FACEBOOK

According to the article, Understanding what Facebook apps really know,

Do Facebook apps sell you out?  Yes, it's a problem if developers are going behind Facebook's back and selling user data. 

Do third-party apps on Facebook really have access to loads of personal information?
Many of them do, if you give them permission. If you're concerned about who has access to your information, make a habit of thinking before you click.

The Wall Street Journal's investigation found that many app developers have been selling or transmitting those user IDs to outside companies which are data-collection or advertising firms with their own databases to which they can match up public Facebook profile data to bigger compendiums of personal information.

"Any time you go to any retail site on the Internet, any hospitality site, any restaurant site, any number of sites, and you put in your information--your name, your address, your e-mail address, where you live, those kinds of things...unless you opt out, then someone's likely to sell that information and then you're going to be subjected to all kinds of advertisements."

--Scott Vernick, attorney

How can I best be in control of what's getting shared with third-party applications?

You aren't using SuperPoke anymore, so why are you still permitting it to access your data? You can turn this off pretty easily through Facebook's new application dashboard.

·         Account drop down menu

·         Privacy Settings

·         Applications and Websites

You should check this application regularly.  I went in and I couldn’t believe all the applications I was giving access to.  It literally took me 10 minutes to delete all the unwanted ones.

Identity Theft

Online ID theft is the fastest growing ID crime.

The FTC reports that 3.2 Million U.S. citizens are victims of identity theft each year.  This costs consumers and businesses about $52 billion annually.  Victims spend an average of 30 hours restoring their credit.  37% of Americans believe that online is the most dangerous.  (Roberts 318)

Criminals are using our digital identity; IP addresses, user names, date of birth, Pin # and social security numbers.   They can phish and spoof online to lure a victim; you can get a SPAM email or pop up sent from a trusted company.  With Phishing lures they can have you validate an account or update your personal information.

According to the FBI.gov, Tips to avoid internet fraud:

• There should be no reason to give out your social security number of driver’s license
• Don’t give out your credit card number online unless the site is secure and reputable.  Sometime a tiny icon of a padlock appears to symbolize a higher level of security to transmit data but this is not a guarantee it is a secure site.
• Before using the site check out the security/encryption software it uses
• Obtain a physical address
• Check with the BBB
• Don’t judge a company by their website.  Flashy websites can be set up quickly
• Purchase items online with a credit card, because you can often dispute the charges if something goes wrong.
• Keep a list of all your credit cards and account information along with the card issuers contact information

Spyware

Spyware software raises a host of privacy, security, and functionality issues for even the most savvy computer users. Installed on your computer without your consent, spyware monitors or controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your computer to unwanted websites, monitor your Internet surfing, or record your keystrokes, which, in turn, could lead to identity theft.  According to our text, (Roberts 317), Spyware is often placed in the process of receiving a free download.  73% of internet users do not read user agreements.  78% of users say they understand spyware.  You can make changes in your internet behavior to prevent unauthorized downloads:

·         Stop opening email attachments unless you are sure the document is safe

·         Stop visiting sites that you think may download unwanted programs

·         Stop downloading software

·         Stop downloading music or video files from P2P networks.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy notice is a description of a site’s privacy practices.  It must be located in a single, readily identifiable place on the site. The privacy policy must be accessible by a single link or icon. A 2005 survey found that:

·         Only 42% of the 464 corporate web sites examined scored “good” for their policies toward sharing of collected personal data.

·         72% scored “poor” for their policies toward reusing personal data for marketing purposes.

·         23% of companies had policies that were considered “good” for allowing users to destroy personal information stored on corporate databases.  Roberts (312)

How many of you actually take the time out to read the privacy statement of the website you visit?  How many of you knew they even existed?

I sat down and actually read the privacy statement for SPAM, located at the very bottom of the page in a light font.   I think that the following would be of interest to the consumer when visiting a site:
• Consent to all of the information they are obtaining. If you are not reading the privacy statement you don’t know what they are up to when visiting a site.
• Personal information obtained when visiting the site; credit card information, name, name address, information sent to them by your web browser
• How they use your personal information obtained; they use it to provide products,  to display personalized advertising when you visit, to contact you with special offers and other information they believe will be of interest to you.
• Where they are sharing your information and with who.  They share personal information with companies and organizations that perform services on our behalf, within Hormel Foods.  They may store the personal information we collect through our site in a central database, your personal information may be transferred to a company that has acquired assets of Hormel Foods.

Customer Service

What do consumers want?

• Timely response to inquiries 45%
• Informative content 22%
• Communication with a real person 17%
• Product displayed clearly and prominently 14%
• Product displayed clearly and prominently 14%
• 24-hour availability 14%

According to (Roberts 227)

How do you turn a frustrated customer into a loyal one?  EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.  The lack of satisfaction is costing companies.  If you train your employees to handle frustrated customers you will gain loyal customers in the end.  You will create more goodwill than if things had gone smoothly in the first place.

Companies who train employees to listen to customers and change attitudes so complaints are viewed as opportunities for positive change, not as reasons to be defensive.
The long term goal is customer retention, not short term cost savings.  The eventual outcome was a four-step process:

1.       Apologize and take ownership of the problem.

2.       Respond quickly

3.       Assure the customer that the problem is being resolved

4.       Do it by telephone.  Personal contacts were deemed important in retaining the customer.

Excellent customer service ice needs to be delivered by the entire organization not just a single department. (Roberts 235)

Website Grader

ZipRealty was rated 99/100.  Edinarealty.com was also rated 99/100.  So very comparable to its competitor. Hubspot based its grading on: Website Grade, MOZ Rank, Google Indexed pages, traffic rank, blog grade, inbound links and del.icio.us bookmarks.

A few recommendations I would make on ZipRealty.com would be:

·         Make the web content readability level down to a little lower level.  Right now they are at graduate level.  The content should be made simple so that the majority of the target audience can understand it.  You don’t need to be at graduate level to purchase a home.

·         Use headings.  No headings and sub-headings were found to help readers.  It is a good idea to use headings to help signal to the search engines what the web page is about.

·         Domain Info shows “stability” when looking at your page.  The domain is to expire in 5 months.  You should register because many spam sites are often registered for short periods of time.  It is only about $10-20 per year.

Email Marketing

Email Marketing

Email marketing offers marketers a fast, flexible, and highly controllable way to reach potential customers. But it is important not to become known as a spammer.  In order to avoid becoming a known nuisance you need to be sure and obtain permission from your customer before you send out any type of mass email.  You can get permission by:

Opt-out:  This type of permission is usually obtained by registration forms.  The receiver is not aware of the agreement to become a member on the list.

Opt-in: This type of permission has been chosen to receive further information.  This shows interest in the product.

Double opt-in: This type of permission the visitor signs up for further communication and then also accepts an email confirming interest.

Confirmed opt-in: This type of permission is granted by the visitor usually by checking a box.  Then they receive an email confirming registration.

To be in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act your emails need to:

Include your name and email address.

Don’t be deceitful or mislead

You need to provide an op-out method

Your email needs to be identified as an advertisement and include your companies’ physical postal address.

Your email may be sent out in good intentions but if these things are not complied with you can face serious fines up to $16,000 per email.