j-j.co.za
Sharing thoughts and ideas on business, security and photographyLinkedIn reaches 200 million and I’m in the Top 5% most viewed profiles (along with 10 million others!)
Posted on February 17, 2013I received a mail the other day to say that LinkedIn had reached 200 million members, and that my profile was one of the Top 5% of most viewed profiles. Sounds impressive doesn’t it? Perhaps a little less so when you consider 10 million other members must have received the same mail. Ah well, below is a snapshot of that mail and the accompanying info-graphic just for interest sake. Sadly this doesn’t show South Africa to be a top user of Linked In. In fact Africa doesn’t even warrant a dot, I guess that means we have fewer members than even the 3 million of Australia. Ah well.
App.net The future or just another twitter wannabe?
Posted on October 13, 2012Back on 2nd September, after having heard about it on twitter and in tech circles, I finally got around to signing up for app.net. I had briefly checked it out before, but given the $50/year fee hadn’t bothered. Is time around I decided that I wanted my @jjza handle on app.net and that the $50 wasn’t that much of an investment to reserve the name. Since then the price has fallen to a more reasonable $36 and early adopters given an extension to their original subscription period.
App.net is still very much under development and after signing up I didn’t really use it much. Then along came Netbot, a rehashed twitter client specifically for app.net and iOS / iPad and its pretty darn slick. So now I have started using App.net a bit more.
There are still not a lot of users on board, although the numbers are increasing rapidly. At the time I signed up there were around 20 000, I’m not sure of the latest count. This low user base was even more apparent when I had Netbot search my twitter follower list and give me the option of following them on App.net. The results were disappointing but at the same time it was good to see a few familiar faces like Erik Hersman, Paul Jacobson and Steven Fry on there.
App.net is still evolving, new features are being added all the time, and Netbot is a really slick client, I like the 256 character limit rather than the 140 of twitter, though honestly can’t tell you if there are any real benefits. I guess that will be figured out as we to along and for now I will cross post stuff between App.net and twitter until a critical mass of followers emerges.
If you make it over that side, follow me : https://alpha.app.net/jjza
Please share your thoughts on the new platform.
Your twitter account has been hacked? How to fix this (and avoid it happening again)
Posted on July 01, 2012My Twitter account was “hacked” a number of months back, and the accounts of a number of people I follow have been hacked on a fairly regular basis since. This is unfortunately a regular occurrence and spammers are increasing their efforts to get access to people’s accounts to spam their followers.
How do you know if someone you are following has been “hacked”?
You will in all likelihood get a direct message from someone you follow which will be a generic message (but interesting or tempting one) which will have an embedded link to a site. Links these days are mostly shortened so you won’t immediately be able to see the final destination site. Clicking on it could be compromising your account and / or delivering up malware to your PC which your Antivirus software may or may not detect. So avoid clicking these.
Common messages that are coming up recently as direct messages include :
- Twitter might start to charge in July, sign this petition to keep the service free! (link removed)
- Hi, this user is saying really bad rumors about you … (link removed)
- Hi some person is saying really bad things about you … (link removed)
- Hi somebody is posting horrible rumors about you … (link removed)
- Hey someone is saying nasty things about you… (link removed)
- Various messages about weight loss or other obvious spam
How do you know if you have been “hacked”?
Your followers will send you messages pretty quickly to tell you, or they will be asking you why you are sending them strange messages (like the ones above). Don’t ignore these or react negatively, thank them for the warning and get on with fixing the problem before more of you followers are spammed and / or compromised.
What to do when you have been “hacked” ?
- Change your password.
- Choose something decent, not a real language word, chuck in some numbers or special characters, and don’t think you are smart by using l33t sp3@k (leet speak).
- Ra35!!me would be good, whereas P@ssw0rd would be bad.
- Check to see what applications are “authorised” against your account. This can be used to keep sending SPAM even after you have changed your password.
- Log in to your Twitter account on the web and open up your account settings.
- Click on the Apps tab in the left-hand menu.
- Read down through the list of applications to see that you know about them and trust them
- If unsure of an application, revoke its access. You can always approve it again later.
- Check that if you associated your mobile number with your twitter account you have set up a PIN
- Log in to your Twitter account on the web and open up your account settings.
- Click on the Mobile tab in the left-hand menu.
- Choose a PIN if you don’t have one (mix of 4 numbers and letters)
- Go to the bottom of the page and click Save changes.
- If your PIN is OK you will see a confirmation message.
- Apologise to your followers. Send them here if they have been “hacked”. Shortlink : http://j-j.co.za/twithack
- Be vigilant
How did you get hacked?
You may have clicked on one of the direct message links as per the examples above, or you may have received an interesting tweet or link to :
- Sign a petition to stop twitter becoming a pay service
- Save the Rhino, the Dolphins or the World
- Anything else that looked interesting
If you do inadvertently click on a link, in some cases the URL shortening service (eg. bit.ly) will pop up a warning where they have determined the link to be dangerous. Consider this your guardian angel, say thanks and close the window.
If unlucky, you will end up on the page the attackers want you to. The most recent two I investigated put me on a page on tvvitiler.com which was a copy of the twitter login page with a timeout message asking me to log in again. If you are unfortunate enough to do so, that’s you toast, proceed to the fix section below 
The sites hosting these fake login pages vary from post to post and are more often than not themselves hacked, with the unlucky owners unaware of what is happening.
Chances are therefore that some website or app somewhere conned you into giving your credentials to Twitter or the app/site so that it could post something on your behalf. It may well be something that you wanted posted, however, it then piggybacks off that to send a whole lot of unwanted stuff. Just be aware, and vigilant, and followup quickly when something happens.
With information security, knowing how to react and clean up is just as important as prevention. It is not a matter of if, but of when your account will be compromised.
Thanks to :
- Mandy Wilson (@Mandywilson_SA)
- Samantha (@MetroGalZN)
If you have further comments and insight please leave it in the comments here or tweet me (@jjza). Please share this information (http://j-j.co.za/twithack)
P.S. To those infosec folks reading this, apologies for my very liberal use of the word “hack”
Tomorrow’s Leaders Convention 2012 : My tweet timeline recorded #in
Posted on March 17, 2012
On Tuesday 13 March 2012 I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the Tomorrow’s Leaders Convention 2012 (link here) at the Sandton Convention centre as a guest of the conference organisers, representing the ISACA South Africa Chapter. The conference was really impressive and the speakers just got better as the day went on.
I tweeted quite a lot during the course of the day, capturing some of the essence of what the speakers had to say. For those of you who weren’t there, or who were and just wish to be reminded of what some of the excellent speakers had to say, below is a combination of the timelines of the @ISACAZA and @JJZA accounts I used to tweet from the day.
The theme of the convention was around ethical leadership and sustainable leadership. This lead to some really interesting presentations.
I hope this is useful to some of you.
Enjoy
Justin
| 2012/03/13 09:21 | Isacaza: Thanks to the organisers of the Tomorrow’s Leaders Convention 2012 for inviting Isaca South Africa to be part of the event. |
| 2012/03/13 09:22 | Isacaza: Keynote speaker : Adv Thulisile Madonsela, our Public Protecter #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:25 | Isacaza: True leaders don’t need a title, they step up and lead. Those with titles may not be leaders, but just title holders #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:32 | Isacaza: Is ethical leadership in the corporate world an oxymoron? It is key to sustainable leadership. #tlc |
| 2012/03/13 09:33 | Isacaza: In ethical leadership the end does not justify the means. You must do the right thing the right way. Must not break the rules! #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:36 | Isacaza: Public protector often approached by shareholders where the directors have manipulated the system for self enrichment. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:37 | Isacaza: Ethics has become a requirement for an organisation to be a market leader. Clear link between ethics and sustainable performance #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:40 | Isacaza: RT @RaeleneRorke: Ethical leadership-at the core of the conference-loving the freshness of this theme.At last we make it cool to be an h … |
| 2012/03/13 09:47 | Isacaza: Protection of information bill in current state would have a negative impact on public protector and others in ethics space #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 09:48 | Isacaza: RT @gradidgec: #TLC2012 Adv T Madonsela: ‘the most common challenge I come across is abuse of power’ |
| 2012/03/13 09:50 | Isacaza: Quietly spoken, but thoughtful, confident and powerful. Our public protector. Adv Thulisile Madonsela #tlc2012 Great choice for keynote. |
| 2012/03/13 10:07 | Michael from Vodacom up on stage
Isacaza: By 2020 there will be no shortage of talent in South Africa, problem will be employability. Shortage in developed world #tlc2012 #dhl |
| 2012/03/13 10:20 | Isacaza: Mobility is creating challenges for organisations instead of solving them #tlc2012 #vodacom |
| 2012/03/13 10:21 | jjza: RT @MarkJLamberti: Excellent meeting with Minister Manuel & others. What have you done to understand & respond to the work of the Nation … |
| 2012/03/13 10:24 | Isacaza: In Tanzania Malaria has almost been eradicated through use of SMS technology to identify and contain outbreaks #tlc2012 #vodacom |
| 2012/03/13 10:29 | Isacaza: RT @STNxumalo: Abuse of power is as bad as the waste thereof: You’re in a powerful position, but you do nothing! -Michael Allschwang # … |
| 2012/03/13 10:31 | Isacaza: Leadership without title is the most powerful. Leave titles behind. #vodacom #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 10:31 | jjza: RT @khanyisile: The five bases of power: position, reward, skill, knowledge and relationship power (trust, respect from other people etc … |
| 2012/03/13 10:34 | jjza: RT @NeilBierbaum: Vodacom presentation #TLC2012 about power. Power over others is implied; power over oneself is missing. Self-awareness … |
| 2012/03/13 10:36 | Isacaza: Execution with excellence sets you apart from others #vodacom #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 10:40 | jjza: Nobuzwe Mangcu from #mercedes up on stage talking about our future #tlc2012 without doing things together there is no future |
| 2012/03/13 11:53
|
Sakie Macozoma takes to the stage
Isacaza: What will tomorrow’s leaders inherit from today’s leaders? #sustainable leadership #tlc2012 Sakie Macozoma, Chairman Liberty Group |
| 2012/03/13 11:54 | jjza: RT @JeremyK_za: #tlc2012. Great speakers >> Agreed |
| 2012/03/13 11:57 | Isacaza: Should we be measuring Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product? #tlc2012 #macozoma |
| 2012/03/13 11:59 | Isacaza: Largest population of retirees ever, depending on heavily indebited governments #europe #tlc2012 Europe will be in the doldrums for a while |
| 2012/03/13 12:03 | jjza: Do we have political leaders who understand the importance of funding of research ? #tlc2012 we need sustainable technologies |
| 2012/03/13 12:04 | jjza: RT @egoligal: Wow! Saki talking about #cradle2cradle design & #biomimicry as the way of the future! #Yes – taking direction from #Mo … |
| 2012/03/13 12:08 | Simone Zanetti takes to the stage
Isacaza: Is training killing knowledge? #tlc2012 the future of people’s performance |
| 2012/03/13 12:13 | jjza: @sikimgabadeli great, please share when you get the link. |
| 2012/03/13 12:19 | jjza: Split between structured and unstructured learning? Average 80% unstructured. Information is changing rapidly. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:21 | jjza: We need to be learning faster, and in more unstructured ways. Average company in SA spends R30000/employee per year #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:23 | jjza: RT @egoligal: Forcefeeding information to employees a waste of time! Data shifting & increasing so rapidly that info based training … |
| 2012/03/13 12:24 | jjza: Take away artificial ways of doing business and try to let them work in a way that brings out the best in people. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:25 | jjza: RT @KMathelela: There is more information in a newspaper 2day than wat a middle-aged man wud learn in his entire life #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:26 | jjza: Less than 15% of what people are trained on is retained. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:28 | Isacaza: The more you train the less people remember, and they won’t remember if what they remember is correct. Future is instant knowledge #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:30 | jjza: Natural language social knowledge systems the way of enhancing productivity in the future? #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:31 | jjza: RT @msalili: Train people how to FIND the correct info, rather than REMEMBER the correct info. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:34 | jjza: Self learning predictive knowledge tools provide instant knowledge. Not just a nice theory. Works for Standard Bank. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:35 | jjza: RT @msalili: Eish, opening these bloody water bottles is a mission. Fire the supplier! #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:45 | jjza: RT @taraturk1: @KMathelela: Simone Zanetti, awesome speaker #TLC2012 > agree! >> most passionate of the day so far |
| 2012/03/13 12:47 | jjza: Think big and bold, but don’t lose sight of the problem and solution. Embrace partnerships. Don’t be afraid to fail. #tlc2012 |
|
2012/03/13 12:49 |
Thebe Ikalafeng takes to the stage jjza: People are brands and can be branded. In 1997 Fortune said the only differentiator in the 21st century will be branding #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 12:51 | Isacaza: A brand is not what you say, it’s what others say #tlc2012 A brand is a storehouse of trust. |
| 2012/03/13 12:51 | jjza: A brand is not what you say, it’s what others say #tlc2012 A brand is a storehouse of trust. |
| 2012/03/13 12:56 | jjza: Great brands are : focused, distinctive, emotionally connected, evolve, build their country #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:00 | jjza: Age of mass individualisation. Innervation. What makes you distinctive? What is your brand? #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:02 | jjza: Run your career like a business. You are the CEO of You Inc. If you can’t triumph with talent, triumph with effort #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:05 | jjza: Understand your context. Self examination. Listen to the gossip. When people talk about you it is an opportunity to reflect. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:08 | jjza: Clarity. Clarify who you are, position yourself, create a vision of where you headed. What is the thing you are willing to die for? #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:15 | jjza: You don’t want to merely be the best of the best, you want to be the only one who does what you do. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:16 | jjza: Competence. You need some skills. The only real security is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:18 | jjza: Cover. Package your thing. 55% of conclusions people make are visual. 38% vocal. 7% content. Packaging is everything. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:20 | jjza: Community. If the house is on fire, forget the china, silver, wedding gifts. Grab the Rolodex. Contacts, access. The right people? #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:21 | jjza: Who is in your network? Who do you need to fire? Fire those who diminish your brand. Six steps of separation. You know somebody. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:23 | jjza: Constancy. Create presence. Be out there. Get the brand out there. Define yourself, don’t let others do it. Must be authentic. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:25 | jjza: Congruence. The most important. Personal branding is a way of life. Not a word. A promise that gets fulfilled every day. 24×7. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:26 | jjza: There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from what we do. Brand inside equals brand inside. Authentic #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:28 | jjza: Personal value proposition resonate with Customer value proposition and Employer value proposition. Work together, no “other side” #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:30 | jjza: Performance is impacted if you are not true to yourself. Work life alignment, not balance. Cannot be a fake. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:31 | jjza: It takes 20 years to build a reputation and just 5 to destroy it. Pursue a vision of excellence whatever you do, work or play. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:32 | jjza: Commercialise. How do you make money off the brand? Know which companies to go to and grow with. |
| 2012/03/13 13:35 | jjza: Chutzpah. We have all been rejected. How you react is what makes or breaks you. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:37 | jjza: Closure. Everything comes to an end. Have you lived your brand at the end of your day? How will you be remembered? #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:38 | jjza: Fix your programme before it happens. All you leave behind is your name. Protect it. Did you do what you needed to? Others agree #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:40 | jjza: Nobody should ever have to retire from what they love. You can’t retire from breathing. Do your thing out there. Keep doing it. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 13:43 | jjza: @thebelkalafeng Amazing, introspective, inspirational presentation. This is leadership, something for all of us to think about. 10q #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 14:29 | jjza: @AkiKalliatakis a pity that so many miss out on the “giving them what they want” part of that. |
| 2012/03/13 14:33 | Afternoon breakaway session : Transport and Logistics
jjza: Transportation and logistics breakaway session about to begin at #TLC2012. Very few people in the venue yet. Been great convention so far. |
| 2012/03/13 14:46 | Isacaza: RT @sikimgabadeli: Saki’s speech will be posted on website http://t.co/E5TWxFoe #TLC2012 >> great, thanks |
| 2012/03/13 14:55 | jjza: @SeanReuben72 you should have been at #TLC2012 Been some really great presentations here. Diarise for next year. |
| 2012/03/13 14:56 | jjza: @fjlandman please keep the tweets coming, hard to choose between the sessions. |
| 2012/03/13 14:59 | jjza: The debate is not whether roads are good for the country, we need them throughout the country. Tolling is a funding issue. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:01 | jjza: More economists disagree with SANRAL studies than agree with them. There are cheaper and more equitable ways to fund roads. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:02 | jjza: >50% of tolls collected will be spent on collection. Fuel levy be a far more cost effective way to collect the money #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:03 | jjza: Shortage of skills and cost of employment too high because of labour legislation encourages labour broking and off shoring #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:06 | jjza: Walmart could use SA as gateway into Africa but uncompetitive revenue env means more likely go direct. Opp lost with no free ports. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:07 | jjza: The government via rail will be a competitor to road freight. They need to improve efficiencies to compete with gov. Need be fair. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:08 | jjza: Planting bamboo on unused land instead of buying carbon credits. #innovation #green #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:14 | jjza: Don’t expect government policy to be proactive. It can take five years from recognition of gap to passing of legislation. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:14 | jjza: Disconnect between levels of government, national provincial and local all implementing different things #transport #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:16 | jjza: Taking shots at Transnet, turnaround strategy being called perpetual turnaround strategy. #transport #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:17 | jjza: Lack of consultation between government and industry players, lack of looking at other governments, leaves SA trailing #transport #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:19 | jjza: Entities like BUSA should be engaging more with government to give view of private sector to government. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:20 | jjza: Singapore being highlighted as model of efficiency and case study of how things could be done. Service delivery excellence. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:22 | jjza: No sense to carry coal or manganese by road. Would destroy roads. Rail must operate more efficiently for low value/ton commodities #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:24 | jjza: We need slow speed freight rail, not high speed passenger lines. Road infrastructure and ports must improve. Heavy goods off roads. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:26 | jjza: China has built effective rail and port network in less than 30 years, SA gov must invest in right places. SA can lose in Africa. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:27 | jjza: @egoligal nobody here disagrees even the road freight crowd. They fill a gap where no railways and recognise not optimal #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:29 | jjza: Whilst we bicker over immaterial items we fall behind. Give parastatals 3 years to get fixed or privatise them. #transport #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:30 | jjza: South Africa is less efficient than all our trading partners when it comes to trade. We are the weakest link. #worldbank #transport #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:31 | jjza: Sort out road vs rail and carbon emissions are sorted for next 10 years. Rail went to road because of inefficiencies. #tlc2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:32 | jjza: 30% of the value of a car made in SA is made of transport costs. This is way too high globally. High cost low efficiencies. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:35 | jjza: Take politicians out of Transnet and put back the technical people and we have potential to get rail back to number 3 in the world #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:36 | jjza: @leenelson as a Transnet employee feeling a bit battered here  |
| 2012/03/13 15:38 | jjza: SA companies have recognised opportunities to trade with other African countries and force out previous colonial masters #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:38 | jjza: @leenelson great event and branding for you guys. |
| 2012/03/13 15:40 | jjza: SA should take the lead in opening up trade in Africa. No visas required in Europe yet need lots in Africa. Potential to sort out. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:43 | Isacaza: SA needs to engage with neighbours and create framework more conducive for regional trade. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:47 | jjza: Young black talent is a commodity going to the highest bidder. DHL is trying to get young individuals who associate with the brand #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:48 | Isacaza: RT @ThebeIkalafeng: RT @RSAPatriot: #TLC2012 @ThebeIkalafeng absolutely on fire! >> the further you spread your message the better off SA is |
| 2012/03/13 15:50 | jjza: SA arrogant in dealing with Africa. We need to provide a value proposition not assume Africa will deal with us because we African. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 15:52 | jjza: My Twitter coverage of #TLC2012 will end soon. iPad battery dying shortly. It’s been most interesting. Thanks to the organisers. |
| 2012/03/13 16:00 | jjza: There needs to be a marrying of minds between Government and Industry to attract the right skills into tertiary education. #TLC2012 |
| 2012/03/13 16:03 | jjza: SMEs and business is more agile than government, need less government and more private business. Need SMEs to thrive. #TLC2012 |
| Battery finally died, thanks again to the organisers for inviting @ISACAZA to attend the convention. |
I will add links to some of the presentations at a later stage (when the organisers put them up). Check back then, just want to get this up for now.
HTC and Drifta, a few tweeted tidbits
Posted on September 07, 2011With DStv Mobile having released the Android app for some Samsung Galaxy devices it looks as though HTC are feeling rather left out and wanting to get their share of the action. Some interesting tweets today.
First up was @Regardt van der Berg, “I do PR, Communications, and Social Media for HTC and I’m a lazy photographer” from http://www.htcblog.co.za commenting that support is coming to HTC soon and they are working with the Devs to get the app approved on HTC.
Nico @Zandberg picked up that the screenshots present on the Android App Store are actually taken from an HTC and not a Samsung. Mybroadband picked up on the press release mailed out by DStv mobile and put up a story.
I contacted Regardt and put some questions to him, which were partially answered with a non-committal “We are working with Multichoice” but an offer to correspond further by email, which I took him up on and sent a mail asking a few questions.
Will feed back when I get a response. An interesting day for HTC users none-the-less.
NB : The tweets below were collated together using editor software, but can be validated back to Twitter.
The Springboks sendoff – A collage of pics tweeted by our boys
Posted on September 03, 2011The power of Twitter as a reporting medium continues to grow. Through the afternoon of their departure our boys tweeted some really amazing photos. This collage is created using Picassa from pictures tweeted through the afternoon by our boys grabbed from the Twitter List : http://twitter.com/jjza/WorldCupBokke2011.
The full-sized image can be grabbed here.
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