I received this question today from Sher in Fayette County:

WITH ALL THE WARNINGS, ETC. ABOUT THE FLU SPREADING AND SINCE MOSTLY EVERYONE USES A COMPUTER…HOW DOES ONE DISINFECT THE KEYBOARD.

Good question! I always try to wipe down my phone, computer and desk every once in a while to control the dust, and since I practically live at my desk, the food. And now with people getting sick here at work it’s become a more regular habit to control the germs.

There are special wipes and sprays you can normally find in the electronics department that are specially designed for computers, TVs, etc.

I normally use a dry cloth first for the dust, then follow with a paper towel or soft cloth that I lightly spray with Lysol.

When I worked at a cleaning service in college, we used a half water/half vinegar solution for dusting and floors.

Regardless of what you choose - if the product contains any type of moisture, make sure your electronics are turned off first and wait about an hour before turning them back on.

Leave your suggestions as a comment below!

Posted under Health, Web/Tech

Losing a friend is never easy. And one of the few things I’ve learned about grieving is that it never really ends. Just when you think life is back to normal, a random song on the radio can bring that person back to life, if only for an instant.

Searching the words “in loving memory” on Facebook turns up more than 21,000 results, including the group for Coach Ed Thomas that now boasts almost 50,000 members.

This week, Facebook is getting a lot of attention for a blog post outlining a tragedy faced by a Facebook employee and explaining how to turn a profile into a memorial page. While many blogs are proclaiming this a new feature, the option has actually been around for several years. According to this USA Today article, Facebook made the decision about memorial pages after the Virginia Tech shootings.

Here’s a link to the Facebook form to have a page memorialized. It requires some basic information like e-mail, DOB and Networks and online proof from a funeral home or news organization that the person died.

The process will hide personal information on the profile and keep it out of searches and recommendations. But, current confirmed friends will still be able to view and contribute to the page.

It’s just another way to relive those special moments, and no matter how long it’s been, to still share those special memories with others who will understand our loss.

Posted under Web/Tech

While Homecoming is important at every school, at the University of Missouri we mean business. It’s not just a social/sporting event, it’s a requirement for alumni. Mizzou claims to be the birthplace of the Homecoming tradition and we are passionate about making the trip back to celebrate together.

On a smaller scale, the journalism graduates are an extremely tight knit network of professionals. We consider complete strangers to be family based on our education. We refer to ourselves as the Mizzou Mafia and our mission is to help Missouri journalism grads make the most of every opportunity.

Today, my mentor, friend and favorite new media mind, Jen Reeves, hosted the 6th Annual Real World Homecoming Lunch. The purpose: use homecoming to bring professional journalists and students together to share some practical advice. And also consume massive amounts of our favorite local pizza.

This year, Jen decided to recruit some students to help live blog the lunch. Not only were hundreds of students and journalists gathered in a room together, but dozens of professionals from around the country were able to chime in on their lunch break. Thanks to Cover It Live, moderators were able to pull in information and pictures from everyone in the room (using their phones and laptops) as well as comments from those using a Twitter hashtag or commenting in the live chat. There was a presentation going on at the actual lunch, but I think the online version was much deeper and more complex.

While much of the discussion centered around the news business, here are some tips that I think can apply to everyone.

• Learn everything you can while you’re in school through classes and internships, especially in regards to technology.
• New graduates are expected to know how to integrate technology into the workplace, so make sure you can deliver on that expectation.
• Bosses matter – make sure you find someone you respect and who is willing to invest in you.
• Find your niche. Find that skill that sets you apart from everyone else and make sure your managers take note.
• Take initiative. In most instances, companies tell you what they require as the bare minimum. You should always go above and beyond without being asked.
• Don’t box yourself in. When you’re job hunting, don’t narrow your focus so far that you miss a great opportunity.

Feel free to share your advice for recent or soon-to-be college grads below.

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

This weekend I participated in my first big race – the Des Moines half marathon.

People have been equally impressed and unimpressed by this. For the accomplished runner – finishing a half marathon in just under 3 hours is nothing to brag about. For the non-runners (myself included) finishing in any amount of time is impressive.

I don’t consider myself a runner, despite the fact I run on a regular basis and am now contemplating a full marathon. And because of that I had only two goals with this race – run the entire thing without walking and finish in under 3 hours, and I was able to do both.

While there were many profound moments during the course of the morning, the tech nerd in me was fascinated when my sister was able to sign up for text alerts to track my progress during the race.

Image courtesy: Ultramaxtri.com

When I registered for the race I received a plastic card to tie to my shoes. When I crossed the start line it would begin timing the race and every time I ran over one of the blue mats on the race course, it would update my time with pace info and send a text update to my sister. She graciously volunteered to drive up to Iowa and be my cheering section and help me hobble to the car when the race was over. For some, the pacing info was crucial, in my case the texts were a way to reassure my sister I was still moving!

Blue mats along the race course capture information from cards on the runners' shoes.

It was so cool to cross the finish line and walk over to the results tent and get an instant printout with my race time, place and pace info.

I will say that I thought about tweeting during the race, and I actually saw people do just that, but decided to focus on making it across the finish line instead of documenting the journey. Maybe next time.

I did it!

ADDITION: Special congrats to KWWL’s Brady Smith who also ran the half marathon – and finished in about half the time that I did!

Posted under My Adventures, Web/Tech

KWWL has launched its new text messaging service!

I am seriously excited about this! It’s taken a lot of hard work behind the scenes, but I think it’s all worth it for the convenience of important information right to your phone as a text message.

We’re now offering severe weather alerts by county, daily weather forecast, school closings, traffic alerts, contests and more!

Some of you signed up for school closing alerts in the past. It’s important to know that you are still signed up to receive those alerts. But, now you have to option to edit your preferences and add the new alerts we are offering.

Standard text messaging rates apply – so if you have a text message plan through your wireless provider – the text alerts are free.

As part of this new service we can also do instant poll questions where you can text in your vote. You may have seen it during our noon newscast today. Basically, we’re trying to make it even easier to get your feedback on the big stories of the day.

So try it out and let me know what you think! We’ll be looking to add even more options in the future.

Click here to sign up or edit your preferences.

Posted under Web/Tech

Today I had the privilege of working with some of the 7th graders at Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High.

Learning about technology and its practical applications to their lives and even future careers is about to become an educational requirement at school. And I had the task of kicking off their journey into the ever-changing world of high tech.

Of course I opened with the obligatory explanation of my job – but I know that for a 7th grader, the cool part of the news business would be seeing the studio or a live truck – not hearing about how I built a flash-based timeline.

When I was in school, it was always easier for me to get excited about a topic if I could figure out a real-world application. So that’s what I tried to do. We split the students up into groups and I gave each group a job or career field, then they had to brainstorm ways to use technology in that job. I gave them a lot of freedom. It could be as simple as a cell phone or so complex it hasn’t even been invented yet.

These kids were so inventive – I was very impressed. It was such a simple exercise, but they managed to share advanced ideas like biotechnology and robotics. I don’t think they realized how truly intelligent their answers were and how exciting it was for me to hear them share.

My biggest advice to them wasn’t to go out and learn all about the latest trends in gadgetry, instead I encouraged them to always keep learning and use that knowledge to become a leader wherever they are. Because that’s what technology boils down to. It will always be changing and improving and you can never learn it all. All you can do is keep moving forward and make the most of what you learn.

So to Mrs. Staack and the 7th graders at Waverly-Shell Rock – thanks for letting me share a little bit of my passion with you!

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

I once had a co-worker ask me if I had ever felt discriminated against as a girl, to which my honest answer was no.

But, I will admit that in the technology world – the boys outnumber the girls. I personally don’t know too many women who are interested in computer programming.

Kirkwood Community College is hoping to attract some female attention with their High-Tech Girlz Day. High school aged females can attend the one day event and participate in interactive workshops on GPS/GIS systems, Local Area Networking and Web design – plus a free t-shirt and flash drive.

High-Tech Girlz Day is scheduled for Oct. 23. Kirkwood is accepting registrations through Oct. 16.

Pass the info along to any high school girls with a bright future in technology!

Click here for more info.

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

Here’s a heads up to all my fellow bloggers out there – starting Dec. 1, the Federal Trade Commission will have the ability to fine you for failing to disclose any endorsements from advertisers.

It doesn’t matter who you work for or if you consider yourself a professional blogger – if you benefit from something you write in your blog and don’t clearly notify your readers, the FTC can fine you $11,000.

For example, if you accept a free tech gadget, a free meal or a free copy of a book in exchange for writing about it, the FTC doesn’t detail how, but says you must clearly notify your readers.

I’ve always tried to be honest with you about my biases like my love for Apple products. But I’ve never received anything in exchange for a blog mention from Apple or anyone else for that matter.

There’s some mixed feelings surfacing about the new guidelines. Some think it’s a natural progression and a needed safety feature, others say the rules are flawed and intrude on free speech. I’m not really going to get into that, just wanted to alert other bloggers to the new rules. But, feel free to post your thoughts as a comment below.

Read the FTC guidelines.

Posted under Web/Tech