Facebook Safety Facebook is an excellent tool to stay in contact with friends and family, and also to meet new people, however we quickly forget an important childhood lesson—”don’t talk to strangers” – “but they are my friends you may say…” As Fb (Facebook) relies on people’s openness to share their information on a semi-public forum, some dilemmas are posed. There is a strong need for humans to be connected to each other and Fb seems to take advantage of that need. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether it’s reconnecting with distant relatives or keeping track of close friends without having to duplicate information, or even to see what happened to that high school sweetheart, the strong interconnectivity of the internet cannot be denied or ignored. Thus it is easier to learn to adapt and live with, rather than find ways to live without this valuable tool. The uses of Fb are far reaching. A Cape Town organisation has successfully located numerous missing children by posting their pictures on their group site. The effect that Fb is having on our society is still not clear. In terms of research, Fb is still new and there is currently a large amount of studies being undertaken on various aspects of the impact of Fb. For example, many corporate companies have implemented policies to deal with social networking forums such as Fb, MSN (another social network –Windows Live Messenger) and the like, owing to reduced productivity in the workplace. The current research on the effects of Fb on family life, work and mental health will be interesting. The problem is that research takes time and the publication of these findings too takes time, and Fb is still relatively new. So you have taken the time to create a nice full profile on Fb. You have even included details as to where you live, work, your contact numbers and interests. You then are going on holiday and you post that on your status update something like “Ten days before holiday to Thailand!” The problem is that not only does everyone know that you will be out of town, they also know personal information about you and possibly your family. There would most probably be some pictures of your house on Fb in your photo albums and suddenly you have made it really easy for a would be burglar to have an option here. People even post that they are missing their husband while he is away. This can be a security risk too. Before going head first into the Fb world, I would ask myself some questions: 1. Do I provide personal information and photos etc on my profile? 2. Am I really friends with all the people who have access to my Fb profile? 3. Do I trust the people who can view my profile and its contents? 4. Do I know how to use the security settings on Fb? Who would you let into your home after hours? Who would you let into your home and allow them to look at your videos, photos and weekly plan? The information that you put onto Fb can easily become public and is available 24 hours a day. Information such as where one works, while may be interesting for friends to see, can have a negative effect. The more information that you make available about yourself the more information a would be predator can get. For example, a con-artist could easily get more information about you by pretending to be a close friend when telephoning your business for example. By already having quite a lot of your personal details, it becomes easier to convince your reception or a co-worker for further information, such as your other contact numbers and so on. Now the con-artist could impersonate you when contacting some of your service providers as he/she already has your personal numbers, work numbers, email address and possibly your home address. This is the information that is often used to verify you to your service providers. A con-artist could contact a common service provider such as a telephone company and request that they want to change the postal address details. The operator from the service provider may confirm your address details to the con after he/she has presented other personal information such as birth date, contact numbers and work address. Even if the service provider does not accept the information that the con provided, they will tell him/her what information they require before they will be able to divulge or make changes to your account profile. Thus, the con can contact other service providers and between a few, and with some clever communication can get the missing information. Each service provider asks different security verification details and it is likely that the con will get through to at least one service provider to whom can provide further information, such as your home address. Now you are not only at a financial risk, you may be at physical risk too. Included in this fraud is attempting to predict passwords for example by having personal information about you. A common hacking tool is called “social engineering” whereby a hacker psychologically manipulates situations to gain further information about you to fill in missing gaps that he/she needs to con you. For example, many people use their child’s name as their password on their computer, or their birth date, or any easy to remember information. By creating a trust relationship with you, you may without knowing it, be giving possible passwords/access information to a hacker as he/she attempts to create a psychological profile of you. If you lose your credit card or your identity document, Fb becomes even more unsafe. If the person who finds these personal documents becomes a friend of yours on Fb (or if your profile is open to the public), then the balance of your personal information is available. Cases of fraud regularly occur in the work environment whereby a fellow co-worker is involved in fraudulent activity either directly or indirectly via a partner. In the work environment, information such as identity numbers, home phone numbers and possibly addresses are fairly easily available in many companies. It is also common for co-workers to be friends on Fb, the rest is self-explanatory. The point is that, the more information there is available about you, even more information can be obtained from that very information. Thus, fraudulent activity becomes easier with more information. Phishing (technique of fraudulently obtaining private information) is a common occurrence that takes many forms such as emails from legitimately looking companies attempting to update their database, and requiring you to confirm details via email or telephone for example. The more information there is available about you, the more openings there are for fraudsters to gain entrance into your life. The possibilities are endless and the methods used to con people too are endless. Psychologically deviant behaviour is a concern for public forums. We need to be aware that child friendly websites have been known to attract not only children but paedophiles too. Facebook has a minimum age for membership of 14 years of age. Paedophilia is a concern for young teenagers and I would not rule this out as a concern for parents just because “every one’s child is on Fb and therefore it must be safe”. If this was true then crossing a street would pose no risks as everyone is doing it… . The point is that parental involvement is always important. I am not saying that one needs to be like a hawk, but what I am saying is that teaching your children about the risks and role-playing possible scenarios that they may be faced with, is an important part of any new activity that has risks. For example, the same way a parent needs to oversee a child when learning to swim (and thereafter for many years of swimming), the same applies for internet based activities. Excuses such as my children know more than me and they teach me about computers is a common complaint. It is easy to get advice and that does not mean that you need to be a computer specialist, but as a parent you already have the knowledge of what would be acceptable behaviours for your children, so it’s just the vehicle that you need to adapt to. This can be fun too. Facebook provides a perfect place for voyeuristic behaviour (the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people, usually while they are doing personal actions). Once a Fb user lets another Fb user see his/her profile by accepting a friendship, the profile remains open to each party unless either the friend is removed from the profile (“unfriend”- Oxford word of the year for 2009) or privacy settings are applied. Now if your profile is open to your friends, these friends can view your photos, videos and other information at any time and as many times as they want. This activity goes unnoticed, so if [...]
When we talk about social networks, especially if we relate it to the virtual scenario, it is usually a website where people can connect with everyone. Social networking marketing are becoming the talk of the town particularly to the marketers since they can benefit by interacting with potential customers through the site tools and features like groups and fan pages. There are many possibilities and challenges waiting in the world of social networking. Each user within their individual sites has their own opportunities in the commercial actions. The pedigree of online social networking can be traced back to the 1980s bulletin board systems. The system will permit the user to log in and then share information, software, and data. It can also allow sending private messages and posting message boards in public settings. Most of the sending and posting processes was done in local communities. Then desktop applications became famous during the ‘80s and ‘90s., There were some features that were far more developed than bulletin board systems. These systems let users connect to the internet and make profiles, do chats, post events and send private or public messages. When the social networking marketing became web-based applications since the World Wide Web became so popular, it worked with certain purposes and audiences. During the ‘90s, different networking sites were created and became popular sites with their own niches. Then in 1999, there were different launches of more targeted networks. Not until 2002 when the start of the modern period of social networking arises, and Friendster was launched. It was originally a dating site that does not want to be doing dating. It became the biggest mistake in financing history since the site rejected millions of dollars buyout offered by Google. Then the time of another networking site emerges during 2003 when so many employees in a marketing company were sued because of malicious spyware applications. It actually duplicated the main functionalities of Friendster. This networking site became MySpace. It became the leading online social networking marketing site because of its features. Its user profiles have customizable functionalities and it focuses more on music, which is most people love it especially the young ones. It also had high quality image compared with its rival. After a year, a certain networking site was launched as an exclusive site for Harvard students. Then from time to time it was allowed to be joined by other colleges and high schools. And finally, by 2006, it officially runs as long as you sign it up with email address. Until 2008, the site overtook the position of other leading sites and became the most popular social networking marketing site ever.
It is clear that in the present competitive scenario effective marketing goes a long way in providing you with an edge. If you are looking forward for a low cost and effective marketing option then social networking sites are cheaper and valuable options to market your business. How do you go about marketing your business on social networking sites? Well, one of the first things that you need to do is to have a website for your company and get it displayed on all the social networking sites along with your profile. The next step is to start inviting your friends and clients into your network. You should try and add as many people as possible into your social network because their friends will view your profile page and check out your business as well. This helps you connect to a large number of people. New events in your organization and news such as a product launch can be easily displayed, thus you can regularly update your profile which helps you create visibility online. Your professional network can indeed be a valuable asset to your business. In a globally connected economy your success as a professional and your competitiveness as a company depend upon faster access to the resources you can trust. Information such as your education, experience and expertise can all be made publicly available through your profile. You can be easily introduced to potential clients, service providers and experts and thus create and collaborate on projects and resolve business issues together. Social networking sites provide a platform to discuss current issues with likeminded professionals in private group settings and thus help you attain success. You can also post and distribute new job openings and find the best talent for your company. The viral nature of social networking is extraordinary and it can garner a lot of attention to your efforts. They provide a human face to your business; people always want to work with whom they can have an excellent relationship. You are aware about the significance of social networking sites, but don’t find enough time to regularly update yourself? Well, then go ahead and hire a virtual assistant for your company. They can do everything that a regular assistant does for you such as mange your face book profiles, create blogs, send press releases, and update your websites. Social networking is indeed a boon for marketing your business as it helps create visibility of your business online. And you can always go about hiring a virtual assistant for your social networking tasks to save time so that you can relax and concentrate on your clients instead. Visit http://www.xceedagents.com to find out more on blogs and social networking.
If, like me, you find it difficult to focus on several disparate social networks, or find time to run or keep up with a blog, you may want consider microblogs. Twitter us the best known, but Pownce and Jaiku offer similar services. Twitter’s limited 2 140 characters, so u need 2 learn 2 Twitter shorthand + b concise w your comments 2 fit them in2 1 microblog submission. Everyone using these services is restricted to the same limit, but despite, or perhaps because, of this, you can very quickly pick up some gems. Just this evening I learned: of new OpenSource training videos, that Twitterers rather than major media first broke the news about the LA earthquake, and found a colleague in need of traditional and online branding experts to write for her new site. Looks like I’m going to be spending more late nights typing away at the virtual keyboard of my iPhone while watching man-movies on Spike (Jaws 2 finished, I’m on to The World Is Not Enough)! Like any SoNet, there is great deal of irrelevant junk, but, thanks to Twitters newly purchased search engine and third party sites like TwitterPacks, you can search for subjects and people of interest and Follow (subscribe) to that person’s feed. Who knows, you may gain your own Followers. I’m following 170 people ranging from CNN to Digg’s Kevin Rose and Robert Scoble and am being followed by 184. Just remember, even in microblogging, keep it professional or at least make sure you don’t say anything you’ll regret. Everything I’ve mentioned will work to increase your search engine visibility, your networking possibilities and your name recognition. Kind of like building a brand isn’t it? Brand YOU. Brand “you need a job”, brand “you are an asset”. Use these channels to promote yourself but don’t spread yourself too thin. Some networks are a great place to just sign up and post your resume and contact info. Some are full of colleagues and friends that will overrun your inbox. Decide which require minimum effort and stay on top of the ones that require more. Above all, make sure you keep your contact info and resume up to date. There will be a lot to manage at first but you’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry, relief is on the way. There are a few people, including myself, that are working on ways to aggregate, or bring together many of these social networks into one manageable tool. Remember: Don’t mix business with pleasure – keep your private-self jus that, private, and make your professional-self public. Find the way to interact online that best suits you – join a SoNet, subscribe or start a blog, Twitter away. Be easy to find, be up to date – Spread yourself around to as many SoNets as possible without spreading yourself too thin. Always put your best face forward – be professional, don’t say anything you’ll regret.
