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Google Instant, The Importance of Your Twitter Account, and The Danger of Not Being Found

September 20, 2010 By Glenn Gabe

The Importance of Owning Your Twitter Account

I’m going to introduce a few topics before getting into the heart of this post. As you might know already, Google released a major update to its search experience a few weeks ago, called Google Instant. With Instant, Google now changes the search results as you type your query (on the fly). That includes changing the sponsored results (paid search ads), Universal Search (blended search results), etc. This post isn’t necessarily about the changes involved with Instant, but more of a side effect of the changes.

Google suggests queries (via predicted searches) as you type your query in the search box. This is based on Google’s autocomplete algorithm. So if you started to type “Apple”, you would see suggestions like “store, vacations, trailers, and iphone.” As part of Google Instant, you can select a predicted query and Google will dynamically change the search results to match that query. This works for any query you start to type, including searching for people. Yes, that’s a little foreshadowing. :)

A Twitter handle is basically the username that you select for your Twitter account. For example, my Twitter handle is glenngabe. You don’t have to use your actual name as your handle, although it could very well help you (again, more foreshadowing).

The Increasing Trend of Searching for Twitter Handles
If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably know that I’m a big believer in the service (and I’m a very active user). When I’m in the process of checking my feeds, reading new posts and articles, and posting updates on Twitter, I always try and give authors credit for their work (by referencing their Twitter accounts in my tweets). That’s one of the reasons I firmly believe that you should provide a prominent link to your Twitter account from your website template, blog template, etc. Let’s face it, you should make it easy for people who are trying to help you. But I still find many bloggers or writers that don’t provide an easy way to find their Twitter handles. In addition, some people may have heard about you from friends or colleagues. Since they’re not on your website when they hear about you, those people might simply search for your Twitter handle. That’s where Google comes into play.

Googling Your Twitter Handle
If I can’t easily find someone’s Twitter handle on the post or site in question, I quickly visit Google and enter their name along with the keyword “Twitter”. The query looks like this:

{first-name last-name twitter}
i.e. glenn gabe twitter

And many other people are doing the same thing. I know this because Google’s autocomplete algorithm shows this type of query via its predicted searches functionality (see screenshot below). You can see this in action now by searching Google for a name of someone you want to follow and then reviewing the search suggestions. For some people, you’ll see Google recommend their name and the keyword “Twitter”. For others, you’ll need to start typing “Twitter” after their name and Google Instant will start showing the results for that query. This is where it gets interesting (or not if you aren’t active on Twitter.)

Google’s Predicted Searches Shows The Popularity of a Twitter Search:
Predicted Searches for a Person

Fortunately, or unfortunately, what shows up in the search results is what people are going to check out. There are times that I end up finding the people I’m searching for. But there are times I can’t find the person I’m looking for, which often shocks me considering how Twitter has surged and how important Social Media has become. Even worse than not finding someone is seeing a Twitter account that looks like their account, but it ends up being either a squatter or some impostor. Then of course, there are people with the same name that have Twitter accounts, which can also be problematic in certain situations (if your account is not there). For example, what if they have weak profiles, no avatars (or risky avatars), questionable tweets, etc. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a Twitter account is the one you are looking for. And what if people searching for you actually think one of those questionable accounts is yours?

Google Instant makes this process even more in-your-face, since the search results dynamically change to show you what ranks for the person you are searching for. If your Twitter account isn’t there, then the person searching for you is seeing someone else or a random search result. Needless to say, this can be problematic for you, and I cover some of the dangers below of not showing up when others search for your Twitter account.

An Example of a Search for a Person’s Twitter Account:
Google Instant and Searching for Twitter Accounts

To demonstrate what can happen when you don’t show up for searches, I’ll use a celebrity so it’s overly obvious the problems that this can cause:
Google Instant and Ben Affleck's Twitter Account

Ben Affleck's Twitter Account

Yes, it’s crazy that Ben Affleck isn’t on Twitter, but think about how this applies to people you know (or yourself) versus a celebrity. By the way, check out how Ben’s fake Twitter account has gained over 4,600 followers. This could happen to you too (maybe not on the scale that it happened to Ben, but people searching for you could be tricked into thinking that it’s your real profile). And for the record, Ben’s PR Agency needs to get with it and secure his handle. Whoever owns the current @BenAffleck account could tweet whatever they want… That could be quite embarrassing for Ben.

The Danger of Not Being There (and Not Being Found)
Now that we’ve covered the trend of people searching for Twitter profiles, let’s explore some of the dangers of not being listed when people search for you.

1. Lack of Credibility
If someone is searching for your Twitter profile and cannot find it (or the right account), then you risk losing some credibility. For example, maybe they heard about you from a friend or colleague or maybe they just read an article or blog post of yours. Imagine they are excited to follow your updates on Twitter and then find out you’re not even there. Or they simply cannot find your account. Don’t risk losing credibility by not being on Twitter. It’s not a scary place. It’s a huge opportunity for you professionally (covered below).

2. Squatters, Impostors, and Your Reputation
This bullet could be the most dangerous for you. Reputation management has become a very hot topic in the age of Google. When people want to learn about you, they Google you. Period. So, it shouldn’t be a shock to know that some people will try and register your handle in order to control that account. They might end up doing nothing with the account, but they could end up tweeting “on your behalf.” And worse, people searching for your Twitter account will find that hijacked profile and not your own (because you’re not active on Twitter). Don’t let this happen to you. The people that contact me about Reputation Management almost always contact me after the fact. Be proactive and participate on Twitter today. You can check out my post about Twitter profile reviews to learn more about how to set up a solid profile.

3. Missed Exposure and Traffic
Let’s face it, there’s a good chance that you impressed someone if they are trying to find your Twitter account. Why make it hard for them to follow you, help you, and connect with you? That person could very well end up bringing you business, helping you personally, tweeting your articles or posts, and recommending you to friends, family, and coworkers. Don’t miss out on exposure, traffic, and recognition because you’re not active on Twitter. Register your handle, start following and connecting with people today, and post valuable updates on a regular basis. You won’t regret it. Also, learn more about the black hole of blogging and twitter before you start. This will give you realistic expectations about how the first few months will go.

4. Missed Followers
If you start on Twitter, you will inevitably want to build your follower count (the right way). You’ll quickly find out that there are quality followers and then zombie followers (or followers that aren’t active on Twitter or that don’t care about your updates). If someone is actively searching for your handle, they just might end up being a quality follower. That’s not always the case, but at least that person is showing initiative versus following hundreds or thousands of people with no specific reason for doing so (other than hoping some of those people follow them back). Don’t miss out on building your following because you’re simply not there.

5. Lost Business Opportunities
Yes, you can lose opportunities to build business, get a new job, and increase your personal brand by not being active on Twitter (and making it easy for other people to find you). By being active on Twitter, you can land new clients, connect with people in your industry, find influencers, and build your personal brand. If you want to prove how good you are, then let other people find you on Twitter and then earn their respect. Great things can happen when you do.

Help Them Find You
Whether you like it or not, there are people searching for your Twitter account. Either they’ll find your account and follow you, or they will find someone or something else. That something else could be another person with your name, a random search result unrelated to you or your business, or worse, an impostor. As Twitter surges and new technology like Google Instant makes it easier to find answers, you should make it as easy as possible for other people to find your profile. If you don’t, you could be losing credibility, losing business, and losing control of your reputation. Is that scary? Yes. But can you impact the result? Absolutely.

GG

Filed Under: google, reputation-management, SEO, social-media, Twitter

The Domino’s YouTube Video and the Ripple Effect on Fast Food Restaurants

April 30, 2009 By Glenn Gabe

The infamous Domino's YouTube video and its impact on fast food.My guess is that you’ve heard about the appalling Domino’s YouTube video by now. It’s the one featuring two employees performing some disgusting acts to ingredients as they prepare orders for customers. For example, one employee sticks pieces of cheese up his nose while making a sandwich with that very cheese. And if you watch the video, it only goes downhill from there. The employees then decided to upload the video to YouTube for the entire world to see. You know, because nobody visits YouTube, so they probably wouldn’t get in trouble, right? :) The videos (which I won’t link to from this post) went viral, which ignited a PR firestorm for Domino’s on a massive scale. Patrick Doyle, the President of Domino’s, released his own YouTube video explaining more about the situation, but the damage had been done. The two employees have been charged with felonies for food tampering, and I believe Domino’s is considering filing a civil suit against them (although what could you really get other than a moral victory.)

I’ve been asked at least one hundred times over the past few weeks what I think the impact will be on the Domino’s brand? Will the incident impact sales? How long before people forget about it? Is it already over? These are all great questions, but I unfortunately don’t have a crystal ball. That said, you don’t have a to be a Harvard MBA to know this will impact sales, it has tarnished the brand, and it will ultimately lead to poor business results (at least in the short term). And yes, this was all done by two people (jerks) who are now learning a hard lesson…but unfortunately at the expense of Domino’s.

Becoming Part of the Domino’s Case Study

Let’s see how an incident like this really impacts a brand and a business. It’s one thing to project how this will impact sales, the brand, etc. and it’s another thing to become part of the case study. Last Thursday I ended up taking a later train home from New York and knew I wouldn’t have much time to make dinner. As I was ready to get off my train, I decided that I would quickly pick something up on my way home. I got off the train and knew there were a few fast food restaurants right by the train station. This is where it got interesting.

As recently as a few weeks ago, I would have no problem making a quick stop at one of the fast food restaurants to pick up some dinner. But this time was different. The first thought that hit me was of the two Domino’s employees messing with the food they were preparing. I feel horrible saying that, but that image was simply the first thing that came to mind. I could not for the life of me get that image out of my head. As I walked to my car, I couldn’t get over it. That’s when I pulled out my Blackberry and ended up ordering a much more expensive dinner from a restaurant in my area (even though I knew that I would have to wait 20-30 minutes to pick it up.) Yes, I decided to spend four times the amount of money and wait an extra 20-30 minutes in order to avoid fast food restaurants. As I waited for my food at the restaurant, I started to think about how many other people this might have happened to. How many people were about to order from Domino’s, stop off at Taco Bell, visit a Burger King, and then thought of the infamous Domino’s YouTube video? How much revenue has Domino’s lost? And beyond Domino’s, how much revenue is being lost by the fast food category based on what happened? I believe there is a ripple effect from the Domino’s incident.

Could It Happen Anywhere?

Listen, I’m not naive enough to think that more expensive restaurants are free from food tampering. But, I did work in restaurants growing up and I know what an Executive Chef is like… Most are fanatical about their kitchen and their reputation. They run a tight ship and would probably physically harm anyone on their staff that pulled the sort of stunt that the two Domino’s employees pulled. So, when I thought about where to buy my dinner, I went with the higher end restaurant with the Executive Chef who would saute any person who thinks it’s funny to stick cheese up his nose and use it while preparing a dinner (or worse). I’m sorry Domino’s, I really am, but I’m not sure I can get over this so quickly…

How Many Glenn’s Are Out There And How Much Money Is Being Lost?

Let’s say there were 50,000 people in the United States like me who decided to bypass fast food restaurants for lunch or dinner. Next, let’s estimate that they would have spent ~$25 per month. That’s probably a few meals at a fast food restaurant.

50,000 people x $25 per month x 12 months would be $15 million in lost revenue per year.

That’s a lot of dough, no pun intended. So the two ex-Domino’s employees could be responsible for approximately $15 million dollars in lost revenue annually. And that doesn’t take into account the damage to the brand… Amazing, isn’t it?

In closing, I feel horrible for Domino’s. They don’t deserve this. In addition, I’m not sure their competitors are benefiting either… If there are others like me, and I’m sure there are, they are running for the hills when thinking about fast food. Personally, I’d rather dish out more money and wait on longer lines to ensure I have an Executive Chef overseeing the preparation of my dinner. How about you?

Post a quick comment below and let me know.

GG

Filed Under: reputation-management, social-media, viral-marketing, wom, youtube

Hacked Gmail Accounts: What To Do If Your Gmail Account Is Compromised By Hackers

April 1, 2009 By Glenn Gabe

How to recover your gmail account after it has been hacked.The morning of March 2nd started out fairly normally. I moved quickly to get ready and jumped on my computer to check email, twitter, my feeds, etc. So I launched Outlook and happened to see an email from one of my good friends Matt Leonard. He’s a great guy and a smart marketer so we’re in touch often. The email was sent from Matt’s gmail account and the subject line communicated the urgency of his message.

Apparently, Matt flew to Nigeria the night before to attend the Tinapa Opening Ceremony. {???} He ended up staying at a hotel, which was attacked by armed robbers. {OK…} They took all of his money and his wallet. {???} His email explained that he needed money badly, to the tune of $1500 so he could settle his hotel bill. {LOL} He seemed very scared and he emphasized that he needed the money sent as soon as possible. As you can imagine, I was genuinely concerned for Matt… {sarcasm}

Yes, Matt’s gmail account had been hacked and I’m sure many people received the same email I did. Here was the original email:

———- Forwarded message ———-

Subject: *****URGENT REPLY NEEDED *********

Hello I am in a hurry writing this message, I had a trip to West Africa *NIGERIA* on visiting the TINAPA OPENING CEREMONY, Unfortunately for me all my money got stolen at the hotel where i lodged from the attack of some armed robbers.Right now,I’m without money and I’m even owing the hotel here, the hotel telephone service is disconnected,i have only access to emails,my mobile phone can’t work here so i didn’t bring it along, please can you lend me $1500 so i can return back and settle the hotel bills i would return it back to you as soon as i get home, I am so confused right now.You can have it sent through western union money transfer. My passport is with the Embassy here so i cant use my name to collect it now, But you can have it sent directly to a western union Manager here and i would get it through him as he helps the people here in the hotel to receive the money, I have already spoken to him, please let me hear from you so i can collect his full name and address where you can send the money tomorrow please,or if possible today. I am waiting for your reply.

Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.

Regards.

—————–

OK, this was absolutely ridiculous, but being the good friend I am, I still wanted to reach out to Matt as soon as possible to let him know what was going on. I was pretty confident he didn’t know yet. Now, I didn’t know if his actual account was taken over. I simply thought that someone was blasting out emails using his address as the sender. There’s a difference between the two. So, I created a new email (which was sent to his gmail account) informing him that his email address had been compromised. Unfortunately, that was the only email address I had for Matt…

It was a brief email that looked like this:

————————–

Hi Matt.

I just received a spam email from your gmail acct. Not sure if it’s

widespread or not, but wanted to let you know.

It was one of those Nigerian schemes.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Glenn

———————–

It was only a few minutes when I received an email back from Matt. My guess was that he wanted to quickly thank me for notifying him of the scam. I opened the email and was shocked to see that the original email from Matt wasn’t a joke! Matt was in fact in Nigeria at a hotel and needed money. {sarcasm yet again}

You see, “Matt” actually responded to my email!

Holy smokes, the scammers who hacked Matt’s gmail were answering emails right from his account! I’ll admit it, that creeped me out. Read their response to my email below:

———- Forwarded message ———-

Subject: Re: Email Spam

To: Glenn Gabe

Hello,

Its not a scam mail, i am really there now. i need you to help me with $1500, i shall pay you as soon as a i return. i hope to read from you asap. below is the info where the money will be sent to….

——————

So, I direct messaged Matt via Twitter notifying him of the hack, this time using only 140 characters or less. :) Before long, I received a DM back from Matt that he was handling the situation. He thanked me, and got back to fixing the problem. So, after Matt recovered his gmail account (and after he got pummeled by jokes on Twitter), I asked him about the steps he took to recover his gmail account.

After this happened to Matt, I asked myself if I would know what to do… I really didn’t. I’m sure I would eventually figure it out, but I didn’t know the exact steps. So with Matt’s assistance, I decided to write this post to document the steps you should take to recover your gmail account after it has been compromised.

So in Matt’s own words, here’s how to handle the situation:

The process was pretty simple.

First, from the Gmail login page, select “I can not access my account”.

Gmail, I cannot access my account.

Second, select the radio button “My account has been compromised”. This will show a new prompt below “Please fill out our account recovery form to help us process your request as quickly as possible”. Follow that link.

Gmail, my account has been compromised.

From the Account Recovery page, select “I believe someone has taken over my account” and fill out as much information as possible.

In my case, Google had contacted me pretty quickly via my alternate email with instructions to reset my password. {Glenn: Make sure your alternate email is active. You can check this from your Google account settings. You can also add additional email addresses just in case.}

Some other useful notes from Matt:

I’m not sure how someone hacked my gmail account. I did make a mistake by using the same password on way too many things. My main passwords are now individually unique. Passwords I set up for vendor accounts are no longer the same as I would use for other more sensitive services, like online banking.

Matt’s Tips to Protect to Your Logins:

1. Avoid unsecured networks

2. Don’t use the same password everywhere.

3. Don’t duplicate your email password with any login elsewhere (if you do, someone can use your email to login to your other accounts).

4. Change passwords periodically.

5. Don’t share your passwords with anyone. Even if they’re not going to abuse it, they may not store it properly.

6. Know where you enter passwords. 3rd party Twitter apps that require passwords are a perfect example of sites that people will enter their password without much familiarity aside from a tweet referral.

——————–

So there you have it. If you wake up one morning and everyone is asking how and why you checked into a Nigerian Hotel, forgot your wallet, ran up a $1500 bill, and now need money, you’ll know how to handle it. :) And definitely feel free to connect with Matt on Twitter. It’s ok to joke around with him about the situation. He’s a nice guy and has handled the jokes with grace. But don’t go too far, he can bench press 375 pounds and used to be a minor league hockey player. ;-)

GG

Filed Under: google, reputation-management

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