Internet Threats Blog
There are many ways in which a company can unknowingly destroy their online reputation and with so many social networking sites to work with it is not uncommon to see a company struggle with the consequences of an unwanted mishap. Take Twitter for example, with only 140 characters many companies have managed to sound sexist, racist, egotistical and downright offensive. And as we have mentioned … [Read more...]
We’ve blogged about Twitter mishaps and social media fails before, and we have warned companies to implement social media policies for employees. According to a survey done by the Society of Human Resource Management, almost 40% of companies have a social media policy in place; out of those, a third has taken disciplinary action against an employee in the past year. The latest victim of a … [Read more...]
It is no secret that negative reviews can damage your reputation. We have been urging companies to monitor their social media presence and respond to online chatter in a promptly and efficient manner to prevent it from escalating into a full blown PR disaster. Companies have known for a long time that turning a negative review into a positive is the best form of word of mouth advertising there is. … [Read more...]
A couple of years ago I wrote a post: "Brands Fail to Capitalize on Twitter Marketing Opportunities” on the BrandProtect blog. In the post I relayed some surprising information about Twitter and brands, citing 360i whitepaper findings that brands were under-utilizing the Twitter platform. It was noted that “while consumers use Twitter as a conversational medium, most marketers aren’t … [Read more...]
Even if your company has no plans of entering the mobile market, you need to be on the constant lookout for cybercriminals who wish to use the popularity of your brands for criminal purposes. The mobile market has exploded in recent years and companies have not yet caught up with the security and protection needed to fight back cybercriminal activity. BrandProtect is always committed to providing … [Read more...]
The topic has been trending since it exploded in March. There are numerous stories of companies who have coerced their employees (or future employees) onto giving them access to their personal Facebook accounts. In the U.S., where this “trend” has been spotted, the latest victim isKimberly Hester, a teacher’s aide at Frank Squires Elementary in Cassopolis who is currently involved in a legal … [Read more...]
Last year, in response to the explosion of new mobile apps being developed, BrandProtect launched our Mobile App Monitoring service. Initially, the primary concern was malicious mobile apps that would capture users’ personal information as it was being transmitted, or open the mobile device to control by the perpetrators – both scenarios have been seen in the wild before, and it’s only … [Read more...]
There have been a large number of posts claiming Pinterest is encouraging its users to share copyrighted material, it’s a safe harbor for trademark violations and brand abuse. Many are going as far as to cry that Pinterest is thedevil and is setting up their users to take the blame. We recently blogged about these claims and mentioned just a few of the measures Pinterest is taking to cover … [Read more...]
Most of my friends think I am some sort of social media guru, since I work for a social media monitoring company and I throw out a tweet here and there. Little do they know that the real social media gurus here at BP put me to shame – and it’s no surprise that they’re ten years younger than me. While I’m patting myself on the back because I can show my friends how to create a hyperlink … [Read more...]
The tales of Social Media blunders by brands in 2011 are well documented. Three that come to mind are: 1) the Chrysler Twitter oops that was more the fault of the marketing company employee who thought it wise to insult the citizens of Detroit; 2) Charlie Sheen, who I realize is not really a brand, but the damage/attention that was the result of what outsiders viewed as a very public meltdown was … [Read more...]
