something.
    I don't want to end up like that with what ever is the thing in 30 years time.

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  9. I've been out of the game for nearly a decade, so blogging from home is my token effort to keep my hand in.

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  10. @ClaireyH - I have much to live up to. My 66yo mum was telling me all about downloading apps on her iPad yesterday, and my Dad has been researching the family tree on the internet for years. Leading by example is important!

    Glad to see I'm not alone in being on my learning curve, though!

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  11. I'm so not computer savvy! My blog & FB page are about as tech as it gets for me & I'm a little nervous about returning to work..eek! I have just liked your page so looks like you've got it working. I could work out how to put that one on my blog so I have the wee little tiny status box...have a great week.

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  12. Don't understand codes... can I borrow Maxabella? :)

    And buttons? Is there a program that you can make these on? I'll google it - that I can do!

    Oh, and is bookmarking the same as putting it in your favourites?

    See, you aren't the only one ;-)

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  13. Oh, Allison, you're so right - there's heaps to learn. Twelve weeks in and I'm learning something new every day. And don't get me started on Blogger's little 'tizzies' - I swear I can hear (and see) Mr Blogger thinking (painfully) most days! Oh, and I'm now a FB 'liker' of yours. Lucky you to have a helpful sister. J x

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  14. Heh, you probably worked for CLEO back in my teen years of when i was READING it! Lol. What years did you work for them?

    I'm hopeless with any sort of coding. I can copy and paste other's coding though ;)

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  15. Well Done!

    I am pretty hopeless, though this is partly because whenever I need to do something that requires technological skills I call my little brother. He is a Programmer so I get him to do stuff for me

    I need to start paying attention to what he is doing and learning it myself rather than letting him fix it alone...

    You make an excellent point with the "keeping up" stuff...

    Gill xo

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  16. Such an exciting development - my 3yr old is just learning to click and drag some ridiculous cartoon images across the screen (and somehow has managed to flip the letter N key from the key pad).
    I am so proud of her. But even more proud of my Tuesdays off at the beach with her.

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