I’ve tweeted this before on my Twitter pages @usabilitydesign and @socialmediamash, but I have to expand on this issue here because I think it’s going to be something that is going to become an issue for Twitter micro-bloggers.

In case you’re new to Twitter, or not familiar with how it works, when you post a 140-character-or-less micro-blog on Twitter that includes a link to something you’ve referenced, Twitter will either handle that link one of two ways. If the link is not too long, Twitter will convert it to a clickable link and leave the URL as it was when you entered it.

The usability issue

If your combined text and URL is greater than 140 characters, Twitter won’t convert the URL to a TinyUrl then count your characters based on the length of the shortened URL. You have to either provide a shorter URL yourself OR shorten the text part of your tweet, which is a usability issue. Why should a URL count in the 140 characters you’re allowed?  

However, your post is less than 140 characters long, but the URL itself is quite long, Twitter will automatically convert it to a “TinyUrl,” (see http://TinyUrl.com), which is a shorter format link that redirects to the link you had specified. Nice of Twitter to do that for you, but here’s the problem. 

The security issue

Anyone can set up a Twitter account if they have a valid email address, and unscrupulous people who are phishing for your personal data or trying to install a virus or worm on your computer can use TinyURLs to mask what URL they are sending you to. You don’t know what the URL is until you click on the TinyURL version and open the site. By then it could be too late for you,

The TinyUrl.com site actually offers a more secure way to share a link that is being rediercted by a TinyUrl. It’s called “Preview,” and if you use the Preview version when you are manually creating your TinyUrl, then people who click on your TinyUrl link are first redirected to the TinyUrl.com site where they can see the actual URL and decide whether they feel it’s safe to click through and go to the site or not.

When Twitter automatically shortens URLs to TinyUrls, however, we don’t have a way to let people review the link before they visit the site.

A reasonable solution for both issues: embedded URLs

 Here’s a solution that Twitter could implement, if they really care about this issue.

If Twitter gave their users the ability to embed a URL in the text of their tweet… e.g. instead of entering a long link such as http://digitalpractices.org/2009/04/15/twitter-links-are-a-major-phishing-risk that Twitter will shorten into a TinyUrl, the message could simply refer to this blog post that I wrote, and thus Twitter users wouldn’t have to use up so many of their allotted 140 characters to include an URL. This would solve a usability issue on Twitter.

As for security, Twitter followers and browsers could simply hover their cursor over the link to see what it is. That way, they can at least have a fighting chance at finding out whether the link looks like it point to a legitimate Website rather than a creepy phishing site or some shady IP address spreading malware.

What do you think? Are you concerned about phishing or malware attempts when you click on TinyUrl links in Twitter posts?

With social media, the emphasis is on interaction, collaboration, and user generated content. Unlike broadcasting or publishing an ad, getting your corporate message out via social media requires an understanding of the technology, an embrace of creativity and innovation, and a willingness to launch your corporate message and your brand identity into the blogosphere (as the world of blogs has been called), then wait to see where it lands.

There are all kinds of “social media consultants” out there selling seminars and books about how your business can benefit from it, but businesses need to look no further than DailySplice.com, a one-year-old social media software startup in Victoria, British Columbia.

Founded in 2007 by a group of business and computer science students at the University of Victoria, the company has developed a product called Splice Station that makes it easy for organizations to record podcasts (a digital recording of an audio or video broadcast delivered over the Internet or downloaded to an iPod) then deliver them on their own websites.

The University of Victoria has two two Splice Stations, one for business podcasts and one that plays Software Engineering podcasts. Vancouver Island’s AbeBooks, recently acquired by Amazon.com, is also using Splice Station to channel audio and video content through a specialized player on its website.

“It’s innovative and easy to use.” says Richard Davies, PR Manager for AbeBooks.com, a Victoria company that was recently acquired by Amazon.com. “Book lovers can find the world’s most interesting book reviews and interviews by visiting the AbeBooks.com website and looking for the Shelfsound logo.”

As if those examples from the world of business and the world of academia weren’t perfect enough illustrations of how social media can be used, another type of organization in Victoria Island has also started podcasting using Splice Station.

The Saanich Police have become perhaps the first police service in Canada to use audio and video podcasts on their website at saanichpolice.ca. Click on “Podcasts” on the homepage and you’ll find links to news and information as it happens (such as a live report about Pat Bay highway traffic) to crime prevention, safety tips, unsolved crimes, media releases and media clips.

The department’s public information officer, Sgt. John Price, says “Podcasting is the fastest growing communication medium in history…the Saanich Police want to be part of that medium.”

This article was originally published in Vancouver Island Business. Garth A. Buchholz is the President and Chief Usability Analystof DigitalPractices Media Inc. (Garth@DigitalPractices.com)

If only we could rise on a weekday morning without having to put on our work clothes, start a cranky car, fight our way through smoggy traffic, pay for expensive parking stalls, then do it all over again at the end of the day. Think of how we could minimize our footprint on the environment, save ourselves money on clothes, gas, and parking, and save our companies the cost of expensive office space.   

That seems to be the common wisdom when people talk about telecommuting or telework – synonyms for the use of Internet and communications technologies to work outside the traditional office or workplace, usually at home. MSNBC.com calls it “the quiet revolution” and predicts that by 2009, 27.5% of U.S. workers won’t be driving to the office.

Governments in Canada and elsewhere are starting to take telework seriously. The Environmental Quality branch of BC’s Ministry of Environment makes this recommendation: “Consider a condensed work week or telecommuting as a way to work effectively and cut air pollution.” For many disabled employees it can also present a way to be an active member the workforce without having to undertake the challenges of commuting or office access and facilities.

According to the 2008-2009 WorldatWork Salary Budget Survey of total rewards programs used to attract and retain talent (www.worldatwork.org), telework has shown the most substantial 12-month increase in both Canada and the U.S.  Although telework in the U.S. had a significant increase – from 30% in 2007 to 42% this year – the increase in Canada was even more dramatic, rising from 25% in 2007 to 40% this year.  

“It’s been a perfect storm,” says Anne C. Ruddy, CCP, president of WorldatWork. “Rising gas prices, leading-edge technology, and the push for work-life flexibility have all come together in the past 12 months to create a pretty dramatic increase in telework across the U.S. and Canada.”

BC’s TELUS Corporation found that teleworking can increase employee productivity by about 20%. The company conducted a 2006 pilot project where the company allowed 170 employees to work at home, and not only did it increase productivity and morale, but it also saved 114 tonnes in greenhouse gases and almost 14,000 hours of time in traffic.

Yet even though more organizations in Canada and the U.S. are beginning to implement telework options or at least develop telework policies, and many employees and unions are embracing the opportunity, some employers — and even their employees – are still reluctant.

In an article in Ontario’s Business Edge magazine (www.businessedge.ca/), writer Sharon Adams says “Old-line thinking – better suited to the industrial revolution – is holding us back from the full benefits of telecommuting.”  She quotes Bob Fortier, president of the Canadian Telework Association (himself a virtual worker) who found that “There are a lot of managers who say, ‘Not on my watch.’ “

Technology such as Web-based applications, video conferencing, webcams, instant messaging, and VoIP/telephony can enable virtual workers to work from homebase much more efficiently and accountably. Organizations also have to consider other issues, though. In the Sept 3 issue of ITBusiness.ca, employers are advised to ask themselves these six questions before implementing a telework program:

1. Is full-time telecommuting a smart decision?
2. How will you define and measure performance?
3. Will creativity suffer?
4. How will telework affect collaboration?
5. What about employees “left behind” in the office?
6. Do you have an exit strategy? (i.e. if you decide to discontinue the telework option)

Here are some of the tangible benefits and potential pitfalls of telework programs — from the perspectives of employers and employees – along with recent research that has been done on this hot topic.

Telework is a great recruiting and engagement incentive.

As we noted earlier in this article from the WorldatWork survey, telework is on the rise as an incentive to attract and retain talent. Both young workers entering the workforce as well as workers closer to retirement also have an interest in the flexibility of at-home work options. And for younger workers, there is no clear line between their work-life and personal life, so it feels natural and comfortable for them to them to work from home. 

Telework offers meaningful lifestyle options so employees can have a better work/life balance. This can improve employee morale and reduce stress, with the end result of a more satisfied, stable and productive workforce. EKOS Research found that 33% of Canadians would choose telework over a salary raise, while 43% would actually quit their job to work somewhere that allows telework. 

On the other hand, older or more established workers, who haven’t experienced telecommuting and are used to being in the office, may have some reluctance, especially at mid-career. A recent U.S. survey of 700 white-collar workers reported that almost two-thirds of all the respondents expressed fear that working from home “will hinder their chances at a promotion due to the lack of contact with the employer.” About 71% said they believed their manager wants them around to prevent a decline in productivity, while another 62% said they think their employer needs them in the office to prevent communication issues.

Telework can net huge savings on the high cost of office space.

Not only can home-based employees help organizations reduce the costs of office overhead, include leases costs, taxes, energy costs, and equipment and supply costs, they can also help solve the ever-present urban issue of available office space (especially in places such as downtown Victoria). Through telework, AT & T reported saving $500 million in office costs since 1995, and IBM reduced the need for office space for a savings of $56 million per year.   

Telework can help improve the efficiency, performance and productivity of your employees.

As many organizations become more reliant on information technology for their operations and communications, teleworking can actually help companies get a better return on investment from their workplace technology. American Express reported that their teleworkers handled 26% more calls and produced 43% more business than their office-based counterparts. At IBM Canada, where 20% of the workforce teleworks, studies showed that teleworking employees were as much as 50% more productive.

However, trust – on the part of employers – remains the looming shadow behind the sunshine of telework. Production-focused workers whose output can be quantified electronically are less concern than workers whose productivity is often measured by their managers in terms of what they’re seen to be doing in the office. A series of Dilbert comic strips chronicled Dilbert’s brief telecommuting experience as he descends into comical non-productivity. It’s exactly what most employers fear, but employers who take the risk often find that the main change is the need to manage more diligently. 

“You’re trusting people to do the work,” said Steve Lundin of BigFrontier Communications group, quoted in the Sept 7 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle. . “There is some fluff time you’re paying for, but what you bill out for is far more than what you’re paying them.” Lundin added that one downside to telecommuting is the “additional management of people,” and said he has to spend more of his time speaking to his telecommuters over the phone.

Teleworking employees may also find that their collaboration and creativity in certain jobs or roles may be impacted because their physical isolation keeps them from the stimulating personal interaction they would normally have in informal or formal groups, pods and meetings. Employers can remedy this by ensuring teleworkers have opportunities to meet face-to-face regularly, and this may even reduce the number of unnecessary or unproductive meetings that are called just because workers are onsite.   

The Green Commute - telework options can show your corporate commitment to the environment.  

Your organization can improve its “green” image and show its commitment to the community by helping reduce vehicle emissions as well as saving energy and energy costs by reducing gas consumption. This can be demonstrated in hard numbers on an annual report, too. A U.S. article in the Sept 5 issue of the Hartford Courant reports that an employee with a 45-minute commute could cut his or her monthly gas expenses by 40%, or about $80, if allowed to telecommute two days a week.

Organizations that operate across several time zones or want to expand to global markets can hire and deploy teleworkers in other countries with ease.

There’s also the issue of the costs and logistics of relocating staff to other regions or even other countries. Statistics Canada reports that it costs companies an average of $42,000 to relocate workers to another city. With telework, some workers can be allowed to remain in their own hometown while conducting work for a branch in another location. 

Telework can be a selective program offered to specific categories of workers without impacting the availability of employees that are needed on-site.

ITBusiness.ca points out that telework works best for task-oriented jobs (such as IT positions) that don’t require a lot of face-to-face interaction with others. In fact, this can even help improve productivity for these types of employees who can work in a private environment without any non-work-related distractions. Call centres are increasingly using telework as a way to save costs and allow employees to handle calls routed to their homes where they can use online databases and tools to help customers resolve issues. In fact, this can even help organizations increase the number of number of customer service hours available to the public as teleworkers can work longer, later, or staggered hours at home and not have to worry about transportation or even personal safety issues. This can, however, lead to a problem with a “digital divide” separating those left behind in the office and those who are teleworking.

Telework can help reduce overtime for office staff and may even help reduce absenteeism.

When it comes to minor illnesses or health issues that might normally keep workers absent and unproductive, telework offers some employees (in some cases) the option to work from the comfort of their own home when they have minor health problems without the physical stress of having to be in the office. Less travel time also may mean less overtime costs. Absenteeism averages about 8 days a year (6.9 days for men, and 9.2 days for women) says a study Statistics Canada, and Health Canada has reported that the cost of balancing work and family is about $2.7 billion.

Canadian organizations that telework.
Source: Canadian Telework Association 

This article was originally published in Douglas Magazine. Garth A. Buchholz is the President and Chief Usability Analyst at DigitalPractices Media Inc.

What if you could share your own private network with the people and organizations you trust, exclude all other Internet connections (Web, email, etc) unless it passed your own criteria for inclusion, and could police your network by blocking any sites or emails that violated your rules in any way? What we think of as “the Internet” could fast become “the Intranet (capital ‘I’)”.

While everyone’s still garnering an understanding of what Web 2.0 means, a Web 3.0 could creep up and overtake it because of bandwidth, security and proprietary content drivers.

EXAMPLE 1: BANDWIDTH AND ACCESSIBILITY

SavetheInternet.com is a coalition that has “banded together to save the First Amendment of the Internet: network neutrality.” Their site defines Net Neutrality thusly:

Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It’s why the Internet has become an unrivaled environment for open communications, civic involvement and free speech. The nation’s largest telephone and cable companies – including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner – want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won’t load at all. They want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video – while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

Their concern is that the open playing field of the current Internet, where everyone gets equal; bandwidth consideration, will be lost in favor of a Web 3.0 where private enterprise offers a faster, but more exclusive Net for those who can afford it.

EXAMPLE 2: SECURITY AND USABILITY

Personal InfoCloud, by Thomas Vander Wal of InfoCloud Solutions, talks about about how users have a kind of preferred way of accessing information online, what he calls the “Local InfoCloud”:

As the my understanding began to lean toward familiarity as a core component of the definition of Local InfoCloud, the term began to embrace the social and community aspects (I am working on shying away from the term community as it is a broadly used term and I am trying to be a little more precise). Interactions with people, services, networks, applications, etc. that are familiar are means of bringing information closer to us as people with data, information, and media needs. The Local InfoCloud eases access. It eases the ability to find and refind information. It is information that is closer to us, not necessarily in physical proximity, but in the ability to access, in which familiarity is bread. I spent much time considering changing the label from local to community or social, but there were elements that did not perfectly fit that either.

Location-based services may be created by a service, but understanding the mindset, terminology, dialect, and cognitive frameworks that are germane to that physical location the information can be structured to resemble or mirror the social elements of understanding in that place. I will get to a better understanding of this when I talk about the Location aspect of the Local InfoCloud. As well, thinking in the Model of Attraction framework the Local InfoCloud is that which is attracted closer to us than the Global InfoCloud.

What I extrapolated from Vander Wal’s blog is that the Internet, or the “Global InfoCloud”, could become much less appealing for users than their own private network where they could control how they find and refind information, and how they interact with more familiar people, services, networks, applications.

EXAMPLE 3: PROPRIETARY CONTENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Back in the late ’90s when I wrote a weekly Internet column for our local newspaper, one of the things I predicted was that the Internet would become more proprietary, just like how online subscription services such as AOL, Compuserve and so on used to operate a few years earlier. That’s not to say that you won’t be able to access any content on the Net, but any content worth accessing would be fee-based.

In a recent New York Times book review, the issue of digital publishing is given another spin. When all books are digital, it makes it easier to combine and recombine information like never before:

Liberating books from their physical contexts could make it easier for them to blend into one another, a concept heralded by Kevin Kelly in an article in The New York Times Magazine last month. “Once text is digital, books seep out of their bindings and weave themselves together,” wrote Mr. Kelly in an article that was derided by Mr. Updike in his BookExpo polemic. “The collective intelligence of a library allows us to see things we can’t see in a single, isolated book.”

Of course, that should alarm the entire publishing industry, especially authors. Up till now, a book with its two sacred covers was a complete work, a product, a publishing unit of sale, a reference and an ISBN number. But if your book simply becomes a part of the swirling maelstrom of data on the Web, integrated into other databases and chopped into fine bits like the old K-Tel food processor infomercials we used to see on TV, who makes money on it? And who gets the credit if your content is simply hashed up into other dynamically generated pages of material?

Again, that’s where a network of private intranets would appeal to those who want to preserve the integrity of their intellectual properties. You control who can access it, who can buy it, and what they can do with it. I can think of many other reasons why Web 3.0 may happen sooner than we think, but I’d really like to hear from others on this subject. Post your responses here, or email me  and I’ll share your thoughts in this blog.