Email has been in the news recently for more than just SPAM.
The biggest news item was VP candidate Sarah Palin's use of Yahoo Mail for government business. Apparently, the email account was not breached by any high level hacker attack, but by a weakness in the Yahoo Password Reset.
The other, not a well know, was at the media agency Carat. In that case a private email intended for senior managers was sent to all employees. The email detailed layoffs and 'talking points' of how to deal with clients.
Both these cases high light problems with human side of email. In the first case, Palin either chose to ignore, or wasn't aware of, rules for use of email for government business. And, like most people, wasn't fully aware of how insecure email is.
In the second case, it appears structures were not in place to prevent this type of error. While the HR VP is taking the heat for the error, clearly the IT department deserves some of the blame for not disabling the "Reply All" option.
Email is, in many respects like sending a digital postcard. Any server handling the email can read, copy or scan (thats the NSA for you conspiracy buffs) your email. Your server mailbox is like your post office mailbox, anyone with the key can access it. Except, online, they can keep trying keys until the find one that fits. Or, as is suspected in Sarah Palin's case, have a new key sent to them.
We all use email every day in our business. And, in most cases we don't understand the technology behind it. It is up to each company to develop their rules for the use of email. They must also clearly explain the reason for these rules if they expect people to follow them.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
They Are Not Looking
Launching a new website is always an exciting event. Finally, all the effort any planning of the last few months is going to start paying off.
Launching a site for our first major client was even more exciting. Our budding reputation was riding on this site. We wanted everything to be perfect. And, we thought it was. The client, a local resort, was happy, the site looked great, even the transfer to the new site went smooth.
The client had spread the word about th new site to her friends and suppliers and we were anxiously waiting for feedback. To our surprise the first comment we got back was "How do I book a room?".
We checked the site - there was "BOOK NOW" graphic in the top left corner. We checked the link and it was working. What was wrong.
We now know, thanks to studies by Enquiro that some graphics can act as a barrier. "Blending your conversion trigger into that graphic makes it invisible." In our case, the "BOOK NOW" graphic was overlaid on the main header graphic.
The solution was quick and simple. We added a "BOOK NOW" link into the menu. Later we did our own study we confirmed - no one was clicking on the graphic.
Fortunately, the client is still ith us -- only the graphic is gone.
Launching a site for our first major client was even more exciting. Our budding reputation was riding on this site. We wanted everything to be perfect. And, we thought it was. The client, a local resort, was happy, the site looked great, even the transfer to the new site went smooth.
The client had spread the word about th new site to her friends and suppliers and we were anxiously waiting for feedback. To our surprise the first comment we got back was "How do I book a room?".
We checked the site - there was "BOOK NOW" graphic in the top left corner. We checked the link and it was working. What was wrong.
We now know, thanks to studies by Enquiro that some graphics can act as a barrier. "Blending your conversion trigger into that graphic makes it invisible." In our case, the "BOOK NOW" graphic was overlaid on the main header graphic.
The solution was quick and simple. We added a "BOOK NOW" link into the menu. Later we did our own study we confirmed - no one was clicking on the graphic.
Fortunately, the client is still ith us -- only the graphic is gone.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Test - Test and Test Again
We just finished a presentation for potential client. They wanted to upgrade their existing website.
As part of the preparation we checked out everything on their existing sites. Among the items we checked was their contact form.
At the presentation I remarked that they needed to improve their 'back end' since after 5 days, I still hadn't received a reply to the contact form I submitted. This, of course got the attention of the Marketing Director. She went to the person who handles the replies to the contact forms and she said she had replied to my contact.
It could have all ended right there. They would have thought I didn't know what I was talking about. And, I would have wondered why I never heard from them again.
But it didn't end there. It turns out the person handling the email contacts is very conscientious and pretty smart. She sent me a follow up email using her personal account.
By doing so we found the email account used to respond to online contacts wasn't working. And, I looked like a hero. (albeit a small one)
Two things that every business MUST remember.
First - Never assume your site is working properly just because you don't get any error reports. Test - test and test again.
Second - Always get good staff.
As part of the preparation we checked out everything on their existing sites. Among the items we checked was their contact form.
At the presentation I remarked that they needed to improve their 'back end' since after 5 days, I still hadn't received a reply to the contact form I submitted. This, of course got the attention of the Marketing Director. She went to the person who handles the replies to the contact forms and she said she had replied to my contact.
It could have all ended right there. They would have thought I didn't know what I was talking about. And, I would have wondered why I never heard from them again.
But it didn't end there. It turns out the person handling the email contacts is very conscientious and pretty smart. She sent me a follow up email using her personal account.
By doing so we found the email account used to respond to online contacts wasn't working. And, I looked like a hero. (albeit a small one)
Two things that every business MUST remember.
First - Never assume your site is working properly just because you don't get any error reports. Test - test and test again.
Second - Always get good staff.
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