2 SMRT 4 U: No, it’s not a response to a pickup line.
While reading through an issue of Glamour (I think), one multi-page advertisement caught my attention. 2 SMRT 4 U, a campaign that works to promote cyber safety, funded by the US postal service, the national center for missing and exploited children and a few other organizations.
To raise awareness (and to draw people to the website), 2 SMRT4 U was sending free rings to those who visit the site and sign up (a great idea-brings users from the target demographic to read the information, and if the rings are cool, others will inquire as to the meaning of the inscription).
Anyway, 2 SMRT 4 U is working to educate the importance of online safety and the prevalence of predators in online environments. Sure, we’ve all seen “To Catch a Predator,” but it’s more than just a reality show. There are some creepers out there, and they’re armed with access to your most private information (social networking sites) and thoughts (blogs). It’s more than enough to do some damage.
A few tips from 2 SMRT 4 U:
- Save or print questionable activity and include date and time
- Remember that posting information about your friends could put them at risk
- Check the privacy settings of the social networking sites that you use
- Don’t make or post plans and activities on your site with the location posted
I think that the Internet is something we’re all so comfortable with that it’s easy to forget what could happen. Cyber law and cyber security are still developing, so it’s important to watch out for yourself!
