Nigel Williams: A Man With A Mission

Larry Magid On The Passing Of A High-Tech Advocate For Children

(CBS)  Nigel was also one of the first Internet safety experts to understand that children need to also be protected on the "mobile Internet." Americans are just beginning to understand that cell phones and other connected mobile devices make it possible for kids to be "online" even when they're away from home, school and adult supervision.

In 2003, Nigel organized a conference in Tokyo at which I was privileged to speak, exploring the ways children are using cell phones and what needs to be done to protect them from predators and bullies who can now reach them wherever they are.

Some of the proposals introduced at that conference are now being implemented by cell phone companies in the United States, Europe and Asia.

In July 2003, Nigel stepped down as Chief Executive of Childnet to become Northern Ireland's first Commissioner for Children and Young People, a post in which he applied his passion for protecting and uniting to help heal scars that remain in that war-torn country even after the fighting has mostly subsided.

In December 2005, six months after he was diagnosed with cancer but while he was in remission, I had the opportunity to visit Nigel in Belfast to get a firsthand look at how far Northern Ireland has come and how far it still has to go after so many years of religious and political warfare.

While only some of the many who care about the impact of technology on children will remember the name of Nigel Williams, we have all benefited from his work.

But, as with all legacies, there is more to be done.

Now is as good a time as any to sit down with your children to remind them about what they can do to stay safe while online, especially while using social networking services such as MySpace.com.

Childnet International has some excellent resources as does GetNetwise.org and NetSmartz.org. I've also put together a couple of sites on the subject, which you can visit at SafeKids.com and BlogSafety.com.

Thank you, Nigel.

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A syndicated technology columnist for nearly two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."