Twitter

Twitter Phishing DM and Fake Twitter Website in the Wild

January 14, 2012 by Joe Hackman 15 Comments

Please be very careful following any hyperlinks on Twitter. Tonight I received a direct message from someone I am following on one of my accounts. The message includes a link to a fake Twitter website that appears to be the way this user was originally compromised. Watch the video (updated 1/16/2012) if you want to see exactly how it looks and works.

Browser doesn’t show flash or video not displaying? You can also view it on Youtube.

Updated 1/14/2012 10:25PM UTC-8: Chrome is already reporting the URL in the video as a suspected phishing site.

Updated 1/15/2012 7:05PM UTC-8: The fake site is still up and running. I decided to go and report it to the ISP, unfortunately it’s in China and they probably won’t do anything about it.

Updated 1/16/2012 11:33PM UTC-8: This thing is picking up steam in spite of efforts to build awareness. If you receive one of these messages be sure to tell the person who sent it to you to change their twitter password. Presently whoever is pharming these accounts is not locking the owner out by changing the password. This could change at any point. Also just keep in mind if you use the same password for multiple things you should change the others also as this password list is likely to circulate in nefarious circles. Here is a Tweet spotted tonight after just glancing at the Twitter stream.

Updated 1/17/2012 2:39PM UTC-8: Surprisingly something simple that would be dead if it wasn’t hosted in China (any ISP in the USA/Western Countries would have taken this site offline within 6-8 hours) appears to be gaining steam. A coalition of humorous and fed up folks setup a gag site about it. I won’t ruin it for you, you can check it out at didyouseewhattheysaid.com. I will say this, I got a chuckle out of it.

Glass brings a Community Layer to the Internet [Video]

November 18, 2011 by Joe Hackman 12 Comments

A Glass Conversation

Earlier this week I received an invite from Danny Brown to join him on Glass. Being perpetually curious about tech and web applications I headed over and signed up. The last few days the application has really piqued my interest because it creates a new community layer over the internet unlike anything that has been available previously. It achieves this by combining side-wiki like features with a virtual social network. It also allows comments and conversations to occur on any website but privately with the connections of your choice or publicly with any Glass users. It caps all that off with a community streaming function bringing your Glass, Facebook and Twitter content that contain links into one place.

Reasons Glass is usefull

Transcends the boundaries of social networks and websites
Allows private or public conversations about any site or page
Creates a community stream of your Glass, Facebook and Twitter
Potential to integrate any social network, blog comment systems
Enables you to share any website or page via Twitter, Facebook and Email

How about a video?

This video that takes a tour of the features and describes in more detail what you can do with Glass and why it may be a helpful tool for you.

Don’t see the video? Try this link instead.

Is the Rise of Word Press Killing off Jobs?

November 1, 2011 by Joe Hackman 18 Comments

Is Word Press killing of jobs? That’s what a new connection of mine on Twitter suggested to me just last week:

The minute I read Monica’s Tweet, the wheels in my head started spinning. One of them was wondering if it was true, and the second was what can (or should) be done about it. Before we go there, I learned that Monica’s opinion is an informed one, she started writing about WordPress in 2009, about the same time I started working with it (we share that too, she’s done WordPress web development too).

Is it True the WordPress is Killing Jobs?

This would be hard to prove, because during the rise of WordPress there was a corresponding fall in the economy that appears to be unrelated. WordPress does make web development and website maintenance easier and more available to more people to both develop and maintain with less technical skills however. Almost anyone can setup and maintain a WordPress based website. One thing is certain it’s still progress and it must be creating opportunities elsewhere. WordPress actually got me excited about web development after a very long hiatus.

What should we do about it?

It’s never fun to end up on the disrupted end of disruptive technology but the fact remains that innovation and value are important qualities in any business. If people are losing jobs from the rise of Word Press, they probably have some marketable skills that can be re-purposed. Web development takes a mix of creativity, technical and business skills, and there is always room for people with these skills. The challenge might have more to do with the discomfort of the disruption and the change that might be involved.

Do you think WordPress is really putting web firms out of business?

Curating Tweets on Amplify and using Twitter to get off pesky Email lists.

July 11, 2011 by Joe Hackman Leave a Comment

What do you use Twitter for? It seems a great use is to get opted out of Email lists where the opt out procedure leaves a lot to be desired (or doesn’t work).

Also a great use of Amplify is curating tweets right from Twitter.com or Hootsuite. The Amplify clipping tool is absolutely an essential part of my toolkit. Have you ever used it?

hackmanj 8:37am via HootSuite

Hi @WinZipComputing I’ve been trying to opt out of your Emails but they keep coming. Suggestions? #uce #spam

WinZipComputing 8:52am via TweetDeck

@hackmanj Happens sometimes that you might be on more than one email list. Write in to help@winzip.com, direct it to Bill. I’ll see to it

hackmanj 9:22am via HootSuite

@WinZipComputing Email sent, please confirm you receive it. Thanks Bill.

WinZipComputing 9:23am via TweetDeck

@hackmanj Got it. Now I need to see how many different people need to be involved to get you off whatever lists you are on. I will reply.

hackmanj 9:40am via HootSuite

@WinZipComputing do you agree it ought not be so complicated? A simple one click should be all we have to do, no?

This was originally posted at http://bit.ly/n1WGZZ

Episode summary Blogger Ethics with Guest Danny Brown (Podcast)

January 20, 2011 by Joe Hackman 5 Comments

Recently Danny Brown to joined me for a discussion about blogging ethics and transparency. Danny Brown is co-founder and partner at Bonsai Interactive Marketing, offering integrated marketing, social media, digital and mobile marketing solutions and applications. His blog is featured in the AdAge Power 150 list as well as Canada’s Top 50 Marketing Blogs, and won the Hive Award for Best Social Media Blog at the 2010 South by South West festival. After reading Danny’s blog for a while I learned two things that compelled me to invite him to join me for this episode:

That he calls things the way he sees them
That he is passionate about blogger ethics

Who better to dive into a topic that some might view as controversial? I knew that Danny would give me his honest answers and would not pull any punches. I really looked forward to chatting with him again, Danny was a part of the PRapalooza panel in early November 2010. Danny definitely lived up to my expectations and if you’re interested in learning more about transparency and ethics in the blogosphere have a listen:

Listen to Blogger Ethics and Transparency with Danny Brown:

[audio:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joehackman/2011/01/13/blogger-ethics-and-transparency-with-danny-brown.mp3?localembed=download]

Find Danny Brown online:

On Twitter @dannybrown
Also might want to read his recent post about Blog Disclaimers at Dannybrown.me.

Know someone or a group of people that might be interesting to interview? Contact me or @hackmanj.