With Some Grace

Everyday Experiences, Lifelong Learnings

Internet Security for the Family…(A Giveaway !)

By: mamagrace716 Comments

 

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Digital Parents to attend the NortonOne event over at the swanky Cafe Sydney.

I will be totally honest.  I was a bit reluctant to go because well, let’s face it, talking about internet security and all that stuff, is about as much fun as watching nail polish dry.

But Brenda told me that it was going to be educational.  Oh, and that some Perth rockstar named Glowless was going to make a special appearance. Count me in. Heh.

Me with Brenda from Mummytime and Glowless

Seriously though, I’m glad I went.

In the midst of beautiful Sydney Harbour surroundings, among great blogging comadre and accompanied by delicious gourmet food there was no boring talk of “Bits and Bytes”, techy geeky stuff.

With the Norton team, we shared our own stories and experiences of cybercrime.  We touched on every parent’s ever increasing concerns about cyber-bullying.  It was an open, interactive discussion.  Because when a brand themselves can also speak from a parent’s perspective, then there’s something pertinent for everyone.  It goes beyond being just another product talk.

There was no scare factor.  But I did start to realise that as families grow, then technology around the house somehow organically expands too.  And that’s where we leave ourselves open to all sorts of internet vulnerabilities.

I mean, check out my family – there are only 2 adults and 2 toddlers.  But somehow, we’ve already accumulated 1 computer, 2 laptops and 3 smart phones.  How did that happen ???

NortonOne is the latest product to be released.  It’s an all in one membership that protects up to 5 devices – laptops, computers and even smartphones.  There’s even back up and live help.  Sweet !

NortonOne presentation...it even made sense to me...

The N0rton guys have kindly given me a Norton 360 (version 6) pack to giveaway to one of my readers.  Valued at $130, it gives you one year of protection for up to 3 devices.  Woot, woot !

All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question:

What’s been your most spontaneous on-line purchase and did the package meet your expectations ?  

Come on guys, don’t hold back !  Jump in and enter !

For the boring but important bits:

– The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.

– Don’t forget to include an email address when leaving a comment.

– Deadline is 10pm , Monday 16th of April.  The winner will be announced on Tuesday, 17th.

– The winner will have a week to reply to notification.  If there is no reply, the prize will be redrawn.

– The prize is provided by Norton and is not redeemable or transferable.

– For extra entries, feel free to mention the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter by tagging me.

– It’s not obligatory, but if you would like to keep updated on future giveaways or just wanna hear more about my musings (and why wouldn’t you ??), feel free to follow me on FB, Twitter or via RSS Feed/email.

 

And last but not least, for your entertainment, guaranteed the cutest ad you’ll see on YouTube.

You’re welcome…

 

 

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DPCON12 in Pictures

By: mamagrace7114 Comments

 

As DPCON12 fever continues throughout this week…and maybe a little longer, thought I’d share some photos I took.

Awesome time.  Great atmosphere.  Beautiful friendships.  More posts coming up !  Watch this space !

In the meantime, see ya over at My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday !

 

"We're here, Melbourne !!!": Me and Mummytime's Brenda (aka Queen of DPCON12 and my roomie...)

Me and the gals: Kirri from Happy Mums at Home and Penny from Wildlife Fun 4 Kids

"Them be my words, baby!": Hanging out at the Kleenex Mums booth

Our fabulous volunteers at the registration table: Georgia from Parental Parody, Marissa from Marissa Writes a Blog, Janelle from Nellbe's Gluten Free Kitchen and Elise from Mummy Hearts Money. Job well done, ladies !

Early Morning Departure Time: "See ya, Melbourne ! It's been a hoot !"

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The Morning After The Three Days Before…

By: mamagrace7114 Comments

 

It’s the crack of dawn, the day after I’ve arrived back home from the Digital Parents Conference.

For once, I’m okay about being up so early.  Maybe it’s because I’ve miraculously slept solid for almost 8 hours straight.  But I think it’s mainly due to just being happy.  Happy that I’m home.

I had a fabulous time at the conference.  I met up with some of my nearest and dearest in this blogosphere.  I also became further acquainted with others.  The days were busy keeping in time to the jam-packed schedule of workshops and networking.

But throughout the entire trip, I couldn’t fight the sporadic pangs of homesickness.

It actually took me by surprise.  Taking a logical perspective, this wasn’t the first time I had been away from the family.  I had ripped off the initial band-aid of parent/child separation anxiety 8 months ago. It was for another bloggers conference.  Again in Melbourne.  With almost the same crazy schedule.  Last time, I was relishing in the “just me moments”.  Loving every second of that exhilarating sense of independence.

However, on this occassion, I was being a complete, emotional wuss.

I couldn’t figure it out.  Maybe it was because they’re a lot more interactive now.  Or that I had more time to actually think of them as little people developing into their beautiful personalities, rather than just worrying about the mundane duties of feeding and sleeping times.  Perhaps it’s because the boys are older and stronger and I was coming to grips with the fact that they’re picking up on their own sense of independence.

The first night, while my roomie was out and about till late in the evening, I tried to sleep.  Tossing and turning, making at least half a dozen trips to the toilet, subconsciously thinking of home.  I thought I’d watch a video I took of the boys to help me ease into slumber.  But then something caused me to change my mind.  Watching their familiar movements and comical gestures on a small screen but with all that distance between us, was only going to make the pain worse.  And sobbing alone in a strange, dark hotel room was not going to be my thing that night.  So, I kept the phone away.

The next day, wandering around the exhibition booths during morning tea, I spotted Thomas the Tank Engine books.  The same ones my boys have and love.  At home, I hate Thomas.  He’s annoying because he’s friggin’ EVERYWHERE.

With one glance at those books and the maternal yearn in me reached an all time pathetic high.  I started getting teary thinking of my boys.  Stupid Really Useful Engine.

At that moment, I bumped into Lee of Mummy Issues Part 2, Kate of Our Little Sins and my dear friend, Deb from Bright and Precious.

It was the first time I was meeting Lee and although I had met Kate before, it had been awhile.  Apologising for my blubbering mess, the girls giggled.

“If there’s anywhere you can cry for your boys, Grace…it’s here” Kate smiled.

Dang, of course ! I was at a parenting bloggers conference.

And I guess this was the big difference between that first conference to this one.

It was a comforting reminder that being a mum was our common-denominator.  Being a blogger was almost second in line.  Tears and emotion was going to be allowed.  Welcomed, even.

"Spreading the bloggy love" (L to R): Deb from Bright and Precious, Kate from Our Little Sins and Lee from Mummy Issues Part 2

 

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FaceBook Friends:Who’s Real ? Who’s Not ?

By: mamagrace7120 Comments

Like many, I started a FaceBook page for my blog for the sole purpose of keeping a better track on who my readers are.

Previously, I had only been broadcasting my blog posts to FB friends from my personal account and sure, I would get comments back.  But it was like throwing spaghetti on a wall:

Some of it stuck, some of it splattered…most of it fell.

The ratio of hits to the number of comments just didn’t add up.  It came to a point where I had to ask myself:

“Why was I fully exposing my entire life ?  My vulnerabilities ?  My frustrations as a parent ?”

Yet, there was little support or acknowledgement in return.

So, hence the launch of my blog page.

But even doing that still raised some concerns for me:

“What if no one actually “Likes” me ?  What if I get less feedback over there ?  Or worse yet, no hits at all ?”

It was a jump into the big, scary unknown.

I launched into brand-new territory on a whim.  With only my humble little blog to offer, I was excited and nervous but didn’t know what to expect.

Thanks to the great support of other mummy bloggers, it didn’t take long to not only meet  like-minded people.  But those who were just as genuinely keen to communicate.

These days, when I’m reading another mummy blogger’s heart-felt post, I am so touched, I have to share it with Hubby.

Like all devoted husbands, he gets excited when I am.  He’s happy when I am.  He understands that blogging has helped with that dreaded SAHM isolation.

And then he sees me.  Furiously tapping away at the keyboard, writing a response.  Getting my thoughts out.  Appreciating that someone else out there knows exactly what I’ve been through.

Sometimes I type with tears in my eyes.

Sometimes with a smile on my face.

And for a person who often overlooks the bleeding obvious, I finally get it.

This the true essence of social networking.

Rough calculations tell me that less than 10% of my FB friends are following my page.  The rest are all you guys.

Is it a shocking discovery ?  Does it indicate who are my real friends on FB ?

This will sound clinical and cold, but I guess it takes something like this to filter out who and what is relevant in my chaotic, busy, yet rewarding parenting life.

If that’s what is actually real, then I’m okay with that.

Acknowledgement:

The steady increase of “Likers” on my little FB blog page could not have been made possible without the help and enthusiasm of two special mummy bloggers:

Trish at My Little Drummer Boys who is the brains behind Friday FaceBook Flog.

Brenda at Digital Parents Australia who started a discussion forum for bloggers to send through their FB page and to mutually “Like” others.

If you’re looking for a kick start for your own page, go to these sites and you will never look back.

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