How secure is your Smartphone?

Technology's security is always a problem. Besides the government's track, we are not safe regrading on our personal information. Everything happened online will be recorded and it's hard to find a way to skip the tracking and information steal. As Apple release its new iPad Air, have you ever think that when you check your back account or shopping online, your PIN number will be recorded?

According to the tech news I found today, researchers have found a way to figure out what personal identification number, or PIN, someone is typing into their smart phone by using the device's built-in cameras and microphones to secretly record them.

Our life is becoming so easy with our smartphones, but easy sometimes means dangerous. It handing an increasing amount of sensitive and personal financial information, including banking account, payment apps, online transfers, and other full-featured mobile wallets, such as Apple's passbook. Maybe this convenience create opportunities for cybercriminals.

So what should we do to protect ourself? Security researchers have warned that criminals could use other phone sensors like the accelerometer and gyroscope to puzzle out what someone is typing. Apps or electronic wallets like Trustzone take control of and disable all the available sensors when entering a secure mode. Another suggestion includes randomizing where the numbers appear on the screen.

Tweet a coffee, how good is that?

Internet marketing is magic because it can be used in countless ways. Few days ago,Starbucks announced that they are now offering gifts cards that can be sent via Twitter. Starbucks said customers right now can "tweet a coffee" to their friends so long as if they have accounts on both Twitter and Starbucks.

How does it work? The coffee chain said customers can Tweet a $5 gift card that the recipient can redeem by either printing it out or showing it to a Starbucks barista on a mobile device.Starbucks said it hopes customers will develop the habit of "spontaneously" eGifting each other.The Starbucks venture is probably similar to Square Cash, the app created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey that allows you to email money to a friend or family member just by including the amount in the subject line.

With the cooperation with Twitter, Starbucks might be the first retailer to do this in e-commerce industry. After initialing the gift cards, Starbucks move it into gift cards app so that customers can use their smartphone to pay their coffee, and now customers can use only a tweet to grab a cup of coffee. I really like this idea and Starbucks really make this brand not only the coffee, but a life style. Sharing and gifting make people get closer and life convenience. The business is more like a sweet spot.

DNT, YES OR NO?

Does Not Track right now is popular and introduced by almost all the web browser companies. But does it really work? How many people really care and use it in their computer? How do those online advertisers flight with it?

Do Not Track means we do not want our online records or visit history be tracked or recorded. Many web browsers have introduced this function, such as IE, Safari, Chrome and Firefox. As described in the article of privacy activists face off with the online ad industry, congress introduced the Do Not Track Online Act on 2011, which inspired by the success of the national Do Not Call registry. But the truth is in the nearly two years since the legislation was introduced, not much has changed. While there might be broad agreement about how Do Not Track should be implemented, there is no consensus on what those who receive the header should (not) be required to do.

Personally I have heard about the DNT function, but I have never used it before. Right now I am using Explorer and Chrome on my laptop I do not use DNT on both of them. Yes I might sometimes feel those ads are creepy or ignoring, but I do not feel they are disturbing my life. Sometimes I even want to see some ads so that I know what those companies would recommend to me their new products. Those ads let me feel that I am on the track and I know all the new technologies which will make my life easier. I do not mind they recommend me things I might interest in because I have shopped on their websites before, but if they remember my web surfing record that will be too much. So right now even I have known more about the DNT, I still do not want to install it on either of my web browsers.

Sweet spot in Online & In-store Shopping

Sweet spot exits in both in-store and online shopping. Not only in regular shopping websites, but also in some special online shopping sites like flash shopping or Groupon. They are not only selling products, but also experience, life style and everyday habits.

Gilt is an upscale flash shopping websites which not only includes daily deals, 3-day regular flash shopping products, but also include Gilt City and travel sites. The travel sites, which provided by Jetsetter, is a new tool to help customers find luxury travel experience online.The Gilt city part is very exclusive in flash shopping industry, because they can find unique deals of products and services for the city you choose. Gilt group basically is selling an experience and life style so that their customers live in a Gilt life where everything is come from Gilt.com.

Sephora is a classic example of sweet spot handler. Why would I say that? Sephora is so sophisticated on how to let customers find the products, not selling customers products. Examples would be they provided classes to teach you how to do the skincare or makeup by using products selling in their store; provided expert studio service in charge so that customers will get salon service with low price; providing membership card with 3 different levels so that they can enter the sale events with different treatment. Sephora is creating a everyday habits that when you think makeup or skin care, Sephora is where you should go. Even you do not have shopping list, you would like to visit the store because there's no sales people there, just friendly advisers so that you can try products as much as you want in store.

The most successful sales is not selling products, but keep customers keep shopping in their everyday life and make it be the habit. Believe the products so customers believe it too.

Online Drive Tools

It's internet time.We can nearly live depends on internet without any other storage applications or tools. Flash drives, hard drives, CDs will be useless if you notice that there are hundreds of online companies and tools who provided free or cost-less online drives, cloud sync, backup and storage tools.

Personally I use Dropbox and Google Docs for either personal or work files' storage. I like to use Dropbox for personal information storage because it's secure and the desktop looks more like my own computer. The folder in it has the same order with my laptop and I put my homework, photos, word files and even sound or video files in it so that I can use it wherever I go.

Google Docs is more for sharing purpose, so I use it most on group meeting or projects. It's very easy to not only share information, such as PowerPoint and Word documents, but also edit information online as a group so we can see who has done what in the paper and the process of editing.

Actually these online cloud sync has common functions but are somewhat different

. Of course, the fees we need to pay is also different. For example,Dropbox have service of 100GB storage for $19.99 per month, but Google Drive just need $4.99 for the same amount of storage. Dropbox's free storage is 2GB, compared with Google's drive is 5GB. But Dropbox provide media streaming function which Google Drive do not have.

Another syncing solution called SkyDrive, which provided by Microsoft, provides the most features which covers both Google and Dropbox, and with 7GB free storage.If you are running out of storage and want to try a new way to store your files with limited budget, SkyDrive might be a good and economic choice.

Hybrid Strategy for Paid Search

This week I get better understanding about the paid search, or you can call paid search strategy.

All we talk before are the benefits that paid search will give either small or big firms.But right now as we know all those benefits, all firms will begin to consider to invest on paid search, what's next?

When we began to the specific paid search, the problem appeared. If small firms do not have too much money and they of course want to achieve big goals, how to balance this? A article called PPC Strategy: These 3 Paid Search Strategies Are All You Ever Need mentioned 3 strategies which may be applied when consider doing paid search.

The author also mentioned a way he used to hybrid paid strategy which I think is pretty helpful, which is to break out campaigns between profitability focused keywords and brand focused keywords.This will satisfy those clients with limited budget but want to achieve maximum goals.

At the end of those suggestion, the most important one is expectation management. It is the best strategy we should apply for all the cases to satisfy clients.

"Like" on Facebook is protected!

On September 19th, a U.S. court of appeals gave Facebook a thumbs up when it ruled that "likes" on the social network are protected as free speech under the Constitution.



"In 2009, six employees at the Hampton Sheriff's Office in Virginia lost their jobs after expressing support for their boss' opponent in an upcoming election for sheriff, some by liking and commenting on the opponent's Facebook page.", CNN reporter said, as one of the origin cases which related to the case.

After U.S. count support "like" on Facebook and treat it as free speech, I saw marketing opportunities here, especially for internet marketing. It has been a long time for different companies promote their brand online, but right now interact with their fans and consumers online with this "like" function is protected by law. This provides lots of business opportunities and more companies would like join this promotion way for a cheap cost. 

The social media affect lots of young consumers online through Facebook. Now, they can even make it legal to access consumers' database through Facebook. Also, the search engine will also direct consumers to Facebook webpage and help companies' public promotion.

Personally I think Facebook will become the new way of promotion which combines Twitter, Amazon and even Google.