Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

On February 8, 2011, Yahoo! will be joining forces with INSAFE, to celebrate Safer Internet Day and to help raise awareness about safety online.

Answer our special question: here.

This year, efforts will address safety around “virtual lives” encompassing online gaming and social networking. The slogan for 2011 is, “It’s more than a game, it’s your life.” Staying online and being connected has become critical for today’s youngsters, and not being connected frequently means social exclusion.

GET INVOLVED

It’s easy to take part in this exciting one-day event!

• Learn more about online safety tips.
• Share these online safety tips with your family and friends through Yahoo! Pulse, Facebook and Twitter.
• Participate in the global Safer Internet Day Fair.
• Share your own advice with the Answers community.

Learn more about online safety tips

Think before you post. How you represent yourself online – the way you play games, the photos and texts you share, your avatar, and your profile – all add up to who you are. Invest in your online image.

Be a good sport when online. If you wouldn’t do it on the field, don’t do it online.

Take action and report bullying. By standing by and watching, laughing, or doing nothing when you see bullying happen, you become part of the problem. Don’t be a passive bystander.

Spread positivity when texting. Texting is core to staying connected and what you text is a reflection of you. Be thoughtful about what you text and confident that your texts portray you the right way. Remember messages can be misunderstood without body language to support your meaning.

Get out and connect with your world. It’s estimated that teens spend 7.5 hours a day watching some form of media. The Internet is fun, rich world, but don’t forget to unplug sometimes. Get out and connect with your friends in the real world.

Learn more about online safety. Yahoo! Safely is a global resource that provides parents, educators and teens with tips and advice on online safety. The site covers important topics such as managing digital reputations, avoiding cyber-bullying, and learning how to minimize risks on mobile devices, as well as provides guidance on how to safely use specific Yahoo! products, as well as a Yahoo! Answers Safety Guide.

Share these online safety tips for youth with your family and friends

Support Safer Internet Day by updating your Yahoo! Pulse status with:
“It’s more than a game, it’s your life: http://www.saferinternet.org”

Help drive awareness of online safety by sharing this blog post on Twitter and Facebook. It’s easy – just click `Like` or `Tweet` from the box at the bottom of this blog post to share it online.

Participate in the Safer Internet Day Fair

Join us in a “real” celebration of our virtual lives in the SID fair, by registering online or contacting your national awareness centre or SID committee. A video clip has been created in all official EU languages. Watch the clip and find further information about the activities being organised in your country through the Insafe website.

Share your own advice with the Answers community

Now over to you to share your own advice with the Answers community by sharing your tips on how to stay safe online in this week’s featured question:

• What are your best tips for staying safe on the Internet?

The best answer will receive a bonus 50 points and an additional ‘top 5′ best tips will receive 10 points each!

Here’s to staying safe online – not just on Safer Internet Day, but EVERYDAY!

Photo by Tom Jankowski.

Power has been cut to much of the Brisbane CBD today, residents are now being urged to stock up on essentials and seek higher ground. It is expected that the flooding will peak higher than the 1974 floods which killed 14 people and left thousands homeless.

Where can I get updates?

• QLD Police are continually providing updates via Twitter and Facebook.
• Channel Seven have all day coverage with Sunrise and Seven News ongoing.
• Yahoo!7 News: http://au.news.yahoo.com/qld-floods/

Stay safe!

Kate
Community Manager

Photo by Kingbob86.

The situation in Queensland appears to be worsening, with flash floods hitting Toowoomba overnight, causing 8 deaths with a further 72 still unaccounted for. The state’s capital, Brisbane, is also bracing for the worst with flash flood warnings in effect.

For all the latest news on the floods, please visit Yahoo!7 News.

If you wish to help by donating to the flood appeal, details can be found here.

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this disaster.

Kate
Community Manager

Photo by Andrew.Swansson

During recent weeks, the Australian state of Queensland has been inundated by record downpours which have resulted in severe flooding. A state of emergency has been declared through much of the north-eastern part of the country. The floods have caused widespread damage, with damage bills tipped to be in excess of 5 billion AUD.

Many areas are still on standby for evacuation, as flood waters continue to rise, whilst others begin the slow task of cleaning up and rebuilding their lives.

• What causes floods to occur?

There have been a handful of deaths, with thousands evacuated or on high alert. Just yesterday the rural centre of St. George was preparing for mass evacuation as the Balonne River continues to rise, it is expected to peak at 14 metres on Sunday. Many Queensland children spent a dismal Christmas Day awaiting evacuation or in emergency accommodation. With waters continuing to rise well into the New Year, this morning saw warnings issued to farmers and residents in northern areas of New South Wales to be on alert as wild weather heads south.

The biggest losses will be in lost crops, livestock and households as many Australians are either unable to afford flood insurance or find themselves ineligible. Most of Australia’s banana and sugar crops for example, are grown in Queensland, along with large quantities of fresh produce and cotton.

At times like this, it is important that the community join forces to offer support.

On Answers, we form a community of collective knowledge- but in the real world, together, we create a collective bound together by one thing: humanity, and the ability to endure. And in times like these, it’s important to remember that, and to help others persevere.

How can you help?

The Queensland Government, in conjunction with Australia’s federal government, have set up an appeal to assist those affected by the floods.

• Donate online here.
• Phone: 1800 219 028.
• Bank: Donations can be made at any Commonwealth, NAB, Westpac, ANZ or Suncorp branch as well as Coles Supermarkets.
• Internet banking: Account Name – Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal, BSB – 064 013, Account number – 1000 6800.
• By mail: Details here.

As is the case with disasters of any kind, we all know of someone who knows someone who was affected somewhere along the line. I myself have friends and family camping on their rooves awaiting evacuation, stuck in evacuation centres and praying their homes and livelihoods will not be destroyed by this disaster and still more now faced with the mammoth task of throwing out almost everything they own due to flood damage.

This disaster will have long-reaching effects on Australia, with major crops destroyed just as the nation was emerging from a long period of drought. Food, particularly fruit and vegetable prices, are already skyrocketing. But even in the face of disaster, in typical Aussie fashion, we are seeing the country band together and support each other as never before.

Kate
Community Manager

Head over to the Yahoo! Answers blog and check out the latest episode of Answers on the Street, an initiative by our team over in the United States of America.

Think you have a better answer? Let us know by answering the following question:

How do you get rid of the hiccups?
- Yahoo! Answers Team

Kate
Community Manager

Photo by NZAP.

Last Friday afternoon, an explosion in the Pike River Coal mine, left 29 men aged from 17 years-of-age trapped.

In the days since, the families of the men trapped and those involved in rescue efforts along with New Zealand, Australia and the rest of the world, have been on tenterhooks waiting for some news or sign of life.

Unfortunately, lethal gases leaking into the mine as a result of the explosion has meant attempts to enter the mine would be disastrous. A second explosion yesterday has left authorities to conclude no one could possibly have survived, plunging our nation into mourning.

Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of each of the 29 men who have lost their lives under such tragic circumstances.

If you are aware of any Australian charities or organisations that are collecting for the families, please leave a comment below or email us: y_answrs_team_au at yahoo.com.au

For the latest updates on the recovery efforts and related news, please visit Yahoo!7 News.

Kate
Community Manager

Earlier today, Independent MP Bob Katter, declared his support for the Coalition. Shortly after 3pm this afternoon, the two remaining Independent MP’s – Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott – declared their support for the Australian Labor Party and a Gillard Government.

This means that Julia Gillard will form the first minority government in Australia since 1940 and as the Leader of the Australian Labor Party, she is now Australia’s elected Prime Minister.

It’s been a gruelling 17 days since Australia first went to the polls and slowly became acquainted with the reality of a hung parliament. The nation has been divided, literally, with seats at a 74-74 draw with Katter’s decision to support the Coalition. So it really did come down to Oakeshotte and Windsor to support one of the parties with the only alternative to call another election.

What are your hopes and expectations for Australia under the leadership of the Gillard Government?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

We’d like to know your thoughts around the formation of this new government and what you would like to see come out of our Federal leadership going forward into 2011 and beyond. Answer via the question above or leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

By this time tomorrow, we should hopefully know who our next Prime Minister will be!

Expectations are that the key Independents – Bob Katter, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor – who currently hold the balance of power, will make their decisions public either by the end of today or early tomorrow morning.

Speculation has been rife as to which party they will lend their support to, especially as Green’s MP Adam Bandt and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie have both declared their support for the Australian Labor Party.

So who do they choose? The Coalition – Liberals and Nationals – which would see Tony Abbott as our new Prime Minister or the Australian Labor Party, which would see Julia Gillard sworn in as the leader of our nation. It’s not a decision they would be taking lightly, they all have their own constituents and policies to consider. Whatever their end decision may be, they will no doubt be considering these first and foremost and selecting the party which recognises them best.

We’d like to know your thoughts on the current battle for power and which way you think the Independents will sway:

What party are the Independents likely to support in order to form the new Australian government and why?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

Leave a comment below or answer via the question above.

Kate
Community Manager

Social networking has literally changed the face of society as we know it.

Privacy has gone, sharing is everything – what you wore today, what you had for lunch, who you like or who you don’t – nothing is sacred any longer.

Seven’s leading morning program, Sunrise, hosted a segment this morning around the issue of students and teachers being friends on Facebook.

So we have two unique view points:

• The school principal who’s students friend teachers (it should be noted that it is not the teachers seeking out the students, but the students requesting the teachers as friends); see it as a way for both students and teachers to continue building upon the relationship setup in the classroom and for assistance with schoolwork.
• The child safety expert feels that it is overstepping a professional boundary, that students have other avenues for working with teachers. She used the analogy that teachers would never have called a student privately on the phone, so why should they hang out with them on Facebook.

We are seeing the same thing happening in workplaces with an increasing trend in employees and bosses being friends on Facebook. This can have negative consequences with people having been fired for comments made about colleagues or having been caught out “chucking sickies”.

There are many pros and cons to this situation, but the basic ones seeming to be privacy and common sense. With regards to teachers, the obvious one would be child safety. If you do friend a colleague or equivalent person on Facebook, think about whether you want them knowing every intimate detail of your life. If you don’t, utilise the various privacy settings that most social networks have to control the levels of who sees what.

This is literally a subject we could spend all day on, so we’d like to know your thoughts!

Should teachers have students as Facebook friends or as friends on any social networks? Why or why not?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

Answer via the question above or leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager

Photo by Jacob Freeze.

In recent weeks, Pakistan has been hit by devastating floods that have affected 20 million people, killed up to 1,600 and left two million homeless.

The United Nations warned Monday that up to 3.5 million children were at risk from water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan and said it was bracing to deal with thousands of potential cholera cases.

At times like these, we’d like to point you towards the efforts of organisations like:

• The Australian Red Cross
• CARITAS Australia
• World Vision Australia
• Oxfam Australia
• Médecins Sans Frontières
• UNICEF Australia
• Plan Australia
• CBM Australia
• ADRA Australia
• Save the Children Australia
• Care Australia
• Oxfam New Zealand
• Save the Children New Zealand
• Red Cross New Zealand
• UNICEF New Zealand
• The Salvation Army
• UNHCR

Please give generously if you can.

Kate
Community Manager