Can Social Networking Put Your Identity at Risk?
This past week, KPS3 presented the second of five sessions on Online Marketing (we’ve called the program Online Boot Camp) with the Reno-Gazette Journal and the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce. This second session was an introduction to using social networking. There was a question that came up during the Q&A session that didn’t get to be fully addressed, so I’d like to expand on it here. The question was, “Can you talk about the ‘dark side’ of social networking? Can you talk about identity theft?”
It’s true, social networking can be dangerous (cue the dramatic music). Some people are fearful of a computer virus (which can be valid if you click on links from people you don’t know or trust, or if a trusted person’s account has been hacked and the hacker sends you harmful links). However, we often overlook the possibility that we’re setting ourselves up for a crime against us or identity theft. How? We willingly hand information about our identity to potential thieves through our social networks.
Social Networks are designed to mimic real-life networking. You can share as little or as much information as you please. We all know those people that share WAY too much information with us at a dinner party or networking luncheon. We also know those people that are very reserved and rarely share any personal information. Of course, the people that don’t share personal information with us often become dull. Thus, I always encourage people to share some level of personal information on social networks if their goal is to engage an audience. However, a balance must be achieved so that you don’t put yourself at risk.
When you meet somebody, you wouldn’t give them your home address and cell phone number right away, would you? How much information would you share on a social network? More often than not, we provide our name, address, phone number and birthdate. Think of what an identity predator could do with that information. They can pretend to be you. They can use that information to hack into your accounts. There is cause for concern.
So, how do you protect yourself? My easiest advice is to remember to treat online social networking the same way that you’d treat real-life social networking. Beware of the information you make available about yourself. I’ve also met a brilliant woman (through real-life networking) named Lois Hale, who is an expert in educating businesses and individuals about identity theft. She’ll know 10 times as much as I will about identity theft and I feel confident that she can help answer any questions and give you any best practices to help protect your identity.
Be social, but stay safe.
New Housing Numbers Show Leveling Median Sales Prices
As part of KPS3’s work with the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS (RSAR), we release monthly existing residential homes sales numbers from obtained from the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service. In RSAR’s most recent home sales report, the number of existing home sales continued to rise year-over-year, and the median sales price remained fairly level with only slight decreases. Although it is too soon to say we have reached the proverbial “bottom,” these numbers do give us a glimmer of hope in residential home market.
Here are some highlights from the report (all sales numbers are for existing “stick built single family dwellings” only and do not include condominium, townhome, manufactured, modular or new home sales):
During June 2010, the report showed Washoe County had 591 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 11 percent from June 2009 and a 33 percent increase from May 2010. The report listed the median sales price for an existing single family residence in Washoe County in June 2010 at $170,000, a 7 percent decrease from last year and a 3 percent decrease from the previous month.
In June 2010, Reno (including North Valleys) had 397 sales of existing single family homes, an increase of 13 percent from last year and a 35 percent increase from May 2010. The median sales price in Reno for an existing single family residence in June 2010 was $172,900, a decrease of 5 percent from June 2009 and a 7 percent decrease from the previous month.
Sparks (including Spanish Springs) experienced 188 sales of existing single family homes in June 2010, an increase of 12 percent from June 2009 and a 30 percent increase from the previous month. The Sparks’ median sales price for an existing single family residence in June 2010 was $168,250, a 6 percent decrease from last year and a 2 percent increase from the previous month
A New Reference for Online Writing
Can “friend” be a verb? Is it “homepage” or “home page?” Should I say “pull-down menu” or “drop down menu?”
In a smart attempt to position themselves as the experts in digital writing style, the thinkers at Yahoo! have launched the Yahoo! Style Guide, available in bookstores and for download on July 6th. This resource, almost 15 years in the making, is setting the standard for the best practices to use when writing for the web.
With a variety of examples and tips on how achieve literary success in the digital world, the guide is receiving major kudos from industry professionals for its well organized and easy to use format that highlights search engine optimization, basic HTML and tips on appealing to different web audiences. Similar to the AP Stylebook, the Yahoo! Style Guide’s Word List is receiving high marks for clearing up any confusion over proper Internet word usage.
Judging from the reviews and endorsements it’s looking like we can add another useful reference book to our shelves, browser bookmarks and into the hands of our clients and co-workers.
And for your reference : )
friend (n., v.)
OK to use as a verb when referring to inviting someone to be your friend on a social-networking site. Example: Would you friend your boss? You’ll never believe who just friended me.
Homepage
Not home page.
pull-down menu
Note hyphen. Not drop-down menu or drop-down box. Also OK: menu, list
Pulled from the Yahoo! Style Guide Word List.
The World is Spending More Online Time with Social Networks
Yesterday, Nielsen released some new data that shows that the average Internet user spends about 22% of time online on social network and blog sites. That may not seem like a huge number, but it’s pretty significant. It represents about 6 hours per month, which is a 66% increase from just one year ago (3 hours, 31 minutes). To help put that in perspective, Google is the most visited site in the world, and gets only 1 hour 21 minutes per month. Just as interesting, three out of four Internet users worldwide will visit a social networking or blog site when they get online. So, even if they’re not spending a ton of time there, they’re visiting social networking sites. Australian web-users spent the most time on social networking sites (7 hours 19 minutes) and the US and Italy came in second with about 6 and a half hours. I didn’t see any indication of whether or not this factored in access by mobile phone applications.
You can see the report here if you’re interested in more detail.
I know that for some people this will be very interesting data. For some, I’m already hearing you say, “OK, I get it! People like social media sites.” Well, many professionals out there still need convincing that this is a legitimate medium and there’s a real opportunity to connect with potential clients/customers. So, my quest continues…
Dr. Pepper UK Wants to Humiliate You on Facebook… and Then Pay You?
Last week Dr. Pepper UK launched a 10-week Facebook campaign called, “What’s the Worst That Could Happen? “ urging its Facebook fans to put their Facebook status updates to the hands, and dirty minds, of the British soda company.
Targeted at teens, the application takes over its fan’s statuses with a variety of humiliating updates ranging from silly updates like, “I lost my special blankie!” to the more suggestive, “The guys fixing my laptop found my secret file. Uh oh!” or “The mess outside the bathroom…wasn’t the dog” …and those are some of the least graphic ones I came across.
The more embarrassing the status update, the better the chance participants have at winning the weekly prize of £1,000 (about $1,500). While Dr. Pepper UK is being applauded for its different way to engage Facebook fans, some marketing experts are skeptical as to how this will perpetuate the Dr.Pepper UK brand.
“Whether the game improves Dr. Pepper’s brand recognition, or goes viral, remains to be seen. As does whether it sells soda, since the connection to the brand is not at all clear,” explains B.L. Ochman, author of Straight Talk about Social Media for Corporations and Whatsnextonline.com. “Marketing should have a connection to the brand that will help increase name recognition, brand loyalty, and buzz. That is missing in this content, despite the fact that it’s hilarious.”
Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerburg, recently said that privacy is no longer a social norm when it comes to social networks. If you’re willing to allow people to see where you are going, what you are buying and whom you are with online… would you allow a company to share a fictional-yet humiliating status on your behalf for the chance to make some extra cash?
15 Google Interview Questions – Warm up your smarts and creativity.
Check out this great set of questions that will really make you flex your brain. The questions reportedly come from Google interviews, which are notorious for testing the cerebral prowess of their interviewees. We love this kind of stuff at KPS3 because it requires critical thinking and creative thinking. Some of the questions don’t actually have a right or wrong answer, but simply display how the interviewee thinks. Interesting stuff. Tell us how you did answering these questions.
What One Industry Considers In Hiring A PR Firm
As any of us who have been through an RFP process or new business pitch knows, every company is different in what they are looking for in a marketing/public relations partner. One of the things I always try to read-up on is what industry experts are recommending within their specialized industry when hiring a firm. On that note, I wanted to pass along an article I came across from Hotel News Now about what one industry professional says a hotel should consider when hiring a public relations firm:
5 considerations in hiring a PR firm
May 5, 2010
By Charlotte Novom
HotelNewsNow.com columnist
In today’s rough and highly competitive hotel climate, when senior managers find themselves making budget cuts at the line-item level, it’s often tempting to drastically cut or eliminate public relations expenses. But this is exactly the wrong approach to take.
The right PR agency can help put a property on the map and reignite and extend awareness. PR can also help a property differentiate itself from among many competing brands, introduce the product to revenue-rich niche markets, and turn on the spigot for much-needed cash. PR is an essential tool to help grow new business and spur word-of-mouth in just the right circles.
Here are five top considerations when preparing to engage a PR agency:
Charlotte Novom
1. Take stock of your own situation first.
First, do your homework and define your specific PR goals. This requires internal soul-searching on your part and being willing to do a realistic SWOT appraisal of your organization. You also need to articulate the PR services you need. Is it straight-forward media relations, getting ink and digital and broadcast coverage? Or a hybrid—a more integrated and strategic approach that includes media relations, marketing partnerships and promotions, events and event management, crisis management, etc.? Equally important, define the qualities you are seeking when hiring an agency. Is the agency a good fit with your culture?
2. Age-Old Question: In-house or external?
Often, but not always, hoteliers have the support of corporate PR and/or an internal PR staff member. Having worked on both sides, my experience is that the corporate team has a large terrain to cover in representing the brand and its major messages. An on-property PR person must, out of necessity, wear many hats. The PR agency can be the solution—serving as that valuable partner, taking over specific proactive media relations and the higher level initiatives. Your on-property person will be excited to have this resource.
3. Evaluating an Agency: Pay close attention to detail
Here are a few keys I believe are imperative. Learn about the agency. An initial interview/meeting lets you screen for capabilities, style and culture. Do they think strategically or do they provide a cookie cutter approach? Have they done their homework in learning about your property? What steps would they take to analyze your needs in preparation for proposing an engagement? Look carefully at each agency’s specialties, the experience and longevity of key staffers who will serve on your account, and pay close attention to both writing and oral presentation skills. Ask questions related to their methods, internally and with the media, the technology tools they use, and how they would handle two hypothetical situations that closely resemble your own business goals.
4. Measuring Results: More than numbers
These days, management is fixated on ROI. But, in PR, ROI is not always expressed in mathematical terms. Agencies can report on the media impressions, circulation, audience size, unique visitors and advertising equivalency. Publicity placements typically do not happen overnight; results require nurturing. You need to work with an agency that understands this and can provide some statistics, but that first and foremost understands how to position your product. Ask yourself: Can this agency produce value at a continuously high level over a period of several years?
5. The Budget: It always comes down to money
Decide in advance the budget you can spend on PR for the year. Be realistic and prepare to be a little flexible. Learn how each agency will structure and bill for their services. Get into the details of what services will be included, what services might be extra, and find out if there will be any one time or other charges. It makes sense to dedicate a substantial budget for a qualified agency because they are going to provide solutions to your marketing challenges on many levels and be your PR collaborators.
The World’s Top Brands
A report was released this week by BrandZ highlighting the World’s Top 100 Most Powerful Brands. According to their website, this BrandZ study “fuses consumer measures of brand equity with financial measures to place a financial value on brands.” Below are the Top 10 brands. For me, the most interesting thing is that the top 4 are all “tech companies.” What is your thought on this list? Any surprises?
Top 10 Most Powerful Brands:
1. Google, worth $1.14 trillion, up 14%
2. IBM, worth $86.38 billion, up 30%
3. Apple, worth $83.15 billion, up 32%
4. Microsoft, worth $76.34 billion, no change
5. Coca-Cola, worth $67.98 billion, up 1%
6. McDonald’s, worth $66 billion, down 1%
7. Marlboro, worth $57.05 billion, up 15%
8. China Mobile, worth $52.62 billion, down 14%
9. GE, worth $45.05 billion, down 25%
10. Vodafone, worth $44 billion, down 17%
See the full list of 100 Top Brands
(image by AgentGenius)
When Social Media “Fans” Attack
As businesses become more and more prevalent on Facebook, never before seen social media issues are arising that must make marketing experts stop and pay attention. One of these issues is currently taking place with Nestlé and its social media war being waged by Greenpeace and environmental activists because of the company’s purchase of palm-oil from an Indonesian company that has destroyed rain forests to establish palm plantations.
As well as posting negative videos on YouTube and posting negative comments on Twitter, Nestlé protesters have taken over the company’s Facebook page with comments about Nestlé contributing to the destruction of Indonesia’s rain forest, increasing global warming and endangering orangutans.
Although Nestlé has announced it has stopped buying from the Indonesian company since Greenpeace released a report on the company’s palm-oil use on March 17, information has come out that they are still purchasing palm-oil from a third party supplier that does still get its palm-oil from the same Indonesian company and the Facebook comments and “attacks” have continued.
Many marketing experts have written on this issue giving their thoughts on what Nestlé should now do with their Facebook page. For example, Ian Schafer, CEO of digital-marketing firm Deep Focus, believes the damage has been done and Nestlé should seriously consider shutting down the page and starting over. Other experts like Jeremiah Owyang, an analyst at Altimeter Group, a digital-media consulting firm, thinks they should maintain the page and use it use it to communicate updates on the issue as opposed to closing off all lines of communication. I tend to agree with Owyang and believe that Nestlé has a captive audience with its Facebook page and should use that to deliver updates and news on what they are doing to change their palm-oil purchasing practices.
I pose the question to you reading this entry, what would you recommend in a situation like this?
Sulu Of Star Trek Becomes Face Of Sharp Electronics Quatton
It’s Sulu, yes George Takei, of Star Trek fame as the new sales face behind Sharp Electronics Quattron technology. I took notice the first time I saw the commercial, which must be in heavy rotation now. First, I took notice because of George’s face, as I am a Trek fan… Trekie might be too strong. Secondly, the commercial stopped me because of this new yellow addition to the RGB color palette. On the print side of the marketing and advertising industry we’ve always worked in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) to create color palettes. On the electronic side, from TV to web, we’ve worked with RGB (red, green, blue) to create color palettes. Will the new addition of yellow, RGBY, mean images get even clearer? Will the new addition mean even better color options for TV? Or maybe both? The tech blogs are a flutter on the new television technology, here’s the spot:
