Posts Tagged ‘internet’

Is Your Private Information Really Private With A Social Networking Site?

October 29th, 2010

A lot of people these days are always connected through a Bluetooth, on Facebook, or on Twitter, keeping up with loved ones and acquaintances. Websites like these are always asking for additional personal info from users which often can been seen as a security risk. Facebook indicates that it requests this info in order to provide more relevant advertisements based on what users are actually interested in knowing more about.

Whether or not this is in the best interest of individuals has been highly debated in the last several years. Protesters plea for more security and restraint whereas website masters claim the information is important and that it is in the best interests of individuals to “reveal all.”

So many individuals do not realize that a number of websites use what is referred to as IP tracking. With this technology, a person can actually be monitored – EVERY WORD – and someone out there can even tell exactly WHO and WHERE you are! This particular website homejob212.com, along with plenty more, does just that.

With new lawsuits being filed on a daily basis, how to protect individual rights on the Internet while not violating freedom of speech or the right of a person to reveal as much about themselves as they wish, has yet to be resolved. The Facebook website has especially been vulnerable to attack because of how they handle user privacy.

The website is constantly reconfiguring space and allowing access to information even on “privacy blocked” participants. As a result, the National Trade Commission has imposed new regulations that relate to the types of changes Facebook can make which has limited their ability to improve their product.

As one of the largest social websites on the Internet, Facebook serves over 500 million users monthly. As such, many changes proposed by the company to keep up not only with the volume, but ever-changing legal mandates, has resulted in site problems which were unanticipated. Things like an unclear interface and news feed tied personal information into public forums that led to much criticism. What many fail to understand is that once personal information is placed on the Internet, it is vulnerable to accessibility.

One example was the Beacon Advertising System which was designed to track information of users in all their web searches. This information was then sent to those in a users contact log with a note that read something like, “Look at what Sammy’s been checking out lately,” then would link readers of the message to the site the originator had been looking at. Many Facebook users felt that this was an invasion of privacy as they didn’t necessarily want their friends knowing what sites they had been on. Fortunately, Facebook dropped this service, but not before the damage was done.

Now, website like Facebook, that deal so primarily with an individual’s sensitive material, are far more aware of privacy concerns, doing their best to keep people safe. When it’s all said and done, though, it is actually the INDIVIDUAL USER that is in control of your own personal info. Online resources and website continually work to come up with new ideas to make our daily social network experiences both SAFER and more ENJOYABLE. Although many do their best, these sites will NEVER protect us completely, we should ALWAYS be mindful of just what information we post about ourselves – it could very easily wind up in the WRONG HANDS!

What you see is just an example of one of the many publications which were produced by me. If you want to read more of my articles, visit my blog homejob212.com

How Social Sites Such As Facebook Helps Promote Your Company

October 23rd, 2010

Millions of people use the web every day, so if you have a business it pays to market it online. Before you can get connected with potential customers on sites like Facebook, you need to have a web site.

With a web site in place you can join Facebook and use it to drive customers to your web site. It’s much easier than trying to sell your products or services directly through status updates or other online marketing. So, don’t hesitate, get your web site up and get started.

You can use Facebook status updates to market your business online by posting a new status each time you update your business web site.

So, if you write a new blog post don’t forget to include a line or two about your status. This will encourage your friends to take a look. Include a link to the post to make it easy for them to access. Try doing this with any new products you have listed on your site. Status updates are a great way to bring attention to special promotions or sales.

Facebook fan pages can also be a valuable marketing tool for businesses. If you have a Facebook account you can set up a fan page. After your page is established, announce it to your friends on your account to promote it.

Fan pages are great because they give viewers the option of selecting “like,” when they see something appealing. This allows the page to develop its own list of followers aside from a friends list.

This helps your business because it’s cheaper than simply listing your web site on a search engine list and it reaches a wide audience.

Facebook helps you market your business because it lets you utilize “word of mouth” advertising in the cyber world. When you create updates in the status message of your main account or fan page, it will appear in your friends’ new feeds. This allows them to leave feedback for everyone to see. This can become invaluable free advertising.

Check out more of this writer’s advice on topics such as raw organic pumpkin seeds and USB cable for printer.

The Role Of Twitter In Social Media Marketing

October 21st, 2010

Twitter is a social network, micro-blogging and instant messaging service that lets users post 140 character “tweets” that are followed by other “Tweeters.” A user’s profile page prompts them with, “What’s happening?” but tweets have become much more than simple descriptions of everyday life. Users now hold entire conversations and post videos, music, photos, real-time news updates and links to interesting web content. This ongoing dialogue turns Twitter into an profitable social media marketing tool.

Companies who wish to use Twitter as part of their social media marketing campaign can’t post one-off announcements and coupons and leave it at that. Twitter users send out more than 50 million tweets a day, so if your business can’t stay involved, their tweets will fall under the radar and stay there. Staying afloat requires finding your target audience, so use Twitter’s search function to find people who are regularly talking about your business’s keywords. If you a regularly post content that contains searchable terms, users will also be able to find you. Once you gather an audience, stay engaged. Listen to what users are saying and regularly post valuable information that shows your insider expertise. After all, the key part of social media marketing is staying social.

The more interesting and relevant your post is, the more likely it is to be retweeted. Retweeting is crucial to social media marketing campaigns because it allows your tweet to reach an untapped base of followers. If someone in this new exposure zone retweets it again, your post has the chance of becoming viral. So make sure your tweets are more than just text– post links to interesting blogs, little known news, articles and relevant videos so you`ll reach a broader audience.

Tweetups, in-person meetings of Twitter users, are an excellent way to boost your social media marketing plan. You’ll strengthen your relationships with existing customers, meet new ones and network with people who are passionate about your industry. After the event, you’ll gain industry insight through the participants’ followup tweets. Tweetups give your business a name and a face by bringing your business up to the next level of engagement.

Twitter is extremely useful resource for social media marketing, but it shouldn’t be the only part of it. When properly used and paired with other social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube and Flikr, Twitter will result a well-rounded, far-reaching social media marketing plan.

Prior to starting a social media marketing campaign, be sure to read this useful article about Twitter’s place in social media marketing.