Social Media

Wow, I sound like a TV law firm ad saying, "you may qualify for a payout from the multi-million dollar Facebook settlement!" But honestly, that's the fact. I've popped my name into a couple of class action settlements recently -- general…

Thinking about leaving Twitter ? (Are we calling it Twexit yet?) With the big changeover in management this week, some Twitter users are leaving , some users are staying , and your choice is up to you. Either way, it's good idea to downl…

You may have seen this hilarious sketch on SNL that has a bunch of adults using the app BeReal during a rather tense situation. (if you haven't seen it yet, go watch now! I'll wait.) This sketch does a great job explaining what BeReal is…

Recently, Meta announced it would be launching new parental safety controls for teens in the form of tools and resources for both the Instagram social media app and their Meta Quest VR gaming headsets. The goal is to help parents better …

We love when parents ask us "how do I know if my kid is ready for a cell phone?" It means you're conscientious, caring, and involved -- and of course, want to make sure that you're raising a kid to make good choices, and not who isn't th…

We're all talking about "that" Wall Street Journal article about Instagram: Facebook Knows It's Toxic for Teen Girls . You're probably talking about it. Or your kids are. I know it's all we've been seeing in our social feeds this week ar…

This week, a wonderfully human, poignant video from husband-wife team Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody went viral. Perhaps you've seen it? They used the platform to respond to a Princess Bride fan named Amanda Webb (@Alaska_Webb), a youn…

We've always said that all screen time is not created equal! And on this week's Out-Tech Your Kids podcast , we're talking about the benefits of social media for kids. Social media tends to get a bad rap -- let alone specific channels li…

"Don't read the comments" isn't going to fly when your kids are old enough to watch YouTube videos without you around, let alone managing their own TikTok accounts. But learning how to be a responsible commenter is a skill that comes in …

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who pronounce GIF with a hard "G" as in GRAPHIC...and those who are wrong. (And yes, I know that GIF creator Steve Wilhite pronounces it with a soft J, but unless the acronym now stands f…

Over the years, we've shared our concerns with kids on Snapchat , which aren't really that surprising. We all know that it's terribly difficult to monitor. And we've seen our kids deal with the difficult issues that arise with Snap Maps …

If you're like me, you've had a few instances where you know you didn't search for a particular product or service on your phone or your computer, but suddenly you're getting ads for it in your Facebook feed. Is Facebook listening into y…

We used to say "photos or it didn't happen," but it feels like 2020 is all about "filters or it isn't Instagram." You may have noticed folks you follow using wacky filters -- or oddly flattering filters that bathe them in a beautifully h…

Over the last few weeks in particularly, we've seen our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook community filled with parents who seem panicked — or at least very concerned — about kids and texting and social media. And if you follow us (or are a me…

I often like adding Boomerangs to an Instagram Story to help change things up from still photos. But then, I either have to go shoot a Boomerang in Instagram (and figure out what to shoot) or open the Boomerang app itself. Not one of lif…

This weekend, inspired by the Cool Mom Picks book club video chat about How to Break Up with Your Phone , I decided to try one of author Catherine Price's tips to help me be more mindful about my screen time, and more aware of how much I…

Since Messenger Kids launched back in 2017, we were pretty skeptical about the messaging app that purported to offer kids a safer way to chat with friends, all without having to actually be a Facebook user. Not surprisingly, the Messenge…

It's not just tweens and teens who might be using Finstas (Fake-Instagram accounts) to throw off their parents. We parents whose kids and their friends follow us on Instagram have probably considered using them in case we want to freely …

Every so often, you probably see an Instagram name that pops up in wedding script, some gothic type, or even upside down, and if you've wondered how you change the font on your Instagram bio, it's so simple! There are apps you can downlo…

We know lots of folks have been cleaning up their social media feeds, which is why we had to share Tokimeki Unfollow , a twitter plug-in that allows you to Konmari your Twitter feed. Related: Spring cleaning your tech - the best tips and…

We couldn't create an Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting without including tips about how to keep your kids safe on social media. After all, for our tweens and teens, the Internet is social media, and they could sooner give up the games…

It's been a rough couple of weeks for YouTube, first with the news about their growing pedophile problem . And now, YouTube Kids is under fire. We know lots of parents, including us, have found a little sigh of relief letting kids watch …

Over the years, we've written about many issues that parents need to be aware of when it comes to the content on YouTube . But this recent report from Wired should really throw the huge red flag of caution up for parents, particularly if…

If you're still using Facebook and Facebook Messenger, then you might have missed some big news that makes life a little bit better: you can now unsend messages on Facebook Messenger. Hey, it only took 10 months, and wasn't even a thing …

According to an article in the New York Times that just came out today, Mark Zuckerberg is planning to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. That's right, over the course of 2019 and into 2020, these apps will be reconfigured in …

You've probably seen the letter "F" in the comments of a Facebook post. Or perhaps you've typed the word "Following" yourself, because when you comment, you'll get notifications of other comments and get to follow along. However, there's…

Our friends over at Common Sense Media recently conducted a survey study of teens 13-17 years old, and we have to admit that the results are fascinating, and well, reassuring. If you have a tween or teen, it's worth taking the few minute…

If you suddenly see someone trying to call you from Instagram, don't freak out. It's the new Instagram video chat feature that just launched. Related: How to post photos from your Instagram Feed to your Instagram Story To make a call, yo…

If you noticed a new little TV icon at the top of your Instagram feed, then you've already discovered IGTV (Instagram TV), a new app from Instagram that allows users to upload longer form videos for their followers to watch. And yes, it …

If you were already a big fan of the Instagram Story poll feature, but felt like it was a little limiting (why only two answers, Instagram?), they just launched a new emoji slider poll that might just give you the voting nuance you were …

Updated on 4/11/18 below Today, Facebook will be rolling out a feature to help you check to see if your data, along with around 87 million other people, was stolen by Cambridge Analytica. While we haven't seen anything on our own Newsfee…

Last year, I fell in love with the A Color Story app for photo editing, and named it my cool pick of the week on our Spawned podcast . Just this weekend, they launched A Design Kit , their equally fun, friendly, and really wonderful app …

Thanks to Twitter user Red Long , who describes himself as blind in his bio, I found a terrific tip to use a feature in your Twitter accessibility features to help your visually impaired readers. However in digging deeper, turns out ther…

Just this past week, Facebook launched a brand new feature allowing you to order take-out right from the restaurant's Facebook page. So, if you've ever gotten a hankering for some Chipotle guacamole or Five Guys burgers while scrolling t…

Leave it to my twelve-year-old-daughter to be way ahead of me on the Instagram design tricks -- in this case, how to make an ombre text overlay in Instagram stories. I fell instantly in love. Now we're not the types (ha) to spend hours m…

We've probably all had photos we've shared on social media that we would very happily forget, like say my lovely "before" shot I took when I was starting a workout regimen a few months after having a baby that now pops up every single ti…

When it comes to smart phone addiction , we've done our own experiments with putting away our phones around our kids here at Cool Mom Tech. We've even used various techniques to manage screen time for our own kids and tweens. That's why …

Just when you thought you needed to worry about your kid's screen time, it turns out that the amount of time you spend on your phone could be affecting your child's behavior. According to a new study conducted at the University of Michig…

There's a new option in the online fundraising world that's going to make giving so convenient because it's right in your Facebook feed. Yes, it's true! Facebook has added the capability for any user to start a personal fundraiser on Fac…

As someone who's not on Snapchat (what? I'm old!) I admit I'm excited about the novelty of the new Instagram 3D facial filters, as anyone who follows our @CoolMomPicks Instagram Stories can tell today. I put together the quick, Cliff's N…

Maybe we need to be worrying more about our own social media addiction more than our teen's, at least, that's according to a new survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research . They discovered that teen…

Just when you got the hang of Instagram Story, Facebook decided to launch their new Facebook Story, which you've seen across the top of your News Feed if you've got the most recent version of the Facebook app. This is not to be confused …

You might have noticed the new Instagram albums feature that allows you to post up to 10 photos at once for people to flip through. If you're wondering how it works, and why you'd even try it, we've got a quick tutorial, plus some great …

We've shared lots of different ways you can take back your Facebook News feed and make it your own again. Well, as much as possible, anyway. That includes everything from using the See First to Hide Post. But it turns out, there's actual…

For the last week, I have wanted to put together a list of the best science accounts on Twitter focusing in particular on climate and the environment. But wow, there are so many good ones, that it's like I couldn't stop. In fact, there's…

I won't pull punches here; I am horrified, it not entirely shocked by the vast number of women in particular who have confessed how traumatic this election season has been for them, thanks in no small part to abuse on social media from t…

If you need a five-minute time killer today (because we know you have just oodles of extra time to kill, parents) check out the very fun if questionably accurate Analyze Words . It's as simple as plugging in your Twitter handle -- or any…

We cannot tell you how many of our readers and Twitter followers ask if you can edit tweets. And if you spend any time on the network at all, you've probably seen those requests pop up too. So at long last --hooray! -- Twitter is rolling…

If you're going to Instagram your Easter eggs today, why not try Instagramming a Pinterest-ready Easter egg with a Twitter icon, then save it on Flickr? Or something. Well, you can do that if you're crafty enough to emulate these amazing…

Today I cracked open my Facebook feed and was officially welcomed to the emojification of Facebook, with their new reaction system that gives you more options than mere "likes." For everyone who ever begged for a dislike button, the curr…

Notice a little lightning bolt icon at the top of your Twitter feed? No, it's not a Halloween month tribute to Harry Potter. In an attempt to lure some new folks back to Twitter -- evidently 316mm monthly users isn't enough for some inve…

I was going through my settings on Twitter recently to tweak something, and I never realized it, but there's a way to turn off your Twitter notifications during pre-set hours only. And if I just discovered this for the first time, then I…

If there's one thing that I love about selfies, it's that I'm in more photos with my kids now than I ever was before. And as I get older and my kids get older, it's those photos I treasure the most, even more than their sweet homemade gi…

I have a close-knit family. My sisters and I talk a lot any given week. The thing is, we all live in cities spread miles (and countries) apart, so we rely on social media, texting and, when time zones line up nicely, video chats. And wit…

When I post a picture of my kids to Facebook, I tend to tag my husband, my parents and in-laws, maybe even aunts and uncles. If I want them to see the picture, I tag them. Because until yesterday, there hasn't been a way to officially ta…

I'm mostly an Instagram purist. I really love following the kinds of accounts in which people share their own individual photography instead of loads of quotes, reshares, or images pulled from magazines. And while I can never resist a go…

We've heard that developers are beta testing the latest versions of iOS and OS X, with a WiFi bug fix and blah blah blah blah. Let's be honest, we know that what most people really care about right now: emoji. More specifically, racially…

I recently learned a tip: Waking up and beginning your day looking at Facebook and Twitter can start you off on the wrong foot. Between the political fighting, the depressing news, the spam and the trolling...yeah. Not necessarily the fi…

Around here, we're all starting to wonder whether TV will continue to be relevant to our kids who are growing up in the age of online media. In fact, next to playing Minecraft, my tweens' favorite way to spend their screen time is watchi…

One of the reasons I love Twitter is because it really does give you the most up-to-date real time updates, and with the huge impending snowstorm 2015 headed my way, it makes it super helpful to stay on top of the weather. Parent transla…

I hate to admit it but with the automatic addition of the emoji keyboard with the iOS8 upgrade , I have finally given in to the emoticon and emoji bandwagon. With some limits of course. Of course Emoticandy , as far as I'm concerned, get…

Oh how we love Talk Like a Pirate Day each year. And clearly the folks at Facebook too. If you want to change your whole Facebook page into Pirate-speak for the day (or you know, forever), so that a like becomes Arrr and events happen at…

I'm a planner: I like knowing what I want to get done, and when I'm going to do it. But I'm also a sucker for dreamy design, so it's no surprise that I'm smitten with The Timeline Project , a new way for women to visualize your future. D…

What happens when 14 young designers put their heads together to figure out how to promote IKEA's newest furniture collection? The highly-innovative IKEA PS 2014 , that's what. It's the first fully-functional, interlinked web site on Ins…

We spend a lot of time on Twitter. Maybe too much. But between our personal accounts, and @coolmomtech and @coolmompicks , all of us here definitely get to see our share of brand outreach. Not just to us directly, but to other folks on T…

Wishing all our readers a wonderful, relaxing, totally non-contentious day. Maybe you'll even get to unplug a little. Unless you don't want to. Hey, breakfast in bed followed by uninterrupted Pinterest browsing sounds good to us. Happy M…

T his is the first in a new series of posts about apps that kids are using, that parents should be aware of. And there are lots. Hope it helps. Last week brought the announcement the new Facebook Nearby Friends feature in the Facebook mo…

While we may give the side-eye to duckface selfies (although, a selfie at the Oscars with Bradley Cooper and Ellen is fine by us), today for Earth Day, NASA has given us an awesome reason to endorse selfies, thanks to the NASA #GlobalSel…

When you check your Facebook profile, do you have a notification that says "Who's Looking At My Profile" on the top left? If so, you're one of the lucky few to get a first look at the huge new Facebook Reveal feature--which is either a g…

We were so excited this morning to learn that Entrepreneur Magazine included Cool Mom Tech as one of the top 5 tech pinners you should be following . Wow! What a huge honor to have the Cool Mom Tech pinterest boards featured alongside so…

In honor of Facebook's 10th birthday, they're offering users a pretty cool feature called Lookback , which had me tearing up within the first few seconds. Just make sure you're logged into your Facebook account, then head over to the Loo…

While everyone is gearing up to watch the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks battle it out in Super Bowl 2014, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in saying that I love the ads just as much. Possibly more. And if you're like me and want t…

Pinterest can be many things to many people--an online cookbook, a virtual closet, a life list repository, or a hodgepodge of cool crafts we uh, may never get around to. But one of the most popular ways to use Pinterest is as a shopping …

On November 11, Google will go live with three new changes to their terms of service, with one particular component regarding Google ads that you might want to pay special attention to. Especially if you don't want your Google Plus profi…

You might have noticed that some (or many) of your favorite Facebook fan pages have started disappearing --again--from your news feed on Facebook. Thanks to a recent Facebook update that eliminated Facebook Edgerank, entirely changing ho…

Most of the time we love Facebook, but admittedly it can be lame when that one cousin floods your feed with kitten photos. Or a downer if your summer vacation consists of a hose in the backyard, while friends are posting pictures from Pa…

Ever since Instagram launched video , we're still seeing some freaking about problems and troubleshooting needs. So we dove in a little ourselves to help you get started, address some of the common issues, and hopefully, get you on your …

I was surprised when I went to send a Facebook message to someone who isn't on my "friends" list and saw the following: Either pay a dollar and get my message delivered, or let it languish in some "other" folder. What would you do? I cho…

With the popularity of the Vine app for Twitter, we're not surprised that Facebook just announced that they've added video to the Instagram app in the newest version, and we've got the scoop! This afternoon, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom a…

As you might have seen, just yesterday Facebook launched photo comments, now allowing people to respond to your posts and updates with a picture. If you're wondering how to use this feature, or better, manage what could be a barrage of p…

Leave it to Social Media sites like Twitter and Facebook to unite disparate people in the wake of a tragedy like the Boston Marathon bombing yesterday. We were delighted to find @TheRunChat Twitter account , which created a truly great i…

As a sentimental parent and one who loves to remember all the little things, I've been turning more towards my phone for digital assistance so I don't miss a thing. Which is why I love checking out apps that are designed to record memori…

For those of you still wondering what the heck to do with Google+, it would seem that now with 250 million users, there is actually a whole lot. Even for regular old people, and not just "social media experts" which really, is the genius…

We've all had times on Facebook when we have read status updates that just make us cringe. A friend's drunken bridesmaid night, perhaps? Or maybe...you yourself have posted something that you now realize is not something you want up ther…

For the last couple of years, New England ad agency Mullen had created the innovative Brand Bowl, a site that collected all the tweets about the Super Bowl commercials, so that you could weigh in on the ads, and find out whether the rest…

If you've been wondering the best way to add video on Twitter, it seems the folks at Twitter have been wondering that too and have been hard at work making it happen. In fact, Twitter is about to get a lot more fun (not to mention become…

Even though I cook our Thanksgiving turkey every year, I still find myself checking it way too many times to see if it's actually done. Yes, if there is such a thing as turkey paranoia, I have it. But technology to the rescue! with a cou…

We are so inspired by the photos of the NYC Marathon runners who instead devoted their days to helping the Sandy relief efforts. Runners are a group with amazing heart and community spirit, and never more so than today. Here, some of the…

Readers of this site will know we all have a thing for juxtapositions of new and old--like vintage train cases reincarnated as gadget charging stations or high tech home phones with retro style. Now we're going way back, with this very a…

Something new is coming to Facebook. And no, it's not another forced transition to a format you don't really want. Or your private messages on your Facebook wall (heh). This time it's something that may actually be pretty helpful, especi…

We know that there have been reports by Snopes and TechCrunch over the last few days that the Facebook bug posting your old private messages on your wall is a hoax , but just this morning we found a few of our own very personal messages …

If you're an avid Facebook user (is there any other kind?), you'll be thrilled to hear that Facebook and Dropbox have teamed up to enable you to share files from your Dropbox account right inside Facebook groups. That's pretty big. Basic…

Hooray to all the wonderful grandparents out there who play such a huge role in our kids' lives. This weekend, on Grandparents Day , it's our opportunity to honor them. (I personally don't know what I would do without my parents and my i…

If you're as addicted to Pinterest as we are, then you know that up until now, you've only been able to use it on the web or through their Pinterest iPhone app . But just yesterday, they added a couple of new apps that means more of us (…

What do you do when you and your relatives are just not geographically in sync? I love that tech can allow you to raise your kiddos to have meaningful relationships with their far away relatives Skype certainly helps. But now there is a …

If dad is a beer drinking social media addict, then you've got to see this awesome concept from Guinness that might just change Happy Hour as we know it. Or, used to know it--before the offspring came along. I'm certain I've never seen a…

Seems everywhere you turn now, there's a new app just waiting for you to try out. We're living in an app-cessed world! (I just made that up). There have been many Facebook apps we've touted here on Cool Mom Tech, including Wrapp for soci…

Social gifting is the latest Internet trend, made clear by the numerous services cropping up for making group gifting easier ( GiftSimple , for example). Much easier if you know what it's like to take two kids under the age of four to th…

As a frequent social media user (who isn't these days?), I've often wondered about what all my tweets, posts, and status updates say about me. Personally, I'm hoping mine would be summed up with "fun, smart, and obsessed with Ryan Reynol…

So Mother's Day is coming up and she's like the ONLY person who doesn't have an iPad and darn it, the third version just came out and it's just about time, right? The only problem is, that you can't afford to get her one on your own. If …