What is the real objective of teachers and parents when it comes to teaching children about the internet? It’s a pretty odd thing, since schools have only recently added in the subject into their curriculum and there are still any disadvantaged children without access to the technology.

Regardless of the situation, it is undeniable that with the trend of the world we currently live in, being part of the online community will become a necessity in the coming years. Use of Facebook and Twitter alone has shown how reliant our society can be on digital tools when given an option to socialize online.

For children however, this means that learning about the internet has to start at an early age.

With homework, socialization and even entertainment tied up to online profiles and accounts, many children learn to sign up for their first e-mail account at a very early age. While parents would be able to teach children the necessary skills for this, there are still plenty of adults who are unable to properly use a web browser. Sadly, educating the children about the internet cannot be easily split between teacher and parent.

Though one might assume that it would be okay for parents to handle morality while educators focus on technical skills, it would be impossible for parents to fully take part in the process if they themselves are not tech-savvy.

Before being able to teach what is proper behavior and decorum would require that a parent actually know what it is like to take part in a forum, a bulletin board, a chat room or even a shout out box.

Prof. Byron’s report of safety for children in the digital world has missed out on one crucial factor: educating parents.

Read about child safety on the internet at the Telegraph UK.

Frankly, it is not even the fault of the company. Despite the argument that a large corporation such as Vodafone should be fully responsible for everything that is released under the company’s name, there is simply no way that one can fool proof an inside job.

It turns out that an employee of the company used the official Twitter account of Vodafone UK to post a very offensive Tweet over the weekend. Employees of the company were quick to respond by deleting the post and sending in their apologies and assurances that Vodafone has not been hacked and that the Tweet was the result of a severe breach of rules by staff. No word has been given to the identity of the culprit or culprits.

The case is now being handled internally and it is unlikely that Vodafone would ever release the results of the findings. The last word was that the “employee” has already been suspended. Seriously, for such an act, it would not be a surprise if the individual was terminated and blacklisted from ever working in the UK ever again.

On the lighter side of news, Vodafone is hardly going to flinch from such a minor event. The operator is enjoying a continued growth in the number of their iPhone subscribers. Reports show that the launch of the Apple iPhone for the operator was a big success with over 100,000 unit sales within the first week of launch. Recent reports showed that Vodafone’s superior 3G network has attracted subscribers from O2 to switch networks –a claim that O2 Mobile vehemently denies.

Vodafone’s 3G network has been upgraded and expanded for over a year in preparation for the launch of the iPhone, and from the looks of things, their efforts are paying off.

Read the rest of the news regarding the Tweet from Vodafone at Mobile Today UK.

If having to check your tweets manually is a hassle on your mobile phone, then perhaps you would enjoy receiving the latest tweets from your friends via text. This is the new feature being offered by Orange Mobile UK to its subscribers. The feature will allow users to receive tweets on a real time basis in order to keep up to date with their accounts.

Orange UK and Twitter has also made it possible to control the flow of incoming tweets through scheduled Tweet download times (if you so prefer) and through filtering which Twitter contacts’ Tweets would make it to your mobile phone. These features are particularly useful for people who receive hundreds of Tweets each day. Aside from receiving Tweets, users can also send their own Tweets via text as well uploading images on their mobile phone.

This tie up is based on linking a user’s account on Orange World. To access this service, Orange Mobile subscribers simply need to open Orange World on their handsets. Orange World is a unique service that connects MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking accounts to your mobile phone account. Orange World creates customized feeds that allow users to instantly see the latest highlights and updates from their contacts on different networks without having to manually sign in to each account.

Twitter is a major social networking site that uses micro blogging –short 140 character posts. Members of Twitter can easily make and send Tweets to all their friends and contacts online with short one or two liners that allows for a quick and casual conversation. Twitter is currently among the top 50 most accessed websites in the world. As of the time of writing, Twitter has “raised over 57 Million US Dollars from venture capitalists” –according to Wikipedia. Modern usage of Twitter has a broad range as it has been used for communication, campaigns, awareness programs, propaganda and more.