Monday 26 September 2011

Burglars using social media to target victims

A survey conducted by security firm Friedland suggests that most burglars are using social media to plan their crimes.

Google Street View is playing a pivotal role in burglars’ crimes. Three quarters of burglars convicted in the past year, admitted that the site was essential in their planning. Google Street View allows you to zoom in on individual houses with burglars using it to gauge security and potential break in routes.

Facebook and Twitter are also being used by criminals. Users posting updates can unwittingly let robbers know about expensive new purchases such as HD televisions or times and dates for when they are out.

In addition to using social media, a fifth of burglars said that they observed homeowners daily routine before carrying out their raids. The survey indicated that the average home burglary took 10 minutes to commit. Furthermore, burglars are said to net on average up to £500 with the majority targeting cash, electrical goods and jewellery, whilst there are those who target documents such as passports.

Only a quarter of burglars said that guard dogs put them off, however 60% stated that they would be discouraged by targeting homes they knew had security alarms.

Convicted burglar, Richard Taylor, said:

“We’re living in the age of the digital criminal and people are taking advantage of social media to access information about would-be victims.”

“We’ll tell them even when we're going away on holidays. We will let them know that we’re not in. We’re inviting them round to our house.”

Expert at Friedland, Jonathan Lim said:

“Taking simple measures, including cutting back trees and shrubs to remove potential hiding places and installing simple alarm systems are all good, cost-effective deterrents that all homeowners can implement to remove their home from the target list.”

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Google Plus opens doors to everyone

Google + is now open to everyone after two and a half months of closed testing and being an invitation-only service. On the company’s official blog, Google’s Social Vice-President of Social Business, Vic Gundotra wrote:

“We’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups.”

Google is looking to expand its presence in the social media market with Google + and when quizzed about competitors such as Facebook on the BBC, Gundotra responded by saying:

“Well, we expect people use many different tools to share. The most popular mechanism people use to share today, still is email. Then, of course, there are the other services you mentioned.”

In a way it was an apprehensive response by Gundotra but more so it was realistic. Facebook has been around since 2004 and has accumulated 750+ million users, leaving Google + languishing behind with around 25+ million users at present.

It’s by no means doom and gloom for Google, far from it. To have obtained more than 25 million users at such an early stage is an impressive feat within itself, considering that it took Facebook over three 3 years to acquire 20 million active users. It’s true to say that Facebook was an innovator in the social media market and had no real marketing drive when first launched compared to the powerhouse that is Google. Nevertheless to have 25 million users’ early doors is a great springboard for Google + to go on and achieve great things.

What does Google Plus have to offer?

Google has provided a number of new features on the back of the public launch of Google +, which a writer from Slash Gear sums up nicely:

“Want to video chat via G+ on your phone? You can do that today. Want to broadcast a video for the public? You can do that today. Want to share your screen, share a live-drawn sketchpad, work with Google Docs, or name a Hangout to handle your specific needs? All of that is live today.”

Improvements to Google + Hangouts, includes the ability to utilize them on Android devices (versions 2.3 and higher), however you are unable to use Hangout features on the iPhone and Blackberry. Google + Hangouts is where you can chat live on video from your computer or mobile device with up to 10 people. Beyond the ability to support two way chat for up to 10 people, there are a number of other standout features with the most pioneering app on Google Plus being more about work rather than play. Google Docs is now available live over Hangouts, making live face-to-face collaboration possible on the web for free. Hangouts can be viewed to be a rival of BlackBerry’s BBM and iPhone’s Facetime.

It's the first Plus feature that's categorically different than anything Facebook can do. Facebook has made a number of changes recently, but it’s unlikely that they will go in this direction. Google Docs provides cloud-powered collaboration - outside of the pricey enterprise market. Hangouts allow people to work remotely together and all of these capabilities are for free and without adverts.

Perhaps, Skype can feel more threatened than Facebook. If Hangouts starts off positively and continues to grow in popularity, there is a possibility for it to takeover Skype in the video conferencing scene. Although you can have a call conference with over 20 people on Skype, video calls can only be carried out on a one to one basis compared to 10 people on Hangouts. In addition, the ability to synchronize Google Plus documents while on a video chat is a feature that Skype cannot compete with. Real-time collaboration could be at the heart of success for Google if they communicate the positives and benefits well, which they often don’t. There are a number of Google products that have failed to take off in the past due to their lack of marketing, including Blogger, Picassa, Videos and many more.

There are those who believe that Google + will fizzle out and at best will be a social media equivalent to what Microsoft Bing is to search engines. However, if Google + carries on being innovative, offering new experiences with features such as Hangouts, there is no reason as to why Google can’t make a real go of it. Facebook has felt threatened enough to recently launch a number of new features challenging what were initially Google’s selling points. The social network has renovated friend lists and has made changes to the news feed, which are reminiscent of Google + Circles. It will be interesting to see how the next 12 months will pan out for the two social networking platforms.

At present, Google is trying to aggressively push their social media channels to compete with the likes of Facebook. They invested in Google Plus and will continue to do so in order to increase its popularity to be on a level platform with Facebook.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

One in three UK companies block social media

According to research conducted by Clearswift, up to a third of companies block employees from accessing social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

The internet security firm revealed that there was growing fears about internet security. These fears were down to recent high profile hacking incidents, such as the loss of customer data from the Sony Network.

Chief operating officer at Clearswift, Andrew Wyatt observed:

“It is clear that we have seen some significant changes in attitude towards social media use in the last 12 months. Businesses have reacted to the series of high-profile data leaks and have become increasingly nervous about its usage from the workplace”

“Social networking sites often have little to do with data-loss incidents, but they have become guilty by association, because they are seen as having an impact on a company’s brand,” he added.

The number of companies in the UK blocking social media has increased by a fifth in the past year, as 53% of managers indentify social media as an issue for concern. Banks have for many years had blocking policies in place to prevent employees from accessing social networks, it now seems that a number of other industries are following suit.

Moneysupermarket.com has always had a relaxed approach to employees accessing social networks, but they are now looking to implement guidelines for staff to use social media. At the Anglo-Dutch energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, employees are not blocked access from Facebook, however if employees choose to access the site, they are reminded with a pop-up screen not to use personal sites during work hours.

On a global scale, a fifth of companies block their employees from accessing social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Last year, German car manufacturer, Porsche, banned their employees from using social media channels due to their fear of industrial espionage. Although farfetched, firms have become very wary of social media and the potential threat that it can have upon their companies.

91% of companies had become so concerned about data loss that it was stopping them from adopting new technologies, according to Mr Wyatt. He warned that moves to block social media channels could suppress innovation and alienate employees who rely on social media to communicate. If companies were to introduce stricter policies on social networking, 18% of employees said that they would feel demotivated as a result, while 19% said that they would simply work around the rules and 4% would think about leaving!

Ironically, at the same time as restricting staff using social media, companies are looking to increase their social media presence for corporate communications. 31% of UK companies have stated that they are looking to further invest in this area over the coming year. Social media is having a great impact upon everyday life and companies are continuing to embrace it in order to increase their online presence, engage with customers and to build business. Tesco for instance, has over 15,000 followers on their twitter pages and the company’s PR team maintains several Facebook pages for the company, including their main page which has up to 330,000 likes.

Friday 2 September 2011

Exciting iPhone app helps you to discover new films

The iPhone app “Can’t Wait” sends new film trailers to your phone, allows you to share your favourites and reminds you when the film is going to be released in cinemas. This innovative idea has paved the way for social movie discovery and keeps film fans up to date with the latest releases.

Most of us get excited when we hear about a new film that we can’t wait to see at the cinema. Can’t Wait is the perfect app to trigger that excitement and to find out about the latest flicks. By connecting to Facebook or Twitter to create an account, you can access the app to watch the latest movie trailers. If there is a particular film that gets you buzzing, there is the option to click on the “Can’t Wait” button to share the activity with your social network friends. The application will then send you a reminder for when the film will be released and give you the option to buy tickets.

Co-Founder Eric Florenzano says:

“We want to send you new trailers … help show you what your friends are watching and remind you when movies come out.”

“People want reminders for the movies they’re excited about seeing.”

There are those of you that may be thinking that this app is no different to Flixter or other film focused apps; however Florenzano states that Can’t Wait is uniquely focused upon building excitement:

“If you look at all apps out there, they’re all about what’s out right now,”

“It’s a useful thing … they’re totally tailored for when you’re in the mood to see a movie. What we’re trying to do is be all about what’s coming up … it’s a fundamentally different experience.”

Can’t Wait has a slick, simple and user friendly interface. The app sources its trailers from YouTube, an effective strategy to avoid licensing costs and one that keeps it dependent on YouTube’s API. This can at times be a liability as a broken YouTube API can lead to app users not being able to access trailers for several hours at a time.

Florenzano believes that the app expands beyond movies and into consumer electronics and video games. Can’t Wait receives a percentage of ticket sales purchased via their app and sees further opportunities to make money in featuring studio trailers, offering group discounts and video game pre-orders.