Accountability and Security of Your Business' Social Network Posts

Social Networks can be a true value conscious way to get word about your Business, Event or Service to the world as they have very little overhead and reach a potentially large base of clients.  But how does a business go about making sure that their Social Network presentation truly represents the Company and stays in the Company Mandate while at the same time keeping things secure? Today we offer up some tips to help securely manage your Social Networking paths.

1. Manage your team:
This sounds like it should be simple enough, but can quickly spiral out of control. It is wise, if you are a small business, to either assign one person to manage the Social Networking, or failing that limit it to a team of no more than six people, with a dedicated change of command (IE having a Manager of Social Networking, Assistant Manager of Social Networking etc.)  After setting up your team, decide if all Social Networking is to be done from one community terminal or if any member of the team can access from their respective workstations, this will become understandable as to why as we move along to further point.

It is always wise to have team members actually sign their posts when possible , example of this would be at the end of the post just have the team member type something like [John] or --Smith, This brings accountability to the posts as if Customers have any problem with a posting you can review specifically who posted it.

2. Security Features:
No Company ever wants to be at risk of having to release the memo "We Were Hacked" or "That is not an authorized post on our Facebook/Twitter/Google Plus feed"  and one of the best ways to go about this is to actually use features these services already have available to you

Facebook:
If you go to the options menu (cog shaped icon) on facebook, you can bring up account settings. from there click on the word security and you should be met with a screen like this one

Facebook Security Screen

This screen actually is your best friend in trying to keep people out of your account, notice the second entry "Login Notifications" , This is a HIGHLY IMPORTANT feature to pay attention to as this will tell you when, where and what browser is being used to log in to Facebook.  What this means is that if you have a team of 6, 4 are in the office and 2 are out of town on business, then you should be able to tell fairly quickly if it is indeed your team logging into Facebook and when as a Email and/or text message is sent back to the email account that you set up Facebook with

Twitter:
The first thing I would suggest with Twitter, is pick one team member to manage your twitter feed.  This is due to the 140 Character nature of Twitter's service not always allowing space to sign a post.

The next thing to do is to dive into your settings menu, where details like being able through features like "Protect my Tweets", "Tweet Location" and "Login Verification" via SMS can secure your content by giving you control over who sees your tweets, knowing where they were sent from and in the case of Login Verification require a security code to be entered form a text message in order to access the account.

Moving down to the "Email Notifications" section will allow for a better management of your account, as you can get email messages on a large array of information, from when Tweets are marked as Favourites to when you get a reply or are mention in a tweet

Google Plus:
In Google Plus, to access things you need to click the arrow besides your profile picture at the top of the page, select account and then click on Security.  Here is it wise to set up Recovery options, Notifications (such as an second email address and a mobile number to accept alerts where you can get validation sent in the event of account issues).  2-Step Verification allows you to set up logins so that in order to log in from a device you need to actually enter your email address, password AND then a code sent to your mobile device.  This works best if you have a page being managed by one person only.

****

3: Strong Passwords
For years it has been stressed just how important the Strength of a login Password is.  We are told to very things up, no less then 8 characters, 12 to 16 being even better, Include small caps, large caps and numbers, do not use common words and NEVER use dates or names of your family for the password.  And all of that is still true and valid, but one thing Companies may end up forgetting about is what if someone on your Social Network leaves the team (more potentially a problem if they are terminated for wrongful acts).

The best practice in this case, is to make sure that every time someone leaves the team, be it through transfer to a different department, retirement, termination or quitting, change the password!  By doing this, your Company's Social Network passwords are only known by the people currently managing your Company's profiles, and you have a small base of people to look into should something be compromised .

This of course only scratches the surface of Social Network Security practices, but if you start by employing the tips above, you are on the right path to securing your Social Network Presence.

Does the Internet have space for another Social Network?

Over the years, the Internet has seen the rise and fall of many a Social Network. It seems that, aside from the recognized leader in Social Networks- Facebook, there are now Social Networks popping up all the time, and for different reasons.

We have Networks like Google Plus, which focuses more to the Tech Savvy users, LinkedIn, designed to allow for professional networking and even a revival of MySpace, who would like to be the Social Network for Musicians.  A couple years ago Apple attempted to create one called Ping, which focused on the social experience of loving Music. Even Yahoo dabbled in this concept with their retired Yahoo 360 service.

The latest to join into this area is a service called RippLn. RippLn, according to their Website, is the "active state of a ripple" and "a new app that is powered by enabling technology which is set to make waves around the world.".  Their website also claims that Rippln "brings long-overdue transparency to the social engagement business and has created a new monetary model for 'eyeball acquisition"

Basically, from the sounds of things, what Rippln appears to be trying to set up is a Social Network that Pays the user for using it, the more you promote and use sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, the most Rippln claims a user can earn money. But with advertising, like the one in the image below, is that message reaching the audience this new player in the Social Network Market trying to capture.  Right now Rippln is being prepared in a "By invite only" format. The questions to be answers, however, do you readers believe something like this is viable and does the Internet have space for another unique Social Network, this time one that survives on the strengths of the existing ones?

More info on Rippln can be found at their Website http://rippnetwork.com/

Leave your thoughts and comments below

Trying to Design for Touch Screen and Mouse Access

Modern Internet Access has reached a rather interesting point when it comes to Us Designers and how we Design a site for access.

For many years, the Web had been accessed from Computers (Windows, Mac and to a less extent Linux) with Browser Software (Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and Netscape in the early days leading up to the Safari, Opera, and Chrome market we have in modern times).

But a more important shift started to take place with the launch of Apple's iPhone device in 2007.  The Mouse and Keyboard model we have all been accustomed to over the years got a new competitor, Our Index Finger!

With this change, Websites had to be rethought, for a cursor of the Mouse can be far more specific on a click than the pad of a Finger.  Evolution has also seen changes in screen size that have to be taken into account with designs.  While most Computer users had anywhere from a 13 to 19 inch Monitor, their mouse cursor was still scaled in relation to the screen.

With Touchscreen Technology, a user can now access the Internet on screens ranging from 3 1/2 inches on Smartphones up to 10 inches (currently) on tablets, not to forget the trend in Touch Screens on Laptop and Desktop computers.

And while features like "Pinch To Zoom" can help the end user improve their target area, as a Designer or a Content Provider, this is just another reason to keep cognitive of how your site is being designed.

Java and Javascript are not one in the same

By their names, the concept of Java and Javascript being one in the same is a very straight forward and easy mistake to make. While they both share aspects in the way they are written and Syntax coded, they actually come from different backgrounds and are deployed in different ways.

Java, created by Sun Microsystems (Now Oracle)  can be designed to be a stand alone programming language, and actually is a core element in the coding of the Android Operating System.  It is based on what is known as a Object Oriented Programming language, and the results of coding are referred to as "Standalone Applications".  Java is also a Machine Language, which means that prior to being ran it has to be compiled.

JavaScript, on the other hand, was created by the Web Browser company Netscape (now part of the AOL  which was spun off as its own company following a failed merger with Time Warner Communications) and actually is written in basic Text (any text editor can be used to write JavaScript code so long as the file extension is .JS).  the information in the .JS file is then linked into the HTML code and called upon by the browser, compiling at the time of deployment.  Many consider JavaScript a distant cousin to Java.

Due to security issues in the Java environment and the constant possibility of Java Crashes, the programming language has been falling out of favour with many, including the US Department of Homeland Security who have classified Java as an exploitable risk accessible to Hackers.  This of course causes problems for Web Developers as many end users of computers can get confused and disable JavaScript when warned to disable Java.  Disabling JavaScript can result in some some websites being unable to display features like image float over zooming and pop up windows, some of which can instead be coded using CSS, thus allowing content to still be seen even if the user has disabled Java, JavaScript or Both.

As a Content Provider, Pop-up Scripts are NOT Your Friend

Lets face it, spend any time online and you are bound to come across a Website popping up one of these screens when you realize that the Website is not what you are looking for.

While Websites put this type of pop up on their site with the intention of getting the consumer to reconsider the option of staying around and exploring the Site, the opposite actually tends to happen.  Users end up getting annoyed at something that steals focus and delays their return to search results that could produce the actual information they are researching.

This annoyance does not sit well for future visitors to your Website, for People quickly start to advise their friends to not visit your site, or worse yet they consider your Site to be a producer of malware and will report your domain as such to Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware sites.

Being reported in this manor can actually see your placement on Search Engines go down, and warnings put in place advising new Consumers that your Site has been flagged.  Now think about that, from the user's perspective and your's as well.

 If no one clicks to your Website to get information your Website goes from being a productive part of your advertising presence to actually being a liability for the Company, after all do you think Customers will enter into your physical store front if it looks like your online presence produces questionable content?

Why CSS should be linked to instead of written in your HTML file

CSS (or cascading style sheets) are the core of modern Web layout, they allow a page to have everything from font size to line spacing to even picture details configured depending on where the content sits on a Web Page respectively.

Many designers in the past have had a practice of placing the style protocols inside the HTML document, and while this is very much acceptable there is sound reason as to why it should be avoided.

On a basic Web Design project, where a Designer or the Web Master who manages the Site, may find it of little issue going in to each Page of a Site to adjust details like background color (coded usually to read #000000 which is Black for example).  But what happens when faced with a much larger Site and your company needs to change the colors due to a new image, or even a merger?

With the practice of a linked CSS file, a Site Manager only has to work with one file and changing one entry in order to deploy an update to multiple pages.  The result being less stress in meeting deadline and less cost to maintain the image of your Site

What are Web Design Standards and why are they important to designing a Site?

Web Design Standards, if you or your company have ever worked with a Web Designer, you most likely have faced the conversation about what they are are why they are important to your Project's design.

So, just what are they and who created these standards in the first place? Well to answer those two questions lets look at the second question first.

Who created Web Standards ?

Web Standards were created and are overseen by a group called the World Wide Web Consortium (or W3C for short).  The W3C routinely look over the ever developing code and browser development market, choosing what is officially supported in HTML and CSS language based on if 2 out of 3 of the major Browser Platforms support and display the code in a specific way.  The full explanation of the technologies that W3C have oversight on can be found at this link

http://www.w3.org/standards/

What are Web Standards and why are they important to a design?

Think of Web Standards much like you would creating programming for Televisions. Your end user could be using a Samsung, LG, Panasonic or any other brand name or off brand name Television to access your programming, as a Designer, or Content provider you want everybody who does access your content to see it the same way, which brings up to the main point about Standards

Since a image file is posted up using the same code on the back end of a Web Site, it no longer matters if your consumer is accessing things via Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS or any other platform, thanks to your site being coded and validated to meet the current standards it SHOULD look the same everywhere (unless being accessed on Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which for the longest time did not support the recommended standards that Firefox, Chrome and predecessors like Netscape supported)