Enhancing Your Privacy on Facebook

November 2009

Equifax recognizes the value in permitting the use of social media websites such as Facebook in the workplace. And as many of us know, there are a number of privacy considerations that need to be considered when setting up a Facebook account. The Facebook organization has provided users with powerful controls to protect themselves online, but it is up to individuals to check and ensure that appropriate settings are in place. Equifax Security has provided some tips (below) for enhancing the security and privacy of our Facebook users.

Disable options, then open them one by one
Think about how you want to use Facebook. If it's only to keep in touch with people and be able to contact them then maybe it's better to turn off the bells and whistles. It makes a lot of sense to disable an option until you have decided you do want and need it, rather than start with everything accessible.

Create groups to separate your work contacts from your personal contacts
Doing so will allow you to set up permissions on what they can and cannot see. A typical setup for groups would be “Friends”, “Family”, and “Professional”. These three groups can then be used to apply different privacy policies. For example, you may want your friends to see photos from the party you were at last night, but you don’t want your family or professional contacts to see those photos.

Be cautious of ANY embedded links
Think twice before clicking on ANY web links inside Facebook! You are better off not clicking on links to other websites since this is a common way for people to get viruses or become victims of phishing scams. Also beware of links starting with www.tinyurl.com, www.snurl.com, or http://www.twurl.com/. These are some examples of web services that provide short aliases for redirection of long URLs – which online scammers and malware authors use all the time.

Follow strong password practices
Change your password on a regular basis, and never use a password that is close to or an exact match of a password used for financial transactions online (PayPal, banking, Google checkout, etc.), or email account.

Become a Facebook Security fan
Facebook maintains a group dedicated to security when using the site. Become a fan of this group to stay in touch with the latest information.

Detailed information (including screen shots) regarding the above can be found at the below sites:
1. http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/
2. http://www.sophos.com/security/best-practice/facebook.html

The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now

Thank you to Ann Morrow from Celebration for Fine Art for forwarding this excellent article about the privacy changes on Facebook. You REALLY need to check these settings.

New York Times article

Pre-Columbian Wheels

Richard C. Notebaert, former CEO of Ameritech and Qwest International, illustrated how lack of innovation has been an issue for thousands of years: "In a museum at Princeton University, there is a toy from a pre-Columbian civilization. It's a pull-toy complete with wheels. Now the question is, if the craftsmen of the day were able to conceive of and construct wheels for an amusement—a toy—why didn't they take that technology a step further and design carts and wagons? Why didn't they develop tools that would ease their burdens? Many scholars conclude they just never thought of it."

Excerpt from Harvey Mackay's weekly column  He's one of my all time favorite business authors/speakers. Check him out if you aren't familiar with him.

Low Cost, High Impact Marketing - Social Media

Well written article  covering the benefits of social media marketing for small business and how to take advantage of the FREE services. Michelle Lanter Smith, CEO of Hi-Impact Marketing & Sales Solutions, is one of the coaches for the American Family Business Accelerator Program. I've learned a lot from the program and would encourage all of you to participate in the next class which begins on 11/18. Click here to learn about the program. It's FREE too!

Tracing Cell References

Excel 2003 or 2007

Double click on a cell containing a formula and Excel will highlight the various cells used in the formula. Each step will be bordered in a different color that will coordinate with the formula.

1. Cell contains formula adding C1 + D5 + G7.
2. Double click on cell with formula.
3. C1, D5 and G7 will be bordered with colors that match your formula.

Averted Disaster is Microcosm of Today's Business World

"I just wanted to let you know I thought your presentation was very good last night. I know that having to go home to get the presentation had to be very stressful and for most people, it would have affected the quality of doing it. You were able to put that aside and present the information as if nothing had happened. It was very impressive and a tribute to your professionalism. I left the meeting enthused about improving my presence on LinkedIn and I also came away with a couple of leads for my photography services.  I look forward to participating in future networking meetings. Great job!"    Ed Taube, Taube Photography

"Great job, Pamela and my head hurts - whew!  But I'm anxious to apply my new knowledge."  Deb Lasch Arizona Masonry Guild.  Last night was the second One Byte at a Time class. The meeting was held at Westar's beautiful showroom in Scottsdale. The reason I had to "go home to get the presentation" as Ed mentions was that I brought the wrong laptop with me!  My presentation was left at the office. I had to rush from Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd to Tempe and back in 1 hour on the 101!  I'm not going to talk about how many traffic laws I broke.

Instead I want to talk the class. I was stressed. On the way back to Westar, I had a serious conversation with myself about how I could handle the problem. I could stay upset and rattled or I could let it go and get on with the evening. It wasn't easy for me to let it go. I really felt like wallowing in the misery. But I was able to convince myself that the audience deserved better. So I made one apology when I arrived and got on with it.

As I was traveling, Nancy Hugo who came up with the One Byte at a Time idea, stepped up and made the lag time valuable. She involved the group in a Q & A session  supplemented with design horror stories that kept people interested and laughing.

The whole situation made me think about doing business now. We need to learn new things. We need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to help each other. We need to do new things. And we need to do them quickly. Business today doesn't allow you to sit around and cogitate for months before taking action. You need to analyze options and move.

And, of course, you're going to need back up plans! Next time you see me doing a presentation, there will be at least three back ups around!

Including social media in your marketing plans

"As companies decide where to invest their limited marketing resources, there is a distinct opportunity to focus on investing in relationships: with their customers, prospects, employees and business partners. Social media engagement helps build relationships with consumers and influencers as well as social web savvy journalists."

from Lee Odden, CEO at Top Rank Online Marketing