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How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

Can-technology-outsmart-the-internet-final

Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

security

The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

digital-lock

A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

internet-safety-tips

Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

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St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

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They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

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No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

LASK Linz cashiopeia

One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

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The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

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Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

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Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

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Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

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The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

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A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

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Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

Bundesliga lsbet

St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

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They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

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No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

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One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

skype-computer

The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

digital-future

Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

the-importance-of-having-a-website

Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

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Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

security

The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

digital-lock

A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

internet-safety-tips

Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

Bundesliga lsbet

St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

Europa League betbright casino

They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

European Football League cashiopeia

No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

LASK Linz cashiopeia

One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

skype-computer

The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

digital-future

Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

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Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

Can-technology-outsmart-the-internet-final

Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

security

The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

digital-lock

A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

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Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

Bundesliga lsbet

St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

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They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

European Football League cashiopeia

No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

LASK Linz cashiopeia

One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

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The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

digital-future

Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

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Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

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Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

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The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

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A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

internet-safety-tips

Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

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St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

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They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

European Football League cashiopeia

No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

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One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

skype-computer

The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

digital-future

Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

the-importance-of-having-a-website

Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

Can-technology-outsmart-the-internet-final

Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

security

The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

digital-lock

A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

internet-safety-tips

Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

Bundesliga lsbet

St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

Europa League betbright casino

They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

European Football League cashiopeia

No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

LASK Linz cashiopeia

One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

skype-computer

The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

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In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

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Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

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Infographic by: visual.ly

How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

dice 1209417 1280 - How Safe is Online Gambling in the UK?

Gambling has long been a favourite pastime for many, with online casinos having got in on the act over recent years, offering fun and exciting games, which also offer the opportunity for players to add to their bank balance. However, just how safe is online gambling in the UK? Operating with an online casino should never compromise your safety, with the top platforms working hard in order to ensure that personal information and bank data stays secure at all times. This article will take a look at just what makes casino sites reliable and trustworthy, as well as 100% legal for UK-based players to take advantage of.

Those looking to take advantage of real-money casino games online today must first register with an operator that holds a license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This is the only organisation that actually has the authority to issue gambling licenses to remote providers in the UK, meaning that potential operators must go via this avenue. A thorough assessment process is undertaken by the Gambling Commission, who will then decide whether or not to issue a license. Earning a gambling license is not the end of the matter however, with the Commission regularly checking to ensure that players are being treated fairly. Those wishing to know which casinos are licensed in the UK can often find out by heading to the footer of the particular website.

Meanwhile, online casino’s are also required to have their software audited by a respected third-party agency, with the Gambling Commission having a list of approved organisations in this area. Such agencies include iTech Labs and the GLI, with players knowing that a casino is trustworthy if such logos appear on their site. A trustworthy casino ensures that all of their games are fair, with the outcome being random at all times. Elsewhere, those casino’s working alongside major anti-virus software providers, such as McAfee, can also be trusted, with players knowing that they are working hard in order to maintain security on their platform.

Whilst it is comforting to know that a casino is legal, safe and fair, it is also important to work out which platforms are socially responsible too. This may not be at the top of the list of requirements for some players, however knowing that the platform in which you are operating on takes pride in educating users about responsible gambling and underage gambling should further put customers at ease. Organisations including GamCare, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous and Responsible Gambling Trust are all well-known for their work in such areas, while they also operate alongside many major online casinos. On a similar note, all respected gambling platforms provide a range of useful tools in this area, including placing restrictions on deposit amounts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as well as even self-exclusion for those who develop issues.

You should now have a better understanding of what it takes to operate safely when gambling online within the UK, but always be sure to do your research before registering on a particular site!

Internet as a Basic Right: Why You Should Care About Internet Censorship

Internet-Censorship

We have discussed again and again how the internet is a tool which has given humanity a good chance to stay connected, share information, and be generally heard. Now, what if that was taken away from us?

Before we jump into that discussion, as always we would like to give you a rousing welcome! We are Fishnet and we your ever dedicated partner when it comes to the discourse about the use of the internet and the general World Wide Web! We are always here to give you pertinent information and tickle your brain with discussions that we feel more people should care about.

So let’s jump into it!

The Power of the Internet

The net allows people—no matter who it is or where they are—to share information online. This is particularly felt with the advent of social media. The popular platforms which rapidly share updates regarding political updates, new developments, and pretty much anything at all would be Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

A user who has caught on video an act of suppression or anything which could be construed as illegal can upload that video to their social media and it can go viral. This is important because often governing bodies will try to run a narrative if there is no one to speak against them. In the turbulent times that we have now, sometimes video is what we use to protect us.

In order to maximize the protection that we receive or to maximize the amount of people who know about this issue that is pertinent to us and all, that video needs to make use of the power of the internet. We’ve seen the internet move petitions and even turn over the well-rehearsed scrip that politicians have tried to pull. The net has made it very possible for activism to be alive and well.

So imagine if all of that gets taken away.

Internet Censorship

If you’re not sure what this means, take these key definitions with you. Internet censorship is:

  • The absolute control and suppression of the net and its uses by a particular active body or organization whether it is the ruling government or a rogue terrorist organization.
  • The active aggression toward any piece of information that is published and spread online. The persons who are held liable shall be forced to take down their content and will no longer be allowed to make use of the net for such purposes.
  • The complete shutdown of the internet during political or social unrest

These are definitions that we have seen apply to several countries around the globe. Some of the countries which are quite notorious for this would be China and North Korea. In China, it is practically impossible to access public social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter as these are heavily censored and even banned.

Instead, people in China have to use a Chinese made application which mimics Facebook or other social media platforms and allows the government complete access to whatever it is that is being shared. If there was anyone who was going to share any piece of news or information that portrayed the present government in a negative light, it was pulled off the web and those that tried to upload it were met with strict repercussions.

If you’re thinking that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the “modern” or western world, think again. Up to today, there have been massive and ongoing debates about whether or not the USA government should be allowed to completely monitor and regularize the internet and the information that is shared on it.

Why Should You Care About Internet Censorship

As a regular person that gets to enjoy unhampered access to the internet, it must be such a wonder what countries which censor the internet must be like. At the end of the day, it is even important to ask, why should you care about internet censorship at all? Well, here are a few good reasons for you to chew on:

Suppression of Information is NEVER Good

Whenever a governing body has complete control over what their citizens get to say—especially on a large and public scale like the internet—this is always a recipe for disaster. People who are being oppressed do not get to tell other people about their pain.

The reason why the internet is so feared by those who know they are doing something wrong is because international and online pressure is very real. When people are freely able to discuss and share injustices that they experience, it makes it very unlikely that the perpetrators will get away scot free. Accountability is something that most abusers wish to escape from. In order to prove that they are abusers, there needs to be proof.

If no one can share the proof, there is no case. This is the basic rule of law. When information is being suppressed somewhere in the world and when it is allowed to continue, we set a dangerous precedent for any wannabe dictator that this can be done as it has been successfully done before.

It Can Happen to You

The past couple of years or so, the topic of Net Neutrality is one which is thrown around a lot in both the USA and Europe. Net Neutrality is basically Tier 1 Censorship. If it is allow to pass your internet service providers will be able to access all your information and can decide which websites they can block you from accessing as it may deem to be competition for your ISP.

The internet is a tool for everyone. At this point in time, it is now considered to be an intrinsic right of a person to be given access to the internet. It is a freedom that many try to step upon. Wherever the topic of internet censorship is brought up, we implore you to speak out about this. It is not right that there are atrocities that get to fly under the radar of social consciousness simply because those being oppressed were not allowed to share the news about it.

Now we would like to pass a question off to you: what are your thoughts regarding internet censorship and why do you think more people should care about it?

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Infographic by: whoishostingthis.com

Evaluating Your Guard: What Makes a Strong Anti-Virus Program?

security

The internet can be the source of some pretty frightening things. When you happen to be a computer or a gadget, those frightening things take the form of viruses and malicious software. These, if left alone to ravage a computer or system, can mean irreparable damage and often leaves the owner of the system (and the information contained within that system) at risk.

In order to protect yourself and your system from potential cyber attacks, viruses, and malware, it is critical that you have a strong anti-virus program installed. One which you can be sure will not let you down nor will be nuisance with unnecessary billing. Before we dive into that, we’d like to welcome you back to Fishnet! As always we are you number one partner for all discussions pertaining to the use of the internet and the general subject of the World Wide Web!

We are always thankful for the massive support that we have been enjoying for the past months and we certainly appreciate all the questions and the comments that we have been receiving! So now, let’s jump right into the discussion!

What Is an Anti-Virus Program? phone-protection

In its base definition, an antivirus program or AVS or AV software is pretty much any program which is installed in a system for the purpose of detecting, isolation, and removal of any malicious software or programs which try to penetrate the system of the computer or the Operating System.

This is critical for any person that wants to make use of the internet because the net is full of potential vulnerabilities. Here are a few examples of those vulnerabilities:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are programs or software which is embedded in seemingly innocuous websites or links which are actually made to record and log your key strokes. These, of course, refer to the keys of your keyboard. A keylogger program will record the characters that you enter as your username or password for a particular account whether it be an email, work site, or a bank website.

Ransomware

Ransomware refers to a program which hijacks your system and makes it completely inaccessible to you. You can try to open up your computer only to be greeted with a screen with specific instructions on how you can get your system back. It will usually involve money which is wired to a particular account. A follow-up threat which will usually consist of either publishing sensitive information or deleting important files will follow if you do not pay the ransom for your system.

E-Bombing

This refers to a virus which affects your system by opening window after window all over your screen. The windows will usually be large and will show explicit photos of people in highly sexual situations. Basically, they bomb your system with various forms of pornography. This can be quite embarrassing for anyone who has been a victim of this as the fast opening windows are nearly impossible to close manually and will normally require a system wipe or a powerful anti-virus program to contain and kill it.

These are only a few of the malware that exists in the web. At any point in time, you can be a victim of one of these things. This is why it is utterly important for you to have a strong antivirus program. However, how do you know exactly that you have a strong one?

What Makes a Strong Antivirus Program?

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A strong antivirus program is ideally what is needed to limit your exposure and risk to malware and other forms of viruses which can infiltrate your computer or gadget because of unsecure web browsing or irresponsible internet habits. We often asked ourselves if our own antivirus programs were strong ones and we realized that we needed to set a standard.

These are a few good standards to have regarding an antivirus program:

Scans Fast

When it comes to mitigating the damage that comes from malware, speed is vital. When you think that your system has been compromised, you can start a manual scan of your computer and its files to see if your system has been infiltrated. In times like this, it would be terrible if the malware gets to act faster than your antivirus program.

A scan should ideally take only a few minutes but should never exceed five minutes—especially when your computer doesn’t have that many files. In that span of time, the malware may have already activated and started its programming.

Stellar Detection Rate

Before malware can even truly penetrate your system, a good antivirus system will be able to detect that a threat has tried to do so. Your antivirus program is always running in the background and should instantly trigger if you are planning to download a tainted program or have inserted compromised discs or USBs.

The detection rate of your antivirus software should be at least 97%.

Grows Its Database

There are always newer and newer threats that are being developed every day of the year. A good and strong antivirus program will always be constantly updating and growing its database of viruses and malware in order to have the necessary information it needs to stop threats from getting into your computer system.

You should check if your antivirus system is one which updates its database regularly.

Uncomplicated

It would make no sense for your antivirus program to be one that will require rocket science in order to work or to be utilized properly. A good antivirus program will only have a few settings to configure which will normally comprise of:

  • How often it scans
  • How often it updates
  • What it scans first
  • What the alarm notification will sound like

Other than that, there shouldn’t be any other problem that complicates things. Your antivirus program should be like a favorite keychain that you put in your pocket and promptly forget about it. When you bother to remember it, you will still feel it there and will provide the same comfort and security that you need but won’t be hampering your day to day movements.

So with that, we hope that you have a better idea of what makes a strong antivirus program! Now we want you to think about this: is the present antivirus program you have running in your PC or gadget like the one we’ve described as? What do you think makes a strong antivirus program?

The Parent’s Guide to the Net: How You Can Avoid Violating Your Child’s Privacy

Parents-Guide

One of the newer things that the internet brought was the speed and the vast reach of the information that we share goes. An image that has been uploaded in the US could be seen in the opposite part of the globe in a matter of seconds. This is a fact of life that not a lot of people—particularly new parents—seem to really understand.

Something that can be uploaded and shared can be re-shared and even seen by complete strangers. Strangers, which in actuality, may not have the best intentions for the information that you so willingly share. Before we get started, we would once again want to welcome you to Fishnet! We are your consistent partners for the discussions about the World Wide Web.

For today’s discussion we wanted to touch upon a topic which we feel is quite relevant especially when  lot of the younger generation of internet users are now at the age where they are starting families and are quite guilty of “sharenting”. If you’re not all that familiar with the term, don’t worry about it since we are going to break it down for you. Let’s get started!

The Concept of Sharenting

The word “sharenting” comes from both “sharing” and “parenting”. People, in general, have normalized the use of social media and how it is now rather common to share information about our lives, our activities, and so many other things. One of these things happens to be the information about the whole journey of pregnancy, birthing, and even the lives of our children.

A lot of new parents (and grandparents) have been guilty of sharing too much on social media. In recent surveys, it has been found out that nearly 92% of all children under the age of 2 have their own social media pages. These are pages which are created by their parents or grandparents that want to make it easier to tag their child (or grandchild) in social media posts about them. This is not only quite annoying for people on your friend list but it is also a very serious security risk.

What You Should Not Upload

Our technological advancements have made it a lot easier to share information with other people. However, a lot of people tend to not consider if there are certain things that are best kept off the web. If you’re not quite sure what those things are, here’s a quick guide that you can use.

DO NOT: Share Your Child’s Sensitive Photos

A lot of parents like to document pretty much everything from the daily progress of eating, sitting up, rolling around, and the eventual journey of potting training. One mother in the USA had the nightmare of having her seemingly innocent photos of her son’s potty training from her blog turned into fodder for known pedophile websites.

It no longer matters that the source material is seemingly innocent. All they need to do is get photos, run it through photoshop, make it sexually explicit, and the rest is history. While it cannot be helped that parents or other relatives will want to upload photos of kids, it is important to remember to not upload any images that are sensitive.

Sensitive photos include:

  • Showing states of undress
  • Showing identifiable locations that the child frequents (schools, churches, stores)
  • Showing school uniforms or sports teams

These photos are dangerous because they give very visual markers and clues on who your child is and where they can be found. The uniform or types of school can be used to infer how much the spending capacity of your household is an can make your child a target for kidnapping.

DO NOT: Share Information That Compromises Your Child’s Security

A lot of people think that privacy and security can’t be put at risk because of a status update. Something that can be as innocuous as “Finally enrolled Jane at St. Johns!” or “Time for another ballet class at Happy Feet!” can be pretty damaging to the security of your child. Anyone who has access to your profile and has ill-intent toward your child will now have a clear idea of their schedule and whether or not you will always be there with the child.

This is information that you willingly share on the internet. This is information that can and will be used against you and your child if it is necessary to achieve the goals of the person who has bad designs on your family.

There are other status updates that you can create that can compromise the security of your child. Here are some of them:

  • Statuses about the exact location of a child’s extra curricular activities or projects
  • Statuses about family vacation plans and itineraries
  • Statuses about being away from your child

These statuses are dangerous because they provide critical information regarding the current state of your child. Are they alone? Where will they be? How likely would an opening to kidnap or engage them exist?

DO NOT: Create Social Media Profiles for Infants and Young Children

Vanity is a terrible thing and social media enables vanity in spades. Social media is hardly secure. They can get hacked and they can certainly change their privacy settings without having to tell their users anything. This means that you may believe that the account that you made for your child is secure but that can change in the blink of an eye.

Most social media do not even allow children under the age of 13 to join the platform so parents who violate this rule end up setting a bad example.

We hope that today’s discussion gave attention to a subject that has long been ignored and has become a glaring problem. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and bad intentions. Social media is a product of the internet that should be used responsibly—especially when children are in the picture. Now we want to pass on a question to you: what do you think are the things that parents do to compromise the privacy and security of their children?

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Infographic by: expressvpn.com

St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Sturm Graz lsbet - St. Pölten has long ceased to be a points supplier

Wacker coach Karl Daxbacher spyed on St. Pölten in their 2-0 victory over Sturm and was impressed by the performance of his former club.

Innsbruck – With 20 points in 36 rounds, St. Pölten finished last year’s tipico Bundesliga as the last to beat. Overcomed past, as the start into the new season proves. Lower Austria will be second in the table next Saturday in the Tivoli stadium of the rising FC Wacker. Anyone who believes that the St. Pölten hurdle is easy to overcome by the Black Greens, who recently won in Altach, is very wrong. This is also confirmed by FCW coach Karl Daxbacher after his local appearance in the NV-Arena.

“Very well organised, defensively strong”, Daxbacher saw the Lower Austrian’s performance against Sturm as a parallel to the performance of his Black Greens in Altach. The people of Graz had more possession of the ball, but they didn’t have much of a chance. “St. Pölten consistently plays with a 5/3/2 system and risks little. For FC Wacker, this means that you have to be on your guard and not run into the open knife of Didi Kühbauer’s squad. Almost two years ago, ascent specialist Daxbacher was released prematurely by the Lower Austrians. Is there still a score to be settled? “No. This matter is over and done for me. But of course we want to get the three points on Saturday,” smiles the 65-year-old, who has the entire squad at his disposal this week. It’s questionable whether new Cheikhou Dieng will receive his match permit in time for Saturday.

Bundesliga lsbet

St. Pölten prolonged their good form with the surprising 2:0 against runner-up Sturm Graz. The Kühbauer team thus won five of the last six Bundesliga games and moved up to second place behind defending champions Salzburg. Nevertheless, there was no euphoria. “Of course you can be satisfied with the start, but we have to stay on the ground,” said goal scorer Daniel Luxbacher.

After the chaotic summer break, in which the league membership had only been determined two weeks before the start of the league after the legal dispute over the evaluation of the relegation return match against Wiener Neustadt, the achievements so far seem even more surprising. Those involved see a key to success in the targeted reinforcements. “I brought in the people of whom I am convinced,” Kühbauer explained after the victory against Sturm. “What we gave them, the boys implemented almost perfectly. The boys really work very well there. Luca Meisl, on loan from Salzburg, expressed a similar opinion. “There were a lot of new ones in the preparation, so we trained the procedures very well.

The way to the second victory of the season had led above all over a strong defensive performance. “It was hard work in a good team,” said 19-year-old defender Meisl, who sees St. Pölten as a “very interesting club for my development. See here to know more about LsBet’s promotions.

Rapid after 4:0 against Slovan in Europa League continues

Europa League betbright casino

They did not put up with the 2-1 defeat in the first leg: Rapid Wien are the only Austrian team in the Europa League play-off after a 4-0 defeat against Slovan Bratislava. The man of the evening was Knasmüllner with three goals.

Vienna – Rapid Wien can continue to dream of moving into the group phase of the Europa League. The Viennese won against Slovan Bratislava 4:0 (1:0) and are in the play-off, where Steaua Bucharest is waiting on August 23rd and 30th. The first game will take place in Vienna. Against Slovan Rapid won the match thanks to goals from Christoph Knasmüllner (3., 79., 94.) and Thomas Murg (84.).

But the result seems clearer than the course of the match, because Slovan also had good chances until late 2:0. Nevertheless, the green-whites showed a clear increase in performance compared to the last games. Rapid coach Goran Djuricin sent the same formation onto the pitch as in the first leg last week. Boli Bolingoli, Mario Sonnleitner, Dejan Ljubicic and Murg returned to the starting eleven against a disappointing 0-0 draw against the WAC in the championship.

Andrei Ivan Honours

Club
Universitatea Craiova

  • Liga II: 2013–14

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

Rapid Wien betbright casino

Penalty alarm in Rapid penalty area

The use of Bolingoli quickly paid off. In the third minute, the Belgian captured the ball in midfield, and Christoph Knasmüllner used his sharp input for the early Rapid lead. Subsequently, Slovan made life difficult for the Viennese with early attacks. However, the Slovakian runner-up hardly had a chance himself. Only after half an hour were there chances on both sides. BetBright Casino is all about taking everything that’s good about online casinos and making it a whole lot better!

First Veton Berisha failed with a volley shot after cross from Murg (30th). In the 37th minute, a header from Mateo Barac just missed a corner. In return, Barac and Potzmann disagreed on the defensive, Moha Rharsalla could not take advantage of the mistake and stumbled. Even before the break, Andrej Sporar missed by head after a free-kick (43rd), Rapid goalie Richard Strebinger was the best.

Shortly thereafter there was a penalty kick alarm in the Rapid penalty area. Barac shot himself the ball in a very controversial situation unchallenged and unintentionally to the hand, but the referee let continue to play. Overall, however, Rapid presented themselves as a different player compared to the previous games and showed the reaction hoped for by the sports officials. Rapid had more ball possession, was lively and aggressive and had significantly more chances than the visitors.

No riots, but problem on arrival

After the break, however, Slovan was back on the trigger. In the 48th minute Strebinger parried another shot from Moha. Rapid was also strong after the break and had good chances. So also in the 62nd minute when Slovan goalie Dominik Greif directed a shot from Knasmüllner to the crossbar and then saved against Deni Alar. Four minutes later, Greif prevented a header from Rapid captain Stefan Schwab after a corner.

But also Slovan had chances, Vukan Savicevic and Moha had the best chance to equalize in the 68th minute, first saved Strebinger, then a Moha shot just missed. The decision was made by Knasmüllner, who finished a counterattack in the 79th minute after Andrei Ivan’s preliminary work from about 15 meters. However, the visitors complained about a foul by Ivan. Murg increased in the 84th minute after pass of Knasmüllner to 3:0. The final point was again Knasmüllner in the 94th minute.

The feared riots in the high-risk game did not occur at least in the stadium. On arrival, the Slovan fans stopped a U4 train near the Schönbrunn stop and caused the underground line to be interrupted for a short time, which also meant that many Rapid fans had to travel to the stadium. The Slovak fans had to continue their way to the stadium on foot.

LASK mourned after 2:1 against Besiktas Sensation

European Football League cashiopeia

No promotion despite 2-1 home win: LASK failed to qualify for the Europa League after a late goal against Besiktas Istanbul. Until the 90th minute, the Linz side were leading 2-0.

Linz – The LASK mourned a missed sensation. The Linz side were on their way up in the qualification for the European Football League against Besiktas Istanbul, before a late goal brought the decision in favour of the Turkish top club. The 2- 1-(1:0) home win was of no use to the LASK after the 0:1 in Istanbul.

Alvaro Negredo scored for the last eight of the Champions League in the 90th minute. In front of 13,900 spectators on the Gugl, Joao Victor (42) had scored a goal to level the gap between the athletes. Dominik Frieser, who had just substituted for him, scored once again in the 68th minute for the Linzers, who left the pitch with their heads hanging.

The flow of the game was missing because of many fouls

Oliver Glasner had to look back on a game in which his team had done everything right. “Fearless“, the LASK coach and his team wanted to act against the 15-time Turkish champion. The team from Linz did this in a splendid atmosphere on the grandstands of Anpfiff, which were dominated by the club colours black and white. Besiktas, who initially left stars like Croatian runners-up Domagoj Vida and Portuguese European champion Ricardo Quaresma on the bench like in the first leg, only did what was necessary.

In the first few minutes, the home side, who were in top form, tried to buy the edge from the favourites. Besiktas tried to disturb the elan of the Linzers with many small fouls. On the LASK side, the experienced Emanuel Pogatetz gained respect against Besiktas’ goalscorer Cyle Larin, the Turks complained not only in this scene to the Montenegrin impartial Nikola Dabanovic.

What the game lacked due to the many interruptions on the pitch was a certain flow of play. When Besiktas headed for a goalless draw at the break, the Linz side rewarded themselves for their courageous performance. After winning the ball, they quickly moved forward, Samuel Tetteh had room to straighten the ball and found Victor. The Brazilian put a hook on the ball and finished with a left into the long corner.

Domagoj Vida Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Croatian First League: 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 2011–12

Dynamo Kyiv

  • Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • Ukrainian Super Cup: 2016

Croatia

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

LASK Linz cashiopeia

One shot, one goal, one yellow and red card

The guests were not happy about it. Chile’s team player Gary Medel unpacked his elbow in the duel with Peter Michorl and got off well with the yellow card. Even before the break whistle, the LASK could have added more. Played free by Thomas Goiginger, Reinhold Ranftl appeared alone in front of Tolga Zengin, but shot past the Besiktas goalkeeper as well as the goal (45th).

If Glasner could be more than satisfied, his opponent Senol Günes reacted. With Quaresma came a prominent offensive power, Besiktas increased. Tolgay Arslan came after a failed header defense of James Holland from the penalty area border dangerously to the conclusion, but missed (50.). Larin missed the ball by one meter (62.) during a flight. However, the LASK continued to defend successfully and was rewarded.

Goiginger started a counterattack and found Tetteh, who was still defeated by Zengin. The rebound was exploited by Frieser, who had replaced him two minutes earlier. Besiktas was joined by former Spanish team player Negredo as the new centre forward. The final offensive did not want to ignite with the Turks however, with fouls the frustration showed up. But from the only real shot, they still hit the goal of the Linz side. Negredo finished after a presentation of the forward ordered Pepe and fetched the yellow red card because of exaggerated goal jubilation. To get Cashiopeia full bonus experience players must work their way up the ranks of the VIP.

Branding or Bragging: Balance and Tips for Your Business Social Media

Branding-or-Bragging

The use of social media can be perceived to be a double-edged sword—especially when you are trying to use it for business. There needs to be a balance between “informational” and simply “bragging”.

Hello and welcome to Fishnet! As always, we are here to bring you discussions about the World Wide Web! We truly appreciate all the feedback that we have been receiving with all the articles that we have been having about the internet and its various business applications. We’ve mentioned social media as used by businesses and we’ve received some pretty interesting questions.

Several avid readers have asked the difference between ‘branding’ in professional or official business social media and merely bragging. We’re glad to talk about this today so thank you for giving us something to think of for the past month or so!

Social Media for Business

A lot of businesses see the wisdom in creating official social media pages for themselves. This after all, helps them to:

  • Directly engage their consumers
  • Get a pulse on the present trends
  • Address any issues personally
  • Promote their latest deals
  • Dispute any misinformation
  • Make statements to clarify their stance on certain things

This and so much more is what social media can be used for. With that hanging in the air, we feel that it is important to for brands to understand that in running their social media, there needs to be a suitable balance so they won’t end up sending the wrong message or alienating their client base.

Tips to Remember

While we are not here to really point out whether a practice is branding or bragging, we feel it is a better use of all our collective energy to promote better utilization of social media for businesses. In light of that, we wanted to give a few tips on how businesses can achieve a balance for their social media pages. If you’ve got a business and you have a social media page for it, we hope that you take these few tips to heart:

Always Be Mindful of Your Tone

The trouble with social media is the fact that tone doesn’t always carry over. You can be trying to say something without a hint of aggression or disrespect but the words that you choose may inadvertently express that. So it is quite critical that the person who is in charge of your social media needs to be well versed with syntax and grammar in a completely flawless manner.

This tone should always carry over through your interactions in your comment section and in your private messages. It also goes without saying that your tone must always be suitable whenever you create a post on your social media page. While we’re not saying that you should bend over backwards in heightened respect for your clients, it is worth noting that when your clients are dissatisfied you don’t get profits or a positive reputation.

Always keep in mind that even when you are speaking to someone in a private message, they are well within their rights to capture a still of that conversation and spread it around. So if you’re caught saying something unsavory or inflammatory, it’s your loss. So with everything, always mind your tone. Even if you are speaking to the most exasperating person on the planet, you are representing your business and should always have your best foot forward.

Time Your Posts

Every business should know their audience and their target market. For example, if you are a clothing business which targets students, then posting during the times where they will be immediately seen or will have maximum effect like early in the morning, during lunch break, and finally around late afternoon when school is done.

If your service is for homeowners that need repairs, timing your posts during between the hours of 9 am to 11 am would be quite effective. This is when most people will be doing housework and will more than likely encounter issues. You can also double up by having another post between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm in the evening when things are wrapping up and when homeowners are reviewing what needs to be addressed in the home. Extra bonus would be around before the weekend starts.

Knowing the timing can help you grow your brand’s reach. After all, this means that you care enough to ensure that your interested clients won’t be missing anything. They get the security that the brand that they support understands their schedule and plans the best sort of promotions accordingly.

Choose Your Battles

When you run a business, you always run the risk of coming across people who hate your brand and those who are clearly just out to be divisive. When it comes to those sorts of encounters, it would be wise for you to choose your battles well. It would do no good for you to come out swinging only to have your responses taken out of context and be published around the web.

Whenever it comes to engaging someone who is irate, it is always best to see if their rage has basis with your service or your product. If it is someone who is merely being upset for the sake of getting attention, it would be best for you to not engage at all.

It would be good for your brand to only choose battles that you can control and those that you can actually affect. If you feel that there is nothing that can be achieved by addressing the person but will need to do damage control, publishing a clear statement can help you clear the air.

When it comes to using social media for your business, you don’t always need to go big in order to be effective. We hope that you’ll take the few tips that we’ve given to heart. It may not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many businesses tanked simply because they forgot one of the tips we’ve shared above.

So now, we’d like to pass a question to you: what tips do you keep in mind when you make use of social media for your business?

Let’s Talk Convenience: Why the Internet Is Dominating the Business World

Lets-Talk-Convenience

The land of business is one which has undergone significant change since the launch of the internet in 1983. If there was anything that was unforeseen about it, it would have to be how the net is completely dominating the business world.

Hi and welcome back to Fishnet! As always we are an online publication which is dedicated to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We feel that last month’s article was such a success and so well received that it would be a disservice if we didn’t talk more about the linked world of the internet and businesses.

Last time, we discussed why it was so important for businesses or brands to have its own website. Before we jump into today’s discussion, we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who called in and gave praise about the discussion. We particularly liked the fact that there were several elderly individuals that credit us with their decision to finally have a website for their business.

The Business of the Internet

So now, let’s head on to today’s discussion! Over the past decade or so, we’re pretty sure that you’ve noticed the magnificent boom of the digital industry. There are a lot of different shifts in the dynamic of business which made going on the internet the preferred mode. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, here are a few solid reasons why we truly believe that the internet is dominating the business world:

The Net is the Preferred Avenue of Communication

skype-computer

The speed and the connectivity which the internet provides us is something that is truly unparalleled. Back then, if we wanted to speak to someone on the other side of the globe, we would either have to wait months because of mail or we would have to pay an extravagant fee in order to place an international call.

In today’s world, speaking to someone on the other side of the globe is as easy as blinking. All the participants would have to need is a strong internet connection and a piece of technology like a smartphone or an app/software like FaceTime in order to have a conversation. The internet has made it very possible to hold entire conferences online so that anyone who would like to join merely needed to visit the URL of the website itself that’s hosting the event.

In the world of business, speedy communication and connectivity is crucial. Mistakes and issues can be mitigated in the blink of an eye because the necessary parties were able to speak with each other before something blew out of proportion. PR nightmares could be better addressed because the different departments of a business could hold a joint meeting to talk about it regardless of the time or place.

The Net Lessens Operational Costs

computer-typing

A lot of the businesses that exists today no longer need to be at physical locations in order to be considered actual businesses. The internet has empowered a lot of stay at home mothers to launch careers through the web. They can have cupcake businesses, arts and crafts, or even offer a plethora of other sort of services all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Since business and discussions with interested clients are done online, there is no need to have to spend a lot of money to rent out or buy a physical location for a business. The business owner can also work at their own pace and set up products for sale at their convenience all because the internet gives them the ability to do so.

With a home office and no need to hire excessive staff, the business owner can save thousands and even millions of dollars in operational costs. It only followed that a lot of bigger businesses out there saw that they could actually have a lot of savings for marketing and communication.

Passive Interaction versus Active Contact

computer-businessmen

In the world of business, having regular interactions with your consumers is an absolute must. If we dial back the clock to around fifty years ago, you will have a lot of businesses actively campaigning to be the business that is chosen by a majority of consumers. They do this by making as large of a splash in the general consciousness as possible.

This meant massive marketing campaigns which included active phone drives wherein businesses had to hire people to do calls and tell people about the latest deals and offers. In the world of today, however, this isn’t as actively used.

Instead, businesses make use of their online presence to do passive interaction instead. People who are already interesting in obtaining a certain product or a service will search up keywords in their search engine and go through the results—eventually picking the one that they think would be the best choice. Businesses get to save a lot of money by no longer hiring people to do active contact with consumers.

The consumers of today prefer that they actually do the finding themselves. They are more involved in choosing the businesses that they actively patronize. The internet has made this highly possible for consumers and businesses needed to adapt to that.

The Future is Digital

digital-future

Anyone who has ever ventured in the world of business will tell you that it is highly important to be aware of the incoming trends and that your business will need to adjust and embrace new trends. Otherwise, you can fully expect your business to be left behind and generally forgotten by the consumers.

The future is increasingly leaning toward a highly digitized form. Advertising, movies, other forms of film, and even stores are all taking digital forms. So it would be foolish to not have your business incorporate that into its practice.

We hope that today’s discussion helped you better understand why businesses are fully dominated by the internet. While this can sound rather insidious, this is something to be embraced rather than fully rejected. Now we want to pass off a question to you!

Do you believe that businesses are dominated by the internet? What ways have you seen this first hand?

Harness the Power of the Net: Why Every Business Should Have Its Own Site

Business-site

One of the most exciting things about the net existing was how it was going to change the realm of business. The technology of today is something that businesses should really take advantage of.

Welcome back to Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. If you’re wondering why we are talking about the realm of business when we’re supposed to be talking about the web, let us clear the air for you. The internet is a tool that is used for a variety of things. It has helped people obtain knowledge, share knowledge, and even promote ideologies.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the field of business saw the internet as a tool which they could actively use for their needs. Social media sites are used a lot by business owners—for both big and small brands—because of the connectivity, accessibility, and the speed in which updates could be released. Social media also helps the business owners to effectively gauge the interest of the target market or the brand followers which they already have.

Social media isn’t exactly a ‘website’ for the business to have. While it is good to have a social media page through the various social media platforms, we ultimately believe that it is in the best interest of businesses to have its own website.

Let us explain why.

The Power of a Website

Before social media was around, if a business wanted to be well-known or talked about, they needed to spend quite a bit of money for traditional advertising. This meant that they had to secure blocks for TV advertising, radio advertising, and even printed advertising on magazines, flyers, and even newspapers. If consumers wanted to find out more about a particular business which had caught their eye, they needed to physically visit the place and talk to the people that worked there.

Here are a few things that a website can do for a business:

Clear Representation

A website is pretty much a built-up digital representation of your business. If you want to be taken seriously or even make your mark and really say “we’re here and open for business”, having your own website is a definite must.

A site is the 24/7 calling card that your business has even if you are not presently operating. A lot of smaller investments like pop-up businesses make use of websites to really establish their roots in the consciousness of consumers as a whole.

Credibility

A website will give your business ample credibility. After all, this will be information about your business which you can actively mold to suit your standards. Your website can be shaped to reflect what your business is and what it is all about. Information isn’t cheap so you should make sure that you take time to provide this for your consumers.

You can talk big game but if you don’t give them good answers regarding your product or your service, you won’t seem like a very credible business, right? A website provides this extra layer of credibility that all smaller businesses need. After all, it takes time and even money to build a website. Anyone who isn’t here for the long haul won’t even bother with creating a website.

A Source of Official News

When consumers need to know certain things, the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to publish statements or articles in your own website. This way, consumers will know that this is the official statement and there will be no other statement that will be thrown into the ring of discourse.

While social media can be used to spread the word about it, it is ultimately the website itself that should be the ground zero of your information. Consumers like to be in the know about the brands that they support. If you’re really smart about it, you should have a newsletter which they can sign up for so they have a chance to be updated or even get special deals and promos.

Security

The digital land comes with its own forms of dangers. While social media would be the fastest way to reach your consumers and brand followers, social media has been known to get hacked by some very clever people. This, naturally, can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting brand or business.

A website—especially one which is built well and is linked to a good website service—is a lot harder to hack. Sites like WordPress, Wix, and Go Daddy pride themselves on having extra security for the people that sign up with them. While they do also offer this for free accounts, those that buy domain names and choose to host their business sites with those brands enjoy a beefed up digital security that is pretty hard to get into.

Personal Showcase

A website is a pretty good place to publish your wares or your specialties. While galleries in social media is a thing which everyone does, it’s not really the best sort of place to discuss—in some length—about what you can do and what the picture is reflecting.

Also, if you happen to be an artist, having your own website would be a very good place to showcase your pieces and give any updates on what you are currently working on and any other event which is relevant to your growth as a brand.

As you can see, there are a LOT of different reasons why a brand or a business should have its own website. We hope that today’s discussion really shone a light on the benefits which can be obtained when you’ve got your own official website up and running to represent you 24/7. There also a lot of other benefits to having your own website but we hope that you take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to go and create your own site.

Now, we wanted to pass on a question to you: do you think that businesses have much to gain or lose if they have their own website?

the-importance-of-having-a-website