advertisement

Black Friday Twitter Project

black-friday-twitter-project

Intrigued by Web phenom Twitter, StorefrontBacktalk in November 2008 set out to see how well Twitter could function as a near-realtime news alert system. We decided to test it using the Web traffic focus of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Partnering with more than half a dozen Web tracking services, including Gomez, Keynote, Pingdom, Sitemorse, Hitwise, Chase Paymentech and Brulant, StorefrontBacktalk’s Twitter alerts delivered the first reports of uptime hiccups from Walmart, Nordstrom, Sears, Barnes and Noble, Saks, Overstock, Amazon, Kohls, Target, Wegmans, Gap, Costco, Kmart, Bloomingdales, Staples, Jcrew, Victoria’s Secret, Williams-Sonoma and Home Depot, among many others.

The Twitter alerts didn’t go unnoticed, with front page coverage in USA Today as well stories in CNN, MSNBC, among others:

StorefrontBacktalk Black Friday Project Coverage
Click on the bulleted links below to read those stories.

StorefrontBacktalk.com will continue to use our Twitter feed to report on breaking news stories throughout the week, often hours—and sometimes more than a day—before we can finish reporting, editing and posting a full-blown story on it. Throughout the year, we’ll also be using the feed for various special retail tech and E-Commerce events around the globe. Hope to have you on board for some!

Weekly, Monthly Newsletters

Quickly catch-up on the latest in E-Commerce and Retail Tech with our free weekly report, with urgent bulletins as news merits—along with our monthlies on Mobile, Security, In-Store, E-Commerce and CRM.
advertisement

Most Recent Comments

"I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? " -Christine

Yes, Virginia, We Really Do Need A QIR Program

Michael
We are a Fortune 500 retailer. Our leadership applauds this new program. It's a good thing. Read more...

Big Data Is Exactly What You Think It Isn't

Thad Peterson
I agree that it's going to completely change the way retailers deal with their customers (and their suppliers), but there's going to be a whole bunch o' garbage out there before people really understand. Read more...

MasterCard Aims To Take Mobile Wallet Rivals Apart

Adrian Lane
Could you please validate the use of tokenization in the wallet's payment scheme? I'm looking at the wallet API and there is no mention of tokenization, only OAUTH identity tokens. Read more...

P2PE: No Cakewalk for Merchants, But There May Be No Alternative For Reducing Scope

Jaime
Walt, what are your thoughts on the applicability of P2PE to merchants who process using a mobile phone application with a swiper? I've asked a few QSA's this question and feeling seems to vary on whether a compliant POI device connected through the phone to a compliant gateway, etc. would allow the merchant to qualify. The crux of the conflict seems to be whether the phone remains in scope as part of the processing environment, or if it can be considered removed because the data is encrypted while being passed to the gateway through an app or the browser. Read more...
Andrew Jamieson
If the swipe device is PCI PTS certified, AND also compliant tot the SRED requirements of that standard, then it should be possible for the phone to be out of scope. This is basically the crux of the new PCI guidance on mobile payment acceptance, and the whole point of the SRED module (ie to help secure data through encryption to assist with scope reduction). Read more...

Considering An Operations Person For An Open IT Position? Don't Do It

Chris
I have an ops mentality but have worked directly or indirectly in IT for over 30 years. I think, naturally, young people and/or go-getter personality types are, by nature, "operations" types. However, as responsibility, experience, and maturity increases, people who may even be naturally "ops-oriented" can and should make the transition to an "IT" mentality like that you describe above. My boss is, by background, an "operations" person who never had a strong technical background or interest. Very smart, and capable when focused, but not that turned on by learning the intricacies of "how stuff works." In other words, despite over 20 years in the "IT" industry, still fixing tractors in the field. Read more...
Todd Michaud
I think that the more that both sides understand where the other is coming from, the better off everyone will be. I find that taking the time to ask someone "why" (is something being done that way, is that decision made, is this project important) can at least provide a good starting point. Read more...

Walmart's Online Cash Creates New Fraud Problem

ed
Wal-Mart pay-with-cash for online orders is a big benefit for resellers and suppliers versus reselling their products through eBay or Amazon.com. A startup supplier or product manufacturer no longer need to meet Wal-Mart strict specifications and minimum order requirement to stock products for sale in-store. They can now market throught Wal-Mart.com to a bigger crowd that can also pay with cash and use Wal-Mart expansive logistic system to deliver just-in-time. Read more...

"Careless" Systems Integrators Now Directly Under PCI DSS

Kat Valentine
This exact issue has been bothering me for years, and I was JUST talking about it with someone only yesterday. This may well be my favorite article, mostly because I'm biased and have hated this particular problem forever. Read more...
Nathan
Good article, but how does this have anything to do with the DSS? Read more...
Walt Conway
Actually, the QIR program has a lot to do with the DSS (or PCI). Since merchants rely on their reseller or integrator to implement their PA-DSS validated application, these resellers and system integrators play a critical role in merchants achieving and maintaining PCI compliance. As far as I can tell, the QIR program is designed to help merchants stay compliant by making sure their payment applications are installed according to the PA-DSS Implementation Guide, for example ensuring default passwords are changed (and protected), that the data encryption keys are properly set and secured, that the merchant's data retention policy is set, that no sensitive cardholder data are stored, and often that a firewall is in place and properly configured. Read more...
Cory
Although this is a great move forward in pushing the issue of highly trained people, it is also a good marketing ploy for the council. It begs the question: How much do they stand to make? The problem for this is that for people (like myself) that are just starting out their own business venture, PCI has typically charged a premium for their training and certifications. This change will likely force those of us with less capital to spin into the abyss. I have more than 15 years in the security and compliance fields with heavy hitter certs like CISSP, CRISC, and Sec+. There should not be a guide but a free test or a pre-requisite of either the PCI cert OR other heavy hitter certs. I just don't want the good guys in small places to get flushed out. Read more...
StorefrontBacktalk
Our apologies. Due to legal and security copyright issues, we can't facilitate the printing of Premium Content. If you absolutely need a hard copy, please contact customer service.