Hacks to popular websites places everyone at risk

It seems like protection from hackers are not as strong as you think. In the past weeks everything from Twitter accounts to Pinterest to The New York Times were exposed to hackers.  Although this isn’t new problem, it is something that keeps happening.

One of the biggest worries is that this will happen again. It’s no something you can easily promise that it won’t happen again. Your users trust that you have whatever hack under control. So, what you can do is to always be cautious of what you have implemented in case of a security breach. Staying one step ahead is always important.

Also at stake is your credibility. After Burger King’s Twitter account was hacked, MTV and BET tweeted a few fake hack tweets. MTV and BET are both owned by Viacom, so the stunt was just game. But taking accountability wasn’t shown. It’s not right that people have question of an account was hacked.  It’s a serious problem and there wasn’t a need to exploit the potential harm that other accounts may have.

There is also a trust issue about what social media you are using for your organization. Google and Facebook have a two-step authentication feature but Twitter does not. This might have prevented the Burger King and Jeep hacks. Zendesk, a vendor to Pinterest, Twitter and Tumbler, was also breached. The hacker had downloaded user email addresses. It advised for users to not share passwords and using strong passwords.

Eyes are all on Twitter now as it takes measures to protect users. Twitter has yet to comment on the account hacks. If anything it’s a sign of what other sites may face. It’s time for organization to advocate for user’s account safety and users should be cautious of the sites they are using. 

Carnival in need of good PR

For 3,000 people, this week was suppose to a perfect vacation; instead, they suffered through a week stranded in the gulf. The problem started when an engine caught fire on Sunday. The Carnival cruise ship was left to wait while tugs boats could bring the ship back to land. Finally Thursday night the ship arrived in mobile, Alabama.

The days on the boat were not pleasant as sewage problems and lack of fresh food lead many to take refuge on the deck.  Now the cruise line must face the backlash of angry customers. The negative comments are out there now. What used to be a trusted company for cruises has to work to repair their image.

Could Carnival have averted the bad image? This isn’t the first time that Carnival has to face something like this. Last year, the company had to deal with a wreck of Coasta Concordia ship off the coast of Italy.

Criticism of the company extends from the lack of social media apologetic presence. Both the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages been constantly updated with messages about details such compensation and statements from CEO Garr Cahill. On Twitter, only one Tweet was posted in attempt to lighten the situation. But even with the updates, the company did not reply to the thousands of messages they received on Twitter.

What’s the best way to avert the damage?

Carnival has to accept responsibility for what happen along with how it will improve its ships. Sometimes things don’t go as plan but you can help the way the image of the brand is perceived. So four things the Carnival team should keep in mind:

1.  Apologize and keep these accidents from happening. Nothing is worse when someone apologizes but does nothing to fix the problem. Getting the trust back from the public is
2.   Make sure to compensate. Last year customer’s were only reward minimal refund or nothing. Now, future class action lawsuits will serve as a threat to the company.
3.  Place customer’s safety above all else. The repair on the ship will cost the cruise line 14 cancellations, but the problem maybe the size of the ship.
4. Focus on customer service. Responding to messages could have lessened the impact for Carnival. Make sure to start with head of the company to provide a strong united image. There’s no room for lack of accountability. 

Engaging your audience on social media

People can spot the bullshit. Engaging with the target audience can take time, but if the organization isn’t sincere when it comes to interacting with the public, it can backfire. Thursday night I joined in a Tweet chat and the topic was social engagement. I learned valuable tips from other professionals. The main thing was that people want is a sense of authenticity.

            My favorite tweets of the night came from Darren Rowse (@problogger). The point he made was that people will notice if you’re listen to them. The two-way communication on social brings up the challenge of not only providing information but also format the message to engage your audience.

The key to building an online relationship is provided unique content that is informative and in line with the organization and the audience. If the content isn’t monitored then people won’t feel the authenticity. It might even feel like spam. Which is also another reason not to auto-feed stories to social networks.

Some of my favorite companies on Twitter are the ones that respond to people. Those responses aren’t just regarding issues with the organization. The Taco Bell twitter account knows that its target audience is young adults. They want to create a fun environment. So its twitter account contains not only content pertaining to their product but also retweets of other people tweeting about the company.

Creating pages on several social media websites can help boast your organization. These tips from Conduit provide tips to grow your audience on social media.

• ·      Take notes
• ·      Listen for tone
• ·      Find your own voice
• ·      Look for micro-communities
• ·      Start small
• ·      Move from community management to advocacy
• ·      Reward highly engaged fans and followers
• ·      Maintain trust and transparency
• ·      Surprise your audience.

Like Rowse said it’s not rocket science. It can just take time to learn how to use social networks effectively. If you treat people like people you’ll be able not only engage with them but maintain a long relationship. 

What I learned about tweeting from watching Grey’s Anatomy

I never need an excuse to watch a Grey’s Anatomy episode. It is one of my favorite TV shows. So when the lecture was learning how to use Twitter, all I kept thinking was about one thing: Grey’s Anatomy did it before most of class even knew what a Tweetchat even was.

That’s right, back in 2011 ABC aired an episode where the doctors were live tweeting during surgeries. The episode showcased younger doctors showing off new techniques and technologies. It was all about innovating and sharing what they were learning.

By the end, when a doctor didn’t know what to do during surgery a tweet came in from other hospitals that helped save the patient. And so even the older doctors were on board with using Twitter.

It taught the viewers to never to dismiss any tool just because you don’t know how to use because done right it can lead to great results. Back then I didn’t think any social media could impact media the way it has. And now, we are learning these tools in structured environments. If they can do it, so why can’t we.

Communication tools will continue to change. And how we adapt to them and use them to benefit our organizations and stakeholders will change.

Non-profits are using social media to their advantage. According to this article, in 2012 98 percent of non-profits were on Facebook, 74 percent on Twitter and 66 percent on YouTube. Fundraising was most common on Facebook. And when an organization used Twitter, they generated 10 times more donations.

Not only did I learn that Twitter and other social can help promote a cause or a place to share ideas, it’s also great way to connect to other bits of information like links to articles I wouldn’t necessary read or what not do in the public relations field.