Will Verified Accounts Save Facebook From Clone Profiles?

 

A recent spate of cloned profiles on Facebook has raised security issues with many users, this coming off the back of a number of different complaints against Facebook and other companies being used by the NSA to collect information. 

 

Both ordinary individuals and popular personalities have claimed in recent months that information on their Facebook profiles was being duplicated to another account, which was then used to produce false information in their likeness. 

 

 

Facebook’s response to this has been to introduce a profile verification system that will allow certain users to provide Facebook officials with the relevant information to allow them to indicate on their pages that they are, in fact, the real deal. 

 

This is not a new idea, as social media rivals Twitter have used it for a number of years to verify the accounts of prominent celebrities and individuals in a number of fields. 

 

Facebook’s use of this system doesn't seem to be much different from Twitter’s, except for the fact that, for the moment, any attempt to have a profile verified must go through the Facebook help center.

 

It still remains to be seen which criteria will be used in-order to qualify as one of those lucky few who will have their accounts verified. However, it is almost certain that the only accounts to be verified belong to or are affiliated with prominent people or groups. 

 

The verification system will however not help ease the pressure felt ordinary people and perhaps less influential celebrities or public figures that don’t make the cut.

 

While the verification system may help users and fans identify the official account of their favourite singer or television personality, these are not the only kinds of accounts that are causing issues, either on Facebook or on Twitter. 

 

This is no doubt a step in the right direction by the social media giant!

 

Maybe the future holds a system that will allow every user to willingly submit relevant information in order to verify that their accounts are legitimate, or one that will allow friends and family members to differentiate between identical accounts by more than just the optional URL identifier that Facebook currently uses.

ATKA SA | What Does Windows 8 Mean For The PC

 

In recent years, Microsoft has come under fire for some of its questionable choices when it comes to Operating Systems.  

 

After its release in 2006, Windows Vista, the Windows OS that was unlucky enough to follow the massive success of Windows XP, was plagued with bugs, and quickly became the least liked OS of its time. Three years later, Windows 7 saw significant improvement, both to User Interface and performance. 

 

A mere two years after that, in the midst of the smartphone and tablet revolution, Windows 8 defined it’s self as a touch interface based OS.

 

 

 

While this move towards integration between mobile and desktop computing could provide a useful shifting point towards a fully touch computing market, the popularity of smartphones and tablet PCs has not been enough to completely crush out the need for desktop computers, and with them, the need for peripherals and peripheral friendly Operating Systems.

 

Windows 8 has made it much more difficult for the casual, and even professional user to make sense of the interface and functionality while using a keyboard and mouse, and the trashing of the traditional Start button (which has been a staple of the Windows OS since the step-up from DOS) in favour of the ‘Metro’ style interface has angered many users, and dampened Microsoft’s hopes of making Windows 8 their most successful product. 

 

In recent years, smartphone and tablet sales have outperformed desktop computer sales and shipments worldwide, making the shift even more apparent.

 

While Windows 8.1 (code-named ‘Blue’), which is ultimately a service pack for Windows 8, brings back the Start button (although not to the extent that it once existed), the anger shown over the dramatic shift indicated that the need for a single OS for touch and peripheral-based computing is not quite there yet.

 

Surely, Windows 8 does show that Microsoft, more so than their main competitors such as Apple, are beginning to shift slowly towards a more unified system and the next few years will show how much. 

 

Whether or not the popularity of peripheral-less computing takes off in time for Microsoft to make this generation of OS’s a success is yet to be seen, but the writing is already on the wall.

 

 ....It may be time to get used to the idea of change...

ATKA SA | Why Facebook Home Doesn't work

 

Since Facebook’s arrival as a public corporation, there have been various rumours of innovative products and hardware in the works, from the social media giant, that may help push their stock prices up.  

 

Earlier this year, we were introduced not only to an application called ‘Facebook Home’, but also a smartphone by HTC, the ‘HTC First’ that came with a built in Facebook Home application.

 

The Facebook Home concept, only available on compatible Android based devices, integrates the user’s Facebook profile into the OS of the device itself, cutting out the need for a standalone Facebook application.

 

Photo and news feeds run in the background like a moving wallpaper while all messages, whether Facebook-based or not, are handled like the Facebook style inbox and notifications come through via the Facebook method for all applications.

 

However, since the application was introduced earlier this year, it has garnered over 200 000 1-star reviews, with the majority of the comments stating that the use of Facebook Home had started slowing down their devices, confusing their user interfaces and needlessly running down the battery life, while the standalone Facebook application performs all the tasks that Home does, and is much more pleasant to use.

 

Facebook Home is now standing at number 338 in the Google Play store, and is a prime example of why it is not always a good idea for companies to diversify their product. 

 

The Facebook application is popular with Smartphone users because it gives them the choice to ignore Facebook for as long as they want to, but Facebook Home seems to be the Operating System that simply won’t let you forget that it’s there. 

 

The idea hasn't taken off, and even with updates, bug fixes and feature additions, many Facebook users are uncomfortable with allowing Facebook to dominate that much of their communication experience.

ATKA SA | SEO 101

 

SEO can seem like a major challenge to a new marketer. But do not despair – we are here to help! 

 

 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the process of optimizing your website so that it can get good organic rankings and appear on the first page of Google.

 

The big thing to remember with SEO is that it’s all about keywords. Everything can be found on the internet using a keyword, whether it be images; websites; videos; items you’re shopping for or places you want to go – literally everything! 

 

Keyword research is the process of discovering which keywords will work best for the product or service you’re selling. It is probably the most important step in setting your SEO-stage.

 

The SEO process can be divided into two groups – on-site SEO and off-site SEO.

 

On-site SEO:

 

1. Content

The search engines crawl your pages to see how well your content is written, if it is accurate and relevant to your keywords. Make sure the content on your website contains your keywords, but it’s important to still write your content for humans, so don’t stuff your page with keywords.

 

2. HTML

Search engines use Meta titles, Meta descriptions, tags and headers to scan through your content. These tags must contain your specific and relevant keywords, so that the search engine can understand what your landing pages are about.

 

3. Site Architecture

Your website should be structured in such a manner that the spider crawling it can do so easily. Make sure your layout is simple and that your URLs are not too long or complicated and that they contain keywords relevant to the specific landing page. Also ensure that your pages load fast enough as you will be penalized for pages that load too slowly. You can do this by not adding too many images or text in the background.

 

Off-site SEO:

 

1. Link Building

Link building refers to the amount of websites that link back to yours. It’s like votes that proclaim the relevance of the content you are posting. The important thing here is qualitative links – a website like Amazon linking back to your site is more valuable than a link from a small business directory.

 

2. Social Media

If search engines could get married, they’d marry social media platforms. More often than not, websites ranking in the top three positions of Google’s first page are present on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Manage these pages and post at least once a day to gain a social following that can be directed to your website.

 

3. Trust and authority

The older your domain is, the more authoritative it is seen by search engines, because the longer you stick around, the better the chances of your business being successful. The number of times your website is shared and the amount of back-links to your website are, is also considered as important by the spiders.

 

 

Now that you know enough about SEO to get started, test these tips and watch how your ranking improves and your website is visited more and more!

5 Mobile Marketing Tips

 

 

The Inbound Marketing Summit, which took place in New York, in April, offered terrific presentations from a variety of industry thought leaders.

 

Amongst a number of interesting topics, the most impressive presentation was the one titled “best practices for building a mobile-focused inbound marketing strategy.”

This touched mainly on the importance of considering the customer’s point of view, when building your mobile marketing strategy.

 

 

Here are five tips to consider when building your mobile marketing strategy:

 

 

1. Focus first on mobile, then desktop

 

Consumers in the US currently spend twice as much time with desktop media as they do with mobile. So why then focus on mobile first? Because the amount of time that consumers spend on their mobile devices is growing at 14 times the rate of the desktop. 

 

Marketers should focus their efforts on marketing on mobile platforms ahead of traditional desktops.

 

2. Customers want to do little and get a lot

 

Make it easy for your customers to access your mobile content – the fewer links they have to follow to get to specific content, the better. Make it easy to download content onto mobile devices.

 

3. Remember: Immediate and Intimate

 

Location-based marketing and delivering engaging content to current events are just two of the examples of how to leverage immediacy. 

 

Customers are more often than not with their mobile devices throughout the day and even view it as an extension of themselves, so marketers should seize on the intimacy aspect of mobile and provide customers with personalized and relevant content.

 

4. Call to action

 

Including a call to action in your content has become a rule in marketing. Make sure your call to action is easy to follow through on, so that customers do not struggle to get hold of your products or services.

 

5. Cross-channel market!

 

Make use of other marketing tools like QR codes, SMS’s and niche product applications to make it easier for your customers to access product information or customer service. 

 

Remember to include share links to all your social media platforms so that your customers can share their purchases with their friends, which will in turn drive exponential traffic.

 

 

Mobile marketing is one of the most popular marketing avenues at the moment and if you follow these tips and do it right, you will see why!

How social media has changed the way we watch TV

 

Over the past ten years, the world has become increasingly social, not only in terms of our ability to access information and interact with people on opposite sides of the world, but also our willingness to put ourselves out there on social networks (many of which have only been around for a decade at most).

 

Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and (to a lesser extent, due to its relatively young age) Pinterest, have all had a massive boost in users over the last three to five years. This increase in tendency towards social media could be seen as a result of increased media exposure coupled with an increase in Internet access worldwide.

 

However, the increase in social media activity will have to have caused a dip in one of the traditional entertainment and news mediums that had been around before it. The most definitive change in traditional media caused by social and new media is the change in television viewership. The change in viewership should not necessarily be considered a bad one, however, but it has created a need for the traditional media to adapt to their audiences new habits in order to remain relevant.

 

For instance, one of the main reasons for the relatively stable state of television viewership despite the increase in social media is the fact that television networks have learned to make use of social media trends and the strengths of instant access to communication in order to attract social media users to their programming. The most popular incorporation technique used by television broadcasters is the use of hashtag keywords that allow viewers to live tweet comments and ideas, which has effectively turned every broadcast into an opportunity for exposure on multiple social media networks.

 

Ultimately, the effects of new and social media on the state of television have played a major role in the adaptation of the broadcasters to the idea of social interaction instead of the traditional broadcaster-audience model.

New on Facebook

True to form, Facebook has yet again done some upgrades on their look. Here is what to expect:

 

 

1.    Graph Search

 

 

Graph Search is probably one of the most important features that have been released by Facebook this year. It allows for users to connect with friends on Facebook who share common interests, while also making it easier – previously it was difficult to search information put up by friends on Facebook, because if a person is not browsing their newsfeed while the content is posted, it could be missed. Not anymore! By typing in specific search terms, Facebook will return a list of friends whose posts match the criteria you entered. This open search feature does mean that users will need to be more mindful of what they post on their pages, as well as the limitations of their privacy settings.

 



2.    New look of newsfeed and timelines

 

 

The new News Feed on Facebook is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also gives Facebook a clean intuitive look of a high-end interactive magazine. Sports have been revamped to a new navigation bar on the left-hand side where numerous icons (such as Facebook Messenger and Friends) are located. On the right hand side, the new exciting tabs include options for Photos, Music and Gaming. In the centre, news items like photographs, check-ins and events are being presented in a larger, colourful manner than before. The News Feed also provides users with the capability to share news on music they are currently listening to and upcoming concerts of their favourite artists. The biggest benefit of Facebook’s new News Feed is that it allows users to keep better track of friends and limits the chance of missing out on interesting stories.

 



3.    Facebook Ads

 

 

Facebook’s News Feed has been modified to allow for paid promotions. If you are running a paid ad on Facebook, you can now view a snapshot of how the ad is doing on your homepage. This new upgrade in ads means that advertisers are now able to pitch users directly from the News Feed as it brings Facebook Exchange-targeted ads to the desktop version of the News Feed. Advertisers now get to advertise in the News Feed – the most engaging place on Facebook.

 



4.    Interactive Chat

 

 

The new Chat feature is a lovely touch that adds a layer of interactivity to Facebook’s mobile offering. It allows users to keep a list of conversations going on without having to switch apps. When viewing a friend’s profile, a circular “chat head” appears. A user can tap on the chat head to reply, reposition it on their screen or flick it down to close. No longer do users have to use Facebook Chat in a separate window!

 



There are many different opinions on the recent changes of Facebook, but the best way to find out if you “Like” these, is to check it out for yourself!