Privacy, Personal Tech, Internet Security
“Privacy is dead, and social media holds the smoking gun.” – Pete Cashmore , CEO of Mashable
“Those most capable of developing technology have proven to be least capable of protecting people’s privacy and security from that technology.” – Margaret S. Ross
“Historically, privacy was almost implicit, because it was hard to find and gather information. But in the digital world, whether it’s digital cameras or satellites or just what you click on, we need to have more explicit rules – not just for governments but for private companies.” - Bill Gates
TRENDING: PRIVACY SECURITY
How to Save Your Friends and Family on LinkedIn
As We Watch Apps, They Watch Us, TOO
Visible Strategies Add Privacy and Personal Tech Section
Your Apps Are Watching You 24/7
Test Results of a Privacy Audit
I paid too much for my phone and I’ve installed too many apps. I have an iPhone even though the marketplace offers phones that cost much less. I tell myself that iPhone delivers extra privacy. I assumed privacy automatically means more security. Right? Hmmm. Sometimes.
After all, didn’t Apple’s first quarter marketing campaign claim and proclaim, “Privacy, That’s iPhone.”? Their impressively calming claim carries less weight after I ran a test by visiting some popular apps with a spyware and tracker blocker running. Each APP tested had been downloaded from the APP Store. The Apps included Twitter, WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) Amazon (owned by Amazon) and the Chrome browser (owned by Google - Alphabet Inc.).
How to Rescue Your Friends
Is LinkedIn Holding Your Contacts and Calendars Hostage?
1. It started innocuously. You were in a hurry and doing multiple things at once. (A normal day.) You were creating your LinkedIn account. The screen showed you a nifty little prompt that encouraged you to enter your email address, so you could “See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn.” That seemingly helpful offer seemed logical. You were quickly following all the sign-up steps; the suggestion "to see who you already know" was in a bold print on a blue background, and in large type.
2. Their second largest selling point and getting us to do what they wanted was this phrase, “Syncing your contacts is the fastest way to grow your network. “ The phrasing made it easy for you to see the benefit of doing what LinkedIn wanted.
3. The third element to catch your attention was the familiar text box prompt, “Your email address,” followed by a cheerful bright blue Continue button.
Most of us don’t notice or read the even smaller print located above the email prompt that says, “We’ll import and store your contacts." What does even mean?!
We might have noticed where they were leading us if the words had said something like, "We now own all your emails, phones, names, and other information in your contact lists and we will do whatever we want with them. " But - maybe not.
And - by the way, they might have added, - "We also have and are storing the information in your online calendar"
When you clicked the “Continue” button LinkedIn took your entire contact list without paying you a single penny for total access to your friends, family, business contacts, doctors, and clients.
What is Mobile First Site Indexing in Search ?
Why Your Business’ Website Has a Sudden Need for Speed
Google’s “Mobile First” indexing is upon us.
In late 2017, Google began moving a selection of “ready” sites to its mobile index. This means business websites have a sudden and real need for mobile-friendly speed. Ignoring Google's change can soon cost your company, potential customers, as Google gives priority search engine placement to more responsive, faster-loading websites.
Google: “Most Sites Lose Half their Visitors While Loading”
Change
In 2017, when a visitor entered a search term that matched your company’s business products, services or website, she would see very similar search results if she was at her laptop, tablet or other smart devices. With "Mobile First," the mobile version of your website becomes the starting point for what Google includes in their search results and the baseline for how they determine if and where your business will appear on a search page.
Mid-2018 webmasters using Google Analytics began seeing approval notices or warning notices. Approval meant that Google would show the site more frequently on mobile devices than site owners whose site had not earned its "mobile friendly" designation. Other site owners would see warnings "Your site does not meet usability guidelines."
Mid-2019 the percent of mobile searches have skyrocketed since 2017. Google's research says that mobile visitors are less patient than laptop visitors and are also less likely to buy something from you during that visit. Google researchers found that retail sites in USA tend to load in over six seconds and the mobile visitor tends to go elsewhere in less than three seconds.
Reputation Management Includes Social Media Solutions
Social Media is a Smart Reputation Management Step for Savvy Small Businesses
