On February 2nd, Twitter put out a status note about a concern they discovered and the biggest message coming from this is: Password Security. Digging into one issue brought up a discovery that many people are still using duplicate or similar passwords on various sites.

Security of social networks tends to be taken lightly as most think that “What can possibly happen if someone were to get my password from twitter or facebook?”

I like to remind my clients that a major reason why they have started using social networks is for Online Visibility and to build an Online Reputation in your area of expertise. In one fell swoop, that could get destroyed or at the very least take time to build back up.

Once a password is captured, the ‘hacker’ may try to lock you out of your account by changing your password. Then they move on to sending messages to contacts/friends/followers. Then comes attempts to try and access the email account attached to the hacked account.

The answer to the question above “What can possibly happen?” is simple…

Your Online Reputation is what is at stake and for many that is priceless – especially if you have worked very hard to build it up.

How can you protect yourself?

The best way is to NOT have the same password for every social networking account profile, and to change your social network passwords often. But one thing many forget to think about is having a different password for the email accounts used with social networks. These emails should ALWAYS have a DIFFERENT password. Always.

Having a separate email password also protects you from hackers changing your twitter or facebook password-  both networks send a confirmation email when password requests are made. Nathan Hangen also has some more good ideas at Twitip for protecting your account.

Stop thinking the hassle of managing the usernames and passwords will be troublesome. I manage hundreds of usernames/passwords between my own and my clients. How? I use Roboform to store all my usernames and passwords – and it is worth it.  Roboform is a password keeper installed on your own desktop and is very easy to add new ones in. You can also save identities with name, info and contact so with one click of a button you can fill in online forms.  It save a lot of time and is not frustrating to manage all the IDs – plus it is faster to sign in when needed. Just click the ID to use and it takes you to the url and signs you in.

Twitter has good info on tips to keep your accounts secure, dealing with phishing and hacking scams all the time they have to keep updated on how to protect their users.

Now. Go change that email password as I know most of you reading this have it set the same! Protect your Reputation!

Technorati Tags: Facebook, social media training, Twitter

Well, I finally took the plunge and finished my first ever eBook. I wrote it, formatted it, found some people who had real-life examples, created a sales page, setup an online product to sell and now it’s ready.

It took me a while and I learned many new things and met some new people (virtually of course!) while going through this process, but I think it was definitely worth it! I even have an idea for a second book.

What I did was take many of my client-training sessions on Twitter and compiled it into an easy-to-read eBook to help beginners understand better how to talk on Twitter – the end result… Talking on Twitter!

What you will learn from this eBook is how to :

	Learn the basics of Twitter – understand what a DM, RT and Hashtag are and how to use them
	Understand what the Settings are on your Twitter profile and how and why to change them
	Know the difference between your home and profile pages and what everyone else sees about you on Twitter
	Learn the Art of Conversation on Twitter and how to engage others
	Follow a typical schedule that will help you remain efficient and effective with your time spent on Twitter
	Build up your followers and connections when you start out on Twitter and how to find people.

You can read some testimonials from others who have bought and read Talking on Twitter… it’s a good alternative to try out before investing hundreds of dollars in a training program.  Many of these programs are fabulous, but you still need to understand the basics of using Twitter and that is what this eBook is all about.

I have found with most clients, once they understand how to navigate twitter and how others view what you say,  the lightbulb goes off and they comprehend how it is possible to bring in new contacts, and ultimately business, from using Twitter.   Get your copy today and see if you notice a difference in your level of engagement on Twitter!

Technorati Tags: how to use twitter, Twitter

Twitter has a great help topic on rules regarding all sorts of automation when it comes to posting updates on your Twitter profile. Because I manage other people’s twitter accounts I am often checking any updates and notices Twitter has to their terms of service and help menu. It keeps me on top of what my client and I can and cannot do.

Using a free platform such as Twitter, you will always want to be current with their terms in order to ensure your account does not violate any policies that will put you and your profile at risk.

Not only do you learn the ‘rules’ but you also get informed as to other aspects of using their service. There are many applications out there that allow you to automate messages, posts, @ replies and following and unfollowing users; and Twitter has some very specific info on what is allowed and not allowed when doing these types of actions. They explain how Twitter OAuth approval works as well (how the system works when you allow other applications to update your twitter profile).

If you have not read this recently – or ever – you may want to take 5 minutes today and check it out.

Technorati Tags: how to use twitter, social media training, Twitter

Value… everyone wants some great value in today’s economy. Marketing companies are all about promoting value in advertising these days. It makes sense considering how these ‘tough economic times” are hitting many people.

My family had a two week vacation this summer and a good part of the planning was ensuring we received good value for the money we were spending, whether it was a hotel, attraction or restaurant.

This same principle can be applied to what you do and say on Twitter. People are looking for value with their connections on Twitter. If you add value to your tweets, you will find yourself having more conversations and connecting with more people. Ultimately it is these connections and relationships that help you succeed on Twitter.

So… how do you add value to a 140 character tweet? Simple. You make it worthwhile for others to read. You also need to realize that everything you tweet should not always about you and your business. Big value can be had from making a post about someone or something else besides you!

Here are five tips to help you think of ways to post tweets with value: (more…)

Technorati Tags: how to use twitter, Social Media, Twitter

Tweetdeck has a new release today – version 0.31.1 – and in addition to many other addons and fixes they have added a new column for New Followers.

With the click of a button you can now have column dedicated to any new followers you have.  For people like me – ones who hate the email notifications – this is fabulous and will help me connect with many more people.  It’s not often I would click on my followers column to see who is new and what kind of people I have been attracting.  Now with one glance I can see all these new contacts and quickly say hello if I choose.

When you have the column open and the new followers are there – what is so great here is that they don’t show in the column with their last tweet- but their Twitter BIO.  Just Fabulous!! You can quickly see who this new follower is and what they are all about. Another reason why your BIO should always be very representative of who you are and what you do – I always tell my clients, Think “Elevator Speech” when thinking of what to put in your BIO.

The Tweetdeck new version downloads are now much simpler – simply exit tweetdeck, download the new version and in a minute you will have your Tweetdeck back up and running with all the new features. Some of these new features are a new notification system, some keyboard shortcuts and a bunch of fixes to help Tweetdeck rum more smoothly on your system.

For me, this New Followers column is tops! It will allow me to better reach out and say Hi to new followers – Talking on Twitter is so much better than Selling!

Technorati Tags: Social Media, Twitter, twitter management tools

SocialOomph (formerly Tweetlater) had a major announcement today – and one that probably is causing panic among many Twitter users.

Essentially, they will be discontinuing the ability to set up ‘recurring posts’ and ones with ’spinnable text’ as this helps users violate Twitter’s Terms of Service with regards to posting duplicate content over the same or multiple accounts.

Now, when I first saw this I almost had a panic attack myself, but then I took the time to read many of the comments and questions on the blog.  They included several answers back from Dewald Pretorius, the creator of SocialOomph, Tweetlater and a fellow Maritimer on Canada’s East Coast .  The answers from Mr. Pretorius made me realize that the clients I work with will not be affected as they don’t use the recurring tweets function. Panic was premature and not necessary.

Primarily my clients use SocialOomph to setup posted dated tweets – but the majority of them are unique tweets that we do not repeat.   They use SocialOomph to send an automated Direct Message to new followers – and this will not be affected by the new change either.

Looking at the comments, the change will affect people who use the system to setup updates of the same type over and over at recurring times. Some even mentioned every 5 minutes!  Wow.  Not how I use Twitter at all – nor what I recommend to my clients.  I encourage my clients to get on Twitter directly and be real and authentic and to make connections and conversations with others.  That is how you can reach more people in a way that creates a relationship.  Sending the same message over and over is never anything I recommend or like to see.

So… for now my take on this big news is… I am okay with it, since it may help keep the spammers at bay and send them elsewhere to push their wares. Anything for reducing the spam in my twitterstream is fine by me!

Technorati Tags: social media virtual assistant, Twitter

I read a great article today posted in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. It refers to a report released Wednesday by Robert Half Technology . The survey is said to find that 58% of Canadian Companies surveyed prohibit social networking at work.

The concerns the businesses who ban social networking have are more about employee’s wasting work time to chat on facebook or twitter for non-work related purposes. And fair enough, that is a valid concern. As a business owner it would bother me if my staff was being paid to work and instead were doing something personal during that time.

There’s always been big debate about whether employees should be allowed to use Social Networking sites at work. The recent growth of Social Media for business is making this decision even more difficult. Businesses are looking to use Social Media but for many the concept of talking directly to customers via social networks is very new and they are learning.  Some the right way and some the wrong way.

Personally, I don’t think social networking works for everyone – or every business.  For business, there needs to be  a solid foundation (ie your website and marketing plan) on which to build these relationships and a good strategy to implement to achieve the desired goals.  If you don’t have this foundation, you may struggle and even fail.

Businesses, especially corporations who make the jump into social media, have to have a very strong foundation as well as a concise policy for employees who use the networks as a representative of the company.  They are acting as a  spokesperson and all parties must be clear on what can be said, and how and when and to whom…

So, what’s my take on the ‘bans’?  I kind of agree if the business does not use social media as part of its marketing plan, however technology is making it near impossible to block all access. Social Networking is new to business, so it makes sense there is a high number of corporations blocking these sites on their networks.  I do however, think that number will go down as time passes and more and more businesses join in this new way of networking directly with their clients.

There are a couple comments on this article as well… Jane Doe’s comment on how allowing staff access may mean taking a break is not a break at all – at least not one from sitting in front of your computer screen…she has a point.

Technorati Tags: business, Facebook, social networking, Twitter

Well… I got a glimpse of inbox chaos this week.

Something happened and my facebook notifications were changed.  A glitch I suppose, but the glitch meant I started getting email notifications when anyone friended me, wrote on my wall, made a comment, sent me a message…. You get the picture.  My inbox was jammed full of emails that I did not need to see.

Now, if you are asking “Why don’t I need to see them?”  I will tell you this and it is the number one trick to managing your social media profiles more effectively.

Look around when you are on Facebook and Twitter and Linked In. Answer people and make comments back to them directly in your social network. It’s a much more efficient use of your time, plus you learn to understand where you ‘are’ in your profile.

How?

On Twitter, when you sign in click on the @yourusername link on the right side of your home page.  See who has been ‘talking’ to you.  Answer them on the spot with an @reply. You only have 140 characters to type; it’s not a book and can be done quickly. Do the same thing with the Direct Messages.

On Facebook, follow the same principles.  Check your personal wall, answer people talking to you – or better yet talk to them – make a comment about their update.  Look at your inbox and send replies right there.  Check your fanpage and do the same. Look and see if anyone has posted on your fanpage wall.  You are using Facebook to connect with more people so it is vital you check in here and make the connections.

If you follow these practices you will soon find that the email notifications you have coming are redundant; and in fact take more time to clean out. Change your account settings and the way you ‘check’ your networks and you will find an inbox that requires less maintenance.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter, virtual assistant

Every so often Twitter runs a purge of inactive users and accounts, when it happens you will see followers drop off your profile.   Even the folks at Twitter realize that it’s okay to hit unfollow, I do it all the time.  Shocked?  Don’t be.  There is nothing wrong with clicking unfollow and in some cases even the block button is okay to hit too.

Why do I do it? Well, in most cases it is because I get no value from that person and my connection with them. Many will argue you have just removed the viral-access from their connections (you tell two friends, they tell two friends and so on – well, on Twitter that number could actually be two thousand or even more), but sometimes those people may not be connections you want to have or be associated with.

I tell all my clients the two main standards I have for not connecting with someone; naked pictures and blatant swearing… though recently I have added overzealous sales pitches and using the @reply to mention other people along with a sales link.

I use social media primarily for my business as do my clients,  but a lot of my personality comes out too. Overall I try to keep it fairly professional and would rather not be associated with certain actions I deem unprofessional.

There will be many people that disagree with me wholeheartedly on these choices and that is fine.  The difference between us comes down to our social media strategy – our reason for being on Twitter.  The point is to remember that it is okay to click the unfollow button when you want. It is your choice and no harm can come from doing this; in fact in some cases it can free up space so you can see your more valuable connections more often.

Technorati Tags: online networking, Twitter, virtual assistant

Facebook fanpages or pages for business…many people use them as a support to their social media and marketing efforts. One of the biggest requests I have from clients who have hired me as their social media virtual assistant is to set up auto linking of twitter updates to fanpages. Until this past week there was not a simple way unless you used ping.fm

What changed was the latest update to tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck is similar to Hootsuite and Seesmic in that it is a management tool to help you keep on top of Twitter – your followers, special hashtags you follow or even certain terms. Everyone has their preference and opinions. Mine is Tweetdeck.

As with previous version, the new one – v. 0.30.4 – allows you to host multiple twitter profiles in Tweetdeck, letting you post updates from several different accounts should you need that service. The change to this version allows you to link to your personal facebook as well as your fanpage – or fanpages.

Plus, Tweetdeck has added many more features to this latest version, which originally came out September 3rd, but with a  facebook linking issue. The September 18th update has fixed that.

It takes a few minutes to access your settings, click add an account, then facebook account. Whatever pages you are an admin on, you will have the option to link to that fanpage.

Once you have it setup then a button appears on the top of your tweetdeck window. When you publish an update, you can pick and choose what account to go to.

For those who may not realize it, this also allows you to pick and choose what gets posted on your personal facebook. This option can really help curb your facebook posts especially if you find some of your closer friends and family always wondering why you have so much to say on facebook.

Try this new version out, I’m certain you’ll love the new features, many of which are intended to help users save time.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter, virtual assistant