Posts Tagged ‘social networking’

1. Fair Game – what’s thought in the real world can now be posted online

   Published on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

   Google’s Sidewiki, an application that appears as a browser sidebar where you can read and write entries along the side of a webpage, could become the ultimate platform for those who like to share their views and opinions. Brands and business had better sit up and take notice of this development.

   Sidewiki is a new way of allowing anyone to contribute information, comments, observations and criticisms right there on a webpage. Think about this for a second, with Sidewiki, any web based article can be transformed into a public space of unedited thoughts ranging from super insightful, through helpful and witty, to downright malicious.

   Many of us who are comfortable with the free-for-all of social networking spheres may not see this as a big deal because currently blogs, micro and otherwise, are the open forums in which people discuss all manner of things, including the performance of brands. 

   But Sidewiki will make these conversations mainstream. 

   It will now be impossible for brands to broadcast a message or to communicate in a one-way traffic style and not potentially be called to account.

   This new tool makes two- way communication the only communication option for brands as people now have the ultimate soapbox to express their views, right out there for all to see.

   For corporations, the Sidewiki forum drives home the importance of being able to stand up to scrutiny and being prepared to engage in robust discussion, with the added bonus of being able to defend your position too. Bring it on!

   

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

   Published on Monday, August 10th, 2009

   Social networking sites Twitter and Facebook have been hacked, and much to the consternation of millions of users it’s not the first time the online giants have had their security tested and found wanting.

   Facebook now has over 250 million users and Twitter is snapping at its heels in terms of numbers of registered users. Both social media platforms have become pivotal channels for many organisations to reach out to staff or customers for work, play and the sharing of information.

   Twitter is shrugging off this most recent official hacking, but the breach occurred in the most basic of ways. A hacker guessed an employees password to a personal email account and then simply stole confidential company information and crashed the service.

   According to the Weekend Herald motives for denial-of-service attacks range from political to rabble-rousing to extortion, with criminal groups increasingly threatening to hobble popular websites that do not pay demanded fees, security experts told Reuters.

   These attacks raise some salient points for companies, marketers and communicators.

   First off, never neglect basic web hygiene by maintaining strong passwords that use a combination of letters and numbers, and keep security up-to-date.

   Second, as cloud computing (the fast growing trend of storing data online ) becomes the norm and social networking sites are entrenched as an integral part of business to business communication, then a back-up to these occasionally unstable and vulnerable platforms needs to be part of the plan.

   And last, aside from ensuring that contacts are saved and stored, don’t abandon real time, personal relationships and keep your brand alive and visible in the real world. 

   The lesson from this recent hacking incident is don’t put all your eggs in one basket.