Twitter has not been hacked.

What has been hacked is human nature. These phishing scams use the same psychological approach that’s been used for years:

Create desire in the user that will motivate them to click on a link and enter their username and email. Typically this desire will feel gossipy and/or sensationalistic.

Here are a few direct messages I received:

“Getting paranoid. WTF kind of a site is this?”

“hey look at this funny blog”

And my personal favorite:

“Hey, I can’t believe they put your picture on this blog!”

Two Rules of Thumb

1. If the website asks for your username and password (and “twitter” is the subdomain rather than the main domain), chances are your being fished.

2. If reading the direct message feels similar to reading the World Weekly News (gossipy and/or sensationalistic), chances are your being fished.

The moral here? Use your smarts.

More info on the the most recent Twitter phishing scam can be found on the Twitter blog and in an article called “Security Issues in Social Media Shouldn’t Put Nonprofits Off Networking Online” on the Wild Apricot blog.

If you found this post useful, leave a comment, subscribe, or find out how I can help your non-profit.

The winners always seem to have everything go their way - just like senior year in high school (remember?). New high paying jobs, a brand new 3 bedroom loft condo, 13,000 Facebook fans, awards received, yada, yada, yada.

However, for many of my friends 2008 was a complete disaster, causing them to do what any self-respecting person does in the face of adversity: Curl up under a desk and weep.

Now, if you are one of the few who have proudly claimed the spot on the mantle for your winner’s cup, this post is not for you.  I do love you and we’ll talk about that love at another time.

This post is for my dear friends who have marched through the shit storm of 2008. This is for the folks who are single-handedly creating value for society with their struggling-but-lively non-profit.

In 2009 you will win. You will be on top.

Why should you win, you ask?

BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME!

1. You are awesome because you always put your relationships first.

If you’re one of my friends running a small non-profit, you realize that it’s not about how many facebook fans you have. It’s about how many of those fans will stand up and fight for your cause. And they will stand up because of your personal relationship with them.

If you’re one of my Twitter friends, you’re awesome because you stand up and take action when action needs to be taken - like here, here and here.

2. You are awesome because because you do great work.

If you’re one of my Twitter friends, thanks for writing great posts on hump day, creating the best course on becoming an Authority Blogger, making the best WordPress theme money can buy, and giving us all 56 reasons to have more sex.

3. You are awesome because you do what is right.

You’ve taken the time to write posts that create value for others, knowing that you’ll receive nothing in return. You’ve written about personal struggles and the hopes you have, why we’re all broke and how to fix it, and have even reminding us why we shouldn’t throw monkey turd.

4. Finally, you are awesome because you are you!

You have already learned what works and what doesn’t.  You’ve screwed up thousands of times in your life and now you’re an expert on what you do well - and what you don’t do well. No one knows what you know. And there’s no MBA on earth that will teach you that - not even the MBA from Seth Godin, which, by the way, is now closed.

So, what will you do to kick ass in 2009?

1. You will stop doing those things that have gotten you no results. Instead, you will do the opposite.
2. You will start doing things that are insanely remarkable - things no one will see coming. Not even your Mom!
3. You will take time and read all those starred items in your RSS reader.
4. You will smile more at those you love - and know them for the first time.
5. You will remember that you are not your mistakes. Rather, you are what your friends love about you.
6. You will tell the world when you feel down instead of hiding.
7. You will spend more time with clients and friends - and not let their calls go to voice mail.
8. You will close your laptop each day and go for a long walk outside in the fresh air.

Let’s hear it! What will you do?

The latest version of TweetDeck (.021b) now has us sitting in coach. It’s lightning fast and managing several Twitter conversations is much easier. If you haven’t donated at least $10 to Iain, please do - TweetDeck will save at least $1,000 worth or your time.

So… on to the video:

(A list of the major TweetDeck enhancements are below the embedded video)

1. Much quicker. Messages no longer cause your laptop to start wheezing.
2. Direct messages you’ve sent are now in included in the DM column. Now you can quickly find a conversation thread that you may have lost.
3. Narrow columns within settings. This allows you to save more groups with out having to horizontally navigate back and forth.
4. Confirmation message pops up when closing a column. Yay!
5. TweetShrink now shortens long messages. Perfect for those times when you want to tweet just like your 17 year-old daughter.
6. URL shortening services can be selected and saved.

What did I miss? Please ping me on Twitter and/or post additional Tweetdeck tips in the comments section below.