Category: information

Pay To Give a Presentation

Normally, people are paid to give presentations  –  not the other way around, especially at conferences.

An email from ubm-info.com which belongs to UBM who are organising the Technology for Marketing conference for September 2017 in London.

The email is about a  Call for Papers – they want people to present papers in areas to do with use of technology in Marketing.

They want

  • Case studies on multi channel approaches
  • The competitive edge of personalisation
  • Leadership in the modern age
  • How content can transform the brand story

And so on.

This all sounds reasonable.

The bottom of the email states “Please note that submissions from suppliers may be liable to a fee if entry is successful”

It sounds mean to charge people for giving a presentation but maybe it’s just a catchall statement and they reserve the right to charge if a supplier is basically giving a sales pitch rather than just a presentation.

That’s the world of Marketing.

Do you have an opinion on this matter? Please comment in the box below.

 

How to Make Your Website Trusted

The first steps in having your website trusted are the obvious ones – make sure there is nothing that would concern people e.g. selling items of dubious or inconsistent quality, excessive advertising, advertising of business such as gambling, over promising on products or services then being unable to meet those promises, poor customer service, excessive profit margins, inaccurate advertising, poor quality website etc.

Once you have eliminated anything that could put people off then you’re left with two basic things – building a good reputation and hoping for great online reviews by your customers.

These both need a lot of time and effort to happen. Good reputations don’t happen overnight and people will only add great reviews when your sales process, quality of products and services, customer service etc. are top notch.

There is another way to increase trust and that is to become accredited by the various relevant bodies for whatever industry you are in and also to be accredited or registered with the various bodies that review websites.

Recent research shows that most customers don’t understand security on the Internet but they do trust various organisations and hence trust their judgements on trustworthy websites.

To the question “Which badge gives you the best sense of trust when paying online” the results show

  • Norton 36%
  • MacAfee 23%
  • Truste
  • BBB

Other badges did also register but these four were the most recognised and trusted by far.

What do you have to do to get Norton accreditation for example?

You buy a Symantec SSL certificate and implement that on your website.

The other companies listed above are Trust based rather than simply SSL recognition.

As well as the trusted badges, in assessing a website, consumers report that they look for qualities including

  • up to date information
  • fresh content
  • easy ways to contact the business
  • honesty about any problems
  • negative comments as well as positive ones
  • where appropriate – pictures of the management.

Make your website trusted for genuine reasons – don’t shortcut.

Do Share this post on social media – click on the post title then scroll down to the social media share buttons.

Business 2017 Show Marketing Lies

An email from ventuity.co.uk with the title

“Meet Brian Tracy & Michelle Mone for FREE on 10-11 June, 2017”

Sounds interesting.

Claim Your FREE Bronze Ticket of Worth £299

in This Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to Meet New York Times Bestseller Brian Tracy along with Michelle Mone & Caprice at the UK’s Business Event of the Year

Do register now as the first 40 respondents to this email will get FREE BRONZE TICKETS of worth £299. Take action NOW to grab your £299 FREE ticket before it is gone. 

Now that sounds clear. There are 40 free tickets available worth £299 each.

However, when you click on the link to a web page, the message says

Welcome to the FREE ticket sign up form to win £299 worth of Bronze ticket .

It’s no longer a free ticket, but the chance to win a ticket. That’s cheating.

Drat.

Do leave a comment on this post – click on the post title then scroll down to leave your comment.

Ransomware: What Is It?

Imagine you’ve been working hard to create a new presentation for work or an official document or a personal photograph album. When you finally finish the work, a message appears on screen that says

“All of the files on this computer have been encrypted. You have 24 hours to submit payment to receive the encryption key, otherwise your files will be permanently destroyed.”

You’ve been hit with Ransomware.

This could be lies – it could just be an empty threat, but it could also be very real and if you don’t pay then your files may be lost permanently.

What do you do?

Step 1: disconnect from the Internet immediately.

Step 2 : Make a choice on whether to pay

If you pay, then maybe you get your files back and maybe not.

If you choose not to pay then switch the computer off and get it to an expert ASAP.

Across the globe in 2014, there were 8.8 million ransomware attacks reported and this crime is rising rapidly.

For further information refer to article

www.fightbackonline.org/index.php/guidance/12-explanations/19-ransomware-what-is-it-and-how-do-i-protect-against-it

General Data Protection Regulation

The 1998 Data Protection Act was passed by Parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who have information stored about them.

Other European Union countries have passed similar laws and there is the complication that often data is held in more than one country.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  comes into force in May 2018. It is an EU regulation and takes effect in the UK regardless of the BREXIT situation.

With so many businesses and services operating across borders, international consistency around data protection laws and rights is crucial both to businesses and organisations, and to individuals.

Who does the GDPR apply to?

The GDPR applies to processing carried out by organisations operating within the EU. It also applies to organisations outside the EU that offer goods or services to individuals in the EU.

It  does not apply to certain activities including processing covered by the Law Enforcement Directive, processing for national security purposes and processing carried out by individuals purely for personal/household activities.

It applies to ‘controllers’ and ‘processors’. The definitions are broadly the same as under the Data Protection Act (DPA) – i.e. the controller says how and why personal data is processed and the processor acts on the controller’s behalf. If you are currently subject to the DPA, it is likely that you will also be subject to the GDPR.

If you are a processor, the GDPR places specific legal obligations on you; for example, you are required to maintain records of personal data and processing activities. You will have significantly more legal liability if you are responsible for a breach.

However, if you are a ‘controller’, there are still obligations where a ‘processor’ is involved – it places further obligations on you to ensure your contracts with processors comply with the GDPR.

Does the GDPR apply to Personal Data?

Like the DPA, the GDPR applies to ‘personal data’. However, the GDPR’s definition is more detailed and makes it clear that information such as an online identifier – e.g. an IP address – can be personal data. The more expansive definition provides for a wide range of personal identifiers to constitute personal data, reflecting changes in technology and the way organisations collect information about people.

For most organisations, keeping HR records, customer lists, or contact details etc., the change to the definition should make little practical difference. You can assume that if you hold information that falls within the scope of the DPA, it will also fall within the scope of the GDPR.

The GDPR applies to both automated personal data and to manual filing systems where personal data are accessible according to specific criteria.

 

Basically, if you are subject to the DPA then you need to plan to ensure compliance with the GDPR .

More information available at http://www.eugdpr.org/

BCC Survey on Cyber Crime

The British Chambers of Commerce recently completed its survey on cyber-crime at British businesses large and small.

The results show that one in five businesses have fallen victim to cyber-attacks in the past year and that big businesses are far more likely than their smaller counterparts to be victims of attacks (42% of companies with 100 staff or more, compared to 18% of companies with fewer than 100 employees).

The results indicate that businesses are most reliant on IT providers (63%) to resolve issues after an attack, compared to banks and financial institutions (12%) or police and law enforcement (2%).

Many businesses (21%) believe the threat of cyber-crime is preventing their company from growing.

The survey also shows:

  • Only a quarter (24%) of businesses have cyber security accreditations in place. Small businesses are far less likely to have such accreditations.
  • Of the businesses that do have accreditations, half (49%) believe it gives their business a competitive advantage over rival companies, and a third (33%) consider it important in creating a more secure environment when trading with other businesses

From May 2018, all businesses who use personal data will have to ensure they are compliant with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Cyber-attacks risk companies’ finances, confidence and reputation, with victims reporting not only monetary losses but costs from disruption to their business and productivity. While firms of all sizes – from major corporations to one-man operations – fall prey to attacks, our evidence shows that large companies are more likely to experience them.

“Firms need to be proactive about protecting themselves from cyber-attacks. Accreditations can help businesses assess their own IT infrastructure, defend against cyber-security breaches and mitigate the damage caused by an attack. It can also increase confidence among the businesses and clients who they engage with online.

“Businesses should also be mindful of the extension to data protection regulation coming into force next year, which will increase their responsibilities and requirements to protect personal data. Firms that don’t adopt the appropriate protections leave themselves open to tough penalties.

The British Chambers of Commerce website is at www.britishchambers.org.uk

Do enter your email address and click on the subscribe button on top right to keep up to date with new posts.