Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Twitter Develops Censorship Technology

Reporting from Beijing, The Wall Street Journal announces, “Twitter Can Censor by Country.” The news must please censorship proponents the world over, perhaps even a few in the US Congress.

Journalists Loretta Chao and Amir Efrati inform us:

“Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with ‘different ideas’ about freedom of expression as a human right—reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.

“The effort underscores thorny issues for Internet companies as their websites become more global and interconnected among different countries, and as they must cooperate with diverse views on Internet content control. For websites like Twitter as well as social-networking site Facebook, this has meant being blocked in countries like China where controls are more aggressive.”

To be fair to Twitter, the issue of censorship in other countries is indeed a tricky one. Refuse to play ball at all, and you’re banned completely. Will that really help the end users, the citizens who struggle to obtain information? Perhaps a little censorship is a small price to pay for allowing them even limited access to the information superhighway. At least, that seems to be the tack Twitter has embraced.

The company is not caving completely, however. They have been blocked in China for over two years, and are unlikely to be allowed back in as a result of this announcement. Why? Because that government doesn’t even want its people to know that content has been blocked; Twitter insists on giving them at least that courtesy. It is interesting to note that the company is working with Chilling Effects, an Internet freedom advocacy group, to draft its take-down notices.

You’d have to live in a cave to not realize that right now, in our famously freedom-loving country, we are in the middle of our own Internet censorship battle. Here, money is at the center of the fight. Specifically, corporations want to stop the sale of pirated goods. Corporations are people too, don’t you know?

These companies do have a valid concern, but I don’t have to tell you that the wildly unpopular SOPA and PIPA Acts propose enforcement through ham-fisted tactics that leave no room for due process. (If you didn’t know that, do some research. Right now. I’ll wait.)

The article notes that Twitter has been a crucial facilitator of political protest and revolutionary action around the world. The company also has a history of supporting transparency and free expression. However, it must do what it has to do if it wants to keep expanding. At the least, it must protect its employees from prosecution for breaking the rules in foreign lands. Yes, that would be important.

Cynthia Murrell, February 02, 2012

Android App Joins Censorship Fight

January 17th, 2012 | Posted by admin in News | Privacy | security - (0 Comments)

When are lawmakers going to learn that techies are a resourceful group that is no fan of Big Brother regulation? In “Android Barcode Scanner App Detects If a Product’s Maker Supports SOPA,” Forbes details the efforts of a group of students at the University of British Columbia to solidify opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

According to the app makes it easy to identify SOPA-supporting companies.

No More SOPA, a free Android application … allows users to scan any product’s barcode and determine if it was made by a company that officially supports SOPA, or even a parent company or subsidiary of a SOPA supporter. The app … uses a public UPC database to find a product’s manufacturer then queries a remote server to compare the manufacturer with a list of 800 firms with lobbying ties to the bill.” “As a Senate hearing on SOPA looms later this month, hackers and engineers have been busy building tools to cripple or defeat the bill, which many see as imposing widespread censorship on the Internet as well as potentially holding back advances in security.

If corporate lobbyists thought they were going to be able to quietly slide this through, it looks like they’ve got another thing coming. This is an interesting test case that bears watching – to what extent mobile technology coupled with social media can impact the creation of public policy in the US.

Jim Daniels, January 17, 2012

Kroll Annual Forecast Predicts Trouble

December 27th, 2011 | Posted by admin in business process | mobility | Privacy | security - (0 Comments)

It seems mobile security is getting worse before it gets better. Business Insurance’s, “Mobile Technology Changes Making Cyber Security More Difficult: Kroll” reports on the results of Kroll Inc.’s annual security forecast. The upshot: businesses and organizations are having trouble keeping up. The article specifies:

“Discussing mobile technology security threats, Kroll said mobile technologies ‘are changing so rapidly that in some organizations the demand and pressure to deploy new technologies (e.g. tablet computers) will outstrip the organization’s existing capabilities to secure them. This unfortunate dynamic is no secret to thieves who are ready and waiting with highly targeted malware and attacks employing mobile applications.’”

Writer Judy Greenwald notes some other important points from the forecast. For example, corporate use of social media will bring small businesses under increased cyber-attack, and the growth of cloud services will bring its own risks. Also, cooperation between business and government will be crucial; other countries are expected to be more nimble than the US in their response. Furthermore, the forecast predicts that privacy concerns about geolocation tech will become more of an issue. Yes, I imagine so.

It’s true that mobile security is a big concern. Keep your social networking safe.

Cynthia Murrell, December 27, 2011

Lack of Awareness Leads to Mobile Security Problems

December 6th, 2011 | Posted by admin in mobility | News | security | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Along with the many perks and ease-of-use benefits of mobile devices there are also corporate security issues associated that appear to be difficult to resolve. A recent survey by Deloitte “Deloitte Survey: Inadequate Internal Awareness Toward Mobile Security” outlines this concern. According to the survey, almost half of employees surveyed were not aware of any mobile security measures being practiced in their organization.

The article states:

Devices like tablets, PDAs and smartphones have become ubiquitous over the past few years as people increasingly purchase them as tools to enhance their productivity at work and at home,” said JR Regan, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP and innovation leader to Deloitte’s federal practice. “Despite the benefit of these new devices, they also present increased security threats for organizations which now must be wary of security threats originating from new channels.

A very high percentage of respondents voiced concern, when made aware of the possible security problems associated with using mobile devices in the workplace. They were aware that without the proper security policies in place, companies could fall prey to many unanticipated operational and legal problems.

Sandy McIntosh, December xx, 2011

Seeking Security in an Increasingly Mobile World

October 20th, 2011 | Posted by admin in mobility | News | security | smartphone - (0 Comments)

MarketWatch.com, part of the Dow Jones & Co. stable of financial publications, picked up this press release from BoxTone, “3LM, BoxTone Bring Enterprise-Ready Security to Android Mobile Devices“.

In the hyper-competitive realm of mobile communications, security ranks at the top of the list of consumer concerns and factors heavily into, can even sway a buyer’s decision. The recent collaboration twixt 3LM and the aforementioned BoxTone has brought the Android OS to the level of its competition in terms of protections.

These two companies, each highly respected and profitable, sought to answer issues raised by the rise of what the press release describes as a “Bring Your Own Device phenomenon” associated with Android. It continues:

“… By combining 3LM’s solutions built-in at the device level and its powerful enterprise server console with BoxTone’s industry standard end-to-end EMM platform – which delivers full lifecycle mobile management from device activation, provisioning, configuration and change tasks to mobile device management and support – Android OS-based devices and applications can enjoy enhanced security on the device and over the air (OTA).”

This partnership not only achieves the clearly defined goals set, yet also opens this level of protection up to the diverse array of the products used across the consumer spectrum. It will be interesting to see if this helps to stabilize Android’s fluctuating position in the OS pack.

Micheal Cory

October 20, 2011

Droid Brings Enterprise Security to the Table

October 12th, 2011 | Posted by admin in mobility | News | security | smartphone - (0 Comments)

Not that we really needed another reason to convince us, but Android’s new enterprise security boosts the business on-the-go mentality we’ve seen booming in recent years. Marketwatch’s article “3LM, BoxTone Bring Enterprise-Ready Security to Android Mobile Devices,” discusses this topic.

A new strategic partnership formed between 3LM, a subsidiary of Motorola, Inc., and BoxTone, the leader in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) is exactly what Android needed–they are now enterprise ready.

With Droid already experience huge growth in the smartphone market (reaching 43.7% market share during the three month average period ending August 2011.), this alliance is bound to give them a supercharge.

According to the article, which refers to this phenomenon of workers wanting to connect their personal smartphones to enterprise IT networks as Android BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), much of this growth drove the decision to offer enterprise ready security.

The article states:

“This consumerization of IT is driving strong demand for enterprise-safe security and management to the Android platform — to eliminate enterprise concerns associated with potential Android open source vulnerabilities.”

The next question is what new opportunities will be possible with Droid, as a company, now that they are tapping further into this market?

Megan Feil October 12, 2011

Can Real Trust Be Developed Online?

April 26th, 2010 | Posted by Melody K. Smith in branding | Features | marketing | security - (0 Comments)

Just as in real life, we seek trust and confidence in those we interact with each day. The same applies to our online consumer relationships.

In the article, “The Four Pillars of Building Instant Trust Online.” ClickZ’s author speaks to this need of trust we human beings crave and how marketers can build trust online.

The four pillars he speaks to in the article title include Appearance, Transactional Assurances, Experts and Media, and Consensus of Peers. When you look closer at these pillars you find some tangent, applicable approaches to achieving instant online trust in your client relationships.

As our grandmother and career advisor have always reminded us – first impressions do matter. Books are judged by their cover just as we are by our outward appearance in a job interview. So why wouldn’t Web sites be judged with the same initial scrutiny? Research has indicated that people form an initial impression of your Web site within 50 milliseconds. This is 1/20^th of a second. In other words, we subliminally decide whether a more considered review of the page is warranted. In the immortalized words of Joey Russo from the 80’s sitcom, Blossom – “Whoa”. We can pause here for a deep breath if you like.

Don’t get discouraged. There are things you can address to dress up your appearance to make the most out of that 1/20^th of a second. The visual design should always be professional in design. Fonts, colors, and graphical elements must combine into a unified look. Neatness is critical. Remember white space can be your friend. And as always, less is more.

As far as transactional assurances, consumers need to know that their email address isn’t being sold off, they aren’t part of a spam scam, and that ultimately, their personal information is secure. Reassure them every step of the way.

Experts and media can build legitimacy. Your audience may not have heard of you before, but they are impressed by awards and recommendations from well known organizations and established brands. Be sure to place these above the “fold” to ensure they are noticed.

Consumers for the most part like being part of the “in” crowd and knowing that 200,000 other thirty-somethings have purchased this product can be what seals the deal for them. Check out the complete article for more tips on how to build trust in your online marketing relationships.

Melody K. Smith, April 26, 2010

Note: Post was not sponsored.

If It Seems Too Good to Be True…

April 21st, 2010 | Posted by John Sniffen in Lists | News | security | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Fake gift card scams are blossoming like spring flowers on Facebook.

In the latest internet con game, tens of thousands of users have been tricked into joining Facebook fan pages that claim to be giving away gift cards of up to a $1,000 for big-name companies, Robert McMillan of IDG News Service reports on SFGate in “Facebook Takes Steps to Deal with Gift Card Scams.”

The bogus pages feature fake posts from other users suggesting that the giveaway offers are real, but the sites typically lead to affiliate marketing websites that try to collect data and generate Web traffic for advertisers, according to Simon Axten, a Facebook spokesman. He advises users to be suspicious of any online activity that “feels strange” — unfamiliar links in messages from long-silent friends or a promise of financial reward if you invite friends to join a group.

Such gift-card scams have been around via email for years, says, McMillan, but are fairly new to Facebook, which says it removes the pages as they are found. But “because anyone can set up a fan page for virtually anything — and many pages do contain legitimate gift-card offers — it’s a thorny problem for Facebook to solve,” he adds.

The SSN take: As long as new ways to scam people come on the scene, there will people taking advantage of others greed or gullibility.

John Sniffen, April 21, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

What Separates You from Spam?

As Spammers turn to social media to prey on users, it will become more and more important to differentiate yourself to succeed in business.

A recent Technology Review article, “Spammers Turn to Social Networks,” focused on the increasing threat of spam in the world of social media. The reason for the threat is an aura of trust, which makes people more apt to click on a strange link or befriend someone they don’t know. While it’s disappointing to see spam ruin the social media fun, it should also put honest social media marketers on alert. There is a thin line between you encouraging legitimate business through honest means and spammers using that mentality for bad.

The SSN Take: Build your marketing network slowly and avoid blindly attracting customers because you could be viewed as spam.

Patrick Roland, April 19, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.