What would you do if all of the sudden all the data and connections you had on social media platforms disappeared? Personally, I’d need a paper bag to breathe into because I’m quite sure I’d faint or at minimum, have a hard time breathing!
Thanks to my friend Barbara Rozgonyi – the one who’s Facebook account was hacked – I just learned about a free service that will backup a wide array of social media sites.
Go to Backupify.com and secure your online identity in case of technical glitches or hackers messing with your world!
The free account will backup all of your personal sites or for $4.99 you can upgrade to a business membership and backup business accounts as well. The image below shows you all the accounts you can secure with this service. Thanks Barbara for the tip!
My friend Barbara Rozgonyi recently had her Facebook account taken over by hackers and she’s been frozen out of it for over a week. (Read her saga here – complete with some good advice .) We got to talking and I went in and upgraded my security.
Then my parents sent me a scary video about how bad guys (or gals) can find your kids bedroom from the meta data on photos you post on the web.
My brother asked my opinion and I gave the following advice to him and the rest of my family, since I consider you part of my art family, I’ll share it with you as well. (Mind you I’m not a security expert so these are my opinions – do with it what you will or do more research on your own.)
Here is my sisterly/friendly safety advice for Facebook:
DON’T use the “places” feature - people don’t need minute by minute descriptions of your whereabouts. Then they know how long they have to rob you. I often say I’m somewhere before or after I’m there… just to be safer. I think that’s a very unsafe feature. (Ditto to FourSquare – I know many of you are using both of these so don’t get upset with me – again, my opinions and I just want everyone to be safe!)
Be sure you have your security settings updated. Go to:
> Account
> Account Settings
> Account Security
Place a check mark in secure browsing and I would do the “when a new computer logs in” – get an email, text or both. My friend was hacked and her account is still frozen. This helps with that.
Check your privacy settings. Go to:
> Account
> Privacy Settings
See what yours are set at. I recommend you have Friends only for status, photos & posts. If you click on “Customize Settings” you can say “Only Me” for lots of things… disable places.
Securing some of the information attached to photos from your iPhone:
On your iPhone, click the “settings” icons (looks like gears)
> General
> Location Services
I don’t want to turn mine all off or I can find the nearest RedBox or use Google maps, so I choose by application.
Turn OFF the Camera, Facebook and any other app that you have that you don’t want posting your location. ( I turned off Hootsuite which is a Twitter app but I think I’m the only Twitter user.)
If you don’t have an iPhone, you can go here to see how to disable some of the settings on your phone as well. http://icanstalku.com/how.php
Apparently “Branding” is on a lot of minds lately. I posted about it last week and started a great discussion on LinkedIn. (You do know there is an “Art of Licensing” group on LinkedIn, right? It is very thought provoking at times!)
Paul Brent just told me he wants to focus on Branding on his next “Ask Paul Brent” call… date to be determined so stay tuned…
And my friend Barbara Rozgonyi, a Social Media guru if ever I met one, just did a great blog post called “10 Branding Methods – Butterflies and Rainbows Optional”.
What I love about her post is that it is short, sweet and skimable. I can look at it quickly, get ideas and go implement. It’s like information for hummingbirds – I can flit in, get what I need and fly off. Perfect!
From identity design to personality to virtual and word of mouth – she boils branding down to some thought provoking questions and do-able action items.
P.S. Barbara is yet another fabulous benefit of taking the Teleseminar Secrets class last year. If you want to learn more about it and why I feel it was such a great investment, click here to go to my affiliate page…
I’m heading to BlogWorld on Thursday to work on a new non-licensing project. Why? Because Barbara told me I should. (Apparently I’m quite persuadable.) I admit to sometimes making quick decisions that have more to do with a gut-feel than endless research but have also found those to be some of the best split-second decisions I’ve ever made.
It was a 45 minute thought process that got me on a plane to Texas to learn about internet marketing, which turned into this blog, www.ArtLicensingInfo.com and the whold big web of art licensing learning.
It was a tweet on Twitter that got me on a preview call and plunking down some big $ to learn about Teleseminars. Without that quick decision making, there would be no “Ask” calls or teleseminars.
Without the Teleseminar Secrets class I also wouldn’t have met Barbara, who has me packing my bags and heading to Vegas! (And I don’t even gamble so that was no enticement.)
Barbara Rozgonyi is an AMAZING PR / Social Media expert. I’ve gotten to know her through a mastermind group (like a scheduled brainstorming / support group) and have become friends with her over the past year. One day we will figure out how to get her involved and helping artists here. (I hope to figure that out in Las Vegas.)
In her efforts to prepare for BlogWorld, Barbara did a great blog post about getting ready and getting the most out of networking events called -
Conference PR: Maximize Personal Branding
Much of this advice can be considered and tweaked to work for artists who attend or exhibit at trade shows or meet and network at other events. It is worth a read. Quite frankly, I think her whole blog is worth following – and not just because I like her, she has great insights and information.
Here’s to your creative success and wish me luck with the bloggers!
– Tara
P.S. If you are exhibiting at one of the winter trade shows (CHA, AmericasMart, SURTEX January show) be sure to look at the eBook and teleseminar to help you maximize your time and investment. CLICK HERE
Here’s to your secure social media identity!
