Zuckerberg's Facebook fan site hacked

A Facebook fan page dedicated to the site's creator, Mark Zuckerberg, was hacked Tuesday morning. The hack was relatively benign, only updating a single fake status update as the young billionaire, but was another embarrassing security lapse for a company often criticized for being too open with user data.

A status update from Zuckerberg on the fan page read: "Let the hacking begin: If facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn’t Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a ‘social business’ the way Nobel Price (six) winner Muhammad Yunus described it? http://bit.ly/fs6rT3 What do you think? #hackercup2011"

While the post was only up for a matter of minutes, over 1,800 people "Liked" the status update and a debate about its merits over 400 comments-long began beneath it. More than 2.8 million people are members of the fan page.

Facebook removed the entire fan page for a few hours after the fake update was posted, but the page was live again later in the day. The latest update currently posted to the page is from Dec. 15, 2010.

The "Hackercup2011" hash-tag in the post is a reference to Facebook's annual programming competition, but doesn't seem to bear much relevance to the update.

Meanwhile, Internet security experts are speculating about how the hack might have been perpetrated. Everything from Firesheep — a free Firefox Internet browser extension that allows users to take control of other people's password-protected pages like Facebook when on an unsecured network — to Zuckerberg's own weak password choices are being blamed.

"It is difficult to know exactly why or how Zuckerberg’s fan page was hacked. He could have also had some malware on his computer which grabbed his username and password when he logged on and then hackers used the information to attack the page," Internet security expert Graham Cluly told the Telegraph newspaper in London. "I think this hack is really embarrassing for Facebook, because if Mark Zuckerberg can be hacked, other users are just as vulnerable."

As of Wednesday, Facebook had declined to comment on the hack, though a post on the company's blog on Wednesday identified numerous new efforts to boost security on the site.

Story source: http://www.torontosun.com

Good Experiences Motivate Women to Share Product Info

Females care more about relating positive vs. negative word-of-mouth

Marketers looking to spur brand advocacy among women—or those worried about the possibility of negative brand buzz facilitated by social media—have another piece of evidence that good experiences are a key motivator of brand discussions.

A survey of online women in North America by female-focused marketing and communications firm Harbinger found that 92% of them turn to friends and family for product information, making word-of-mouth their top source. They consider it important to seek and share information on a variety of product categories, with appliances, restaurants, automobiles and entertainment leading the list.

In the food and beverage category, which more than two-thirds of female internet users said they were likely to share information about, 58% said they would do so because of a good experience. A bad experience would motivate 46% of respondents to speak up.

Experiences with appliances—which 80% of women surveyed said they would spread the word about—were even stronger motivators. Four in five respondents reported they would share good experiences with others, while just under three-quarters said the same of bad experiences.

In every product category studied, sharing good experiences, and often a desire to help other consumers make smart purchases, came ahead of sharing bad experiences as a word-of-mouth generator. A truly negative brand experience may still garner negative buzz online or offline, but the women surveyed were more inspired by the positive.

And despite the popularity of social media among women—and marketers' propensity to target them there and turn them into online brand advocates—those studied preferred to share information with friends and family face-to-face (92%). They were also more likely to share info in person with strangers or acquaintances (36%) than via a website (32%) or social networking site (27%).

Building Trust Through Brand Monitoring

Getting involved in the community—the right way

According to Datran Media, nearly three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies and other top media and advertising firms around the world had a Twitter account in December 2009, and that proportion has likely risen since then. Marketers hope that involvement in the microblogging site can bring them closer to their consumers and help them be part of conversations that build trust and brand engagement.

Research from Fleishman-Hillard suggests increased trust varies around the world. While internet users in China overwhelmingly felt more comfortable with companies that microblog, those in North America and the UK were largely unmoved.

One problem could be that while there is high awareness of microblogging, usage is much lower. Edison Research found that while 87% of US consumers had heard of Twitter, only 7% used it. A company’s presence on a microblog may mean little to US internet users who have not taken part in the 140-character craze.

There was a more positive response toward the idea of companies monitoring microblogs for brand-related discussion. Across all countries studied, a majority of internet users said they would be happy that a company was listening to them and responding to their problem.

However, there was also the potential for mistrust. In the US, about a fifth of respondents didn’t believe companies were sincere about brand monitoring and that it was all for show. A similar number thought brand monitoring had a creepy element and that marketers might be effectively eavesdropping on private conversations—public though they may be.

One way for brands to avoid concerns like these is to connect with brand advocates and depend on loyal customers and fans to respond to any negative buzz issues, rather than using the company Twitter account to address every concern. Consumers tend to trust the voices of their peers, and a defense from a satisfied customer may be more persuasive and authentic.

Complaints, Trademark Violations and Retweet Requests: How to Handle Anything on Twitter

There are a lot of examples of companies that handle the unexpected well on Twitter; there are just as many, if not more, of companies that didn’t.

Don’t be in that latter group. Following is a brief list of expert suggestions on how to handle several common issues related to marketing via Twitter.

You Get a Complaint, Legitimate Or Otherwise
First distinguish between the two, Lisa Barone, Chief Branding Officer of Outspoken Media, writes on the company blog. Barone, in fact, was discussing what to do when your company gets a negative review on Yelp, but the theory is largely the same for Twitter.

“Not all bad reviews are created equal,” writes Barone. “Sometimes going in and engaging a disgruntled customer will help them see your company in a new light and other times you’re just opening yourself up to more negative attention.”

Respond contritely if you genuinely need to make amends, advises Barone. “It often doesn’t take much to smooth over one bad experience.” Respond as well if they are misstating the facts, she says. “Speak up and politely let them know that they may have simply misunderstood something …if it’s a matter of bad facts, you should step in to correct them.”

Take all of the complaints seriously, even the ones that seem frivolous, because they all have the potential to develop legs, Barone concludes.

You Spot A Possible Trademark Violation
The law on the use of trademarks in Twitter and Facebook is not any different from their general application on the web, according to Finnegan attorney Jon Gelchinsky. As reported by MarketingVox, Gelchinsky says that in some cases, if the infringement is benign, it may the company’s best interests to leave it alone, considering how quickly cease and desist letters can go viral. But if the use is likely to cause confusion or dilution, then the brand owner should take action.

Gelchinsky says that now that Twitter and other social media real-time feeds are becoming archived - and searchable - it is more important for brands to be vigilant about trademark protection on these sites.

Someone Asks You To Retweet Them
Of course, many companies automatically retweet positive comments about their products or services. Each situation is different, depending on the company and industry. But it is worth considering a purist’s view of retweeting before you indiscriminately hit the send button.

Peter Shankman has at least 50,000 followers that he attracted, he says, following a simple formula reported by MarketingVox: “Honesty, transparency, brevity, relevance, and top-of-mind presence – i.e., offering you valuable information in exchange for you letting me into your life. The day I start shilling for other people is the day my Twitter stream becomes nothing more than advertising, or than a press release submitted over a wire.”

His formula for retweet requests: polite honesty, or the following excerpt of his form letter.

“As we get closer to the date of the conference, I will make mention that I’m keynoting your event, in a way that benefits my followers. I will not, however, advertise for you to my followers, who sign up to receive valuable insight from me, not blatant advertisements. I tweet about all my keynotes. But I do it in my voice, on my time, in a way that’s not blatantly advertorial, self-promoting, or self-serving. Those are my rules. I don’t violate them. Ever. I’m sure you understand.”

Dealing with Negative Online Word-of-Mouth

Consumers both praise and criticize retailers on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs. It is the negative comments, though, that test retailers’ ability to manage customer relationships in a dynamic, always-on and fragmented environment.

“Social media amplifies the voice of disgruntled customers and makes it easy for others to jump on the bandwagon if they can relate to the pain,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “How Retailers Handle Negative Buzz on Social Media Sites.” “The potential for negative to buzz to escalate into mass criticism puts pressure on retailers to react quickly.

“To avoid a knee-jerk response, retailers need to take a strategic view of customer relationship management on the social Web,” he said.

A cornerstone of retailers’ approach is cultivating customer advocates. That means finding support in the retailer’s fan base, and according to Dynamic Logic and Millward Brown, retailers are the industry most likely to be followed by US social network users.

Many instances of negative buzz circulated by a person or a group stem from age-old retail problems such as poor communications, marketing blunders, operational snafus and bad customer service. Multichannel retailers can prove especially vulnerable, as large chains have more touch points between customers and store employees, providing ample opportunities for things to go wrong.

By contrast, online pure plays have more experience developing, embracing and connecting with their Internet customers.

“Once a retailer is criticized on its Facebook page or a similar social venue, it has three basic options: respond to the criticism, stay silent (perhaps to allow loyal customers to come to its defense) or remove the negative comments when possible,” Mr. Grau said.

“Retailers should have a plan in place and respond according to whether the problem is an isolated event or situation, a systemic problem or a personal issue, such as with a disgruntled customer who has a need for attention or a desire to bait the retailer,” he said.

On Line Reputation Management

On Line Reputation Management, four words that you as a business owner should be very very aware of, why? because these four words can ruin your reputation and can directly influence whether a consumer does business with you or your company.

I’ll share a story with you about a friend of mine who has recently decided to upgrade their current home by building their own, and over the weekend ,visited a number of display homes of several well known national building companies. The sales people were very polite and helpful, the display homes beautifully displayed and as a result of this first experience, they were very excited about the prospect of building their own home.

When they got home, just to check out the credentials of both of these very well known builders, they typed into Google, “complaints about (I’ve removed the names for privacy reasons) company” and what was displayed was pages and pages of consumer complaints about the companies services, or should I say lack of service, once the contracts had been signed.

My friends have now decided not to use either of these companies because of the range of complaints against them.

One thing that stood out to me, was that neither of these builders had attempted to try and rectify or even respond to these complaints, yet this simple search has just lost them approx $500,000 in business, that was the cost of building the home.

Word of mouth has changed due to the influence of social media and where once a consumer who’d had a negative experience with a company, could only influence their circle of friends at a Sunday get together, today are able to publish their comments to hundreds of thousands of consumers via forum sites and blogs. So word of mouth brand building has changed forever, if you’re not aware of the impact of this then now’s the time to learn and quickly!

There are numerous forum sites active on the Internet, not just Google, that carry complaints from consumers about all sorts of businesses, in fact any company that has a transactional business, deals face to face with the public or advertises on the web is vulnerable.

When planning my last holiday, tripadvisor.com became my best friend, and I changed my airline or hotel choice after reading what other consumers had to say about complaints or comments about their experience with the companies.

It’s estimated that over 40% of consumers who see a negative search engine result, will not use that company, and I cannot imagine how much business has been lost to companies that feature on these forum sites, and more importantly, these businesses are probably not even aware they’re losing business on the web.

So it’s time for you to set up an On Line Reputation Management strategy for your business today, you need to Monitor, Manage and Repair.

Setting up Google alerts is a great start, include keywords that you want to monitor, and once a day Google will send you an email giving you all the information if your name or business is mentioned on the web. Sites such as trackur.com,serph.com etc will all help you monitor your on line reputation.

My advice to you is start monitoring your brand on line today, you just never know who might be searching you or your business right now.
If you would like more information on how to protect your brand on line, please let me know via this blog and I’ll be happy to assist you in setting up an effective strategy to monitor your on line reputation.

Tracking Your On Line Reputation & Social Mentions

Back in October I wrote how to set up Google alerts to monitor you and your brand on line,heres a reminder of that post, On Line Reputation Management - How To Set Up Google Alerts For Your Business , and looking at the growth of both consumer ratings sites and social media sites in Australia it seemed a good idea to revisit this.

Setting up Google alerts to monitor your brand will give you lots of valuable information on what and how your brand is being used on line. I have an alert set up for this blog and of course use lots of social media sites to help me promote the blog, so I like to know where and when I’m mentioned. I get about five mentions a week across the web on who uses my name and links to me, and thankfully to date, it has all been positive, but to me having a monitoring strategy in place is now so important to any business owner not just real estate. Well you can now add a new site to help you monitor your on line brand it’s called social mention and here’s the link for you to do some research. http://socialmention.com/

Social Mention is a search engine that scans user generated content such as blogs,bookmarking sites and comments. You can search on all social media sites by using keywords, phrases etc. I entered the search term for my blog, mike andrew’s real estate tips & technology and got a search rank of 35/100 and a result which indicates at least one mention every hour, I’ve been as high as a rank of 80/100 or 1 mention every 10 seconds, you can also set up RSS feeds for a particular search term and follow your mentions on line.

Below you’ll see the search result for mike andrew’s real estate tips & technology.
























Mike Andrew Real Estate Search Result

My recomendation is to set up your Google alerts and then add social mention, this will then be able to track your blog,bookmarking and comments etc on the web.
As always let me know if you need futher information on this.