Bill's Bit Readers Club Recommendation

Just about to be released, a couple of fun books that I’ve been looking forward to. They’re now available for pre-order on Amazon.

                    

"The World According to Twitter" is by emmy-nominated David Pogue. "Windows 7 Secrets" comes from Paul Thurrott and Rafael Rivera. I've had the honor of following each of the authors as they worked hard on their latest compilation and shared their experience with other friends on Twitter.

Pre-Order now and Save!

Full Disclosure: While I certainly support the authors, my affiliation with Amazon gets like 10–15 cents if you order either book via the links above.

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We Have Your Password, and We Own You!

Every few months I like to write about passwords and backups just to remind everyone how important these issues can be. While I’d like to remind you again to review your backup policies, I really want to stress some common sense password protection.

I’m sure you all know enough not to use your kids or pets names for passwords but do you use different passwords for every different site you visit online? If not, you could be in real danger and you’re putting everyone else in danger too. STOP IT!

Last week an employee of Twitter had their account compromised and internal business documents were stolen. The documents were actually offered for sale on the internet. The Twitter server wasn’t “hacked”, it was accessed using the employees name and password. Seems the employee used the same password on another online site.

Someone Call Security

“First, it's important to note how these documents were stolen. In this case, a Twitter employee used the same non-unique password on multiple services. A hacker gained access to our business documents because this common password was retrievable on an unrelated system. If you've ever used the same password on more than one service, you've made the same mistake that lead to this theft”

Any time you sign up and provide a password, that information may be easily available to the owners and employees of that site. If you use the same password for an online forum as you do with PayPal you’re in danger. If you use the same password for multiple social networks you leave yourself open to a different kind of identity theft. Some one can impersonate you and spread malware to your friends and family.

Giving Away Your Password

There’s also the danger of freely giving away your Email and password that plenty are falling for. A number of sites offer to get you new followers on Twitter. The only conditio is they now own your account and can use it to broadcast advertisements. Unfortunately, too many people don’t read the conditions which typically look like the following…

Obviously a lot of folks slip pass this notice and are surprised when advertisements appear in front of their name. You might also notice they don’t say anything about not selling your Email address to the spam companies.

I’m not sure how many followers make up a ton.

If you’ve fallen for these scams you’re not alone. You will want to create a brand new password. While you’re at it, create some more new passwords for other sites as well.

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Social Media Marketing is Great on One Condition.

Have you heard enough about using Social Media to showcase your business?

Well, it’s true that using Social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Blogging can help your business but there’s one caveat.  You better be damn good. You better plan on treating your customers right.  If you’re not prepared to play by the rules you’ll find your business blacklisted and your marketing efforts will do more harm than good.

We’ve all heard of customers being treated poorly by companies and consumers are fed up. Years ago, America Online suffered major embarrassment when someone trying to cancel their account recorded the conversation and later posted it on YouTube. If that same event happen today, it would have taken a tenth of the time to generate ten times the audience. The popularity and real-time content generation of Twitter may help get your good news out quickly but if you have bad news it will make your head spin.

Recently, I found that one of my newest WinPatrol users had a dispute with Symantec via one of their phone support representatives. In the process WinPatrol was maligned and the user was billed $99 USD.
See “Symantec Support says WinPatrol is a virus”.

In an effort to blow off some stream my first reaction was to Twitter my story. Within an hour my message was Re-tweeted by others including a couple above who directed their RT toward a Symantec rep they knew via Twitter.

The next time I signed on Twitter I had two new followers who worked for Symantec. In less than 24 hours I was contacted by Noah from Symantec PR for more information and an offer to help.

“Symantec Security Response does not classify WinPatrol as a threat.  We’re actively investigating this customer’s experience to learn more about why the support agent provided incorrect information to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” 
In later communications he added,  “The head of worldwide support has been made aware of this and we’re taking it seriously. “

I asked for no apology and none was given but by the end of the week a credit was provided for $99 to our mutual customer. I’m happy to acknowledge Symantec listened and did what they had to do to make things right.

I’m still not a big fan of Symantec software or support but I give their PR folks five stars. It’s obvious they recognize how important it is for their people to monitor social networks and prevent any bad news from spreading.

So, if you’re looking at using Social Media to help your image, you better be ready to back it up.

Additional References to prove my point…

8 Tips to Help Companies Image Fiascoes on Twitter

Twitter Proves its Worth as Killer App for Local Businesses

Will P. R. pros take the baton of investigative journalism?

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What is Twitter and Why Do I Care?

Is this a question you’re asking yourself?

I wrote about Twitter in Sept 2007 when I first became “Twitterpaited”. Since that time Twitter has grown to become the most talked about web technology since Beanie Babies discovered eBay or Google went public.  Today, the Oprah Show demo’d Twitter but still left many wondering “What the heck is Twitter, and why do I care”.

Well, the fact is, most of you probably don’t care. For information junkies like myself who are online most of the day, Twitter is a great tool. For people struggling to raise a family or others who have a more active life, Twitter may not have a lot of importance.

Twitter is often called a “Micro-blogging” service but what’s that mean? Well, folks can type what ever is on their mind but with only 140 characters or less. There is plenty of value in Twitter but it all depends on who you follow and if you care what those people have to say. Some people think Twitter is only for mobile devices and while that’s one reason for the 140 characters it’s not just for iPhones and Blackberries.

The real value of Twitter can be had without joining Twitter or creating a name and password.  It’s search.twitter.com. Using Twitter as a search engine will provide real-time information on news events along with opinions from around the world. The news and information you can find on search.twitter.com will not only beat Google, but will frequently beat the AP wire service. That’s one of the reasons you’ll find all your local TV stations and newspaper using and promoting Twitter.

If you want to give Twitter a try you can join and then follow me at http://www.twitter.com/billp.  I don’t get any special credit for you joining but you’ll get to see what I babble about daily. You could be my 1000th follower.

If you’re looking for interesting people to follow, again I recommend using search.twitter.com.  Type in a topic you’re interested in and you’ll see people talking about the same subject.  If they sound intelligent, just click on their name and you’ll be able to follow their “tweets”. They’ll be notified you’re following them and there’s a good chance they’ll follow you back. It doesn’t mean you’re now best friends but you’ll be part global conversation. You can always unfollow or block someone if you don’t think they’re an appropriate part of your twitter community.

Important
Like any internet service, privacy and security is something you should always keep in mind. Anything you type will be on the Internet forever. You may not want to trust a link that someone tells you to click on, and just because someone says it, doesn’t mean it’s true.

35 Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users

Pogue's Twittering Tips for Beginners

 

 

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Social Networks are a Ponzi Scheme of Friendship

Are you getting tired yet of the term Social Media or Web 2.0? Have your friends convinced you to join Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or some other social networking site? The truth of the matter is that Social Networking is a giant ponzi scheme.

When you first join a social network you start with only a few friends. It could only be your only friend is the one who convinced you to join.  The network typically has no real value until you add more friends and invite them to join.  Many networks will try to harvest your entire contact list in an effort to increase its membership.  So, you Email your friends and family and there’s a new layer of friends supporting the pyramid and the cycle begins again for them. Soon, you reap the benefits of “Friend of a Friend” and the network begins to have value.  As long as there are new users to join the network will be a success.

I don’t know if this is the year we’ll peak with social networks but they’re certainly hot.  According to Pew Internet & American Life Project, 11% of online American adults are now using Twitter. I’m not sure what defines an “online American” but I know I’m one of them.

I mentioned before that I am “Twitterpated” and you can follow me at http://twitter.com/BillP. I also have a WinPatrol information feed at http://twitter.com/WinPatrol that currently has 75 followers. You’ll me on LinkedIn,  Facebook  and you can read why people love WinPatrol on my Fans of WinPatrol page.  It’s only been active a couple weeks and we already have 143 members.  Click below to join. 

WinPatrol on Facebook

Now This is Important
You don’t have to be a member or participate on Twitter to benefit from its huge network of Tweeters.  Search.twitter.com  has become the Google of real-time and current information. Most news organizations are using Twitter to research stories.  When US Airways flight 1549 splashed down in the Hudson I heard it first on Twitter. While on board a ferry racing to the scene, @jkrunms shared a photo taken by his phone via Twitter. Before ABC announced this years line up for Dancing with the Stars, I already had the list from folks on Twitter. It takes Google some time to index the world wide web so if you need immediate info I recommend adding Search.twitter.com   to your favorite places.

Follow @BillP on Twitter!

As Phil Collins sang,  You follow me, and I’ll follow you or was it the other way around? 

 

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Getting Customer Support You Deserve

What do you expect as good customer service?  It’s no secret that everyone has more than one customer support horror story.  We’re all sick of pressing or saying something numerous times before we can talk to a live person. Our expectations for customer service has dwindled to the point some people give up and dump a faulty product instead of asking for help.

I’ve been lucky that my online presence has sometimes provided me with some special help. You really don’t have to be someone or have a Blog to carry some clout. Many times you can just post a message or leave a comment in the right place.

Case 1: Getting the Help You Deserve

Earlier this year my daughter was having a frustrating time trying get a new battery from Dell. In the process she ended up with two wrong batteries and still couldn’t use her computer. I wrote about her plight and within 24 hours I was contacted by a Dell Customer Advocate offering to help. My story made it to another blogger with “The Consumerist” and it wasn’t long before a correct battery was shipped and wrong batteries returned. It wasn’t really a complicated issue but the phone reps with their “help scripts” were incapable of helping.

Case 2: Getting  Extra Special Treatment

Long before blogs existed I created a web site called QComet.com to manage online photos. Some of the most popular photos were from various trips and vacations. I had created a nice collection of Aruba photos on a site we called Aruba.calm. When on vacation at the Renaissance Aruba Beach Resort I made our hotel manager aware of my photos and reviews. I never asked for special treatment but before I knew it, the manager told us we would be charged the Marriott employee rate and even gave us tickets to a show.

What Should Your Business Do?

Companies are slowly learning that they have to watch the internet for signs of customer satisfaction.  Many have support groups on MySpace and Facebook. On Twitter a number of companies have representatives available to catch vocal customers and make them happy.

I currently follow the company reps below
@Comcastcares, @SouthwestAir, @zappos, @hrblock,  @Dunkindonuts,
@rubbermaid,  @JetBlue, @Residio, @1800flowers, @wholefoods,
@cz -FIOS, @jeffwc – Time Warner, @lindsaylebresco – Graco,
@ScottMonty – Ford, toniahammer and molsonferg from Molson.
Dell has a number of employees online and even a devote page http://www.dell.com/twitter for Twitter users.  As long as companies use social networks to help and not as PR vehicles they’ll get my business.

Here are some real responses on Twitter

JetBlue Change fees are waived for customers traveling today to/from BOS,Upstate NY and NY metro. Additional details at http://is.gd/Pjg 12:12 PM Dec 19th fromTweetDeck

Rubbermaid 19th person to DM me wins a Rubbermaid 40" Gift Wrap Organizer -http://is.gd/6Ybx - Only 1 DM per person. Good Luck! 9:43 AM Dec 12th fromTweetDeck

Molsonferg Molson also proud to support free ride in Winnipeg Manitoba this New Year's eve http://is.gd/edfP here's to responsible choices 1:13 PM yesterday fromTweetDeck

comcastcares @BillP If you have access to the server I would flush DNS 10:24 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to BillP

To support WinPatrol customers, I make a point to use search.twitter.com to see if anyone is mentioning WinPatrol.  I will follow anyone who uses WinPatrol in case I’m needed.  I also have Google Alerts configured so any mention of WinPatrol in newsgroups or blogs will be Emailed to me. I recommend other companies do the same.

Earlier this month I created a WinPatrol specific Twitter account for news and support.  Go to http://twitter.com/WinPatrol and click follow.

 

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Passwords Up for Grabs on Social Networks

I’m not a big fan of new Web 2.0 Social networks but I have participated in some new ventures. You won’t find me on MySpace, BeBo or other silly services. I am active on LinkedIn which is geared towards professionals and yes, I’m addicted to Twitter. I did join Facebook to write about their Beacon privacy problems and still participate now and then to see what my friends are doing.  I don’t participate in any of the Facebook applications because like many services they always try to trick me into sending invites to my friends.

The services I really hate are the ones who try to get you to hand over your address book so they can spam your contacts with invites to join. In many cases, they just want you to give them access to your Email accounts so they can suck out your contacts and automatically populate your new friends list.  While this might be convenient it can be very dangerous. 

The most annoying is a service called Tagged.

It Gets Worse

Many sites will transmit your name and passwords as unsecured data. This makes your name and password visible to anyone along the Internet path.

When you’re entering or giving someone else access to your name and password you should first look to see if you’re on a page that is https:// or shows the locked symbol indicating a secure transmission of data.  There’s also a method which can be used encrypt data called OAuth but it’s impossible to know which sites actually support this. 

Recently, I joined BrightKite which allows me to integrate messages to Twitter. They tell me Twitter doesn’t support “OAuth” which means I sent my Twitter login information across the net unsecured. This is scary because there are a wide variety of tools which integrate with Twitter. None of them will encrypt your name/password when logging on to Twitter. So if you see me say something really stupid on Twitter, it might not be me. 

I’m sure you don’t use the same password for different online sites ( cough cough) but in the case of social networks, it’s very important you create different passwords. Just like I periodically remind readers to review their backup procedures, and today is a good day to look at your current password scheme.

 

 

 

 

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Still Twitterpated Every Day

Last fall I wrote about Twitter.com and I’m still using the service regularly. I have actually met some interesting new friends and great sources. It’s hard to explain what Twitter is and why anyone want to use it. It’s often called a micro-blog but that description doesn’t do it justice.

PC World’s Editor Harry McCracken recently posted seven tips for Twitter that might help you understand a little more. It’s something you’ll want to read before you get started.

What you get from Twitter will depend on who you follow, who follows you and how often you check it out. Find a few people to get started, look at who they follow and just add people who look interesting. Some kind folks will automatically follow you if you follow them.

So what is Twitter?

It’s like a Blog in that you can speak your mind but you only get 140 characters or less. It’s much easier than taking the time to compose a long blog post.

It makes for a great news feed if you chose to follow the right people. Many of my blog topics are from news I heard first on Twitter.

In many ways it provides what used to be cool about chat room. Yes, many years ago chat rooms were actually fun and safe. Twitter is like an on-demand chat where you can communicate with only those people you care about.

It’s also considered social network but that term is already over used. You can easily keep in contact with friends and even get to know new associates who may share your interests or humor.

I just found another recent post by Twitter evangelist, Robert Scoble. Click, “The secret of Twitter” to learn more. “Scobleizer” is a good person to follow and while he’ll usually follow you back, you may get lost in the over 15,000 people he follows.

Your twits will also get picked up by various Twitter search sites like http://twittertroll.com/ or http://twittersearch.com/search/. I was contacted for a quote by the NY Times after they found one of my Twitter comments.

It’s free and easy to get started. To register, follow my Twits and find some folks to follow go to http://twitter.com/billp.

Also see: Wayne’s Top Tactical Twitter Tips

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