A lesson in failed Facebook security and 5 tips for prevention.

We provide social media management services for various clients. Some of these clients are very high-profile clients with what you would call “Celebrity” status. This is a story about one of these clients, who I will not name since we usually operate as ghost managers. Let's just call this client “Mr. X.”

One day, Mr. X, who has a personal account on Facebook as well as a Facebook Celebrity Page, had his Facebook account hacked. Our first warning came in the form of an email from Facebook, letting Mr. X know that his email address was being changed from an “aol” account to a “yahoo” account. This was strange since Mr. X knew that he did not have a yahoo account.

That was when Mr. X forwarded the email to our team. We immediately went to the Facebook account and attempted to log in as Mr. X, only to get a failure saying that we did not have the correct password. We immediately followed Facebook protocols to report the page as a hijacked page.

As it turned out, the hacker had not just created a Yahoo account for Mr. X, but also a new Facebook account using the old aol email account. So when we put in the aol account, we discovered that there was a second account and all of our attempts to retrieve the password would only succeed in getting us into a fake account. This was set up as a decoy so that we would not attempt a recovery on the true account.

Seeing through the decoy, we used the Yahoo email address that was not connected to the true account and followed Facebook procedure to report the account as hacked. This allowed us to regain control of the true account. However, the damage had been done. The page in which Mr. X was an administrator, was now no longer in his control. The hacker had gone to the page administration settings and removed all of the administrators from the page and assigned his/her personal account administration access instead. We had officially lost control of the page.

We have been on Facebook, managing accounts and various issues here since 2006 and have never seen this happen. Mr. X had a very large audience and the hacker was now “posting” malicious links all over the page to no end. We anxiously searched through all of the help links and articles on Facebook and found several instances where this had happened with no happy resolution. We had no choice but to report the page as having illegal content on it, so that the page would be suspended immediately. Since that time we asked a panel of experts at the Ragan Social Media and PR Conference in Las Vegas to see what they had to say. No one had an answer.

If you have a Facebook page and have granted access to various administrators to help you run this page, then you need to pay attention. We have determined that there could have been measures in place to help us avoid this situation. These measures include:

1. Creating a centralized email account where all social media notifications go and that the social media team has access to 24/7. This gives the team the time they need to respond immediately to any notifications that come from Facebook. In this case, the hacker attacked in the middle of the night, when we were all asleep. The damage had been done and no one could see what had happened until hours later.
   
   
2. Create a strict schedule where all social media accounts and email accounts have a password change once a month.
   
   
3. Make sure all passwords are different for all social accounts. Do not repeat passwords for any of your accounts.
   
   
4. Make sure all passwords are a minimum of 8 characters, contain a mix of alpha and numeric and include at least 1 symbol. Have you social media team create the passwords for you. Keep the passwords in a secure location and do not email them to your personal accounts.
   
   
5. For Facebook administration, create a new Facebook account that is specifically used to administrate the Facebook page. This account has a special password that is changed monthly and it is completely blocked from public view, reducing the risk of being hacked. Make sure that the Facebook page is ONLY managed by this one account.

How Simple is Social Media?

"How Simple is Social Media?" 

We recently received this question in our inbox from Christina on February 17, 2012. It was really great timing too because Angie Lile had just returned from the Ragan Social Media Summit in Las Vegas. This was a large culmination of social media folks from all over the globe who come together to learn from each other and from the top experts in the field. We heard presentations from Southwest Airlines, The Discovery Channel and Zappos, just to name a few.

The top experts consisted of BrianSolis and Chris Brogan who closed the event out with a plethora of F-Bombs and social hilarity mixed with sound advice for how we should approach Social Media.

One of the common themes that Angie noticed with all of these social strategies was that social should be simple and that you should be using social to connect with individuals rather than counting them as a “Like” or a “follower”. Social followers are not statistics, they are people and if you expect for this to work for you, your actions should definitely follow this belief system.

There were several questions that you can ask yourself to find out whether you are in alignment with your beliefs or not and we've compiled them for you here:

1.  What are your company/brand's values? What do you believe in?

Your company is not just about making a profit, it actually has a value system, a belief system. Typically it mirror's your own belief system. The more you are in alignment with this the more your business will grow to incorporate those beliefs. Think of your social sites as your company's personality. As such, it would operate under the same beliefs. It would react with real-world environments in the same way.

2.  What goals have you established for your social media efforts?

If your only goal is about driving traffic to your website then you are setting yourself up for failure. The number one reason for social followers to move away from your social sites is because they feel like they are being spammed each time they see you. Not only that, but you run the risk of being excluded from your followers newsfeed because you lack engagement with your content. Create a goal list that includes other things such as creating a community space, providing customer service, or building relationships with your fans. For example Zappos rarely markets their shoes to their followers and instead they use social to interact with their followers on a more personal level. Sending pizza's to a random follower is considered the norm for Zappos. They don't ever think about selling when they interact with people so they have a very loyal fan base.

3.  What kind of business or company do you see yourself having in 10 years?

Do you want to be the company that gives rewards back to their employees? Will you have employees? Brand advocates come in all shapes and sizes, but research shows that the most valuable advocates can be your employees. Southwest airlines encourages their employees to share work-related stories which generates a huge amount of buzz for the brand on all of the social channels. Not everyone has Southwest's 45k employees but even 1 can be a great asset to your message.

4.  How do you see followers benefiting from your content?

If a follower is benefiting from your social feed, they will want to share that with others. With each post that you create, really ask yourself if this is something that you would share with others? If you have any doubts about putting it out there, then don't do it. If you don't want to read it, others will not want to either. It's that simple! If your company is mirroring your values, then it will be easy to find those pieces of content that inspire you and you will know instantly that this is what you want to share.

5. What are your followers saying about you or your company?

Don't be afraid to dig deep and see if your followers like what you are putting out there. You will want to change your strategy as you go along and see what works best. This is no place for a set-it-and-forget-it mentality. This includes opening a dialog when someone says they don't like what they see. If you start receiving negative feedback, make sure you stick it out and figure out how to find a solution. Even if you need to stand your ground. This shows that the social presence that they are interacting with is not just some inanimate thing not worthy of interacting with. You might even be surprised to find a few fans in your corner when things go that way. The obvious goal here is to be transparent and people will respect you more.

LileStyle Productions offers a social media boot camp for Authors

If you are an Author or are considering writing a book, then you really want to check out this upcoming webinar offered by LileStyle Productions, LLC.

It's a Social Media Boot Camp for Authors!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 from 2pm – 3:30pm Eastern (11am – 12:30pm Pacific)


During this webinar you will learn Why Facebook and Twitter work and how you can use them to build an audience and keep them engaged with you and your message.

Here is an overview of the presentation:

1. Understanding how people interact with Facebook.

2. Why Facebook works to drive engagement with your message.

3. A brief tutorial about setting up your Facebook Page.

4. Understanding how people interact with Twitter.

5. Why Twitter works to drive engagement with your message.

6. What's with Google+ and whether you should be putting yourself there.

7. Why it's important to listen to social media.

8. Learn how to use promotions and advertising to build up a following.

Click Here to Learn More=====>

About your Presenter:

When Angie Lile was in the second grade, she was constantly writing sentences during recess time...

"I shall not talk in class"
"I shall not talk in class"
"I shall not talk in class"

Even at a young age she was embracing her love for communicating messages. It's no surprise that Angie has found her way into the hearts of some of the world's most profound spiritual authors which have given her the responsibility of amplifying their messages to people all over the world.

Using the video skills she acquired from the New York-based Food Network coupled with her years of social media expertise, Angie has grown her business to include many more writers, while she continues to expand on her social media training.

Each year Angie attends Social Media Seminars led by the World's most successful Social Media leaders in Industry Marketing. She has learned Twitter tactics from Guy Kowasaki and some really great Facebook strategies from the experts who handle Hallmark, Southwest Airlines and Sprint.

Many hours are spent each day pouring over social media news about trends and disasters, making her a literal Maven on the subject. All of her friends agree that if you mention Social Media in Angie's presence, you might not get her to shut up!

Along with managing accounts for several authors and for VividLife.me, Angie has provided Social Media advice to some of the world's top Authors including: Neale Donald Walsch, Author of Conversations with God and other New York Times best-selling books; Hay House Author Doreen Virtue who has written over 20 books about Angels and Spirituality; and Ghost Whisperer's Producer and World Famous Medium, James Van Praagh just to name a few.

Here is what Neale Donald Walsch has to say about Angie's expertise:

"Angie Lile knows the Social Media world inside and out, making it not necessary for me to. I have been able to focus on my life's work, knowing I've got Angie behind me. Using the combined tools of CWG's wonderful insights and Angie's remarkable expertise, a wide and continuously enlarging audience has been able to be satisfied in their search for this message. When I was young, those with something to say had to find their audience. Today our audience is trying to find us. Angie's genius is to render my message easily findable and visually accessible. All I have to do is source the material. For me this is heaven, because I don't want to have to know all that Angie knows in order to get done all that I want to get done. Do you suppose that 'Angie" is short for 'Angel'?"

Click Here to Learn More=====>

9 Fantastic ways to use mobile tagging with QR Codes

A QR Code (also known as a mobile tag or Quick Response code) is a special 2-dimensional bar code that can be read by anyone with a mobile device. These codes have information in them that activates the applications on your phone to do a variety of tasks ranging from adding contact information to your address book to just opening up your web browser and a specified website.

According to Wikipedia, the code came about as a way to track parts on vehicle manufacturing and is now so wide spread that you can find a QR code almost anywhere, making them the fastest growing mobile trend to date.

Despite my best efforts, all three thumbnail options were of me with my eyes closed but despite this factor, the video is very informative if you have never seen the QR Code in action.

There are many different types of things these QR Codes can do, and I've put together the 9 most FANTASTIC ways to use mobile tagging:

1. Add new contact information into your address book- A great example of this is for use on name tags for seminars or conferences, as well as for business cards. This allows a user to
   automatically put all your information into their address book at the simple click of a button!
2. Open up a specific website with your web browser- This is the most common way to use the mobile tags and drive traffic to a specific page on your website. For best practices you should always create a custom landing page for each code so that you can track the traffic and begin to understand your customers.
3. Play a specific YouTube video- Videos are an incredible way to enhance specific products. For example, if you have a book on the market and you want to find a way to build loyalty with your fan base, you could create a special video for each chapter that enhances it with an in-depth behind the scenes look for that chapter. Link each video to a different code and print the codes at the top of each chapter in your book. You can do this with specific products you are selling and with movies, music, art, etc.
4. Direct you to a specific location with your Google Maps application- Perhaps you own a restaurant and you like to put print ads on the metro station or bus station signs. Why not add a QR code that will open up a user's maps application and plot a route directly to your location? This would make it really easy to ensure that everyone in your vicinity can find you quickly and it's really fun for the user to use!
5. Make mobile payments and/or donations using PayPal- Imagine how easy it will be to accept pay pal payments right on the spot! Whether you are promoting your organization at a conference or door to door, you can make it even more meaningful with on-site donation capabilities.
6. Get a digital coupon for in store purchases- Why not make a friend for life by giving your customers a special surprise just for being cool and scanning your code? Increase brand loyalty and provide enjoyment all at the same time.
7. Check-in with the popular FourSquare application- FourSquare is a great place for brick and mortar businesses to begin building brand loyalty and there are lots of ways to reward your customers for checking in. Making it easy and fun with a special mobile tag really enhances their visit!
8. Instantly LIKE a Facebook Page- Facebook is the number one place to build brand loyalty through your online fan base since it is the most popular social network. Make it easy for your fan base to grow by using a custom QR Code that allows a user to instantly like your page, and open up your marketing base by leaps and bounds.
9. Instantly add an event to your calendar- Event advertisers are going to love this idea! Why not put a custom QR code into each event you are advertising and make it open up a user's calendar and put the event in there? Make sure that the information going into the address book includes a web link to your event so that they can learn more about it!

If you enjoyed this article then you might want to read the entire E-Book, called Mobile Tagging, How to create and implement a successful QR Code campaign.

You can get a FREE copy by visiting our website and signing up for our newsletter.

Sporting Kansas City's Livestrong Sporting Park to offer fans a state-of-the-art experience.

Even the most technologically advanced social media enthusiast will be amazed and thrilled to see all of the features this stadium has to offer.


Written by Mike Lile, Vice-President and Technical Director, LileStyle Productions, LLC

April 25, 2011

The Social Media Club of Kansas City and Sporting Kansas City hosted a tour of the soon-to-be-opened Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS; I was fortunate to be invited to attend.  The weather looked threatening in the afternoon prior to the tour but the rain stopped before we started the tour.

The first part of the tour was at the south end, field level.  Even though the grass was laid just a few weeks ago it looks fantastic.  One of the people on the tour asked David Ficklin (Vice President of Development and leader of our tour) asked if it was synthetic; he assured us it was not and pointed out the grass clippings nearby.  Mr. Ficklin also discussed the system underneath the turf that can blow warm air to keep the grass growing in cool weather.

The view from field level is stunning but not overwhelming -- and the seating is very close to the field.  I was able to walk around several parts of the field and stands and the view was good from everywhere.

We also toured the field club (under the west stands) which includes a media room and is right off the locker room.  The home and away team benches are right outside the club; folks fortunate enough to have seats down on the field will really have a close-up experience with the players.

The home locker room was not quite finished yet but looks to be quite nice -- there will be all kinds of video, network and power options at each locker and all over the room.  We did not see it but were told the visitors locker room was still nice but not as well appointed.  There were also murmurings about something being buried under the visitors locker room but no one in authority would confirm or deny the rumor.

The suite levels were not open for the tour (which was a little disappointing as I was looking forward to peeking into the video suite) but we did get a look at the Stadium club.  It's a somewhat larger space than the field club and sits pretty much right above the field club.  There were only a few things completed but it looked very interesting and had great views of the field.

David Ficklin discussed some of the technology being deployed at the stadium.  Every space in the park will have WiFi and celluar access (through a great many access points and repeaters) and there will be over 300 TV screens throughout the stadium.  All of the screens as well as many of the cameras will be networked -- allowing them to route any camera to any screen (or group of screens).  They are also planning to provide wireless video to fans, possibly allowing them to choose what camera they want to follow.

I'm looking forward to attending at least one match (I have tickets for a game in July) and I am sure that it will be a fantastic venue and likely one of the best stadiums in the country if not the world.

Facebook Pages can now send messages directly to all their fans!

The new feature seems to only apply to events that you create.

Once you have created the event, you can see a new option in the upper right hand side:

Now, previously when you would select this option (and it was a lot harder to find), the messages would go into the netherverse, hidden away in everyone's secret stash of “Fan Page Updates”. When I finally stumbled across my own updates section, there were over 800 unread updates from my favorite fan pages.

The problem wasn't that they were sending out tons of updates, it was just that I never noticed it until I went digging through the different message sub-folders.

Now when you send an update to your fans, the message goes right into their facebook message inbox:

You should know that the message does show up as coming from you, and your fans do not get a personal email, as far as we can tell.

I've been trying to find some updates about this but can't seem to see anyone talking about this but I am sure that this is a new feature as I just recently started receiving these messages in my Facebook message inbox.

Now, does this mean you should begin updating your fans with all of your events? This depends entirely on how many events you have. Keep in mind that people are just now getting messages from their fan pages with no warning at all that this would be a side effect of becoming a fan of your page. If you have 1-2 a week, that may be acceptable.  One a day would definitely be excessive, which is why I'll have to say goodbye to some of my favorite pages.

Be sure to pay attention to your Like numbers and if they start to dip, then that would be a huge indicator that your fans aren't really into your messages.

Global Oneness Day and Humanity's Team

LileStyle Productions launches plan to document the global efforts of Humanity's Team, a grassroots spiritual movement, and their endeavor to spread peace throughout the planet by creating Global Oneness Day.

Imagine Global Oneness. What would that look like? How would it feel? Where would it take us, the human population, and how far?

Global Oneness is not far off and many agree that it is closer than ever before. A global organization, Humanity's Team, works day in and day out to bring the Oneness reality to the lives of people around the world and through their efforts a new day of celebration is born.

On May 20, 2010, teammates from several different countries around the world, came together to give the United Nations a petition containing the signatures of over 50,000 people worldwide.

Global Oneness Day was celebrated for the first time on October 24, 2010 across several nations. People continue to sign the petition declaring Global Oneness Day as an official and observed Holiday.

“We continue the work for the creation of Global Oneness Day and in the future... sometime soon...every day... will be Oneness Day.” ~ Worldwide Coordinating Director, Steve Farrell

This film explores the experiences of the group of people behind Humanity's Team and the steps taken to create global awareness of Oneness through the creation of Global Oneness Day.

The concept development is nearing completion and initial filming began during the historic presentation of the Oneness Petition to the United Nations during the 2010 Global Council meeting held in New York City in May 2010.

The next phase of the filming is planned for the 2011 Global Council meeting to be held in Delphi, Greece. Final editing and release will follow. To Learn More Visit http://globalonenessdaymovie.com