Angela M.

I've been on Facebook since 2008 and, yes, it is *very* frustrating that they keep changing their privacy settings behind my back and that some of my less-savvier friends (and their friends, it would seem) have their profile pages, photos, you-name-it, wide open to everybody. The thing is, though, that people really do rag on Facebook about its privacy *but*, in this modern era privacy is really a relative term at best: emails and texts can be forwarded to anybody (think Tiger Woods), my phone number can be reverse-searched and my info accessed with a fee and thanks to StreetView you can practically see in my front window! What I *wish* Facebook would do is *lead the way* with strong privacy settings that can be made more lax by users... vs the other way around. I also *wish* they would stop breaking things that work, like their private messaging and chat (that they recently quasi-merged which is just awkward).

What I *like* about Facebook is that I can actually *find* my friends and overseas relatives and chat or message them. I can choose the level of privacy on my info, create separate groups of people and what those groups can see or not see, and I can truly *network* as I choose to. I can easily remove posts and if I want to opt out of dumb features like "let my friends check me in", I can do that too.

I knew going in that I would be sharing info and that my photos could be "used" for any purpose at any time. Do I actually *expect* them to do anything with them? Um, not really. Maybe that one that my friend's friend posted of her friend on a toilet... far more interesting (and, again, as with anything in life, think before acting and only share what you are have become public--same as in email).

So my family has been active on Webkinz.com since 2008. It has mostly been a very positive experience. I was skeptical about safety and security at first but learned that there are many safety measures in place to protect the kids who play on it. I also had worried that my kids would want the stuffed animals so that they could then just play with them online but the animals themselves are used all the time for play. They are a great value. The games on the site serve a range of children's ages and abilities. The rooms are cute and completely customizable. There are fun daily activities and one of my kids' favourite things are the monthly "music videos" that come out.

Many areas of the site come can be accessed with the purchase of an animal and entering its code but it is worth noting that some areas still need other purchases to be accessed (some virtual, some through other product... or specific product).

The one thing we *have* found frustrating over time is the difficulty involved in connecting with friends. You have to know what colour area they are in and if you do manage to connect, it is hit and miss as to whether you will actually get to visit for long or if you will get booted out or have the thing freeze up. If that feature worked more consistently, I would give Webkinz the 4th star hands-down as there is no doubt that we've gotten good value just from the stuffed animals alone: no doubt my kids will grow up and keep at least a few of them.

(I admitedly sneak into their accounts to play games too... and I know I'm not the only parent doing that. The games are easy enough for kids but still fun enough for grown ups ;)

Pros: Easy to use, very reasonably priced, book is decent quality (for what you pay for it), good promotions. Also when I had deleted a coupon code for a buy one book get another copy, I contacted customer service and they gave me the code to use again: I did a yearbook for Mother's Day with one copy to each grandmother and they were very well-received. Hard-bound 11 x 8 book with a full photo on the front x 3 copies cost me around $100. The colours, binding and paper quality were all better than I expected and still in good shape more than a year later.

Cons: There are *always* promotions so you will get these about every week in your email. If you scrapbook, want more customization beyond the basic or hope to pass the photo book down for generations to come, this is probably not the photo-book site for you.

I've bought quite a few GTA-area vouchers with them. I have had no problems redeeming any of them and have overall found that they are worth the value. When I did run into a "rival" deal that came into email which was better than the voucher I had bought, I contacted WagJag's customer service and they honoured my suggestion of crediting me back in their WagJag 'bucks' the *difference* in the value of their voucher vs the better deal. So not totally "perfect" but *awesome* that they listen to their customers (the tip being that I didn't "yell" in email but presented a solution which they then honoured ;)

Chapters always has fantastic deals, many times better on the website than in-store. They have free shipping (at least to Canada) on orders of $25 or better. Their reward program works both in-store and online as well. Shipping is always super-quick, even during the holiday season. I've shopped with them for 5+ years and have yet to have an issue.