In my early days I had the chance to meet Andy Warhol and he once said, “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” That is exactly what David Cohen did by bringing this great format to the Boulder/Denver area. The Open Angel Forum Jason Calacanis created is a very well thought out approach for startup companies and Angels to break bread, drink and take startups to the next level.

I have been in business for many years and what I experienced on Feb 3 was truly amazing. The power of so much passion brought to life by the entrepreneur and the angel’s passion and willingness to take the risk of taking companies to the next level is truly the American Dream along with job creation, which is vital to rebuilding the economy.

As I walked through the door for the OAFCO it was a very relaxed atmosphere with a beer in hand and stimulating conversations to start the evening. Fifteen minutes before presentation time Jason and David gather us for a team meeting to go over the flow of the evening. We received the order of the presentations and then David gave us the most important rule “ You need to take a sip of your beer during the presentation.” We were the top five companies, all of us were stoked to be picked and now getting ready to pitch. Here are some great posts from the other companies on the event here, here, here, and here. After the meeting, the five companies clichéd ourselves as the First Alumni of the OAFCO. That was pretty cool. (See OAFCO Class of 2010 picture.)

My company had the second spot in the line up so we were up pretty quick. Tyler came and got us and for the first time we unveiled 911elerts born out of two years of hard work and drive to see it through.  Seven minutes goes extremely fast so anyone out there that is going to apply be prepared to get your message out quickly. (Thank God I had Jon, my COO, there to keep the pitch moving because I can talk and talk about my company.) What’s great about the OAF format is that it vets out the companies as well as the angels. Take advantage of the opportunity that it gives you if you are picked to present at future events.

Thank you Jason, David and Brad for the opportunity. I am grateful for your vision and passion to help others. Entrepreneurs seek out your local chapters of OAF as they come to life it is truly amazing.

Last night we had the privilege of joining five other aspiring companies along with twenty super angel investors at the Open Angel Forum’s 2nd event in Boulder, CO.  Our friends at TeamSnap did a nice job summarizing why this is a special event and ColoradoTechTV published a very well done video that captures the ethos of the gathering

A brain child of Jason Calacanis, he and David Cohen made it clear to us and our colleagues that the objective of the OAF event was to bring together serious entrepreneurs with active angel investors in a casual and intimate setting. In fact, we were one of five from one hundred applications that were selected for review – an accomplishment in and of itself from our perspective.

Unlike other events where Angel’s and VC’s charge young companies to present their solutions, Jason came up with a sponsor-subsidized model that covers event expenses. This fairness to us and others presenting plus the rule to only allow active investors makes OAF the best event we’ve attended since we started two years ago. Thanks again to Jason, David, and Brad for inviting us and for the kind treatment!

We welcome Erika Napoletano of RedheadWriting to the FaceFile blog! Blogger, social media strategist and admitted technophile, you can find her (often irreverent) insights on social media, business, writing and blogging at RedheadWriting.com. Follow her on Twitter (if you dare!).

Isn't it time to put the phone down and drive?

I was guilty of it. Once.

A text from a date … I couldn’t wait to respond. I (gulp) texted him back at the hasty speed of about 68 MPH.

That was, until I almost missed the big rig merging into the lane in front of me.

After having my own little “life montage moment,” it was clear: put the cell phone DOWN! This was almost a year ago and I have yet to do it again. Seriously.

We’re all annoyed when the drivers surrounding us act like fifteen-year-olds on their first day behind the wheel, so why do we do it? Obama’s recent ban on Federal workers texting while driving made quite the new buzz in October and as early as 2008, several state were trying to push through legislation to the same effect.  According to a New York Times Poll, nearly all Americans think that texting while driving should be illegal.

My question: who’s still texting behind the wheel if we all hate it so much?

On occasion, I fall victim to iPhone-itis and respond to a text while at a stoplight or check my email. Light turns green – phone gets relegated to the passenger seat or docking station. But I don’t text while driving. I’e even been known to pull off into a parking lot or park on a side street if something needed to be handled right then and there. I will also make the person calling me wait to speak with me until I put my headset in. I’m no saint, but having a little “come-to-Jesus” moment will definitely make you rethink your communication strategy, no?

A British PSA has definitely garnered some strong responses on the texting while driving issue. We’ll direct you to the Huffington Post to view with the disclaimer that it is graphic in nature and YouTube requires you to sign in to view the video. Sometimes scared straight works, I think.

I applaud those states who have already gone to hands-free mandates for drivers. Want to know the skinny in your state? Check this list form the Governors Highway Safety Association. If there’s legislation pending in your state for banning texting while driving, send your Representative a letter of support. Simply Google “(your state) texting while driving” and that should give you some solid results.

What are your thoughts, stories and feedback on the recent and pending cell phone safety laws? Are we intoxicated by communication? Let us know below.

This week we welcome Nicole White as a guest blogger to the FaceFile blog! You can find her online at MyBottlesUp.com. Welcome, Nicole!

Facing front or rear-facing: when do you turn the car seat around?

Our son will be 18 months at the end of October.  My husband and I turned the Magoo’s car seat around to face forwards when he hit 16 months old.

Granted he’s a lengthy child.  You should probably know that my husband is 6’6” and I’m 5’9”.  We’re not capable of producing small or even average-sized spawn.

I was once approached in a parking garage and asked by a complete stranger, “Shouldn’t you turn her around by now?”

(The “her” issue is an ENTIRELY separate one that I will share in good time…)

But as this parking garage stranger asked me this, I found my blood pressure rising, wanting to respond with, “Excuse me, but why is this any of your business?!?”

Instead I counted backwards from 10, found my zen place and said, “Ya know, I’ve read that children’s neck muscles aren’t strong enough to face forward in a car seat until they are a year and a half,” giving parking garage stranger a look that clearly ended the conversation and slamming the car door shut.

Parking garage stranger then buckled her little bundle into their grocery cart, flipped her lusciously long ponytail and proceeded into Whole Foods, where I assume she bought an abundance of organic, gluten-free, soy-based food for said bundle who looked to be dying for some whole milk and Cheez-its, the Magoo’s snack of choice.

(For the record, I’m totally down with the organic, gluten-free, soy-based, whatever… Whatever works for you and yours).

So when do you turn your tot around to face forward in their car seat?  At what age was your little one when you made the big switcheroo and had them face forwards instead of backwards?

I’ve polled parents while on the playground and have come to the following conclusion: no one truly knows.  Some moved the car seat to face forwards on their child’s first birthday, sort of a rite of passage thing.

“Congrats son! You can now face forward and not have to watch me through the monkey mirror that sits on the headrest.  Here’s your birthday cake.”

Other parents waited until 16-18 months, like we did, having read or heard from friends that neck muscles of toddlers are stronger and better developed when they are closer to a year and a half, should you be in a car accident where whiplash occurs.

To be perfectly honest, my husband and I turned the Magoo’s car seat around to face forward because his legs were too long and climbing up the back of the passenger seat.  It was when he kicked the monkey mirror that sits on the headrest off that was the deciding factor for us.

At what age was your child when you turned him/her around to face forward in their car seat?  How did you come about making that decision?

What should you consider when posting pictures to an online dating profile?

One safety concern of many online daters is the profile picture.  After all, once it’s up there on your dating site, everyone knows what you look like!  It won’t be long until they’re following you around town with a camera and erecting a creepy shrine in your honor… right?

Not really.  Let’s look at the pros and cons of posting a photo:

Pros

• Profiles with photos get exponentially more attention than those without photos.  Most dating sites allow people to exclude profiles with no photos from search.  If you have no photo, chances are, nobody’s finding your profile.
• Photos allow people to see if you’re their type before emailing you.  You might claim that you’re not that shallow, but everyone has at least a baseline value of what an acceptable looking person is when it comes to dating.
• With a photo up, you know that people emailing you are interested in YOU, not just interested in getting a photo of you and then deciding if they are interested.

Cons

• Your photo is up on the internet.  It could go anywhere from there.  (In reality, it probably won’t.)
• Ladies especially run the risk of becoming the object of affection of a guy they are totally not interested in.  (Luckily every site has a block feature!)
• Your coworkers, family members, clients, or students may find your profile, and with your picture on it, there’s no doubt it’s yours.  (I did online dating most of the time I was a high school teacher, and was never outed by a student or former student.  I did find fellow teachers, though.)

It is possible to survive online dating without a photo, but the benefits of posting a photo really outweigh the risks.  If your profile and photos maintain a certain level of class, there’s no danger in having them online.

Here's what we like online these days

We’ve had an exciting month here at FaceFile – we launched our Guest Blogger initiative and are delighted to welcome Beckie Mostello (@techtalkformoms) E. Foley (@geeksdreamgirl) and Nic White (@mybottlesup) to the FaceFile blog. We have been following them for awhile on Twitter as well as reading their own blogs and are excited for their contributions to ours. Interested in being a guest blogger for us? We’re looking for voices who can speak towards:

• Safety issues for families, real estate professionals and other service providers
• Online safety for kids, teens and adults alike
• Tech advancements that make our lives safer and easier
• (we’re all about safety!)

Leave a blog comment with your interest (be sure to include your email address) and we’ll have our Content Manager get back with you to explore adding you to the FaceFile family!

Each month, we’re shunning “Follow Friday” on Twitter and instead, telling you in one post who we like online and why. Here are our picks for October – have a look at their content and see if they can lend as much value to your life as they add to ours!

Amy Lupold Bair - @ResourcefulMommy
http://resourcefulmommy.com/

We love that her posts are always “lending value.” Not about what’s in it for HER but rather for her readers. A great blog to have in your RSS reader if you’re pressed for time and looking for the best of the “resourceful best” on the web, especially giveaways and freebies.

Shari at Baby Banz USA – @babybanz
http://usa.babybanz.com/

Sunblock and UV protection for kids. We love it. Always a fun series of Tweets in her stream and she’s about sharing and helping. We love that she ReTweets a lot of other people’s content and you can always rely on her for quality links, great info and an upbeat personality.

Kevin Boulas/Spiral Marketing – @irant
http://spiralmarketing.wordpress.com/

Want to know what’s going on in the world of non-profits? Kevin has his finger on the pulse and consistently shares events (both local to Denver and nationwide) benefiting charity. The host of Denver’s #rabbleforacause, he puts together monthly events that benefit a different non-profit each month. Always ReTweets a lot of good content and throws a keen sense of humor into the mix as well.

The Mom Blog at the OC Register – @themomblog
http://themomblog.freedomblogging.com/

If you’re in Southern California and a parent, this should go in your RSS reader today. We follow the blog for its consistently upbeat voice and an informative Twitter stream. Another consistent ReTweeter who shares cool content from other followers – we just love it when we can focus on our audience and get great content from across the web from those we follow in one click.

Keep your kids surfing safely with these two new online tools

My 6 year old daughter has started to take notice of my husband and I working on our laptops, which leads her to wanting to learn more about computers. She likes to get online and has lately become a bit more adventurous on the computer. That concerns me a bit, so I did some research on parent-friendly surfing software that would keep me from pulling my hair out. Let me tell you what I found and maybe you can tell me what you’ve found useful as well.

The first tool is Littleye (www.littleye.com). Littleye is a software download that allows my daughter to visit only safe sites which are on a trusted list that educators and parents have approved. I can search their list for websites as well as create my own list of approved websites. Littleye also allows me limit her online time. The settings will lock her out after she has reached her time limit and only I have access to give her more time. Littleye is very easy to set up and there are several videos on the website that help parents through the process. When the Littleye download is complete, a small icon will appear on the upper right corner of the browser. Littleye can be turned on or off by clicking on the icon and entering the parent user name and password. By the way: don’t let your kids know your password!  Each child can have his/her own user name and password so parents can monitor each child’s activity. Another helpful feature about Littleye is that it will soon be available as an iPhone app. This will be a great way to check your child’s activity even when you are not by your computer! I really believe Littleye is great family friendly software that is worth the small expense of keeping your kids safe while they are on-line.

Another online safety tool (search engine) I like for my daughter to use is Askkids.com (www.askkids.com). Ask Kids is a safe, fun search engine just for kids ages 6 to 12. Kids and their parents can research topics in science, math, geography, language arts and history in a safe online environment. Websites in the Ask Kids core search index were selected by the Ask.com team as child-appropriate or as a relevant and practical sites for learning. Additionally, websites are filtered to remove adult content, which can give parents peace of mind when they are not with their child at the computer. AskKids.com has also created a website with online safety tips for children at Safesearchschools.com (http://www.safesearchschools.com/tips.html). Check it out, it is really worth the time to read throught the info provided on the site.

Bottom line: will I ever really have true peace of mind when my daughter is out of my watchful eye? Probably not. But at least I can now feel safer about what she’s seeing and doing online. I’d love to hear more about what other parents are using for online safety – leave us your comments below.

Welcome E. (@GeeksDreamGirl) to the Face File Blog! E. is an expert in online dating safety and works with online daters nationwide to craft safe and expressive online dating profiles. Visit her at www.geeksdreamgirl.com or www.onlinedatingprofiler.com

Start with safety when dating online

It seems like online dating services are asking more and more questions these days.  In the early days, you got a big blank space to write your piece, but now they want to know your favorite hotspots in town, where you can be found on a Friday night… I mean, prime stalker material, isn’t it?  And speaking as someone who once had a stalker (ironically enough, in the days before I started online dating), it’s not fun having to look over your shoulder everywhere you go.

You might be wondering how you can express yourself and be unique and attractive without spilling all the beans about your life.  You run on the West Orange Trail every Saturday morning, you work as a manager at a mom and pop store, you love going swing dancing at the Whirl n’Twirl.  These things are great, but any of the three could easily tell a crazy person where to find you.

The key here is to be vague without being vague.  It would be boring if you watered those facts about you down to: “I run, dance, and manage a store.”  Yawn.   But what about something like this?

“Managing a retail store can get pretty stressful, but I’m lucky that I’m one of the few people in retail with regular days off.  Since my body still wakes me up regardless of whether I have to punch in at work, I lace up my sneakers and go for a run with my dog, Tucker.  In the evenings, I turn back time and practice dancing from an earlier era.  Sure, it’s “old-fashioned,” but it is definitely a lot of fun!”

Be vague without being vague.  Be specific without being specific.  Write about the actions and feelings surrounding what you do rather than the places.  It’s a little trickier, but it will keep you safer in the end.

Beckie Mostello joins Face File this week as part of our new Guest Blogger series. You can follow Beckie on Twitter and read more on her insightful blog Tech Talk for Moms. Welcome, Beckie!

Education is one of the many concerns facing parents today

Daily life as a parent is full of concerns – sometimes one concern right and after the next. Lately, a few of my big concerns have to do with the health, safety and education of my children. Many times, I talk with other parents or professionals in the community and others I like to research online for help.

My biggest concern of late has to do with the health of my children. The H1N1 virus seems to have gotten too close for comfort lately. My children have been immunized for the flu and I would like to have them immunized for the H1N1, but I had some concerns about the shot. I found some very helpful information on Mile High Mamas. There is a blog post written by, Dr. Keren Call, pediatrician and board member of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition. In her post, Questions and Answers for Moms about H1N1, Dr. Call answered some very specific concerns around the H1N1 virus. I do have to say after reading the information, she helped me make an informed decision about whether or not I would immunize my children for H1N1.

Safety is always a major concern. My son is a very busy toddler and sometimes, as toddlers do, he does not exactly make the best choices nor does her have the brain development to make those choices. A website I like to use for questions I have about his safety is About.com’s parenting section. On this site, there are all kinds of resources to help me along the way. The website also includes some great reminders of things I should be doing to ensure his safety. It can be frustrating and tiring at times to keep an active boy safe!

My daughter recently started first grade, opening a whole can of worms when it comes to concerns about her education. As a past teacher, I know there are specific things children should be learning and mastering at certain grade levels. The first place I like to go with concerns about my child’s education is her teacher. I know how valuable the parent-teacher relationship can be for a child’s education. Another resource I use to learn about what my first grader should be learning is my state’s department of education website. On the site I can look at the state standards for my child’s grade level. This way I know what is expected and how I can as a parent support my child’s education.

So to sum it up, life as a parent does has concerns that come in all shapes and sizes. I believe the best thing to do is to learn how to use the many resources available to help work your way through the concerns of parenting.

What are you top concerns as a parent? What resources do you use to help ease your concerns? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!