How Smart Social gave me confidence & credibility
Confused by the constant flow of social media apps bombarding your teens? Scared your eager adolescents will give the wrong impression online? Wish you could confidently steer your kids in the right direction? But have no clue where to start?
Then Josh Ochs and team to the rescue! They cut through the dangers of the digital wilderness to help your kids ‘shine online’ – with programs and content for parents, educators and kids.
“We keep kids safe on social media so they can shine online.” – Smart Social
OK. OK. I have been a fan of Smart Social for a long time and am a member of their Parent University. I also regularly listen to the Smart Social podcast, in which Josh covers a host of topics himself and interviews a variety of experts with a passion in this area. He even shared a session delivered to parents at Mountain Brook High School & Jr High – which is something he does at schools alongside his numerous practical and engaging presentations to kids. I even have a few of his books. To put it bluntly: Josh Ochs is a force of nature.
Enough already – so why am I such a big fan of Smart Social? For 3 simple reasons.
1) Smart Social is like having your own cheat sheet + tutor for every social media app and topic.
It feels like there’s a new social media app every day. Frankly, there’s no way to keep up…unless you have a team like Smart Social focused on doing so! Smart Social distils vast amounts of information into bitesize pieces – without compromising on substance – for busy, overwhelmed parents and teachers.
What I particularly like is that they show me the apps and then explain why I should care. For example, I had no idea that “according to ProductHunt, the TikTok app has more downloads than Snapchat, Spotify and Gmail combined in the App Store.” Now I can quickly see the full story.
2) Smart Social teaches your kids how to positively and pro-actively manage their social profiles.
I love this approach! (No surprises there!) With kids going online at younger and younger ages, Smart Social is like the older sibling who makes it fun and inspiring – but keeps it real.
Like Habyts, Smart Social aims to help kids see the bigger picture and develop positive digital habits for life, specifically when it comes to social media and their digital footprint. In fact, Josh and the team will work with teens to “brand their Instagram (and build a website) that shows off their true identity to impress colleges and future employers.”
3) Did I mention that Josh Ochs is a force of nature?
Not only do I admire his energy, but I also find Josh incredibly genuine — even when it comes to the little things. Case in point: my password wasn’t working so I sent a quick note to the site – and Josh responded and resolved the issue in minutes. Again, I had the same experience in resolving a query on behalf of my son about the website creation program. A helpful response in minutes!
In a crazy busy distracted world, Josh takes the time to note the details – and when raising kids, teaching students and building good habits, the daily details matter.
Best of all, Smart Social allows me to have conversations with my kids that I previously felt ill-equipped to have. I don’t need to know everything – and I certainly don’t try to convince my kids that I do – but I have a better frame of reference and the confidence to initiate a discussion. In fact, what I’ve realised is that my kids don’t always know as much as I think they do! But it doesn’t matter because we’ve got Josh Ochs and the Smart Social team to help us make smart choices – both separately and together.
I love Smart Social and I hope you try it – as a parent, an educator, a tween or a teen!