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

If you could reinvent Arnott’s classic snack, the Wagon Wheel, what would you change and why?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

Do you remember this TV advertisement?

Wagon Wheels were one of the most iconic snack foods for Australians growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. The TV ad above, along with several others were recited over and over by kids across the country – I’m fairly sure there was one with iguanas, snails or sardines as well, does anyone else remember them too?

Recently, my fiancé and I were travelling in country NSW and came across Wagon Wheels in one of the service stations we stopped at. Extremely excited, they were quickly purchased and consumed. They tasted just as we remembered them, it literally was a jolt back to our childhoods.

Check out the history of the Wagon Wheel below:

Arnott’s product innovation team have been hard at work figuring out ways to reinvent the classic snack. Perhaps you can lend them a hand?

Kate
Community Manager

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

Changing time to choose a Best Answer

Based on your feedback to be able to resolve a question quicker, we have now reduced the wait time to choose a best answer from 4 hours to 1 hour. If you now receive multiple responses within an hour you can select one of those as your Best Answer, or choose to put the question to vote at this earlier stage.

The full lifecycle of a question won’t change – questions will still be open for 4 days and up to maximum of 8 days if you extend the expiration. This change gives you the option to resolve earlier or put to vote earlier. If you take no action to resolve or extend the question, the question will automatically go to vote for the Best Answer.

Optional Preview screen when answering questions

Many of you have commented that to you’d prefer an answering experience without having to see your response on the Preview page first. We are now able to offer this…

If you are signed-in with your Answers account and have answered at least one question before then when submitting your answer you can choose to Submit your response immediately without going to the Preview page first. We’ve kept the Preview page too, so you can still see how your response will look before publishing it.

What makes Yahoo!7 Answers unique is the avid involvement of the community it is YOU that provides the content so continue to ask, answer and vote!

If you could ask Jeanie Walker, from the Australian Democrats, one question, what would it be and why?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

Just two days until the 2010 Federal Election! How will you be voting? Have you considered that your vote needn’t be for Labor or Liberal?

There are other parties with representatives who are just as passionate and veterans of the Australian Government, one such person being Jeanie Walker, the Australian Democrats Lead Senate Candidate for South Australia and National Lead Candidate.

Jeanie has been taking the time to answer all the questions you’ve been posing to her when time allows between campaigning and spending time with her family, for which we thank her!

Here are a few more answers to your questions…

David G asked “What are you doing about unemployment and the homeless?
I think greatest problem in Australia is our homeless problem, These issue’s need to be addressed before it gets out of control, unemployment is the big cause, Our kids are dying out there on the streets and got no incentive for the future which leads to there demise. They should not be on the streets in a first-class country”:

A. This is essentially about poverty, and its many causes – principally unemployment or underemployment – and its consequences such as homelessness.  Sadly, government resorts to immigration to solve skills shortages when they should be training and re-training Australians, with a particular emphasis on those without jobs.  National infrastructure projects, such as the needed extension of the rail system would be able to provide many jobs over a long period of time.  And we need to ensure that the wealthy pay their taxes so that the money is there to get such projects up and running.

**********************************

Mister_T07 asked “We should all be free to live our lives how we want to. if this was so why have a government to lead us in the first place, ask her what the Treaty of Versailles meant for Australians and Australia as what it was suppose to represent and what it did do was completely different as research stated it was to give Australia an Identity which it did not achieve”:

A. The party’s objectives are specific that this freedom is only available if it does not interfere with the rights of others.  Therefore, much of Democrat policy is about redressing the imbalances, and even violations which occur when the rights of others are infringed and trampled on.

**********************************

Matthew Fowler asked “Given Jeanie has written, “My current career is in Aboriginal crisis accommodation youth support work with foster children, which I love. I am concerned about Indigenous welfare and feel there is a huge amount of work to be done beyond saying ‘Sorry’. Simply handing out money is not the solution when cultural respect is not present.” … Why is it that we Australian Democrats as a Party and a (SA Division) Inc still have not like the Greens even acknowledged 1stNations Sovereignty especially when Adelaide Branch advised now (SA Division) Inc Public Officer & Vice President Administration Heather Southcott to do so in 1987? These obvious sorts of questions and queries could have been sorted out years ago by we Australian Democrats as a Party yet curiously despite even have a Deputy Party Leader & NSW Senator Aden Ridgeway, we did & have & possibly will not? Why is that the Dems National & SA State Websites do not even have their respective Constitutions publicly published especially as the Dems Value “honesty”?”:

A. We should be working in partnership with, and not at cross purposes to, Aboriginal people. Greater indigenous involvement is needed at local levels of decision-making across Australia and this applies in all aspects of their society from health to education. Nearly all of our Election 2010 Manifesto policies contain elements of Indigenous culture and how they should be involved, as well as Aboriginal specific legislation. This can be viewed at www.democrats.org.au/policies.

**********************************

Al asked “When will politicians consider space in their vision of the future? We seem stuck with matters on the ground when many things could be brought on by conditions beyond our current control.”:

A. Probably because the matters on the ground, such as freedom, peace and preserving the planet are all-consuming. There is not another planet ready for us to live on, nor another solar system that we can get to in our lives, so I prefer to work with what we have.

**********************************

Thank you to Jeanie and the Australian Democrats for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you want to ask a question of Jeanie and her party, they will be doing so for the next few days, so head on over to Answers and post your question for them. And be sure to check  back here regularly for your answers.

Kate
Community Manager

If you could ask Jeanie Walker, from the Australian Democrats, one question, what would it be and why?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

With the 2010 Federal Election just days away from the polling booths, we’re giving you the chance to ask the Australian Democrats the questions that matter!

The Democrats Lead Senate Candidate for South Australia and National Lead Candidate, Jeanie Walker, along with the Australian Democrats, has been busy campaigning as well as graciously answering the questions you have been putting to them.

So without further ado, here are the first few…

thecharleslloyd asked “Is the Mad Monk (Abbott) a sign of the times?”:

A. Sadly I think he is. Our society has become increasingly conservative, always an indication that people are fearful of the unpredictability of the future. Forty years ago Abbott would not have been taken seriously. But there has been a lurch to the right by both major parties, and the Liberal Party has decided to keep moving further to the right to outdistance Labor.

**********************************

Myotherbumpersticker asked a multi-part question, “Would you support introducing the people’s right to veto?”:

A. We support Citizen’s Initiated Referenda.

“Scrap compulsory voting?”

A. No-one can make you put a mark on the ballot paper. Australians don’t value our privilege of voting highly enough, but I invite you to consider that there are people in other countries literally dying to get the vote. I don’t think it hurts to turn out, on average once every two years, to play a small part in democracy with local, state and federal elections.

“Rollback that 25% tobacco tax as it hurts lower income earners?”

A. So does using tobacco.

**********************************

Yellow Alarm Clock asked “What do you consider to be the appropriate role of the federal government in relation to areas like health and education, which are not among the enumerated powers in the Constitution?”:

A. There is much to be said for Kevin Rudd’s proposal to take control of the public health system throughout Australia. Too much money is spent on the bureaucratic kingdoms that are our state health departments, and a lot of that money could be directed to real health outcomes if that administrative duplication was removed.

In regards to education, it makes sense to have a common curriculum across the nation.

**********************************

DaveZ asked “Why aren’t you joining up with the Australian Greens and becoming a true third force in Australian Politics? Australia desperately needs a true third alternative.”:

A. We went through discussions with The Greens about either uniting or forming a coalition, but they rejected it (my party held a ballot and supported a loose coalition).  Some in The Greens are critical of the Democrats because we are not a party of the left.  Nevertheless, we are more of a left party than Labor, and I think some sort of working arrangement with The Greens in the future is something that could be reconsidered.  I think that would provide a broad base that would have a lot of appeal to voters.

**********************************

gazza asked “I would ask why the focus for Capital Gain in Australia is on Migration? Migration places huge cost on Basic services, infrastructure, cost of living and Australian National Pride.”:

A. We totally agree with you as two-thirds of Australia’s population increase in the past year has come from immigration.  It’s interesting to hear the Opposition talking about infrastructure bonds because there is not the money to put into the required infrastructure for the extra people that are arriving here.  People forget that it is not just the immigrant but his/her partner and children that arrive.  They will all need health services, their children will need schools, and where will we get the extra water when the Murray-Darling is already dying from overuse?

**********************************

Never asked “Why do we never hear from the Democrats? Obviously I’m asking because we generally hear nothing.”:

A. Ask the media – they are interested only in a US presidential style of electioneering.  If you check out our website, you will see lots of media releases and almost none of them have received any coverage.  We’d love it if there was more, and if the media focused on what was said, rather than who said it, you would hear more of us.

**********************************

The One Insane asked “Will you iron my shirts?”:

A. You’re dextrous enough to use a keyboard, and I think you’re grown up enough to do your own!  Suggest you buy shirts that do not need ironing, and when you have washed them take them off the line and hang them so that they don’t crease.

*********************************

David G asked “What are you doing about unemployment and the homeless?
I think greatest problem in Australia is our homeless problem, These issue’s need to be addressed before it gets out of control, unemployment is the big cause, Our kids are dying out there on the streets and got no incentive for the future which leads to there demise. They should not be on the streets in a first-class country”:

A. This is essentially about poverty, and its many causes – principally unemployment or underemployment – and its consequences such as homelessness.  Sadly, government resorts to immigration to solve skills shortages when they should be training and re-training Australians, with a particular emphasis on those without jobs.  National infrastructure projects, such as the needed extension of the rail system would be able to provide many jobs over a long period of time.  And we need to ensure that the wealthy pay their taxes so that the money is there to get such projects up and running.

**********************************

Mister_T07 asked “We should all be free to live our lives how we want to. if this was so why have a government to lead us in the first place, ask her what the Treaty of Versailles meant for Australians and Australia as what it was suppose to represent and what it did do was completely different as research stated it was to give Australia an Identity which it did not achieve”:

A. The party’s objectives are specific that this freedom is only available if it does not interfere with the rights of others.  Therefore, much of Democrat policy is about redressing the imbalances, and even violations which occur when the rights of others are infringed and trampled on.

**********************************

Matthew Fowler asked “Given Jeanie has written, “My current career is in Aboriginal crisis accommodation youth support work with foster children, which I love. I am concerned about Indigenous welfare and feel there is a huge amount of work to be done beyond saying ‘Sorry’. Simply handing out money is not the solution when cultural respect is not present.” … Why is it that we Australian Democrats as a Party and a (SA Division) Inc still have not like the Greens even acknowledged 1stNations Sovereignty especially when Adelaide Branch advised now (SA Division) Inc Public Officer & Vice President Administration Heather Southcott to do so in 1987? These obvious sorts of questions and queries could have been sorted out years ago by we Australian Democrats as a Party yet curiously despite even have a Deputy Party Leader & NSW Senator Aden Ridgeway, we did & have & possibly will not? Why is that the Dems National & SA State Websites do not even have their respective Constitutions publicly published especially as the Dems Value “honesty”?”:

A. We should be working in partnership with, and not at cross purposes to, Aboriginal people. Greater indigenous involvement is needed at local levels of decision-making across Australia and this applies in all aspects of their society from health to education. Nearly all of our Election 2010 Manifesto policies contain elements of Indigenous culture and how they should be involved, as well as Aboriginal specific legislation. This can be viewed at www.democrats.org.au/policies.

**********************************

Al asked “When will politicians consider space in their vision of the future? We seem stuck with matters on the ground when many things could be brought on by conditions beyond our current control.”:

A. Probably because the matters on the ground, such as freedom, peace and preserving the planet are all-consuming. There is not another planet ready for us to live on, nor another solar system that we can get to in our lives, so I prefer to work with what we have.

**********************************

Thank you to Jeanie and the Australian Democrats for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you want to ask a question of Jeanie and her party, they will be doing so for the next few days, so head on over to Answers and post your question for them. And be sure to check  back here regularly for your answers.

Kate
Community Manager

Spread over four weeks, with each week catering to one particular theme, this initiative will showcase the best holiday destinations and the most awesome travel stories that come from you! So start working on that travelogue of yours and include details like places to stay, things to see, best shopping deals and the like. And don’t forget to tell us why it is among your favourite holiday destinations! We’ll be awarding 50 bonus points for the best story each week.

Not only that, we invite you to share your favourite photograph of the vacation on one of these Flickr groups:

Landscape group – http://www.flickr.com/groups/100naturallandscapes/

Photo by Ian BC North.

Cityscape group - http://www.flickr.com/groups/26328425@N00/

Photo by aufmkolk (hafoto.de).

Seascape group – http://www.flickr.com/groups/seascape/

Photo by S John Davey.

Skyscape group - http://www.flickr.com/groups/98509261@N00/

Photo by Cobalt123.

Once you post your picture there, remember to leave us a comment with the Flickr link on the blog, or add the link in your answer. At the end of four weeks, your story and photograph could be featured on our blog.

And here are 5 steps to ensure your Flickr photo makes it to the contest:

1. Log in to http://www.flickr.com/
2. Sign up for Flickr with your Yahoo!7 id if you don’t have a Flickr account already
3. Join the Groups (whose links are mentioned above)
4. Upload your Travel photos there
5. Copy the link of your photo and use that in your answer!

This week’s question is about dreamy landscapes. Meadows full of flowers and green grass, a winding river, a roaring waterfall, awe-inspiring mountains, or endless deserts – what landscape inspired you the most and made for an unforgettable holiday?

What was your most picturesque and idyllic holiday in the countryside?
- Yahoo!7 Australia Answers Team

Kate
Community Manager

Let’s take a look…

Yahoo!7 Toolbar

Many of you may already be familiar with the Yahoo!7 Toolbar, which is a great way to make your surfing experience more efficient and streamlined by keeping all the information you need in a single click. If you haven’t yet experienced the benefits then download the Yahoo!7 Toolbar now and enhance your Internet experience by:

• Reducing the time needed to load various sites.
• Getting instant access to your Yahoo!7 account and other properties by just clicking a button.
• Getting instant access to Yahoo!7’s powerful search engine.

Yahoo!7 Messenger

Some of you already share your Yahoo!7 Messenger ID to chat directly instead of sending messages. But do you know you can also follow the Answers activity through a plug-in on Y!7 Messenger ?

Let’s see together how to do that…

1. Sign in Y!7 Messenger with your Yahoo!7 ID.
2. Below your friend’s listing, you can click on a link “Add plug-ins”.
3. A pop-up window should appear. Find the Yahoo!7 Answers application and just click on the button “Add”.
4. Normally, the plug-in will appear just below your friend’s listing. Click on it to expand a window and see some interesting questions from Y!7 Answers site.
5. You can click directly too on “Ask” button if you want to be redirected directly on Y!7 Answers.

Feel free to tell us what you think on the Forum. Alternatively, leave a comment below or check us out on Facebook!

• If you could ask Jeanie Walker, from the Australian Democrats, one question, what would it be and why?

This year, Australia is headed to the polls early, with a General Federal Election called for August 21.

Deciding who to vote for can be difficult for anyone, especially with so many parties to choose from – and there is plenty of choice, there are many options beyond straight Labor or Liberal. With this in mind, we’re giving you the chance to ask the Australian Democrats Lead Senate Candidate for South Australia and National Lead Candidate, Jeanie Walker, a question!

Here’s a bit of background on Jeanie, in her own words…

I have three gorgeous daughters aged 16, 8 and 6. My eldest daughter has a rare genetic condition called Robinow Syndrome which has afforded me a long-standing connection to disability services and the invaluable place they play in society.  I am extremely proud of how she always turns her disabilities into a positive experience and uses them as an inspiration to others.

I was educated at McLaren Flat Primary School and attended Willunga High School. Post-school I pursued an apprenticeship as a Chef. I worked around South Australia (including rural regions) for many years until becoming involved in property investing and management, starting my own business. I manage properties in low income areas such as Smithfield Plains which has given an intimate knowledge of the problems these areas face.

My current career is in Aboriginal crisis accommodation youth support work with foster children, which I love. I am concerned about Indigenous welfare and feel there is a huge amount of work to be done beyond saying ‘Sorry’. Simply handing out money is not the solution when cultural respect is not present.

As a parent I have grave concerns about the morals and ethics taught in society which generally seek to benefit at the cost of the weak. Examples include the cheap labour of third world countries, exploitation of animals through factory farming and ‘entertainment’ such as rodeos, the depletion of our natural resources such as water and forests, and violence on all levels. Too many decisions are based on short term gain for a few and long term destruction which in many cases cannot be reversed.

There are so many things ingrained in our society that we fail to see them for what they really are. My favourite quote is by Dr Albert Schweitzer. ‘The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another, even the lowliest creature; to do so is to renounce our manhood and shoulder a guilt which nothing justifies’.

I strongly believe that we need to get back to the basics of doing what is right in our lives and encourage others to do the same. We need to cultivate our well-being and peace of mind and not just financial gains and status in society.

I have not studied politics professionally or been ‘groomed’ for the role but I see that as a benefit rather than a handicap. Maybe fresh eyes without the baggage of past actions are what politics really needs.

So get your thinking caps on and come up with a well-thought out question! We’ll be choosing the best answer, along with several other strong answers for Jeanie Walker to answer!

• If you could ask Jeanie Walker, from the Australian Democrats, one question, what would it be and why?

For further information the Australian Democrats, be sure to visit their site for all the latest news and updates.

Kate
Community Manager

Photo by Nico Nelson.

Much of New South Wales woke up to severe storm damage this morning, after gale force winds of up to 140km per hour swept across the state last night.

Fallen powerlines have sparked several house fires including a garage at Ingleburn in Sydney’s west, while a man at Cremorne in Sydney’s north was injured by broken glass.

The SES says it received hundreds of calls this morning, as people woke to find damage to roofs and fallen trees.

The busiest areas have been on Sydney’s south and the south coast of New South Wales.

Electricity to most areas has been restored, but about 2,000 homes are still without power on the central coast.

Source: Yahoo!7 News.

The house that I live in is well over 100 years in age, complete with the old tin roof. I love the sound of rain on the tin and falling asleep to it, but it’s another thing entirely to the pelting rain and gale force winds of last night. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep last night!

I awoke to find all our fruit trees had lost their fruit during the night; the paths were littered with leaves and other debris. We lost one native tree and a few others lost branches. Power and electrical wires were down across my suburb too. My drive to work involved detours and I saw lots of trees and branches down, thankfully none on cars. My family got off lightly, but many other NSW residents weren’t quite so lucky…

Which brings me to this question: What is the worst storm you have experienced and how did it affect you?

Leave a comment below or answer the question on Yahoo!7 Answers!

Kate
Community Manager

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