Mojo Mom Podcast with Linda Criddle and Internet Safety

The Mojo Mom Podcast is back with new shows for 2010! We had a longer hiatus than I expected because of the intensity of editing Courageous Parenting. We're almost done with that now and ready to ramp back up on my blog, podcast, and a renovation of MojoMom.com. More on that to come, but for now, let's take a look at this week's new podcast.

Mojo Mom Podcast's Courageous Parenting series: Mojo Mom and Internet Safety Expert Linda Criddle

Listen to the podcast now:



I am starting our the podcast season by continuing my series of interviews with contributors to the new Courageous Parenting anthology that I am editing. I will interweave interviews with anthology contributors some weeks, mixed in with other authors, newsmakers, and kindred spirits on other shows.

This week on the podcast, I talk with internet safety expert Linda Criddle, founder of the site iLookBothWays.com. I talk about a number of situations that feel difficult or helpless for me as a parent. Linda shares practical safety strategies and fosters a sense of empowerment in the way that parents think about the internet.

Special pre-publication offer: Get more of Linda Criddle's advice by signing up on MojoMom.com to receive a free electronic download of "Courageous Parenting" when it is released this spring.

Check out Linda Criddle's 12 Things You Can Do Today to Be Safer Online

I haven't seen today's Oprah episode about internet crimes yet...it's recording on my TiVO right now. I am concerned about the tone of the show because it looks pretty sensational. I'll write more about that later, but I am very happy to report that Oprah.com is featuring my friend (and most recent Mojo Mom Podcast guest) Linda Criddle's 12 Things You Can Do Today to Be Safer Online.

Linda's the real deal, a mother of four herself, an experienced former Microsoft executive, and an expert who has worked with law enforcement to look into the dark side of internet crime, so that we don't have to. Her information is consistently excellent, and her goal is to empower us to use the internet as the great resource it is, while being smart and safe about how we browse, and aware of what information we share about ourselves online. Linda's website is www.ilookbothways.com

Linda was in town recently for a conference, and we had dinner together to celebrate the release of her new book, a new addition to the Dummies series, Using the Internet Safely for Seniors, for Dummies, and the new Mojo Mom. Somehow, all roads lead through Chapel Hill sooner or later.

Mojo Mom Podcast and Internet Safety

Phew, this ended up being a crazy week and I got behind in blogging, but I did manage to get The Mojo Mom Podcast produced.

In this week's show, after Sheryl and I talk, I am joined by Internet Safety expert Linda Criddle.

Listen to the podcast now:



Linda addresses Internet Safety for all ages--kids, parents, grandparents. I have had a chance to get to know Linda well and I am an admirer of her work. Her book Look Both Ways provides detailed, understandable information about how to stay safe online. Here's an article by Linda about eight safety tips for blogging. Linda provides a solid framework, and if you choose to share more public information than the basics she suggests, you'll be doing so out of a conscious decision and not as a habit or default.

Here's this week's podcast, Mojo Mom and Internet Safety expert Linda Criddle:

Amy and Sheryl are able to easily integrate the first and second halves of the show today since the topic is technology and internet safety.

Then Mojo Mom interviews Linda Criddle, world-renowned expert, former Microsoft executive and mother of four. Linda's highly informative website is Using the Internet Safely For Seniors (For Dummies).

Linda and I got into a pretty intense, detailed discussion as we talked about the research into internet safety. I left the whole discussion intact, because it provided an important opportunity to go beyond sound bites and sensational headlines into a substantive examination of these issues.

Mojo Mom Podcast with internet expert Linda Criddle

Our latest Mojo Mom Podcast episode is now available.

Listen to the podcast now (49 minutes):


Or, just get a taste of our show by listening in to an exclusive blog-only segment with Linda Criddle about how to introduce kids to the internet (3 minutes).


Amy and Sheryl talk more about Sheryl's new job working on social networking for the MacArthur Foundation and HASTAC.

In addition to her work with the MacArthur winners, Sheryl is excited about the potential that social networking has to expand social horizons for Moms.

Then Amy welcomes internet safety expert Linda Criddle back to the show. Linda is the author of the book "Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Internet" and the website Look-Both-Ways.com

Amy has gotten to know Linda well over the past year, through interviews for Amy's CNET blog and Linda's trips to give seminars in North Carolina. Linda looks at safety and privacy issues for everybody, from kids to parents to senior citizens, to help people have positive and safe experiences online.

Writing for CNET for ten months got me to look into internet safety issues pretty closely. Of all the internet safety experts I have interviewed, Linda is by far the most knowledgeable. She's an industry veteran, mother of four herself, and a straight-shooter. She combines her technical knowledge with her independent advocacy platform to act as a strong voice for all consumers. In other words, she is the real deal!

Linda has just contributed new tutorial materials to the Washington State Attorney General website. Her step by step guides include the "sharing videos and photos online" information that I mention in our podcast interview.