Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies.

Blogs were born from the need to easily publish personal voices online. Blogs, by the nature of the medium, encourage casual banter and informal language. Unlike Web sites, which are crafted and branded and carefully planned out to be "on message," the daily journal format of a blog produces more vulnerability from its authors. In marketing terms, a blog can bring a human personality to a faceless company, which can create a connection between the corporation and the client. This can lead to deeper loyalty and richer feedback.




A corporate weblog is published and used by an organization to reach its organizational goals. A conversation going on the company, for internal communication or for community building.
There is scope – even if limited – for using corporate blogs.
For example, a company could keep a customer relationship blog as a forum for discussing products. CEO blogs can be used as an instrument for business agenda-setting or image-building. Before a corporate blog is established the responsible parties must address various strategic issues in order to decide on the practicality of the tool:

1. Is a blog a good fit for the company, its targets and its culture?

As blogs can sometimes be very provocative, they may not be compatible
with a company’s image.

2. As regards content, limitations arise – especially for listed companies.
The content of a blog has to comply with legal and regulatory standards.
From the reader’s standpoint, this substantially dims the attractiveness of
CEO blogs in particular.

Even if companies decide against running a corporate blog, the topic should
stay on their agenda with a view to developments going forward. Companies
should keep track of how their image fares in the “blogosphere”, the new
communications arena. This is underpinned by the argument that
substantial reputational risks can emerge if the companies misjudge the
rapidly formed opinions in the blogosphere.

In companies employees will inevitably start blogging as private individuals
one day. For this reason, companies require a clear blogging policy.
Besides setting guidelines for employees blogging privately, it should also set
out rules saying how employees are allowed to blog on behalf of the
company.

5 most popular corporate blog:



1. Yahoo!



2. Dell



3. General Motors



4. Google



5. Kodak

The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

The advance technological is improving and changing in our world. Many things can be done through internet, such as search information, download, online banking and chat with friend. So, computer becomes part of their life of students, even or workers. Besides, computer became the best place to store information and data. However, it also raises the issue that hacker who create virus or tools to hack into computer in order to get our confidential data. Those hackers normally spread the viruses through e-mail attachment and normally those viruses are being hid by hacker inside the documents.

Another virus can be generally categorized into Trojan horse, virus, worm, spyware and etc. Those viruses can attack our computer through the internet easily. The remote attacker can enter the computer undetected, when the user is online, to access or destroy any information stored. Alternatively, the Trojan can be programmed to automatically send any information on our PCs back to the attacker. This could include,

• Client or customer information or other business data
• Credit card details
• Passwords for access to your online bank, ISP or web services
• Information you would rather remain hidden
• Email addresses, which may be used for spamming
• Children's names, photographs, ages or other personal details held on the computer
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack on other computers via the victim's computer

Among those viruses, virus or worm can,

• Disable the computer

• Add, modify or delete files or reformat the hard disk

• Steal addresses held in our computer to send on virus-infected emails to our friends, colleagues, clients or customers
• Send unsolicited bulk email (spam) to those in our mail address books and other users.

Having read through the computer Internet security risks, you'll now know some of the many dangers you're facing as soon as you go online. Our personal information and data remains as secure as possible.

Review of 'Internet Security' from My E-Commerce blog

I have chosen to review the post on :

Unauthorised Tapping Into Home WiFi - Teenager is Facing Jailterm.

Firstly, I'd like to say that this post is very brief, and direct to the point. However, it is merely summarising the actual news story as it happened in Singapore. It did not give the whole article reported in newspapers. Secondly, although the source was referenced, it was not adequately referenced. Here are some websites that I have found, containing the news excerpt, and other reated stories:

1. http://www.itconsulting.com/news/singapore-misuse-crime-011707/
2. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=31954
3. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Technology/Report-Singapore-teen-faces-3-years-jail-for-tapping-intoanothers-wireless-Internet/2006/11/11/1162661936948.html
4. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,61982282,00.htm
   
5. This is a related post, which contains other examples of such cases:

• http://www.heise-online.co.uk/security/Arrest-for-wireless-piggybacking--/news/94788

• Here is a YouTube video regarding the above news story:
  

*Please view from 1:38-1:59

Next, the term 'Computer Misuse Act' was not clearly defined although it was stated in the article. Here are some references regarding the definition of 'Computer Misuse Act':

1. http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2229

Here is a video from YouTube regarding the Computer Misuse Act:



The question posed at the end of the post is very intellectual in nature, and helps us think from various perspectives: legal, political, social (a minor was convicted). Although the question was a very good one (Who's responsibility to secure the home WIFI systems? Owner or Service Provider?), yet there were no suggestions on the part of the blogger concerned. It was 'left hanging' so to speak. Therefore, I would like to attempt to answer the question posed. In my opinion, HOME WiFi systems are the responsibility of the home owner. The Service Provider cannot, and should not be held responsible for breach of Wireless Network setup by a home user.
As a Wireless Internet consumer myself, I have noticed that harware manufacturers today, such as Aztech & Linksys, and many others, have made it simple enough for any home user to setup his or her 'Security Enabled' Wireless Network with very few & simple steps.

Linksys WRT54G - One of the most famous & Award-winning Wireless Routers

Some problems/issues that could be faced as to the innocence of one convicted under the Computer Misuse Act are such as a Wireless Network from others which is not security-enabled can be automatically accessed, unknowingly by a person who has his own Wireless Modem, thinking they are using their own line. They could be convicted, not knowing what they have done!

-Joel Vergis-