Quick Tweet: The State of Community Management in 2011
April 5, 2011 Leave a comment
Great report by Edelman Digital and The Community Roundtable on the state of community management in 2011
Epsilon: NOT Such a Negligible Effect
April 4, 2011 1 Comment
From Ancient Greek ἒψιλόν (epsilon, “the letter Ε”), defined in the context of computing as “A negligible effect.”
But also, Epsilon is an online marketing unit of Alliance Data Systems Corp., servicing over 2,500 clients via the distribution of permission-based emails. On Wednesday (March 30), Epsilon announced in a short statement to its clients (not to the public) with no details other than ” a subset of its database was accessed externally” resulting in email addresses and names being stolen. And far from having a negligible effect, this may represent the largest security breach in the history of the Web.
What does this mean to you? At a minimum it will lead to targeted unsolicited emails being sent to you in greater frequency and quantity.
I started to get wind of the problem when I received two emails from retailers I have dealt with online, but haven’t interacted with in many months, Brookstone and Disney Destinations. Then I saw other people mention on Twitter receiving similar notices from TiVo, Kroger and other brands. There had to be a common denominator and it was Epsilon.
How widespread is the breach? Hard to tell at this point, but according to Neil Schwartzman, chief security specialist for CASL Consulting, “It is the biggest breach we have ever seen; and to say no financial information has been stolen is, well, understating the massive breach and concern.”
Here’s only some of the 50 brands whose customers are affected (note the many financial institutions):
- 1-800-FLOWERS
- Abe Books
- Ameriprise Financial
- Barclays Bank
- Best Buy
- Brookstone
- Capital One
- Citi
- Disney Destinations
- Eddie Bauer
- Hilton
- Home Shopping Network (HSN)
- JPMorgan Chase
- Kroger
- Lacoste
- LL Bean
- Marriott Rewards
- McKinsey & Company
- New York & Company
- Robert Half
- Ritz-Carlton Rewards
- Target
- The College Board
- TiVo
- US Bank
- Visa Card
- Walgreens
Got spam? Blame Epsilon (yes, I know they aren’t the only causal factor, but they’ve now further sullied the ecommerce waters). It’s important to note that the companies listed above and others caught in the maelstrom are not to blame. They contracted with a well-known service provider with a stellar client list. It is reasonable for them to have felt confident that a company whose stock in trade is in email communications to have safeguards in place to protect their data.
As for reparations, blogger and former co-worker during my AOL years Joe Manna says, don’t expect anyone to pay for your inconvenience based upon past incidences similar to this one:
“This is the work of offshore hackers where laws are weak, jurisdiction is limited and tracking people down is near impossible. Don’t expect anyone to get arrested, because the hackers are global.”
One more thing — as of this morning (April 4) the Epsilon web site shows no mention of the breach even as the story is exploding online naming them as the cause, letting their clients take the blowback (and the blame?). The story went public on Friday and so the social web has had three days to spread the story without company response. It appears Epsilon needs a social media professional on staff to help modernize its marketing and public relations.
Again, old thinking or as we in social media say a PR #FAIL.
Follow the Epsilon not-so-negligible fallout: Targeted Google News Search
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1% of Twitter Users Are Power Users – This Is News?
April 4, 2011 Leave a comment
Image via CrunchBase
So, 200K of Twitter’s 200MM users responsible for 50% of all tweets.
What part of the 90:9:1 rule comes as a surprise to them?
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Turning Five On March 21, Twitter Has Room to Grow
March 8, 2011 Leave a comment
Image via CrunchBase
A sneak peek at the results of a new study on social media usage behaviors and trends by Edison Research to be released in the coming weeks titled The Social Habit (see 2009 results), reveals just how ubiquitous the Twitter brand has become.
In a short time, Twitter (turning five years old March 21) has insinuated itself into the American psyche with a whopping 92% domestic awareness. Usage, however, tells another story, with just 8% of Americans Twitter users.
92% awareness; 8% usage. Let’s call this a corollary to the 90:10 rule reflecting passive to active social network users.
The 1st Tweet March 21, 2006
Contrary to concluding that Twitter has been dismissed by the public as being inconsequential or fleeting in nature, it possesses tremendous growth potential over the next several years as awareness leads to acceptance which, for many, will lead to usage as the evolution from Early Adopters to Lead Users to Mainstream Acceptors and Laggards plays its course. You only need to look to the advertising history:
The social network links becoming more and more common in the ads of today, mirror how web site URLs became prevalent just 5 years ago.
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On Employee Appreciation Day, How Will Yours ‘March 4th’?
March 4, 2011 2 Comments
March 4th! The only day of the year that is also a command. In today’s socially networked environment, where companies are forced to realize that they don’t control their brands — their customers do — their best “Brand Ambassadors” are often overlooked, under appreciated and underutilized: their employees.
Employees appreciate the annual Bloomberg L.P. picnic
And that’s dangerous. When 50% of employees who say they have considered leaving their job (source: MarketTools, Inc.) mix with the explosion in social media a potentially brand killing lethal combination ensues. For example, let’s say you frequent a social media site where new autos are discussed and saw a valued member of the community who worked for an automaker but had nothing good to say about the company, you’d think twice before considering buying one of their models.
Social media builds engagement with employees, too. Traditional internal communications efforts, typically administered by your HR team and utilized to inform employees of company news and events via e-mail, newsletter or a Web 1.0 designed internal site are no longer enough. These cascading, ‘sermons on high’ one-way communications are often discounted or (worse) ignored by employees — especially in large companies with multiple offices spread over widely divergent geographic areas.
“Just as ‘All politics is local‘; ‘All communications is social'”
As mentioned in a prior post, let Communications/Public Affairs handle PR; let Marketing handle marketing; and now, let HR handle human resources – but rely upon a social media professional (yes, that skill set, again) to optimize all three.
The application of current social media two-way conversation strategies will engage a company’s employees the same way social media is used to connect the company with its customers. The more the employees feel connected to the company, its brands and products the more supportive they will be. Acknowledge that their opinion matters and is heard.
As for quick things you can do today, Read more of this post
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Bottom of the Food Chain 