How excited are we? For starters, at NQ Mobile our amazing new app called Family 
Guardian for Android, is now out in the world, ready to keep thousands of kids safer than ever. And our website, Guard Your Mobile Family, is live and active as of today.
Even more exciting – our BlogHer 2012 blogging contest was a huge success. We invited all bloggers to enter who could share their expertise, experience and good humor with their special views on kids, families and smartphone safety, with a prize of cash and a blogging contract with NQ Mobile.
Lots of wonderful people joined us at our BlogHer 2012 booth in New York last month. They tried out our beta version of Family Guardian, and talked to us about it on camera. Their stories are available on YouTube.
Three Winners
As the strongest entries in our contest, we chose Jo White, Kerry Duff and TerriAnn van Gosliga to share their wisdom with our NQ readers. We love their perspectives on kids and mobile safety, and look forward to having their wonderful insights posted on our Guard Your Mobile Family site throughout the year. Meet these amazing bloggers:
Joe White: Jo is a PhD student studying technology, media, and society at the University of 
Colorado, and is mom to four kids, aged 12-21. Her popular blog, Mediamum.net, looks at all the challenges of being a Chief Everything Officer in a busy tech-savvy family.
Kerry Duff: Kerry is the creator of CEOoftheHouse.com, a lifestyle blog. This mother of four loves to travel, cook, and take photos of everything. Kerry relies heavily on technology to make her life easier, and welcomes the challenges of navigating her children through their experiences online.
TerriAnn van Gosliga: TerriAnn is a mom of one tween girl, whom she 
homeschools. TerriAnn blogs daily at cookiesandclogs.com, a lifestyle blog that helps other families decide about places to go, things to do, and products to try.
We at NQ Mobile are happy to welcome Jo, Kerry and TerriAnn! Please help us make our new mom-bloggers feel right at home by Tweeting us, posting on our Facebook page, reading and “liking” their posts, and sharing your own ideas and opinions about their observations. Have a look at our richly informative Guard Your Mobile Family site for tips, ideas and guidance for smartphone-owning parents, kids and teachers. And don’t forget to check out our winners’ personal blog sites, as well.
We’re having fun at BlogHer 2012! We premiered the exciting beta version of our 
upcoming NQ Mobile Family Guardian app. We’ve also been interviewing conference attendees about their thoughts and concerns regarding kids and smartphone safety, and we wondered about their interest in Family Guardian.
What an eye-opener! We’re finding out that parents are extremely interested in protecting their kids when it comes to their smartphone activities and overall, they love the features we’ve included in Family Guardian. Check out some of their comments on YouTube .
NQ Mobile Family Guardian (beta version only)
We’re giving visitors a chance to use our new Family Guardian app, which hasn’t been released on the market yet. Family Guardian lets parents easily block inappropriate websites, monitor the apps your kids can download, and control their scheduled phone time for calling, Internet and texting. You can monitor your child’s location and her activities on her smartphone, and she can check-in when she arrives safely at a destination. Maybe best of all, if your child’s in trouble, she can send an emergency alert to you with the touch of a button.
Kudos for Family Guardian
People who stopped by our booth (212-214) and tried the new app are more than 
enthusiastic. We met Paul, the blogger at ILovetheMart.com. Paul has seven kids who are all “very technologically advanced.” He feels that the comfort of knowing your kids won’t come across inappropriate material while using Family Guardian is “invaluable” to him and his family. Likewise, Lisa, who writes a blog called Momalamode.com, tells us her two year old is already good at navigating a smartphone. Being conscientious about safety, she wonders what things will be like 
when he’s four. “It’s a fantastic idea. I think Guardian will be great for us…”.
Terri, whose blog is called CookiesandClogs.com, is particularly pleased about protecting her kids from things they can’t control – like looking up a word and getting inappropriate pictures back. She’s also enthused about being able to set and monitor time limits, as well as having the check-in feature, which will give her child more independence as she grows older.
Another blogger, Susan, at Peachprenni.com, advises parents that they need to be “..proactive and pay attention. You have to care.” Anna, of DollarStoreDeals.net ,actually checks her kids’ smartphones every night. She says, “It’s creepy when people can see you and know your name…what will the future be like?” We designed Family Guardian just for people like these!
Is knowing what your kids are up to the same as spying on them?
Sherry, a blogger at TeenTrends.com, emphasizes that, “..parents today are facing different challenges. While it’s important for a teen to have a smartphone, it’s also important for parents to monitor it. Family Guardian’s an amazing concept – I can’t wait to try it.” Sherry doesn’t think that using Family Guardian to monitor her kids’ activities amounts to spying, but feels it will “actually open a conversation with children, that there’s this app to keep them safe. And if they’re in circumstances they can’t control and they need your help, they just have to push a button.”
We talked to Jo from MediaMum.net who has four kids — they all have smartphones and pads. She feels NQ Mobile’s technology means she’ll have more “peace of mind.” “I don’t think anyone wants to be the bad cop but, as moms, we always have our antennas up for things to go wrong. This technology means that we all understand what’s expected. It takes the pressure off me and off all our shoulders, and lets us move forward together as a family”.
Still in beta version
We’re so happy to hear what real people are saying about Family Guardian, and we’re taking their suggestions to heart so that we can produce the absolute best family protection app ever. “The thing I love about NQ Mobile is that they develop apps that save and protect your children,” says our new friend, Paul. “Once they’re exposed to something [inappropriate], you can’t take it back. It’s priceless to us.”
We at NQ Mobile want your child to be safe, and we want to help you protect your kids from the dangers that lurk for our lucky kids who have smartphones. Stay tuned for more information about Family Guardian, and don’t forget to watch our videos from BlogHer 2012.
Here at NQ Mobile we’re committed to spreading the word about smartphone safety for kids. We want parents, teachers and kids to know the facts, and we’re reaching out for help from all you fabulous bloggers! Click here for contest details.
How to Enter – It’s Simple!
- -Write a blog post about kids and smartphone safety. Or, if you’d rather, you can shoot your video post right here at our BlogHer 2012 booth (#212-214).
- -Post your piece, or your new video link, on your usual blog site, and create a big buzz about it with your readers. Encourage them to share their opinions and stories about children’s safety issues surrounding smartphone use.
- -Share it with us! Post the link to your video or blog post on our
Facebook page, or tweet your link to us at @nqmobile.
Who Wins?
We’ll select three talented bloggers during the BlogHer conference (August 2-4, 2012). We’ll be looking for creative posts that help spread our message — that kids can enjoy smartphones safely if their parents and teachers are aware of the risks, and know how to protect them.
We’ll award the three winners $500 each, in cash, during the BlogHer 2012 conference. But wait, there’s more.
What’s the Big Prize?
The $500 cash comes first. In addition, we’ll be offering each of our three winners a 3-month writing contract with NQ Mobile. NQ is a global brand with over 172 million users in 150 countries. That’s a lot of exposure for you and your work! This writing gig will pay $500 for each of your three monthly 500-word posts.
Our Focus
We’re open to a wide range of ideas related to kids and their safe use of smartphones. 
We want parents (and kids) to know about the risks involved in kids owning smartphones, and there are plenty of them. You can gear your piece toward kids who want their parents to buy them a phone, or write it for adults, addressing issues like privacy, lost and theft, and GPS risks. Make sure your blog post offers great ideas about avoiding risks, and that it encourages communication. And, remember, we want you to help us spread the word. We’re hoping your blog reaches a large audience and that you get lots of feedback on your post.
Again, don’t forget to visit us at BlogHer 2012 (NQ Mobile Booth #212-214) and, either bring a written post or shoot a video post on the spot. We’re excited for the opportunity to get to know you. We wish you luck with our contest, and look forward to reviewing your excellent entries!
Have a great time at BlogHer 2012.
We’ll be demonstrating our amazing security products, holding a contest for bloggers, giving away prizes and having an altogether great time at this year’s BlogHer conference in New York on August 2-4, 2012.
Stop by to say hello – our booth is #212-214. We look forward to seeing you there!
