Book Review: Social Media Scams By Kathleen McMahon

Social Media Scams: Protect Yourself on Facebook, Twitter, eBay & More (Internet Scams Revealed) (Volume 2)

Author: Kathleen McMahon

Publisher: KTMObooks.com

Date: January 15, 2013

Length: 220 Pages



About The Author
Kathleen McMahon has expertise and knowledge built upon 30 years in the hi-tech industry, including 18 years as an Internet business owner. Kathleen currently hosts active blogs and Facebook pages where users share their social media and email scam experiences.

Online Fraud and Social Media Scams Are On the Rise
Ms. McMahon has declared war on Internet scammers!

This ebook provides detailed information about the most popular and lucrative scams on popular social media sites. She states the top scams are:

• Scammers posing as FBI to defraud victims.
• Identity theft.
• Advanced fee fraud - victims pay for something that doesn't exist or has no value.
• Overpayment fraud - scammers overpaying with counterfeit check and asking victims to deposit and forward a portion (from their good money) to a third party via wire transfer.
• Romance and dating scams.
• Work-at-home scams.

The author explains how these scams work and how Internet users should protect themselves and avoid being victimized by these criminals.

The author's most adamant warning is: NEVER, NEVER send money via Western Union wire transfer. DON'T DO IT!

My Thoughts
I believe knowledge is power. I have set a goal for myself to read every book/report/article that I can find to increase my knowledge on the subject of Internet scams.

This book provides an abundance of information. The author has done a great deal of research and shares her findings in this ebook. She has also collected stories from scam victims and shares some true "horror" stories in this book.

Unfortunately, I learned that scammers are much more clever than I thought. I have been selling on eBay for many years and I found the chapter on eBay scams quite enlightening. I have actually been the victim of several of these scams over the past 15 years.

One time I went to my eBay account and found numerous expensive items listed under my account that I didn't list. I called eBay on the telephone and found out that my account had been hacked and all the fraudulent listings were cancelled. I had to change my passwords but I was able to keep my account and feedback score. None of the listings were sold so I had a minimum amount of damage control to deal with.

I learned about several scams that I didn't have a clue about. DUH!
Do you ever get emails from Linked-In saying someone would like to join your network? These emails can be scams that take you to a bogus web site and will collect your email address and password when you try to sign-in to your account. You should always go to the Linked-In web site and log-in with your password before you approve any of these contact requests ~ DO NOT RESPOND TO THE EMAILS.

I have to admit that I am a little paranoid after reading this book. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. This book could save you some serious grief in the future. Highly recommended!

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I borrowed this ebook with my Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.

Have you ever been the victim of an Internet scammer? Please share your story in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: The Social Executive by Dionne Kasian-Lew

The Social Executive: Winning In The Multi-Trillion Social Economy

Author: Dionne Kasian-Lew

Publisher: BookBaby

Date: February 1, 2013

Pages: 60



About The Author
A respected thought leader and international pioneer in social executive leadership, Dionne Kasian-Lew is the CEO of The Social Executive™.  Dionne is highly regarded as a speaker and has been active on the speaking circuit since 2009 including as a conference chair, panelist, keynote speaker and contributor to thought leadership roundtables.

A Call To Leaders
"Social" is a hybrid word that means connecting, online or offline.

Many executives know "social" will be meaningful, but they are not sure: when, what, how. Ms. Kasian-Lew believes executives need to be involved in the social mindset.

Social is not a fad.

Leaders set the vision and the strategy of the company.
Customers no longer trust companies to tell them about their products or services...they trust their peers.

Leaders are paid to make decisions. Social intelligence can provide rich data and strategic insights that inform that process.

This little gem is packed with research, resources and strategies. The book includes 12 case studies that illustrate how social media is used for business.

My Thoughts
This book explains exactly WHY your business needs social media. The time is NOW for leaders to start building their corporate and personal platforms. Executives need to learn how to engage on the basic platforms. Then they need to start raising digital and social expectations at the leadership level and across the business.

Ms. Kasian-Lew has done an excellent job presenting information that business executives need to know and understand. Change is not easy but an investment in social media will pay huge dividends in the future. This book gets right to the important points....there is no fluff here. Read the book and be prepared to step into the future.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a digital preview copy of this book from NetGalley.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Guest Blog Post: Christopher Smith on Social Media Marketing

I would like to welcome guest blogger Christopher Smith to JanetteFuller.Com. Mr. Smith is a Social Media Marketing Specialist. He is passionate about using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to help online entrepreneurs network and build a brand that will be rewarding and profitable.

Simply do a Google search on “Social Media” or “Social Websites” and your computer may blow up from all of the links that will show up. Depending upon which source you consider, there are around 100 global social media websites with a large number of unique visitors. These range from Facebook with approximately 908,000,000 registered global users to lesser known websites like Nexopia that caters to Canadians and has over 1,000,000 active users. I’ve had the blessing of being able to utilize Social Media to generate a substantial second income from home. Here are my thoughts on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facebook

Facebook by far is the largest global social media website. Facebook is great for cultivating personal relationships. You can reconnect with friends from grade school. You are able to get in touch with family members that you see every few years. I’ve been able to re-connect with friends that I’ve lost touch with over 15 years ago. Most of my family is a 10 hour car ride away. It is great to see baby pictures of new additions to our clan before they turn three years old. Most people get a card or two on their birthday. When your birthday shows up, your Facebook profile will explode with birthday wishes. Facebook is great for building relationships and building your personal “brand” but not the best choice to market products or services. Share your vacation pictures but not your investment ideas on Facebook.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is considered by many to be the best professional social media website. In my opinion, LinkedIn is a combination of an online head-hunter, a chatty friend and a potential boss. People literally make professional connections on LinkedIn that result in employment and / or contracted work. You are encouraged to network with your personal connections and even make introductions between your connections. LinkedIn makes it super easy to target a search to locate a professional.  Hypothetically speaking, you could find a basket weaver with a four year degree living in Mystery, Alaska. If he or she didn’t exist, LinkedIn would show you other basket weavers in this general area. LinkedIn is great for making professional connections, developing potential business relationships (partners, contacts, professional networks, etc.) and building your personal “brand.” You will not want to share your vacation pictures here but maybe offer to show others how you were able to go on vacation from your business venture.

About Christopher Smith

Christopher Smith is a Social Media Specialist and Online Auction Coach / Mentor. Between his Twitter accounts, eBay accounts, LinkedIn account,  professional / personal Facebook pages and Youtube Channel, he reaches thousands of people each day.

http://linkedin.com/in/chrissmithblog

http://facebook.com/chrissmithblog

http://twitter.com/chrissmithblog

http://www.youtube.com/chrissmithblog

Come Back Tomorrow For More With Chris Smith!

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: Storytelling About Your Brand

We all have stories to tell. Storytelling makes your personal brand come alive by allowing you to express your key attributes, values, passions and accomplishments in a relevant and compelling way.

Storytelling About Your Brand Online and Offline by Bernadette Martin provides tips, tools, resources and examples that will help you decide what you want to say and how you can deliver it through the power of storytelling.


About The Author
Bernadette Martin is Founder of Visibility Branding, LLC and is a Career Transition Brand Strategist where she offers career development services for individuals (professionals, entrepreneurs, MBA and Executive MBA graduates) and organizations (universities, associations and corporations).

The Power of Storytelling
The author begins this book by sharing the "D-words" that are used in the Reach personal branding process. You will DISCOVER and DEVELOP your stories, DISTILL the ones that resonate with your target, DIGITIZE and then DISCLOSE and DISSEMINATE online and offline. Finally, you will DOCUMENT and DESIGN with your unique visual branding.

The author provides several examples of product brand storytelling. Brand stories are designed to create emotions like desire, craving and trust to win the hearts and minds of customers. The Walt Disney Company has used storytelling to market it's brand for many years.

This book features interviews with Susan Guarneri ("Career Assessment Goddess"), Rebecca Castleton (Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator practitioner), Julie Vetter ("Google Goddess"), Lou Bortone (Founder of Online Video Branding, LLC) and several others. These experts offer a wealth of information about developing your personal story and telling your story.

Ms. Martin offers detailed information on developing online portfolios, summaries and bios. She gives guidelines for creating an "elevator pitch" that can be used online or offline. The book provides some very helpful tips for using storytelling during the job interview process.

How Can I Use The Information In This Book?
This book is a fairly short read but it is packed full of useful information. I worked as an elementary school librarian for many years so I was attracted to the word "storytelling" in the title of this book.

I am often hesitant to share personal details about my life. The author explains that these stories make you unique and marketable. People will forget your statistics but will remember your stories. I was inspired to write the blog post, My Little Girl Joined the Navy, after reading this book.

This book provides some excellent information on developing online portfolios, summaries and bios. I learned that I really need to work on my "Summary" on LinkedIn. I also need to work on the "Bio" on my blog and on Facebook. This book provides tips that will help you develop the "brand that is you".  I recommend this book for anyone who wants to take their personal brand to the next level.

FYI ~ This is the first Kindle book that I checked out from my public library. I am so excited about having this resource available. I am very impressed with the selection of quality books that are available. Woot!!!

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Be Social Be Rich

I recently received a digital review copy of "Be Social Be Rich: Social Networking Your Way to Endless Profits!", by Martha Giffen, to read and review on this blog. I am always looking for new books on the subject of social media marketing so I was thrilled to have this opportunity.
Martha Giffen is CEO of Best Kind Marketing, LLC. She has built a successful business using social networking to connect with people "one person at a time." She has co-authored a best-selling book, produced a popular Twitter training program, created motivational audios, and been featured on numerous talk radio shows. I met Martha during one of the Ultimate Blog Challenges and I have been a fan ever since. She blogs about methods and techniques to help entrepreneurs build thier own online businesses.

Martha Giffen loves people and she understands the power of building relationships. In Be Social Be Rich: Social Networking Your Way to Endless Profits!, she shares the experiences that have helped her build a successful business. Martha is a Twitter Guru and she explains many methods that have helped her meet people, build relationships and get clients. She has used a personal page and fan page to network with hundreds of people on Facebook. 
Mrs. Giffen explains how to use LinkedIn as a business networking tool. She explains that the profile is very important and is the basis for connecting with other people in your niche. Martha reveals some of her blogging secrets in the chapter on blogging. She explains that blogging is social because sucessful bloggers connect and interact with their readers.
I really enjoyed the chapter entitled, "Secrets of Seminar Networking". I have never attended an internet marketing seminar so I was very interested in this topic. Martha tells how she has met some very influential internet marketers by attending seminars. She explains how she has met many seminar speakers and presenters during after-hours meals and gatherings.
Mrs. Giffen included informative articles by Warren Whitlock, Dabney Porte, and Christina Hills to add more value to this virtual gold mine of social media information.

I REALLY like this book because....
it provides the "total picture" of what is needed to thrive and succeed in the world of social media marketing. Mrs. Giffen makes it very clear that building relationships must always come before the sales pitch. This means getting out of your comfort zone and reaching out to people.
This book will inspire and motivate you. I have a feeling that Martha will touch your heart just like she did mine. I learned that "being social" can lead to financial riches but more importantly, it will provide opportunities to develop relationships and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Be Social Be Rich: Social Networking Your Way to Endless Profits! is now available in paperback version at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will be available soon.

Please share your thoughts in the Coments section below.

Book Review: Social Media For The CEO

I recently read Social Media for the CEO: The Why and ROI of Social Media for the CEO of Today and Tomorrow by Eve Mayer Orsburn.  I read this book in digital format on my Kindle.  I borrowed the book from a fellow member of the Kindle Lending Club. 
Ms. Orsburn is the founder and CEO of Social Media Delivered in Dallas, Texas.  This book provides an abundance of information for the CEO who is interested in promoting his/her business.  You are not a CEO?  The good news is that this book will benefit anyone who wants to learn more about social media marketing. 
Ms. Orsburn emphasizes that social media is about communication and building relationships.  Social media delivers (1) customer service, (2) marketing and (3) communication.  It is as simple as that. 
The author provides 14 case studies of companies that use social media to build their client base and grow their businesses.  Some of these companies are the Mayo Clinic, Anheuser-Busch, Texas State Optical and General Motors.  Ms. Orsburn explains how she built her reputation as a social media consultant on Linked-In. 
I found the author's "Social Media Equation" the highlight of this book.  She breaks down the amount of time that you should spend in providing information, entertaining and interacting with people that you connect with on social media sites.  If you follow this formula, you will reap the rewards of new friendships, professional contacts and clients.  I am going to write this formula on a piece of paper and tape it to my desk. 
This book is a quick read and is very easy to understand.  The concepts that are presented in this book are very doable.  I have read quite a few books on this subject and I honestly believe that I learned more practical information from this book than from any other. 
PS: The last pages of this book lists hundreds (thousands?) of Twitter names that the author follows.  I found this list fascinating and I am using it to find many new people to follow.