Author: Cheryl

In today’s digital age, children are exposed to an overwhelming amount of content on the internet. With just a few clicks, kids can stumble upon inappropriate content that may be harmful to their mental and emotional well-being.

As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children consume safe and appropriate content online. Here are a few tips on how to do so:

1. Set up parental controls: Most devices and apps have built-in parental controls that can restrict access to inappropriate content. Make sure to set up these controls on all devices your child uses.

2. Use child-friendly search engines: Google and other search engines can often provide results that are not suitable for children. Use child-friendly search engines such as Kiddle or KidRex that provide only appropriate content.

3. Monitor your child’s online activity: Keep an eye on what your child is watching or reading online by checking their browsing history or using monitoring software.

4. Educate your child about online safety: Teach your child about the risks of online content and how to stay safe online. Encourage them to talk to you immediately if they come across something that makes them uncomfortable.

5. Use age-appropriate content: Make sure that the content your child is consuming is age-appropriate. Look for ratings and reviews of movies, shows, and games before allowing your child to watch or play them.

To ensure that our children are consuming safe content online, it’s essential we take these simple steps. Parents can protect their children from harmful content and help them enjoy a safer and more positive online experience.

Women have historically been underrepresented and misrepresented in media. They are often portrayed in overly sexualized or stereotypical ways, and their achievements and abilities are frequently ignored or minimized. However, things are gradually changing.

There are still challenges we face when it comes to the representation of women in media. For example, wage inequality, job insecurity, prejudice, and harassment are still significant issues faced by women in media. Moreover, women of color, queer, transgender, and non-binary individuals remain starkly underrepresented in media.

To ensure that women are more fairly and accurately represented in media, we must prioritize the voices and perspectives of women, especially those who come from underrepresented backgrounds. We need to see more women in leadership roles in media industries, including in executive positions, directing, and producing. We also need to see greater diversity among writers, reporters, and editors. This can help promote more balanced coverage and nuanced portrayals of women across media platforms.

If you are a woman who wants to move ahead in media, there is no substitute for hard work, being prepared, and being reliable.

We can all do our part in promoting gender equity and representation in media. We can start by actively seeking out media sources that are dedicated to promoting fair and equal values. We can signal boost women’s voices by following, retweeting, or sharing their content on social media platforms. We can also push back against sexist or harmful representations of women in media by wielding our strongest tool in the toolbox: our dollars and our feet. Don’t support movies or TV shows that undermine your values. You can also write scripts that support your values.

To discuss this further, please call us today!

YouTube is now the second-most used search engine, and with over 2 billion active users, it has become a popular platform for both individuals and businesses. With such a massive audience, it’s no surprise that YouTube’s advertising potential has been recognized and utilized by an increasing number of companies.

Here are some of the benefits of advertising through YouTube:

1. Targeted Advertising: YouTube’s advertising platform allows you to target specific demographics, locations, interests, and behaviors, which increases your chances of reaching the right audience. You can even retarget your ads to people who have already viewed your content.

2. Cost-effective: YouTube advertising is cost-effective compared to other forms of advertising. You can set a daily budget for your ads, and only pay when someone watches or interacts with your ad.

3. Wide reach: YouTube’s massive user base and global reach allows your ads to be viewed by a vast audience. Furthermore, since YouTube is integrated with Google’s display network, your ads can also be displayed on other websites, increasing your reach even further.

4. High engagement: Due to the engaging nature of videos, YouTube ads can create higher engagement and retention rates compared to other forms of advertising. This is because video ads can evoke emotions, storytelling, and other visual stimuli that can capture the viewer’s attention.

5. Measurable ROI: YouTube’s advertising platform provides a comprehensive set of metrics and analytics that allow you to measure and optimize your ad’s performance. This includes the number of views, impressions, and clicks on your ad.

In conclusion, YouTube advertising is an excellent way to connect with potential customers in an engaging and targeted manner. With its cost-effectiveness, high engagement rates, and significant reach, it is no wonder why more and more companies are utilizing this platform to achieve their advertising goals.

If you are interested in pursuing YouTube as part of an overall marketing plan for your business, just call Joey at 818-913-9805 today!

Sorry for the long wait between blog posts, but I’ve been on hiatus. I’ll blame COVID, why not? Things have slowed, for sure, so I might as well take a few moments and air another grievance. This one has to do with masks.

There are three kinds of people in the world today: One, those who wear masks willingly because they believe it saves lives; Two, those who wear masks because they are forced to do so by their employer or their local government; and Three, those who don’t wear masks.

I don’t care which kind of person you are, but I would like to ask you to have an open mind. Each of those three people I describe above has a right to their opinion.

For the one who refuses to wear a mask, their argument goes like this: “Masks don’t work, and they harm society by blocking facial expressions. Plus, they’re uncomfortable.”

The one who is a conformist: “I do what I’m told when I need to wear a mask, and I take it off when I’m not asked to do so. I don’t make waves because it’s not worth the hassle.”

And the one with righteous indignation: “Murderers are no different than maskless people.”

So whichever camp you fall into, you may not agree with the other side, but you can at least see that they differ with you for legitimate reasons. They might be wrong, but you can see why they have chosen their side, right?

I don’t believe the maskless are murderers, though. If you want proof, just go to any restaurant in Los Angeles these days. Masks are required. Except when they’re not required (while eating). What would the mask-advocates say, “Hey, murderers have to eat, too”?

To sum up, I don’t care which kind of person you are. But if your fear of dying is overshadowed by your fear of living, it might just be a mask.

My latest irritation has been building for some time now. I can’t be the only one. It has to do with online passwords.

If you assume that my problem has to do with remembering which password goes with which website or app, you’d be wrong. My problem has to do with being told that my password isn’t “strong enough.” Must be 8 characters, must include a number, must include a capital letter, must include a decent recipe for biscuits… the list goes on an on.

First of all, who the heck are they (Silicon Valley) to determine how “strong” I want my password to be? If a hacker wants to break into my tiny world, shouldn’t I be the judge as to how difficult I want to make it? How does it affect Apple, for instance, if someone guesses my Apple ID and wreaks havoc? I am a responsible adult and can certainly determine whether the quality of my life dealing with complex passwords that potentially keep ME out of my sites is worth the risk of some pimply-faced computer geek messing with me and having to deal with any of those repercussions.

Because that’s really what it comes down to. It’s far more likely, FAR MORE LIKELY, that the only person who is prevented from accessing my personal info will be me, not some lurker.

Does the safety police tell me how many deadbolts I need on my front door? Of course not. Yet homes are far more likely to be burgled and what to lose is far greater.

I understand when a web form uses the visual barrier to keep bots from sending spam. It’s inconvenient to try to find each image with a “bridge” or a “bus,” for sure, but I understand the paranoia. But we’re talking about my personal space, my personal choice.

Essentially, we’re talking about freedom.

I’m surprised nobody has taken legal action yet to preserve our freedom to choose our own passwords. It’s high time.

Do you think it’s a coincidence that the passwords they want us to choose also look like F#@C126 expletives?

I have been tempted to use some of those all-in-one apps that keep your passwords in one place and only require you to remember one password. I’m not convinced that’s a great solution, though. If I reduce all of my sorta simple passwords to one master password, I would feel much more vulnerable to someone cracking the master and leaving me in shreds in one fell swoop. Worse yet, how about the employees at the all-in-one app place who will now have access to all my personal passwords?

So I put up with it, as we all do, because essentially we’re not in control of anything. That may be my new password: N0tNKonTro!. Do not take it, that’s mine! (Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have posted it publicly. You’re right, geeks, I can’t be trusted.)

I meet a lot of people who are aspiring. Not per-spiring (well, that too), but mostly aspiring. Like an aspiring actor, an aspiring writer, an aspiring singer. I’m going to have to stop now and see how many words I can find using the letters a-s-p-i-r-i-n-g. Sorry, I’m a Boggle fanatic.

Okay, here goes…

sap, sir, sing, sings, ring, rings, ping, pings, pairing, pairings, sparing, siring, spring, grip, grips, grin, grins, air, airing, airings, sprain, grain, pain, pains, raising, praising

All right, I won’t bore you any more. I think it’s interesting that most of them relate to the arts in some way. Especially “pain.” Just kidding! Sort of.

To me, someone who is aspiring is a dreamer. Not the bad kind of dreamer, the good kind. One who sees themselves doing something that hardly anyone else can see them doing. But when I meet these people, and they introduce themselves as an aspiring whatever, I always tell them the same thing. That word doesn’t exist in the arts because if they are serious about their dreams then they already are the writer, the singer, the actor, the whatever. What they mean to say is they want to get paid for it.

So one of the first steps in the entertainment industry for most people who want to get paid is to first get an agent. The “Catch-22” has often been described and I’ll repeat it here just in case you haven’t heard it. To get a job, you need an agent. To get an agent, you need a job.

It’s brutal, I know. But I’ve often thought about agents and their roles. The legit ones get paid when you work, not before. Many take 10% of your gross pay. So let’s say you’re an actor. Would your agent rather see you get a role that pays $9500 an episode on a long-running series rather than a four month run at a 100-seat theater doing “Our Town” with the cast splitting the door 50/50 with the house? Of course! I’m sure you would, too. But would that same agent rather see you get a mindless, long-running series at $9500 an episode rather than a smart independent movie that could catapult your career but pays scale? That’s a tough one. Some agents are in for the long haul, others aren’t.

It’s even more complicated when we look at agents who have nothing to do with the entertainment business. I’m talking, of course, about real estate and insurance agents. Now, those people usually get paid by commission. So if you’re a buyer, does your real estate agent want to negotiate the lowest price or just get you into the house as fast as possible? And if you’re looking for life insurance, does the agent really care how long you live or die?

I hope I’m wrong, but the cynic in me says you have to always be on the lookout. Agents are usually necessary, but they can be a friend or foe depending on the situation. The bottom line, for me: Never stop being your own advocate.

Have you ever met anybody who seems to get frustrated if you misspell or mispronounce their name? I used to meet them all the time at conferences because we’d wear those name tags that say “Hello, my name is…”, or maybe it was just your name written beneath your company name. Sometimes they’d pin it to your lapel and other times it would hang around your neck on a lanyard.

Anyway, if you see the name “Peter,” I assume you’d be like me and pronounce it the normal way, right? Well, I’ve been wrong four times. It seems the pronunciation “Petter” is, well, better for some. Of course, as soon as I assume it’s “Petter,” they say, “What? It’s Peter, you fool.”

People can be just as sensitive about spelling. “No, there’s only one ‘T’,” he said, after saying his name was Scot. Great, now I have an extra ‘T’ in my life and I don’t know where to put it. Or an extra ‘N’ thanks to Ana.

Of course, people have the right to spell their name or pronounce it any way they want. George Carlin had a joke about it that went like this:

As a group or an individual you have the right to be called whatever you want. Your name can be spelled S-M-I-T-H and you pronounce it “Jenoffsky.” What’s your name? Jenoffsky. How’s that spelled? S-M-I-T-H. All the letters are silent.

-George Carlin

You probably know the old PR adage that there’s no such thing as bad press as long as you spell my name right. I think that’s probably true except if you did something illegal or immoral. It can backfire, for sure.

I remember the old Peloton ad got some flack for being sexist, and then they turned a huge profit. I’m pretty sure they didn’t make the ad with that intention, but it got people talking about it. Sometimes you have happy accidents, but I would be very careful before orchestrating any kind of controversy. That can backfire, too, for sure.

Getting the wrong kind of attention will quickly change your attitude from, “Do look at me” to “Don’t look at me.” Oh, that’s where the extra N and T ended up!

People ask me all the time, “Where did you get those boots?” Well, let me clarify: women ask me all the time. Women love boots, and not just cowgirls. I’m not sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with power. That’s right, when I slip into my boots, whether they’re the suede puddle-jumpers, the knee-high gogos, or the Polish horseriders, I feel a little bit like what I imagine Wonder Woman must feel. I’m taller, yes, but I also get a stronger center of gravity. And if push came to shove, I think I could kick some serious butt.

There’s a famous song by Nancy Sinatra which you all probably thought of as soon as you saw the title of this post. And now you’re gonna have it stuck in your head for the rest the day… one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over them buh-buh-buh…

I think boot manufacturers know that we love our boots. Why else would they charge an arm and a leg?

Of all the things to break on a car, the one I never thought I’d have to fix is the sun visor.

It’s one of those things that you don’t even notice when it’s working properly and suddenly becomes the most important device in the world when it breaks. The problem with mine was that it wouldn’t stay put; it just dangled straight down and blocked my view. You see,  the sun visor has to be placed in the exact proper angle to do it’s job effectively.. Well, mine had run its course.

So I did a quick search, and the 2016 Camry sun visor, driver-side, beige in color, came to $140. At first I was appalled at the price tag. I mean, come on, what is the thing except a piece of cardboard wrapped in some cloth? But it’s able to stop the sun, so I have to give it some credit. So I paid the price and it arrived today and I installed it myself (no kidding) and it works perfectly.

Then I got to thinking about the price of things, and how the price can be offset over time; I think it’s called amortization. Here’s how it works: the first time I use the sun visor, which was yesterday, it cost me $140 to block the glaring sun so I can drive safely.  But today, I used the sun visor for the second time, which means it only cost me $70 to block the sun. $70 yesterday and $70 today. If I continue using the sun visor every day for the whole year, it will cost me less than 50-cents per use, roughly —  I don’t have time to do the math, but you get the idea. I feel the same way about my wardrobe. If I spent three hundred dollars on a new dress and I wear it once, it’s a rip-off.  But if I I wear it 672 times, it’s reasonably priced!   As an aside, rarely do I get to  wear a dress 672 times; that’s not the case, however, with some of my underwear — but I’ve said too much. Anyway, that’s how they get you with the charities in Africa: for the price of just one cup of coffee a day…

So I guess I’m wondering whether blocking the sun while I drive is worth $.50 each day. It would be awesome if the opposite was also true: like, we would get credit for not using something — a de-amortization! But that’s a science-fiction story that I don’t have time to write. Feel free to steal.

Punctuation is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood elements of the writing world. Period. One of my pet peeves, of late, is the use and, more specifically. over-use, of the exclamation point.

It used to be that an exclamation rendered the sentence fraught with excitement, danger, pleasure, or all three. Today, it has become as common as the simple and humble period. And I have a theory as to why this is the case.

With emails and texts and posts (and blogs), we find ourselves doing much more writing than in previous times.  And, to be honest, most of us don’t live exciting lives. So the easiest way to infuse a little excitement into our little stories  is by finishing off our scribbles with an exclamation point, or as I call it, “the upside-down lower-case I.” (Actually, that’s the first time I’ve ever called it that.) And if you really want to make an impact, try two or three!! Or the outrageous string of exclams that should be illegal (a misdemeanor) or at least garner a hefty fine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

And the simple irony of it all, is that when everything is joyful and newsworthy and over the moon, nothing is.