It’s best not to broadcast details of an upcoming or in progress trip via Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking outlets unless you’re perfectly comfortable with the possibility of those statements becoming public knowledge. Don’t promote when you’ll be away or where you’ll be going.

When using geolocation based apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Yelp, I recommend not doing the following:

Check-in at home – there’s no sense broadcasting where you live to those that don’t already know (and honestly need to know) where you live.

Check-in at someone else’s home – if you shouldn’t check-in at your home, it’s a given that you shouldn’t check-in at someone else’s.

Check-in at your children’s school – this is more the paranoid first-time father in me talking, but it makes sense not to broadcast where your children are if they’re not with you. It also makes sense not to broadcast where they might be when they’re not with you.

When sharing your information online, treat that information just as you would something you’d yell across a crowded street to a friend passing by. If you’re not comfortable with the possibility that anyone could find out what you’re doing and where you are (or perhaps more importantly, where you’re not), don’t share it online.

While the device has features that appeal to those looking for simplicity, it is not just a basic phone. Features include a streamlined, targeted menu, easy-to-use buttons and specialized tools such as Readout mode and Voice Mode.

When switched to Easy Mode, AT&T customers can enjoy the AT&T mobile browser which combines full HTML browsing with unique customization features.  To help keep you connected, the AT&T address book syncs contacts to an online address book making it easy to access and manage contacts.

To learn more, visit www.wireless.att.com.

Have I captured your interest? Well I have good news! We have one Samsung Strive to give away to one lucky reader

Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment here and tell us how the Samsung Strive will help keep you calm, cool and connected. Your e-mail address and phone number must be accurate in your comment so we’re able to contact you. Make sure you double check. (Your contact information won’t be published.)

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. This sweepstakes runs from 12:01am ET Tuesday, May 25 to Monday, June 14, 2010, 11:59 pm ET. It is open only to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older; one entry per person. Wireless service is not included with the phone. The winner will be notified via phone on or about Wednesday, June 16, 2010. For complete contest rules, including eligibility, click here.

Diane commented: 

“The BlackBerry Bold 9000 would keep me calm, cool & connected because I would be so HAPPY to win an AT&T phone. I do not have a smartphone and I feel I would be much smarter and my life would be easier and complete. Oh please pick me!! ”

Congrats Diane!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We’ll have more of these giveaways in the future so check back to see what other cool prizes we’ll be giving away.

Naturally once I searched “pregnancy” on my phone, a plethora of options came forward.  I opted for Contraction Master , which seemed worth the $0.99 investment.  Childbirth class taught us to wait for 5-1-1, contractions lasting for 1 minute, 5 minutes apart for at least 1 hour.  And now I have the perfect tool to track the timing and frequency of my contractions.  My husband walked by as I was downloading the app, and commented that he needed it on his as well.   This app will definitely eliminate the guesswork and provide a history of the contractions that can be emailed or at least shown to my nurse and doctor when I finally do arrive at labor and delivery.

I also downloaded the What to Expect app.  Even though I only have a few weeks left, it’s calming to read that if I went into labor now, the baby is considered full term.  And fun to know that moms expecting boys experience more of an increased appetite in the third trimester.  Does that excuse the incredible sweet tooth I’ve developed as of late?

Nicole Anderson

Hello, everyone! I’m Nicole, an AT&T employee and soon-to-be-mom of a baby boy. My husband, Justin, and I are expecting our first child at the end of April. It’s been a year of big changes for us, as I relocated with the company last April from the San Francisco Bay Area to Dallas. Thankfully, my husband was able to maintain his career, working remotely from Dallas. I’m jealous he gets to go back to California every month or so, especially during the summer to beat the heat! Just as we started getting settled in Dallas – learning the neighborhood, what road led where, and I was getting up to speed on my new job – we found out we were pregnant! It has been an exciting, if overwhelming, journey for us. Critical during our relocation was the use of our smartphones. If we got lost, or if we needed to find a restaurant, e-mail our realtor or send a quick text, our smartphones didn’t let us down. Now with the text4baby program, I can get quick and informative baby advice sent directly to my phone. With all the hecticness in our work and lives, these texts create a quick moment to reflect on the big change coming in our lives and learn something about the new life we are forming. I look forward to sharing this experience with you through my blog posts, and learning more about how to use technology as a new mom. Is there an app that helps your baby sleep through the night?!

The question that comes to my mind is how we show our kids, as well as anyone, how dangerous texting while driving really is.  I realize you cannot keep focused on driving an automobile while trying to send or read a text message.  As parents hopefully we all understand this.  But how do we get our children and their friends to understand how distracting this really is?

Instead of lecturing them, let’s just show them how you cannot text and stay focused on something else. Here is an experiment I tried with my children.  While at home I had them turn on and play their favorite video game.  Once they were playing the game for a few minutes, I handed them their mobile phones and asked them to text me something.  Of course, they told me they couldn’t  right then  since they couldn’t concentrate on the game. Once I received their message, I  immediately sent a text message back to them.  I kept up with the text messaging, which turned out to be too much for the kids to handle, focusing on both the game and the texting. As a result, they quickly ended their video game.  They were annoyed that I  made them end their game.  However, the point I was able to make with them was a strong one, if they were texting while driving a car they may have ended someone’s life and not just a video game. 

The point to make with your children or anyone is that no one can focus on driving an automobile while texting – it can wait!  Please help keep our children safe and show them texting while driving is not safe for anyone.

You may have seen our post earlier about AT&T recent educational initiative to help end texting while driving . This is just the beginning and AT&T see this as an on-going initiative to start an open-dialogue about the dangers associated with texting while driving, especially with teens and young adults. As part of the program, AT&T created a Facebook application that let’s fans sign a pledge to support this issue. Visit the Texting & Driving tab within the AT&T Facebook page and take the pledge now and most importantly, share it with your friends and family. If you or your kids aren’t on Facebook, no problem there, AT&T also created a resource center filled with tips, info, and where both you and your kids can test your Texting & Driving IQ together. You can also print out copies of the pledge and sign them with your kids.

The smartphone offers a full-QWERTY keyboard, as well as voice-guided GPS with turn-by-turn driving directions, local business search and more (additional charges apply). Plus, never miss an opportunity to capture the moment with the two megapixel camera, which features a built-in flash and 5x zoom.

Here is your chance to feel like a celebrity in your own right  – we are giving away the white BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 smartphone signed by top country artist Rascal Flatts!

Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment here and tell us how the white BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 will help keep you calm, cool and connected. Your e-mail address and phone number must be accurate in your comment so we’re able to contact you. Make sure you double check. (Your contact information won’t be published.)

2) You also can enter by writing a post on your blog answering the same question. Just be sure to leave a comment here linking to your post so we know where to find it.

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. This sweepstakes runs from 12:01am ET Friday, March 26 to Monday, April 5, 2010, 11:59 pm ET. It is open only to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older; one entry per person. Wireless service is not included with the phone. The winner will be notified via phone on or about Wednesday, April 7, 2010. For complete contest rules, including eligibility, click here.

Free on Demand programming varies by package subscription.

When we toured our hospital’s labor and delivery wing, they pointed out the docking station where we could hook up our smartphone or mp3 player to play our songlist during labor.  The hospital is wirelessly enabled so you can send emails of your great news right away, and of course my smartphone already has all the phone numbers and contact info that I need to share the event.  I can even text photos, and post up to the minute updates on Facebook. However, I may decide that just for a few moments, I’ll enjoy the birth of my son with my husband, and hold technology at bay until the amazement has soaked in a little and I can imprint the memories of the phenomenal experience in my own mind’s eye. 

In the meantime, I better figure out what kind of soundtrack to select to usher in the birth of my son – feel free to send any playlist recommendations my way!

Nicole Anderson

Hello, everyone! I’m Nicole, an AT&T employee and soon-to-be-mom of a baby boy. My husband, Justin, and I are expecting our first child at the end of April. It’s been a year of big changes for us, as I relocated with the company last April from the San Francisco Bay Area to Dallas. Thankfully, my husband was able to maintain his career, working remotely from Dallas. I’m jealous he gets to go back to California every month or so, especially during the summer to beat the heat! Just as we started getting settled in Dallas – learning the neighborhood, what road led where, and I was getting up to speed on my new job – we found out we were pregnant! It has been an exciting, if overwhelming, journey for us. Critical during our relocation was the use of our smartphones. If we got lost, or if we needed to find a restaurant, e-mail our realtor or send a quick text, our smartphones didn’t let us down. Now with the text4baby program, I can get quick and informative baby advice sent directly to my phone. With all the hecticness in our work and lives, these texts create a quick moment to reflect on the big change coming in our lives and learn something about the new life we are forming. I look forward to sharing this experience with you through my blog posts, and learning more about how to use technology as a new mom. Is there an app that helps your baby sleep through the night?!

Awareness is key.  Whether you’re talking on the phone, sending a text message, or even swapping CD’s, all of these basic tasks could take our focus off of the road while driving, leaving you less aware of your surroundings’ less aware of the road in front of you and the other drivers around you. 

A July 2009 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that texting while driving increases your risk of being in an accident by a factor of 23. 

I know the temptation to respond to a text message as soon as you receive it. We live in a society that holds connectivity and availability in very high esteem.  When you’re in your car and behind the wheel, you’re not available.  Pull over to the side of the road or wait until you get to your destination before sending a text message.  No message is worth the opportunity cost of taking your focus off the road and endangering the lives of you, your passengers, and other drivers around you.

Help spread the word about the dangers of texting while driving.  For more information on the campaign and to take the pledge to not text and drive, view AT&T’s Texting while Driving public education campaign.