Mediaboss Marketing

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Connected consumers in the U.S. are reporting a growing wave of distrust across major communications channels including mobile, fixed and social networking due to fears of security threats such as viruses, spam and phishing attacks, according to new research released by Cloudmark, Inc., the global leader in carrier-grade messaging security.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with online research provider Toluna, analyzed the mobile, fixed-line and social networking habits, security threat exposure and sentiment of 1,000 U.S. consumers.

Trust in the Security of Mobile Communications Platforms Declining

The survey results show that 19 percent of U.S. respondents have less trust in the security of mobile short message service than they did 12 months ago. While previously considered a very trusted communications channel, overall, SMS ranked a distant third (15 percent) among the platforms survey respondents consider to be the most secure, behind voice (43 percent) and email (34 percent). The SMS platform holds a higher level of trust among younger users, with nearly one quarter (24 percent) of 18-24 year olds and 21 percent of 25-34 year olds naming it as the platform they consider the most secure. However, trust in the SMS channel appears to decline with age, with just eight percent of the 55-plus demographic citing it as the most secure platform.

This trend of declining trust was mirrored across fixed and social networking channels, where 41 percent of respondents reported less trust in the security of social networks and 18 percent said they have less trust in the security of instant messaging services. Meanwhile, 44 percent reported that they have less trust in the security of email than they did a year ago.

Threat Penetration across Devices and Messaging Platforms

Mobile social networking appears to be gaining significant traction, with 19 percent of 18-24 year olds and 13 percent of 25-34 year olds naming it as the communications platform they access most regularly. However, in spite of its popularity, trust in the social networking platform is low and seemingly continuing to decline: just three percent named it as the platform they trusted the most, the least of all platforms. In addition, social networking websites are second only to email as the platform on which consumers have experienced viruses most frequently (21 percent).

Messaging abuse remains the number one security threat across all major platforms 61 percent of fixed line and 13 percent of mobile users claim to have suffered spam-related problems. Despite the high profile of email and desktop threats in recent years, 75 percent of Americans have experienced a security threat on their desktop or PC. Nearly half (49 percent) of these reported incidents were due to a malicious virus while almost a third (31 percent) were attributed to phishing attacks over email or instant messaging while online. Meanwhile, 18 percent of mobile users reported that they had experienced some type of security threat on their mobile device.

Security Distrust Could Hinder Mobile Commerce

Excerpt from:
Research Reveals Decline in Trust Across Major Communications Channels – Mobile, Social Networks and Email

Ilana Rabinowitz is a "lion" in ecommerce and social networking. As Vice President of Marketing for the Lion Brand Yarn Company, she built a newsletter with over 1 million subscribers, launched an award winning podcast and blog, and created a presence on social media outlets that gives Lion Brand Yarn a circulation greater than all of the trade publications combined.

Ilana writes and blogs at Social Media Explorer and Marketing Without a Net, Google Plus and Twitter.

EcommerceBytes caught up with Ilana to find out some of the secrets of successful social networking for ecommerce players.

Do you see social networking as an important tool for online sellers who may not have a nationally known brand?

Ilana Rabinowitz: I think social networking is most important for companies that are not nationally known brands. This is because people do business with companies they know and trust.

If you are not a known brand, you have to help people to learn about you and develop trust by showing them that you know your product and you are there to be helpful, every day, when you're not selling, by providing useful and relevant content. This doesn't happen by broadcasting marketing messages. It happens by sharing information and telling your story on social media.

Online sellers also need to be on social media because people often make buying decisions based on the ideas and recommendations of friends.

What are three social networking sites where all online sellers would be participating and, if you chose just one, which one would it be and why?

Ilana Rabinowitz: Choosing the right social networks for your business is not a simple one-size-fits-all question. It depends on how much time you have to devote to social media, what your goals are, who your audience is and what your resources and talents are.

I would never recommend that anyone try to conquer three at once. It would overwhelm any small business. Anyone just starting out should realize that while there may not be an out of pocket cost, there is a time commitment, and to do it right means that one or more people will need to set aside time to seriously dedicate to it.

Read more from the original source:
Social Networking Most Important for Small Ecommerce Players

By Eve Tahmincioglu

Figuring out which social networking site is the best for your job search is like trying to decipher a riddle with a constantly changing answer.

When Google+ was introduced, many expected the site to rival Facebook and LinkedIn when it came to its job-hunting potential. But recent data show that the social networking site hasnt lived up to all the hype. Google+ users only spend mere minutes on the site each month, compared to almost eight hours a month on Facebook, comScore reported last week.

And now, an increasing number of people are using Pinterest, the latest social-networking darling; and some are even posting graphic-intensive resumes in an effort to impress employers. The number of unique visitors to the site jumped 56 percent since December, according to comScore, to nearly 12 million.

All this social media ballyhoo has many wondering which site will help them land the job of their dreams.

Once upon a time, career experts pointed to LinkedIn as the only site workers had to be on, but now thats changing. More playful sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Quora, and even Pinterest are turning out to be valuable tools for job-hunters, too, wrote George Anders, author of The Rare Find: Spotting Exceptional Talent Before Everyone Else," in a Harvard Business Review post last week.

If the alphabet soup of social media choices has you wanting to shun them all, think again. Employers are increasingly using social media to connect with applicants. The most recent data show 56 percent of the organizations currently use social networking websites when recruiting for potential jobs, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which surveyed nearly 550 HR professionals via email last year. Thats up from 34 percent in 2008, the last time the survey was conducted.

Where recruiters are going to find you out in cyber space, however, is a moving target.

Among the employers SHRM polled there are three top choices:

But a survey put out last month by The Creative Group, an interactive advertising company, of advertising and marketing executives found that if they had to pick one social networking, 56 percent would choose Facebook, followed by LinkedIn and Google+.

View original post here:
For job hunters, social networking options abound

In "Wildlife Heroes," Julie Scardina and Jeff Flocken profile 40 leading conservationists who are helping thwart today's most pressing threats to the our planet's wildlife. Read an excerpt.

INTRODUCTION

The wildlife heroes featured in this book are forty individuals we admire and respect acclaimed for their vision, determination, and success. Some of them we have known for many years and worked closely with, while others we only knew before this book through knowledge of their impressive accomplishments, or from their stellar reputations in the field of wildlife conservation.

Admittedly, the assemblage of species we chose to highlight show a bias of the authors, as we have our own personal love for certain animals and direct experiences working in particular conservation arenas. So while we both have great fondness for critters like the obscure dwarf wedgemussel and the underrated dung beetle, and understand their important roles in their habitats, this book tends to feature the big charismatic species, the same ones who rightly or wrongly tend to receive the most conservation resources and public attention. Luckily these same high-profile animals frequently serve vital roles as keystone, flagship, and indicator species, thereby arguably deserving the lions share of adoration they receive.

These individual species, like the heroes selected for the book, were also chosen as being best suited to bring a broader message of conservation need, and inspiration for action, to readers. We are compelled to feature these heroes, species and issues as we both feel the heartbreak of what is happening to the wild animals and wild places we love. Unless more people help fight the war we are currently losing to save species, wild lands, and ocean habitats, there will be far less of these incredible creatures and environments left in the world.

The heroes in this book have dedicated their lives to preserving these creatures; animals that are beloved by the world because they are both compelling and fascinating. We are proud to shine a light on them all. And we sincerely hope that this book will result in more support for the heroes critical efforts and in meaningful gains in the struggle for existence of these amazing species.

Julie Scardina and Jeff Flocken

EARTH: WORKING ON THE GROUND BY KUKI GALLMAN, ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF I DREAMED OF AFRICA, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST, AND FOUNDER OF THE GALLMAN AFRICA CONSERVANCY.

Caring for Eden

It was about forty years ago that I moved to Kenya and acquired the responsibility to look after a piece of heaven on the Eastern Great Rift Valley, Ol ari Nyiro, a biodiversity oasis of rugged, dramatic landscapes, with a relic forest and natural springs, gorges, and ravines, where endemic species of wildlife and flora survived and still do, in stark contrast with the now degraded landscape surrounding us, from where most indigenous vegetation has been removed.

Originally posted here:
‘Wildlife Heroes’: Spreading the word about conservation

LONDON (AP) How do you sum up the work of songwriter Robert B. Sherman? Try one word: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

The tongue-twisting term, sung by magical nanny Mary Poppins, is like much of Sherman's work both complex and instantly memorable, for child and adult alike. Once heard, it was never forgotten.

Sherman, who died in London at age 86, was half of a sibling partnership that put songs into the mouths of nannies and Cockney chimney sweeps, jungle animals and Parisian felines.

Robert Sherman and his brother Richard composed scores for films including "The Jungle Book," ''The Aristocats," ''Mary Poppins" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." They also wrote the most-played tune on Earth, "It's a Small World (After All)."

Sherman's agent, Stella Richards, said Tuesday that Sherman died peacefully in London on Monday.

Son Jeffrey Sherman paid tribute to his father on Facebook, saying he "wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded."

Jeffrey Sherman told The Associated Press that his father had learned the craft of songwriting from his own father, Tin Pan Alley composer Al Sherman.

"His rule in writing songs was keep it singable, simple and sincere," Jeffrey Sherman said. "In the simplest things you find something universal."

Robert Sherman knew another truth, his son said: "What seems so simple is really very complex.

"He was a very simple guy complex but simple. If you ever want to know about my Dad, listen to the lyrics of his songs."

Continued here:
'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' composer dies