Kathleen Jewel's Blog

Big Brother is watching you — on just about every social-media platform you can imagine. Tweets, public Facebook posts and YouTube videos could soon be subject to round-the-clock scrutiny by the federal government, a procurement document posted this week by Public Works and Government Services Canada suggests. Welcome to media monitoring in the 21st century, when simply leafing through a stack of newspapers in the morning is about as antiquated as, well, newspapers.

The federal government is seeking a firm that "continuously monitors social media content on a daily basis in near real time and (can) provide web-based, online media metrics and reporting capabilities." That includes combing through "blogs, micro-blogs, social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, forums and message boards, traditional news websites and comment sections, media sharing websites (videos, photos and user-generated content websites including YouTube)."

The contractor is also being asked to keep tabs on English- and French-language Internet news sites and blogs. The document specifies that the contractor must be able to provide the service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Part of the job will be to gauge the sentiment and tone of posts and to determine their reach.

Source: Micron Associates

Deb Hornell, business strategist, leadership consultant and author of Good Things for a Full Life offers tips about how to turn an internship into a job.

Tips:

Get device savvy:

Whether you’re using a laptop, desktop, Mac, tablet, mobile, wired Internet, wireless, or software, learn it. Take the time to learn enough about the devices your kids are using.

Get social:

One of the best ways to get savvy is to get social. By using your devices to communicate with the people in your life, you inevitably learn the hardware and software. Keep in mind that “getting social” doesn’t entail exposing all your deepest, darkest secrets, or even telling the world you just ate a tuna sandwich, but it is a good way to learn a key method that your kids communicate.

Manage your/their online reputation:

Whether you are socially active or not, whether you have a website or not, there are plenty of websites that know who you are, that are either discussing you or listing your information in some fashion. Google yourself and your kids to see what’s being said. Teaching your kids what is and is not appropriate online is a must these days. And as a good rule of thumb, you should teach your kids that things posted online stays there forever.

Get secure:

There are more ways to scam people online than ever before. Your security intelligence is constantly being challenged, and your hardware and software are constant targets.