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Would you like to create an unbreakable Password?

So they affect us all, most of us have a multitude of passwords to remember, or are you one of the ‘Actually I only have one which I use for everything’ brigade? It’s ok you are not alone.

Many businesses are beginning to move away from a singular reliance on passwords to protect their company’s sensitive data. On a personal level there is actually more each and every one of us can and really should do to prevent our on-line identities being hacked.

Before we go into how to create an unbreakable password let’s just look at how the hackers manage to crack your password in the first place.

How does a hacker learn my password?

Social network sites can be to blame here, as one method the dedicated hacker uses is to look at these sites including Facebook, and Twitter to research their ‘target’. These sites are full of information about their victim, so the hacker uses the information gleaned to try to guess your password. To be honest, these sorts of attacks on your personal password are very hard to prevent, but thankfully they are rare. They are also easily avoided if you follow certain rules when picking a new password:

1.) Don’t use your children’s/pets’ names as passwords. 2.) Don’t use your spouse’s name either, even if you do ‘cleverly’ combine it with their birthday !! Yes it’s quite a common mistake.

A dedicated hacker could also use a brute force attack, using automated programs – either trying the most common terms in major languages, or going through every possible character combination.

Often they will try common password lists, such as “123456″, “qwerty”, “abc123″ and, of course, “password” – so please don’t use them either.

So how can I create an unbreakable password?

You are best to use an invented phrase or word as this is much harder to crack, especially if you add numbers and symbols. Before you rest easy, do be aware current hacker tools can try 100 million, yes we did say 100 MILLION checks per second, so even a truly random password might not take long to break:

Just to scare you, did you know:

• A password of 4 characters can be broken in 0.16 seconds • 6 characters takes on average just 11.4 minutes • However an 8 character password would take 32 days to crack • and 10 characters takes on average 365 years!!!

Before you break into a cold sweat conjuring up your new 10-character, random password for every site you visit (which of course you also mustn’t write down), don’t panic (I believe we’ve mentioned that phrase before) – there is an easy and fast solution.

The key to creating a secure password

1.) Break your password down into at least two parts, it makes it easier to remember. 2.) Think of something you know, and something you own.

Now, here’s the relief, one part stays the same, for every account you have. This part can actually be quite complex, because as long as it’s only 4 characters you should have no problem remembering it. For example J&2*. Think of this as your ‘something I know’ bit.

The second element of your password should be relevant to the site you are logging in to. So, for example, for an online clothes company you might use the phrase ‘lookingfab’ alongside your complex 4 character part. For a lottery site you might add ‘lucky8′, etc – as long as it is different for each one.

Now you’ll be relieved to hear, if needed, it wouldn’t hurt if you wrote these down, not on a post-it, stuck to your PC though! You can always use the notepad on your phone. This part forms the ‘something I own’ element.

If you still need help with your password management, there are some tools that allow you to register the complex element of your password and it sends you (via SMS) the second part periodically i.e. when it needs to changed. By saving the message you have a constant reminder.

There are plenty of companies out there working as hard as they can to make it tougher for criminals to steal our online credentials, but it’s an uphill struggle so we need to do our bit to protect ourselves and our business data.

Take our advice and use this simple technique for your passwords. Pass on this advice to your staff too and at least if someone does try to hack your account it will take them at least a year to do it by which time you’ll have renewed it. Best of all, you’ll never forget a password again.

Unlock the Code to Build Brand Loyalty

Being in business you can’t have missed the fuss QR Codes are making around the world and wondered how on earth you can join the trend.

QR stands for quick response (the quick response of the relevant mobile device in interpreting the code).

Once scanned, users can ‘unlock the code’ and are taken directly to a specific webpage or destination that ties in with the related business or product.

In this way, the QR code is a connection between a customer and the online side of the business behind the QR Code.

The standard format is the bland pixelated black and white squares that you currently see around the high street.

But all that is changing

Custom colour QR Codes, with built in company logos are now hitting the marketplace. And it’s their newness that gives them the edge.

We know the psychology. • Something is new (Black and White QR Codes). • We notice it and give it our attention (Intrigue and Engagement) • There’s a result (Sales, Loyalty)

So now here comes the new QRCode on the Block and they’re set to create a whole new wave of brand loyalty.

Let’s look at it from the customer’s point of view:

  • They see something new and unexpected. It’s unusual but attractive and they recognise the company logo and the colours. It all ties in so it must be Brand X
  • What’s it for? Where are they taking me? Mmm. That’s valuable
  • I’ll tell my friends….

The social side of what we in the playground once whispered ‘pass it on’ doesn’t this time, get lost in translation. The new colour QR Codes are loud and bold. They’re designed to shout your company colours, to draw attention. But their prime purpose of course is ACTION.

The Whole is greater than the parts There are a number of parts to getting the most from a custom QR Code.

Yes, you can be inventive in designing your code and so you should be. After all, it’s your company’s image pixelated on that window sticker or hoarding and you’ll want to look your best.

Condensing a ‘look’ into an image can be challenging, but this is where your – and the designers creativity lets you shine out from the previous black and white dullness.

After all why be square, when you can be gloriously magnificent?

But giving all your attention to The Look (What), over The Way (Why) won’t allow you to take advantage of the QR Code’s very uniqueness…. directing traffic!

A One Way Ticket You have to have a sound marketing plan that includes direction. Where will you send them to after they’ve noticed, reacted to and scanned your colourful creation?

  • To your Optin Page? You might want customers to get more details, sign up for an offer or optin to a mailing list
  • To a membership list or newsletter? – It’s a great way to maintain future contact and share company events and happenings
  • To an instructional pdf? – perfect! Save on printing costs and let the customer link to other info from within the document
  • To an ‘only for your scanners’ deal such as videos, music, deals, coupons? Why not! It gives them a unique advantage over those who can’t scan – a reward for action
  • To a mobile optimised version of your website?
  • To your company app? – Direct them to download your Business App to benefit from its special in-built features

To what else? ….. what could YOU send them to that would be unique, valuable and engaging about your business…?

Whilst you get your thinking hat on about design and destination, you’ll also want to think about 2 other built in features of the new breed QR Codes – Tracking and the ability to change the dynamic url.

Tracking The New Colour QR Codes come with tracking so you can see how many users scanned your code, on what day and on what kind of device. That’s powerful information, used wisely. How’s that?

You know what time of day they are scanned? Give them a timely offer – perhaps a 2 for 1 download.

Get lots of repeat customers? Give them a loyalty card that unlocks each time they visit.

Are you finding you have a quiet day or a slower sale time? Build in a ‘special’ to increase custom at down times.

Embrace the change I saved the best till last. You can change the landing url of your custom QR Code.

You don’t need to know how, just what it means to you. It means your beautiful Colour QR Code is evergreen. It won’t go out of date (unless you decide it has) because you can change the embedded url whenever you want! (Well, your designer does that for you, but think of the possibilities of change).

Think of all the different url’s on your current site that you could send users to. You’re no longer limited to just a ‘once-and-for-all-time’ destination! Want to promote:

Latest current offer – change it. Details of sale time – change it Your mobile optimised website – change it Your new business App – change it Limited editions/stock – change it

It’s time to jump These things are new but you’ll soon see them all over, and you’ll want to be ahead of the rest to get the advantage. They won’t be ignored. Colour speaks. And your company logo, with your branding in it will win it every time over the black and white version. Easy decision.

If you already have a standard code, it’s time to let it emerge from the blackness. If you haven’t, then it’s time to get creative and engage your customer in a whole new, colourful way.

Now go jump on those squares!

Email Marketing Tips: What is a Pre-Header?

What is a Pre-Header?

Answer: In short a pre header is a fantastic way to get your emails opened!

On your Smart Phone or Email browser you may have noticed a small piece of text after the From Name and the Subject. This is often reffered to as the Pre Header. On a normal written email this text would be the first line of the email but your beautifully designed HTML emails may start with an image or the common ‘view this in your browser’ text.

A pre header is another opportunity for you to engage with your recipient and encourage them to click and open your message. It should ideally be different to your subject line and should not include your click to view in browser link.

Pre headers can be used on email newsletters to give a taster of an exciting artice, in sales emails to draw attention to a special offer or in any type of email campaign. Ultimately the aim of the Pre Header is to ensure the user wants to open the email rather than ignore it.

Use your pre header wisely!

Twitter for Small Business: A Beginners Guide

The majority of people know about Twitter but unless they use it, most are unsure how it works. There are many people who sign up to Twitter because everybody is on it and they feel they should be but again don’t understand how it works. We’re here to tell you it is simple, easy and very powerful in the right hands. Whereas Facebook is only really suitable for businesses who want to reach the consumer, Twitter should be used by all businesses big or small. That is until the next big thing arrives and we all have to start again.

The key to Twitter’s success is its simplicity. No fancy graphics, no adverts, no images, no waffle, just 140 characters of lingual simplicity. Really there are images, links and other content on Twitter but they are contained within the 140 character limit and if you want to view them you choose to click through. That is the beauty, you are not bombarded with the normal social media rubbish and you choose what you view and what you don’t.

Let’s go over a few little Twitter facts*.

  • Twitter has over 225 million users and around 50 million of them log in every day.
  • On average 190 million tweets are sent per day.
  • Around 40% of users don’t tweet but instead use Twitter to gather news and information on the things they are interested in.
  • More than half of the people on Twitter use it on a mobile device.
  • Twitter is growing by around half a million users per day on average.

So you can see why Twitter is a big deal and we believe it is the most important social platform to be on.

Now you know why Twitter is worth being on, let’s go over the basics of general usage. Let’s assume you’ve set up an account (easy to do straight from the www.twitter.com homepage) and you’ve gone through the step-by-step Twitter guide that greets you. First you need to fill out all empty information fields on your profile (found under Settings). A short Bio, Location and Web Address being the most important parts. You can, if you want to, change the colour of your profile page (also found under Settings) to match your company profile or upload an image for the background. Then you need to upload an image, this needs to be something that represents you are your company well. For businesses I would always suggest you use your logo and it is best to use a square image as that is how it will be displayed when you tweet.

Now you’re up and running and you are ready to tweet. Don’t worry about followers just yet, you need to get a few basic tweets on there to show you are a real tweeter and not a spammer. Write 3 or 4 to get going, maybe a welcome post and then something about your business and so on. Something friendly about your company and an introduction to your business is fine to start with but remember this is a social network so try to avoid sales talk. This way your profile page will have something on it and look credible.

There are many ways of gaining followers but for the sake of this article we’ll keep it simple. The quickest way to get followers is to follower other people. Not just anyone but people who may be interested in following you. Find someone who is like you or in your field and follow their followers. The more you follow the more will follow you back but don’t go overboard here as you run the risk of becoming an ‘agressive follower’ in the eyes of Twitter. From there you can use good content to get your numbers up. Another simple way to get yourself known on Twitter is to engage with people. Find someone similar to you and spark up a conversation or respond to one of their tweets. Their followers will see what you have been talking about and may choose to follow you.

Now you’re getting the hang of Twitter and how it works we can look at what you actually put in your updates. Links to new products, services, courses, blog posts, newsletters etc. are always going to be good for driving traffic back to your website, but you also need to post things that are going to keep peoples interest in you. You don’t always have to stay on topic but try not to stray too far. Talking about Pancake Day is fine but try not to post anything that could alienate your readers. Also if you come across anyone who has posted something interesting and you want to pass it on to your followers then you can retweet it with a simple click of the mouse.

Hashtags (#) are a must use tool. Let’s say you are tweeting about Norfolk and you want to link to all the other tweets about the same thing . To do this you simply add at the end of your tweet #Norfolk (Remember not to add spaces between words). Remember you only have 140 characters so choose your words carefully. This will then group your tweet with all other tweets featuring your chosen hashtag.

Now you are ready to go and take Twitter by storm.

*These facts were believed to be accurate when the article was originally written in February 2012.

Under Pressure

Under Pressure

We’ve all experienced it – that feeling of dread as the ‘to do’ list gets longer and time ticking by at an alarming rate. It can feel as though there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. And, in today’s difficult climate when budgets are tighter than ever before, it’s easy for this feeling to become a daily occurrence.

But worrying constantly is a symptom of stress – a condition that while many of us choose to accept as a ‘normal’ part of working life, can take a major toll on your health and wellbeing.*

Stress can affect your appetite, cause you to smoke or drink more and lead to physical problems such as headaches and dizziness, breathlessness and muscle pain.

Sufferers may lose their temper more easily and find it difficult to concentrate – bad news for employers who need a productive and happy workforce now more than ever.

And long term stress can cause a range of serious health complications including depression and insomnia, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Just this year, figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) revealed that hospital admissions for stress had risen by seven per cent in just one year in England, soaring to 6,370 in May 2012 compared to 5,960 the year before.**

So, what can be done to help ease the pressure?

The findings of a study carried out by wellness solutions provider Vielife suggest that improving your diet could have a positive impact.***

The research found that working adults who have a poor diet are more likely to suffer from stress, low productivity and low job satisfaction. Those with good nutrition achieved a six per cent higher job satisfaction score, as well as a 15 per cent higher mood score.

Additionally, almost 40 per cent of people with a low nutrition score had high stress levels and 50 per cent more sickness absence than those with good nutrition – the equivalent of an extra 576 days off for every 1,000 people employed.****

Exercise can also play a part in alleviating stress according to Dr Cary Cooper, an occupational health expert at the University of Lancaster.*****

“To deal with stress effectively, you need to feel robust and you need to feel strong mentally. Exercise does that,” he said.

In addition to lifestyle changes, talking therapies such as counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are widely renowned for helping people suffering from stress, anxiety or depression to deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes.

Westfield Health’s Chamber Primary Health Plan, which is available to all members of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, offers employees a full confidential counselling service, which includes a 24 hour counselling and advice line, as well as up to six face to face counselling sessions or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions.

The Government’s ‘No Health Without Mental Health’ strategy emphasises the importance of talking therapies such as counselling and CBT in helping treat stress, anxiety and depression.

For more information about the Chamber Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/chamber or call 0845 602 1629, available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Youth Contract Scheme

Do you want to give a young person a chance to prove themselves in your business and claim a Government subsidy? With youth unemployment still unacceptably high, thousands of talented young people are available to help your company, but can’t get a first step on the ladder. The Youth Contract provides support to employers to create nearly half a million new jobs or work placements by 2015.

Three opportunities:

  • Wage Incentives: Hire an unemployed young person for at least 6 months through the Youth generation of talent and test a potential new member of your team at a reduced cost.
  • Work Experience: Offer voluntary unpaid work experience to an 18-24 year old for 2-8 weeks without the hassle of recruitment. Support a local young person to get a real taste of a private business and learn new skills. You may even decide you want to keep them on. Contract and receive a £2,275 wage incentive (£1,137.50 for p/t position).
  • Hire an Apprentice aged 16-24 and receive £1,500 from Government (if you have fewer than 1000 employees and have not employed an Apprentice in the last 12 months). The Government will also pay 100% of training fees for 16-18 year olds and 50% for 19-24 year olds. Apprentices are an investment in the future skills and growth of your business, and offer a great way to increase staff loyalty.

Further information:

For the wage incentive or to offer work experience:

  • Jobcentre Plus on 0845 601 2001 (option 2) or textphone 0845 601 2002 for people with speech or hearing impairments.

For a £1,500 Apprenticeship Grant:

  • Apprenticeships Norfolk Phoneline: 0344 800 8024 for further advice and how to proceed.
  • Apprenticeships Norfolk Website: www.norfolk.gov.uk/apprenticeships
  • Call the National Apprenticeship Service: 08000 150 600

Content is King

I want to bring some balance into the message/media mix. I would also like to offer some words of advice for start-up enterprises based on my own business experience.

Social media has transformed the way that we communicate, as individuals sharing with friends and as businesses building a customer base through trust and recommendation. Little wonder that so much blog space is filled with ‘route to market’ advice. But, hang on a minute, what is it that we are sending on the chosen route? Content of course.

Communications Technology and Data Management are specialist fields that have changed forever the way that advertising agencies and their related services work. An over-emphasis on media channels however can confuse and overshadow the keystone of your marketing activities – content of course.

There are only two things that we can see on a website, facebook page, brochure or tablet of stone: words and images. It’s the content that sells, not the delivery system.

Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s vital that we get our messages to our target audience through channels which will maximise the ROI. We content creators must shape our copy style and structure to suit the intended platform. An integrated approach twixt message and media is clearly essential, but, putting media before message is like sourcing transport before the goods are ordered.

Whatever your business, whether you offer products or services, think hard about your target customers and your competitors. What sets you apart and will make you the chosen one? Define your USP and you have found your core message. This is particularly true for start-up enterprises. You need to sell yourself from the get-go. Don’t let anyone persuade you that advertising is a waste of money. Only bad advertising is. Good content is your best salesman and he should always return more than he costs.

You’re an expert in your business but don’t hesitate to talk to experts who know how and where to sell your offer. Beware of advice that confuses and jargon that is used for cool effect. And beware the myth-makers…

Myth 1: “Advertising is dead.” Good advice from those who believe Elvis is alive.

Myth 2: “The medium is the message.” Wrong – no message, no medium. But this from Marshall McLuhan who famously was paid a handsome fee by General Motors only to tell them that automobiles were a thing of the past.

Myth 3: “Marketing creates brands.” Truth – customer experience creates brands.

If you are a start-up business wanting to get your story read, (and why would you not?) my advice is to make sure it’s worth reading. Stating the obvious, yes, but attention spans are short in the digital age. You need content that says exactly what you do, (so many fail to do this with absolute clarity) and tells your reader what’s in it for them. Your target customers are not interested in you, only in what you can do for them!

Never talk down to your audience. As advertising guru David Ogilvy said, “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” Using the right tone of voice to address your target customers and to be relevant to the chosen medium is critical.

When your prospects become customers do everything and more to keep them. If content is King in the marketing realm, customer service is Queen. You have done the hard work to win a customer – don’t lose her through shoddy after-sales service. Positive word-of-mouth is good news but in an age of universal critics the reverse can do untold damage. Negative comments on sites like TripAdvisor demonstrate this point perfectly.

Writing styles and language usage are continually being re-shaped in the rapidly changing world of communications. Social media and website structure can impose tight disciplines on the copywriter. Without discipline however, copy can lose focus, and the reader’s attention. Effective content is concise and targeted. Above all it involves the reader emotionally and calls him to action.

From a very different genre, Ernest Hemingway showed us in his shortest of short stories how much could be said with minimal content: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Six brief words that conjure up a wealth of imagery in the reader’s mind.

Finally, when you’ve said what you want to say, stop! .

Health and wellbeing in the workplace

As part of our Moving and Handling courses we have included some simple strength exercises which can easily be done at home and require minimal equipment. These exercises will help improve the strength of your muscles and when coupled with safe lifting techniques will make the physical side of moving and handling tasks easier. Department of Health Guidelines state that adults need to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week in order to stay healthy. That means getting your heart rate up, and maybe working up a light sweat, for two and a half hours a week. (Change for life campaign, 2012). This can be broken down into smaller sessions over the course of the week of no less than 10minutes at a time. Although, additional benefits can be gained through regular participation in activity that is more vigorous and is of longer duration. Ideally, exercise should comprise of both cardio vascular exercise, such as brisk walking / jogging, cycling or swimming and strength training, such as press ups and squats to improve the strength of the muscle being worked, this is what we are concentrating on. Specific benefits linked to strength training include:

  • Increase functional ability and functional strength
  • Improve posture, therefore balance and co-ordination
  • Reduced back pain and stress on the back
  • Increase bone density
  • Health benefits – including lower blood pressure, weight loss
  • Not all benefits are physical, other benefits can be psychological and social, for example reduced stress

Theexercises presented on our website are simple strength exercises. Initially look to complete each exercise 10 times and increase the number of repetitions (number of times you perform each exercise) and sets (number of times you complete the entire program) as you become stronger.

Before commencing any new exercise regime you should consult with your GP or health and fitness professional. If you have any questions on the technique or form of these exercises please do not hesitate to contact Norvic and ask for Paul.

Unlocking housing market will boost UK growth – but also requires a cultural shift

The recently released Montague report on housing thankfully opens up discussion of some of the issues of housing in the UK and may help us start to address issues such as, supply and demand, quality of housing, meeting sustainability through economy of scale, creating flexible living arrangements to suit contemporary lifestyles, whilst providing longer term tenancies and security for those that require it. Essentially it requires responding more closely to the needs of users.

This comes at an appropriate time, when the planning system is recognising the importance of community, with a move towards a bottom up approach in the planning system, an active encouragement of community involvement and favourability towards development – where it is sustainable.

The suggestion that the government should assist in releasing public land and encourage local planning authorities to recognise the role of private renting is a welcome one. Furthermore, the call for local planning authorities to distinguish between the demand for rented accommodation and home ownership in the planning system is of key importance. This is due to the implications on land value calculation created by the current presumption that land for homes would be owner-occupied if not specifically earmarked for affordable housing, which of course in turn impacts the cost of development.

If to be successful, an investment in private rental development requires not only confidence from investors, private developers and local authority support, but a cultural shift in our attitudes towards how we live. Perhaps it is a particularly attractive idea to young professionals and families with contemporary ideals of living in high density urban environments, allowing the integration of life and work more closely and reducing the need to travel. The report recognises the importance of establishing street level activity quickly in new developments and the significance of community, including some of civic facilities required to build a community. But we must pay close attention to the dynamics of communities and their requirements; we must recognise the role of high quality public realm and shared space in addition to the quality of living accommodation itself to making these potential developments successful in their long-term use.

Considering that rental communities may only be successful if there is some level of permanency there is need for some mixed use within these potential developments and diversity of properties and tenure. In addition, from an urbanism point of view, we must embrace the idea of place making, the importance of shared space, green infrastructure and the need for a community to contribute to and occupy their surroundings – in order to foster a shared responsibility for them.

The pain & Debility of shingles may be alleviated with a newly available vaccine.

90% of people raised in the UK are immune to the chickenpox virus (Varicella),as they had it when they were young. When it is resolved, some virus remains latent in nerve pathways; it can reactivate in a single pathway and cause symptoms known as Shingles, (Herpes Zoster). Transmission to others at this stage is unlikely.

The frequency and effect on people increases with age, particularly in people who are stressed, run down or following a traumatic event according to the Shingles Support Society. The symptoms usually start with pain, whichmay be severe andburning, itching or tingling sensations. Usually skin blistering will occur. It may be successfully treated, if caught within 72 hours according to the Society, suppressing the virus only.

Complications include Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) which is chronic pain still present a month or so after the skin has healed. Severity varies, but can be debilitating and excruciatingand have a considerable impact on quality of life. This may be especially so in those of working age. If the area of the eye is affected then immediate referral to the emergency services is required.

A vaccine (“Zostavax”) is now available for those aged 50 years or over. One injection, just under the skin is all that is required. At present it is not available yeton the NHS and indications that it may be next year, but only for those in the age range of 70 years to 79 years. For those aged over50 years of age it is available, in limited quantities from private clinics.

“The availability of the vaccine offers the hope of reducing morbidity caused by herpes zoster and the impact of the disease on patients lives.”( Dr J. Langdon, “Vaccination”, 20:2012)

Educate or Eradicate – A guide to social networking

In this new age of ‘instant information’ is it short sighted to block social networking sites within an organisation purely because of stories in the press relating to scams, misuse and threats?

There’s an increasing trend to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as a business-enabling tool rather than solely as a personal communication aid for families and friends; Facebook now even allows you to ‘advertise’ easily. Should businesses embrace this new culture, or stick to the old-world view of ‘If it has been reported as bad, it must be’?

Is there anyway an organisation can stop staff accessing such sites in the context of the increase in consumer products which allow instant access anytime? Just look around your organisation to see how many people are carrying both corporate and personal devices…

Here’s a quick quiz; see how you do.

  1. Do you prevent your staff from accessing social networking sites on corporate devices?
  2. Do you prevent staff from attaching their own devices to corporate machines?
  3. Do you monitor when these personal devices are used to access social networking sites?
  4. Do you have control over your organisation’s social networking ‘footprint’?

If the answer to 1 is YES but the answer to 2 or 3 is NO, then the answer to 4 is NO. Did you expect that?

Perhaps it’s time for a re-think?

With the increase in the number of organisations embracing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) this trend is only going to grow. So perhaps now is the time to look at educating users about the issues, and empowering them to use these tools responsibly, rather than trying to block access; after all, this may turn into a battle you can’t win.

So, how do you educate users about social networking sites and the issues around them?

1. Passwords Teach users about good password management including password strength (difficult to guess but easy to remember), password security (keep it to yourself) and using different passwords for different sites (a password is only as strong as the weakest system you use it on).

2. Scams, click-jacking and fake apps Teach users how to spot something that is attempting to harvest data and steal identities. If people are aware of what can happen they may be less inclined to click anything- and-everything in the hope of a free gift.

3. Sensible sharing Social networking sites can be restricted to allow only a limited number of people to access data and information. If you have a target audience, do you need to tell ‘everyone’ or only those you wish to educate? Teaching people how to amend these settings to protect themselves will help you protect any corporate data you wish to place on there.

4. Monitoring (for employees) Social networks send emails relating to access, posts and mentions. Monitoring these will highlight any potential misuse which can be stopped before it gets too severe.

5. Monitoring (for employers) Regular checks of internet usage will show any misuse of social networking sites. All employees should be aware you are monitoring internet access and that misuse will be investigated. This should act as a deterrent for anyone who wishes to misuse the privilege and use corporate resources to ‘check their cityville or click that link for a free iPad’…

If all these steps are in place and your users are using social networking to enhance your corporate image and expand your client base, could there be a justification to lower the defences and allow social network access for employees?

The internet world is changing and social networking is becoming a more mainstream tool for business operations; without secure enablement there is a risk you could be left behind…

Social networking in the corporate environment is no longer about ‘no’, it’s about ‘yes, BUT’.

Protect your ideas

Protect your ideas All successful businesses start with an idea and successful businesses will keep generating new ideas. Good ideas combined with judgement, initiative and most importantly perseverance are what makes a business thrive.

No business would want to give its good ideas away for free for others to use especially due to the money, time and effort that has gone into establishing a market for those ideas, products or services. Ideas are intellectual property (IPI) which means that they are property in the same way as physical, tangible assets and can be owned by an individual or by a company.

However, this ownership does need to be defined and in most cases registered so that others know what it is they cannot do without infringing your rights. Intellectual property covers a wide range of business assets, including patents, trade marks, design rights and copyright.

Samsung and Apple’s patent clash heads for trial by jury today (30 July 2012) The tech firms have accused each other of intellectual property infringement. Billions of dollars of payments could be triggered from one business to the other and sales bans imposed if the jury finds one or both parties guilty. Together the two companies account for more than half of all the world’s smartphone sales.

Despite the fact that Apple buys many of its components from Samsung, the two have failed to agree cross-licensing deals even after the courts forced their bosses to meet for talks. Whatever the outcome the lawsuits are likely to continue with other patent disputes in the pipeline. It just shows that all sizes of companies need to take the protection of new ideas very seriously.

Within the Chamber network we have a number of experts in this area and I would encourage to visit https://www.norfolkchamber.co.uk/directory to get help and advise in this area and protect your ideas.