soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

Cyber Security Is The Future

By

All dongles aside, the incident over remarks that included one of those (I had no idea it looked like this for real) by a perky-eared bystander who snapped and posted an image to Twitter of alleged offenders behind her and subsequently jobs were lost over the conundrum (breath), has caused all sorts of crazy cyber-bullying against the female bystander and one of my peers who wrote about the incident.dongle

Still not in the know? You can read all about it:

And, you know what really sucks? We don’t know the truth; we don’t know who is ultimately responsible — perhaps it’s Anonymous and perhaps not.

Stop Being Naive

What I do know is that we the people can no longer be naive that what we say online is protected and without recourse; that what we do in public surroundings when involving strangers is innocent. It’s not and it’s not.

The scare tactics of hacker groups are real; it is cyber-bullying extraordinaire. Reputations and businesses that don’t play according to cyber rules are being ruined; it’s survival of the fittest and who can survive a cyber attack?

As I was explaining to Amber-Lee Dibble of Pioneer Outfitters on Google+, it’s time to pick the battles, choose carefully how to tread online, know with whom you’re engaging, and throw caution into every word.

Ever wonder how to fight a cyber-attack during which a website crashes and the spam bots destroy the back end with waves of onslaught? I would not have the financial resources or time to devote to managing this type of crisis; in fact, there’s nothing I would be able to do but call in the troops and borrow from the IRA (that’s not the Irish Republican Army).

In a Facebook discussion today, Ms. Kittie Walker, Founder and President of Indigo Girl in London said, “It takes for people to stand up and stand up en masse to fight that kind of bullying. There are plenty of rival sub-culture organizations fighting against Anonymous, but they are employing the same tactics. The global security services and police are fighting Anonymous and they’ve made some inroads, but for every hacker they arrest, a new one pops up.

What’s the likelihood of the masses standing up to them – not big; they are currently seen as modern day Robin Hoods and those that don’t see them that way may take the road that you did when bullied over a review. So whom do you side with? The Government and their agencies that want to restrict the internet in ways that you can’t even imagine (crushing your business just as surely) or the anarchists. Seems to me to be a bit of a loose-loose situation. (Kittie also mentioned she respects Anonymous and I should be prepared to stand by my research.)

Pick your battles carefully – not just the ones that you can win – but where you can make a difference.”

Fighting Cyber Attacks

Pay careful attention to your passwords. The previous school of thought was to do random characters, yet none of us can remember them. The now school of thought is to take a story, the dog ate my  homework, and use it as your password e.g. DogAteHomeHah. These resources below are worth a read.

Inc. Magazine on Fighting Hacking

Wired Magazine on Passwords/Hacking

Inc. Magazine: Cyberrisk Insurance

Books on Cybersecurity You May Want To Read

Enhanced by ZemantaBy Jayme Soulati

Power Blogger Bullies Baby Blogger, Threatens Lawsuit

By

A baby blogger in my peer group (we’re young) has been writing incredibly investigative and analytical posts about in-depth topics many of us wouldn’t take time to write. I’ve been noticing and marveling over the time and thought she’s puts into her content. She’s also become a guest author on a regular basis for several Ad Age Power Bloggers the likes of Danny Brown and Mark Schaefer.

And, that is exactly with whom she had a run in this week — a power blogger (not Danny or Mark); a run in that is akin to a cyber blogger bullying experience.

This woman wrote an article about the use of back links to drive traffic to websites via affiliate marketing. Apparently, there’s something of a black social media market for +1, links, SEO and key-word rich posts, and the like.

What ensued on her post in comments was an outright negative attack by this power blogger who demanded the blog post be retracted, threatened to sue her for libel and refused to calmly review the issue. Following this incident, the said power blogger was tooting his horn on Twitter saying he’d successfully corralled and shut down another “hater.”

Imagine that. An Ad Age Power Blogger took the bull by the horns and called out this baby blogger with no phone call, respect or attempt to understand the facts and the reality.  The power blogger’s brand remained intact with another notch on his belt while the baby blogger’s psyche and brand are in need of repair. And, the communications strategy to manage her response has been ongoing throughout the weekend; I know because she and I have been in continuous conversation about appropriate messaging and the strength of the story she needs to tell as a follow-up.

This situation makes me sad — there are so many of us who don’t know the ins and outs of every aspect of blogging — there is a back end that needs coding, there are tools and apps to drive traffic and interactivity, and link building and affiliate marketing have a key place in driving success, too. We who are innocently learning the ropes and bringing authentic content to the forefront are suffering from the likes of egocentric individuals who elect to use bullying tactics and the threat of a lawsuit instead of coherent conversation.

I applaud Neiclole Crepeau for her steadfastness in this matter, and she’s aware it’s been a learning experience. She admits she could’ve chosen a word or two differently, and she has sought counsel to determine how best to proceed. At the same time, she is smarting from the experience, and yet, she’s done absolutely nothing wrong; she has corroborated this. While I will not name names in the event that this dude gets his underwear further in a bundle, I will share that his blog rhymes with “sloppyfrogger.”

As we experience the tipping point in social media where automation is devouring authenticity, those of us still developing and delivering authentic content in small communities should open our eyes widely that something as innocent as blogging can be fraught with landmines. This situation is a good reminder that words are not innocent; they can be taken differently by whomever is reading.