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Prevent Your Twitter And Social Media Accounts From Hacking
Today, another major hacking occurred to a trusted news source, the Associated Press. This particular hacking was not light in its messaging. A tweet stating “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured” was sent at 12:13pm CST resulting in thousands of RT’s, the stock market briefly crashing 143 points, and a world fearful of another potential terrorist attack.
Quickly, White House and AP staff confirmed the tweet was baseless and a result of a hack.
This is not the first time a major brand has been hacked. Burger King’s twitter account was hacked in February, and numerous Major League Baseball accounts were compromised in 2012.
How does this happen? Often times, hacking results due to weak passwords. This is not the sexy, technical answer expected. Other reasons include giving permission to third party applications to find out various pieces of information about your account: who isn’t following you back, top connections, your Twitter crush, etc.
In the Associated Press case, this could have been a focused initiative by an unknown group who first attempted to steal AP journalist passwords. Mike Baker, AP reporter tweeted “The AP Hack came less than an hour after some of us received an impressively disguised phishing email.”
There is another side to this story: Twitter appears extremely vulnerable to hacking. Earlier in 2013, Twitter reported 250,000 account passwords had been compromised by hackers and issued no further comment. In June 2012, popular professional networking site LinkedIn endured a security breach impacting 6.4 million users and their passwords.
Quick tips for users to prevent hacking
- Change your passwords every 90 days
- Avoid using the same password for all of your accounts
- Avoid using a family members name that someone close to you could easily guess
- Use numbers, upper and lower case letters, and symbols (when allowed)
All social networking sites must be serious about preventing what feels like constant hacking. Two-factor authentication is one solution. This would enable the social channel to send a text verification code to your phone or email after you log in to ensure you are the owner of the account. Adding an extra layer of security may prevent numerous hacking attempts, until the hackers find another way.
Have you been hacked or compromised before? Share your story in the comment area below.
Jason
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London Olympics Ban Volunteers From Social Media? My Thoughts on 96.3 KTWN.
An announcement today by the London Olympics Organising Committee (LOCOG) stated that the 70,000 unpaid volunteers will not be able to use social media to mention details of their location, their role or any backstage information about athletes, celebrities or “dignitaries” on social media. However, the volunteers are welcome to disseminate any official London 2012-sanctioned information to their followers.
As a social media strategist, I have some educated opinions on this topic. This is where 96.3 KTWN comes into play. I have been invited to give my professional opinion on this during Tuesday’s morning show with Eric Perkins and Tony Fly at 6:30am.
I would love to get your thoughts on the Olympic volunteer ban. Share a comment that is worthy and I will mention it on the air. Hope you listen in and share your feedback!
Update: I have a link to the audio for my radio debut. Listen in and enjoy. Maybe you will hear me on the radio again in the very near future! Thank you all for your support!
Jason
Minor League Search, Professional Results
Earlier this week, I was searching for a history of all minor league sports teams that have been in Minnesota. Some that come to mind: the Minneapolis Millers baseball, St. Paul Saints baseball, Minnesota Moose hockey, and the Minnesota Thunder soccer club.
However, in my search, I did not find any of the above mentioned in the first four results on Google. I did find the Minnesota Wild as the highest ranked team.
I found it a bit humorous as there have been many minor league players promoted to the professional club and have times made it feel like it was the Houston Aeros skating and not the Minnesota Wild. Of course, that has no bearing on the search result.
If the Minnesota Wild is aware of this, they should not be happy about their ranking for this term. The only mention of minor-league affiliates on the Wikipedia page is regarding the Houston Aeros and Bakersfield Condors on the third paragraph.
I wonder if putting the one sentence mentioning the minor-league affiliates lower in the post would help change the ranking.
That is my odd search result of the week. Other than the Rick Santorum search controversy, have you seen anything odd that caught your eye?
Jason
How To Get the New Facebook Timeline
On September 22, Facebook announced their latest revisions which include integration with Spotify, Netflix and an overhaul on the user timeline. Access for all will be rolled out on September 30th. I am not patient enough to wait nine days for the latest and greatest version of Facebook. I thought “how would someone get access to the new Facebook?”
Here is an idea: Google “how to get access to new Facebook.” Or, keep reading below.
I found an article from the Huffington Post which includes a video and a list of what to do. Below are the steps I followed to get access:
- On Facebook’s search bar, type in “Developer.” Click on the first result. Then click “Allow” to give the Facebook app access. In the next few steps, you will become a developer for a minute. Check that off the bucket list!
- When in the Facebook Developer App, click on “+ Create New App” button. Fill out the App display name and description. While nothing will be made public, be safe and name the app after yourself.
- Agree to the Developer privacy agreement. Don’t take the time to read it. You are only delaying and depriving yourself out of new Facebook.
- On the left side, click on “Open Graph” and type in a test verb and noun for your new app.
- Run through a few pages of new app information. There is no need to enter anything here. Keep on saving changes and continuing. The quicker you do this, the quicker you have new Facebook!
- Once completed, go back to your profile. It may take up to ten minutes, but you should have a prompt at the top of your old timeline to view the new Facebook! Hooray!
The above process is what worked for me. For those who do not want to play developer for a few minutes, there is another, yet slower way to get access: sign up for beta access where there is no guarantee on how long it will take to gain access.
Note: when you publish your timeline, only others who have followed the above steps to launch the new timeline for themselves will be able to see your new timeline. Everyone else will see the old profile.
Thanks to the Huffington Post for clearly documenting the process.
After you gain access, take the quick tour, play around and share your thoughts on Facebook’s latest and greatest version of itself.
Jason
Testing From the Minnesota Blogger Conference
Sitting in the Mobile Blogging session at the Minnesota Blogger Conference with @ojezap.
This post was created from the WordPress android app. Hope it looks good!
Welcome Back, Hellos and Goodbyes from Jason Douglas
Welcome back, hello and goodbye, all in the same sentence? Yes. Everything in that sentence and title applies to everything that’s been happening in my life. Let me explain:
Welcome back refers to my tenth return to the blogosphere. It has come to my attention that when I posted new content on here, people actually read it. Add that knowledge to my passion for writing, and that equals me promising to make more time for writing. It makes sense to spend more time doing things you love and are passionate about. If you read it, I will write it. I thank you all who have, will and continue to read my content.
Hello refers to a few new additions and changes in my life. First: I have a new phone. I switched from the iPhone 3gs to the HTC Inspire. With the relationship I and many others have with their phone, this was a big move to make. I am enjoying the android network and have already sold my iPhone on Craigslist for a significant profit.
Hello, new apartment! I am very happy to report a move that is long overdue. At the end of this month, I will be moving to Golden Valley to a newly renovated apartment. Highlights include new laminate wood flooring, new stainless steel appliances, an incredible amount of closet space, a third floor view of the pool, and no roommates 🙂 With my new place located under a mile away from the West End area, I expect to become a regular at Crave, Cooper and Pei Wei. An apartment warming party is already in the works.
Goodbye is something you say when you are leaving. With that said, I am very proud to report a move that came out of the blue. Today marks an end of an era, as I am leaving my role as the Online Marketing Manager at Spyder Trap Online Marketing.
Hello is what you say when you start something new. I will be joining the team at Nina Hale as their Search Marketing Manager starting April 25.
I am extremely proud of my time at Spyder Trap, spanning over the last two years. I have been able to work with great clients, including Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Shock Doctor, UnitedHealth Group, among others. I am very lucky to have led the search marketing and social media marketing groups to where it stands today.
When I started at Spyder Trap in March 2009, I was the second salaried employee in the history of the company. Two years later, Spyder Trap has 14 employees. 700% growth speaks for itself. I am very proud to have been a major player in the company’s growth. It is something I will be able to look back on and always be proud of.
I am extremely proud of the work I completed at Spyder Trap. Despite some individuals beliefs, the quality of work I completed was goodvery good great. Fortunately for myself and the clients, the numbers support the claim and make that statement indisputable. It is one of the main reasons why I love the online marketing industry: the numbers do not lie.
I will miss the relationships and the clients at Spyder Trap. However, there are opportunities that come around that are too good to pass up. Spyder Trap was that opportunity in March 2009. Nina Hale is that opportunity in April 2011. I am very excited to start at Nina Hale on April 25. There is no limit to the success I will have at Nina Hale.
I want to thank Mike Rynchek and Spyder Trap for giving me the opportunity. Looking back, I consider this to be a rare relationship where both parties won. I wish Spyder Trap nothing but the best in the future.
New phone. New living space. New job. There’s a saying that bad things happen in threes. So do good great things.
We’ll talk soon, friends. I promise.
Jason
It Was Your Birthday? Social Media Didn’t Tell Me That!
In case you did not know, Tuesday, June 1st, was my birthday. Surprise!
For most, it was a surprise.
Months ago, inspired by someone who did what I am about to describe, I chose to test my friends to see who actually remembered my birthday by taking my birthday off from Facebook and avoiding any discussion around my birthday.
Why would I do this? This was not a loyalty test. I felt there was an opportunity to make a statement about how social media is impacting the quality of all relationships, even if it is at the expense of my birthday.
Just five years ago, people did not have Facebook to keep track of their friends’ activities, happenings, current events, and important dates such as birthday’s, anniversaries, and more. We had to use our own brainpower to remember the important things about our friends and family. If you forgot someone’s birthday, you were considered a bad friend.
This brings me back to yesterday, the day of my experiment. I get online around 945am to see only one Facebook happy birthday wish from my girlfriend’s Mom, an early one at that. I started g-chatting with my friend Nick, who wished me a happy birthday in the chat, as he was the only person who knew of my experiment. We kept track of birthday wishes, which was not difficult.
Suddenly, it was 10:35, and I had zero twitter friends wishing a happy birthday, and only one new happy birthday wish on Facebook. However, I did have four business emails wishing me happy birthday. For those keeping score: Email 4, People on social media: 2.
This confirmed what I had thought. Without a reminder, very few people would know about my birthday. Everything changed when my girlfriend, Amanda, sent a happy birthday tweet and Facebook status update. Experiment: dead. Before her status update on Facebook: 6 birthday wishes. After: 30. Before her tweet: zero. After: 40+.
Even though I told myself that I couldn’t be mad at anyone for forgetting my birthday this year (since it was part of an experiment), I had mixed feelings about certain people or groups forgetting my birthday. From most of the people in my office (yes, the place I work and spend 40+ hours a week forgot save for two people), and even friends I have had since junior high (you know who you are), it was a bit of an eye opener.
Imagine not having a girlfriend to send out a simple message to her network of friends that would trigger such a reaction.
Imagine having your birthday forgotten.
That did not happen to me, as after the tweet & facebook status posted by Amanda, the outpouring of support was overwhelming. I have so many thank you’s to give out. Amanda made this the best birthday I have ever had. I will forever be grateful to her for that.
To those who did wish me an early, day of, or belated birthday, thank you!
I cannot point fingers without pointing one at myself. I rely on the birthday reminders as much as the rest of the world. I suck. But, isn’t that a statement of how relationships have changed?
Why do we have to know our friends when we have social media to know our friends?
I work within the social media and online marketing world, and see all of the good it does connecting people who otherwise may never cross paths. There are some negatives to what social media is doing to society, notably, the impact it is having on relationships. I know hundreds, maybe thousands of people moderately well. Ask me what day their birthday lies on, and I will fail miserably. You would do the same.
It makes me wonder: how well do my friends know me? How well do I know my friends?
So many people worry about the relationships that corporations and brands have or should have with followers, fans, etc. What is more important: the Minnesota Twins following you back on Twitter, or a close friend wishing you a happy birthday?
Let’s get back to solidifying the friendships that social media have provided to us. Otherwise, what’s the point?
~J
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Thank You! Now, Let’s Collaborate!
Yesterday was one of the more interesting and fulfilling days I have had as a professional. Most of us know about #Unfollowgate. If not; check out my previous post on #Unfollowgate and its impact on the Minneapolis and St. Paul online community.
Between the hundreds of views, 18 comments, numerous public tweets, re-tweets, even more direct messages, and even some text messages and calls, the outpouring of support for me was astonishing. Thank you all very much for that.
I want to get away from #Unfollowgate and move onto the larger issue: how to make the Minneapolis and St. Paul online community more collaborative, more unified, and considered as a true leader in the online marketing space.
I have been going over what Chris Brogan said when he was here at the Minnesota Business/Reputations event, about our shortcomings as a community. It would have been easy for him to say ‘Minneapolis/St. Paul, y’all are great! Keep Truckin’!’ for a cheap pop. He did not do that, and I thank him for that. For him to say (paraphrasing) ‘you have the talent here, you don’t have the collaborative atmosphere’, and to call out Pittsburgh as his numer one community was gutsy. He travels and connects with enough people from each community where I trust his opinion more than others.
This should be a wake up call for our community. We do have the talent, we have the case studies, we have the clients, we have the passion (as was shown yesterday). How do we combine all that and more to help our community move to the head of the online marketing class?
Let’s start a discussion answering a few questions. As a community:
- What are we doing right?
- What are we doing wrong?
- What are your concerns about the state of online marketing?
- What do we want to do?
- Where do we want to go?
Minneapolis, St. Paul, metro area, Minnesota: your thoughts?
Jason Douglas's Life Blog 