Social Media Terms of Service – Did you know this?

Looking at last week’s on readability numbers the conclusion was that you need at least a university degree to understand what is said.  Meanwhile teens and people who have not benefitted years of education are joining these platforms and accepting the terms without reading.  Important to keep in mind that assume that your native language is ENGLISH!  What about us foreigners trying to read these terms…

But it is not all doom and gloom.  I also want to share some interesting facts I found when reading the ToS of the major social media platforms with you.

Most platforms require you to have a minimum age (13 in most – with parental approval till you are 18; LinkedIn requires 18).  However, Twitter has NO age limitation.

All sites obviously have the necessary claims regarding copyrights, trademarks, etc. and wave all responsibility, of course.

Here are some other interesting facts I found:

Flickr:

• You must provide TRUE, ACCURATE, CURRENT and COMPLETE information -> A false identity can lead to termination.
• You may not impersonate any person or entity, nor misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
• You can not use it for military, nuclear, and other weaponry.
• If you get sick using their product, you can not sue them
• You can not transfer your yahoo accounts

Youtube:

• Here too you must provide accurate and complete information
• You are not allowed to launch automated services onto the website

WordPress:

• You must not describe and assign keywords that are misleading of unlawful
• Your blog must be named correctly and not create illusion that is someone of something else.

LinkedIn

• A competitor may not have an account
• You can only maintain ONE account
• LinkedIn does not have any obligation to verify the identity but you can not use a false identity
• You may not invite people to your network that you do not know
• Have a real headshot and not a cartoon or symbol
• Add content to fields in which is not appropriate (eg. Title field can not contain phone number or email).
• Not to set up pyramid schemes or use LinkedIn to manage these types of pyramid schemes
• When you die when using LinkedIn, you can not hold them liable

Facebook

• You may not provide false personal information
• You can only have ONE profile
• You can not use Facebook if you are sax offender
• If you use Facebook from your mobile and the number changes you need to update within 48 hours.
• No pyramid schemes allowed

Twitter

• No age limit
• You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others.
• You may not publish or post direct, specific threats of violence against others.
• You may not engage in name squatting
• You may not use the Twitter service for the purpose of spamming anyone (follow a large amount of people in a short time, repeatedly follow and unfollow people, your updates contain only links and no personal info, etc.)

So as you can see, reading these terms of service might not only prove interesting but also eye opening.  You will notice that there is a lot of abuse of the ToS being tolerated by the social media platforms.

Have you discovered other interesting terms which I have missed?  I look forward to hearing them from you.

Why are we not reading the Terms of Service

During my research and survey in February 2010, I have come across the lax way of people accepting the Terms of Service when you sign up and participate in social media platforms.

Rather than reading this document over 55% of the users accept them without reading them and thus not knowing what is in them.  I understand that some of these are difficult to read.  So I put it to the test and came up with interesting but not surprising results which I will share with you in 2 blogs.  Firstly, I will concentrate on the readability of these pages.

Some numbers:

• Number of characters is between 15.000 (Twitter) and 40.000 (LinkedIn)
• Number of words is between 3.000 (Twitter) and 7300 (LinkedIn)
• Number of sentences is between 94 (Twitter) and  403 (Flickr)
• Number of words per sentence is between 20 and 30.
• There are about 5 characters and 1.8 syllables per word

With these statistics in mind I took a look at the readability of these texts and came to one conclusion: You need to be a graduate student to be able to read these texts.  I took a look at 2 these indexes (Gunning Fog Index and Flesh Read Ease score) and the results are as follows:

The Gunning Fog Index focuses on number of words in a sentence and percentage of 3 syllable words while the Flesh Readability Index focuses on number of syllables in a word and the number of sentences.  The standard Flesh Reading score should be in the range of 60-70 while the Fog Index is about 10 to 12. Note that Fog Index of over 18 or Flesh score under 30 means VERY DIFFICULT to read.

Just as a matter of comparison, Time magazine has a Fog Index of 11 and a Flesh Reading score of 52.  So here is where the different social media ToS stack up to:

Looking at these numbers the conclusion is that you need at least a university degree to understand what is said.  Meanwhile teens and people who have not benefitted years of education are joining these platforms and accepting the terms without reading.

Important to keep in mind that assume that your native language is ENGLISH!  What about us foreigners trying to read these terms… Ik know they exist in other languages!

Next week I will share with you some of the eye opening facts that I found…

5 steps to implement a social networking policy

As I recently read, controlling Social Networking is like herding sheep.  You can close them in but beware some might escape and you will have to chase them back in; or you let it open and some will run away and do dangerous things.  In any case you need guidelines and this as of the first employee that uses Social Media and Networking!

Have you seen the number of articles appear that tell us of social networking sites, especially Facebook and Twitter) being closed down by IT – the hard way!  Actually, a study done by the Belgian IT magazine (Smart Business Strategies) this week confirms this.  But this does not really solve the problem as employees will look for other ways to participate and companies will have to sit back and be reactive.  Why not being proactive?

Rather than being reactive or repressive, would it not make more sense to provide guidance to your employees?  But how do you start this?  I have come up with a simple 5 step approach:

Step 1: Create awareness of what social networking is, who are the providers, what are the benefits and what are the dangers.

Step 2: Create an Inventory of where the company and its employees are active today in social media and networking.  You will be amazed about the number of platforms you get!

Step 3: Create Social Networking Policies.

Step 4: Provide the necessary Training on the platforms that are most common and fall within the guidelines of the policy.

Step 5: Monitor the progress from a brand and person point of view.

Going through these 5 steps and working with the employees, companies will be able to create proactive and constructive guidelines that work.

“Oops, I did it again” – Mobistar

Earlier this month, I have shared with you my tribulations with my activation of my subscription at Mobistar.  After 8 days I was up and running.  I had ranted, I had raved, and I had even complained to top of the marketing department about my struggles –  my frustration was vented.  I thought my fun was over, till today…

I got a mail from a high-up-the-chain marketing person.  The fun began with the first 2 words: “Dear MS” with the assumption that MIC (my official first name) was the abbreviation for Michaela (and this really the text in the mail).  This makes me wonder about the CRM systems at Mobistar… My invoices do say MR…  I had mentioned that I am using social media and I guess looking there who the client was is not an option either.

The mail went on to apologize for the late answer – the person was 10 days on holiday – which makes me wonder since mobistar is the premier supplier of smart phones and is currently aggressively promoting the use of the internet from a mobile platform… But I respect the fact that when you are on vacation you do not answer your mails.  But “Eat your own dog food” thought does come to mind in this connected world.

The mail went on to say that he was willing to help me solve the problem which I find great for 2 reasons: I got a response on my mail and was offered help.   So at least some one at Mobistar gets back to clients.  But it saddens me to see that mobistar who strives to be a leader in new technology is using it so poorly (no twitter monitoring, the mobistar twitter id has been taken by a private person, no facebook, barely any linkedin activity, lot’s of Youtube videos but none posted by mobistar itself,…)

I one sentence: “Poor social media strategy and no social media policy in place – dangers are lurking just around the corner”.

The rise of the Ninja…

I read an interesting article about the use of the term “Ninja” being used in business titles (
http://tinyurl.com/yj92hbs
) on social networks and started to wonder what that really meant.  So I turned to the social web (okay, Wikipedia) and found that a Ninja performs the following tasks: espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination in a covert means of waging war.  Sometimes it was combat in the open but only when they found the Samurai.  Not very flattering as a title on your business card I would think.

Here is another interesting twist, it seems that Ninja seem to live outside of society.  So when you call yourself a social media Ninja are you not contradicting yourself?

Maybe these people are inspired by the skills attributed by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which would make sense since this series was popular during the 1980s and 1990s and these people are now the workforce of today (average age in LinkedIn is about 40 years old)…  I do not think companies are big bad enemies that need to be eradicated.

This leaves me with the question: “So why do people use this nomenclature?”  Do they find “guru” or “professional” not adequate or overused?  I wonder…

Feedback always welcome.

Are you being monitored?

Courtesy istock

It has been a great week for the followers, including myself, of social media news in Belgium.  Several stories hit the press.  It’s fueling the debate on social networking in business and the need to create awareness and policies..

I love it when companies say that allow their employees to use social media.  This is great and encouraged till criticism, not so good news and negative comments are published.  Then there is a crack down like this week at “De Lijn”, the Flemish bus company.  Immediately, the spokesperson refers to an internet policy that is in place but I can’t stop wondering whether the employees have read it or even know about it?

I love it when companies want to block social media.  As I have mentioned in previous blog posts that social media, including Twitter can not be blocked.  Business is seeing the dangers (information leakage, hacking opportunities, or posting career and company damaging messages) and beginning to see that awareness building needs to be done.

Two interesting articles in the educational sphere poked my interest this week.  Firstly, 2 students were dismissed after creating a Facebook group to ridicule their teachers. This is of course not the first time this happens in our small country.  Secondly, the educational staff is reluctant to participate to social media for a number of reasons such as privacy, contribution to the educational track, lack of guidelines, etc.  Here too, there is a loud cry for guidelines and it is great to hear that it is being worked on for next schoolyear.

There is one thing that catches my attention in all of this: how are companies keeping tabs on their employees?  Do they überhaupt know in which social media their employees are participating?  How much time are they spending to monitor their employees? And do they know? Is this a breach of privacy? To me these issues seem the biggest challenge of all.

Even though I have some answers, any and all thoughts are welcome!

When customer service matters… or not?

I am going through a period of changes. As one chapter of my professional life is ending, a new one is opening and this the time when customer service can shine… or not. Here are some illustrations.

In my previous life, I was a corporate account user for the mobile company, Mobistar. On the first day of not being a corporate account user, I get an SMS saying that I now am a pre-paid user with ZERO credit which is okay. However, now being a small business owner I immediately want to buy a subscription for mobile phoning and internet. I go to their own store and want to get a subscription (I am BUYER who needs no convincing!) and I am told they cannot get to my account since it is still a corporate account! It will take 48 hours for their servers to be updated while my phone subscription was changed in less than 12h! And by the way, once they can change it I will be locked in for 2 years! As a business owner on the road, this is disastrous since I have no access to my mail and cannot really call my clients and prospects. Outrageous! I think it is easier to switch mobile companies. So Mobistar, you have just flunked the customer service exam!

I was also owner of an hospitalization insurance with AXA via my ex-employer. That contract stopped the day I left. Can you imagine they are not contacting me to even ask if I want to continue my policy on a personal basis! I have to contact them myself if I want to give them my business! Guess not… So Axa, you are no longer on my shopping list (for any insurance).

On a positive note, when I returned my company car, the inspection went fast, polite and professional. They even offered, without asking, to bring me back to the train station! That is what I call thumbs up for Carroserie Européen. Or what customer service should look like.

I recently flew back from Chicago to Brussels on American Airlines. Just before we left – we were already on the plane – they discovered a fuel leak on the plane and the flight was delayed till a new plan could be found. A few hours later we did leave and I can tell you the customer service provided by the flight attendants and the free drinks were just a great sign of how customer service should work. Well done American Airlines!

I know I am ranting and raving but when it comes to customer service you need to treat everyone special even ME!

PS: BTW I am going to use this message to see who is listening via social networks to their customers – so Mobistar or Axa, if your are out there listening feel free to correct your bad record

Training in what… social media and networking?

How many times have you joined a new social network or media without getting training or read the manual.  I think we are all guilty.  But is this really a good approach?

Maybe or maybe not!  In my survey about 40% of the audience would want training mainly on LinkedIn and not on other social media and networks.  Paying for it is even more problematic, 90% do not want to pay for it!  With Facebook and Twitter being used for business, I think there will be a good market for these trainings but at what price?

I have done some digging to find out what is available in terms of training for social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Twitter and the results are somewhat meager.  Using Google and Askjeeves as engines to search, I did not come up with much.

When it comes to LinkedIn, there is some face to face training done out there by different providers.  Even LinkedIn is beginning to provide some training.  But when you look at Facebook, Twitter or others, there is barely nothing in terms of face to face training.  So what are your options:

1. Take the online training of the social media provider.
2. But getting a book seems to be the most obvious route (“Facebook/Twitter for dummies”, “FB/Twitter the missing manual”, “Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business, etc.)”, “Facebook and Twitter 101 Training, the Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, etc.)”
3. You can always try the Mashable guidebooks on Twitter and Facebook
4. There is some online training at
   http://www.bestfreetraining.net/?p=1613
   or www.zoom-in.com.
5. I did find some dutch training companies that offer some social media training but not to the extend that it would be useful.  More than willing to share their names.
6. Finally, PR agencies are offering some training as part of their services.

It is clear that training is and will be needed if marketers and others are to succeed in using social media, but the field of offered courses is still unplowed.  If you know of any training, please let me know….

Social networking blocking myths busted

Last week I picked up an article on banning social networking at work (
http://tinyurl.com/y9oyza4
) on CNN.com.  Time-wasting is being cited as the most important reason for blocking social networking. But they have to admit that social networking is not a fad and certainly not going away!  The conclusion being that companies have different stances but blocking seems to be the best route.

While this might be an option, I have argued several times that blocking social networks is not an option due to the fact that people will participate anyway via other means e.g. working from home or a mobile platform.

When you are a CIO and blocking social networking site, here is something that will blow your socks off! There is a very simple way to pass around your blocked http://www.facebook.com url going to social networks and you will not like it!  There is a legal way to beat the social network ban.  Just go to the bottom of this article… (
http://tinyurl.com/y8bqbvr
). Are you willing to block Google at your company?  Or invest more money for more robust web-filtering software?

And here is another bit of news I picked up last week.  You thought your email address was fairly safe in Facebook.  Well here too, I have news for you!  Now everyone can get your email address out of Facebook through a very simple operation.  Some email programs allow you to import contact from other sources and guess what it includes your email address.  There is only one catch, they must be your friend, but how picky are we accepting friends or contacts?  Just use the Facebook application “export contacts” and you are on your way…

If you think that good governance and guidelines are not needed, you will be left behind and mistakes will happen that you will come to regret.  Time to implement your social networking policy or talk to me.

What is this world coming to…

Following the social networking scene, I ran across a few interesting pieces of information.

First, there is the onset of some strange social networks.  I have always said social networking is about passion!  So here you go.

Whether you want to join the mustache network, future prediction network or even a network where everyone is your friend (unlike others where you need to approve), this piece of information will be valuable to you. Here are 10 weird and truly niche social networking sites that strive to bring together some unusual birds of a feather (http://tinyurl.com/yeszled).

With Lent in full swing, we are seeing some “interesting” groups come up.  The Wall Street Journal discovered a group “Giving up Facebook for Lent”, but there are others that include giving up playing PS3, homework, smoking and drinking but best of all “Farmville“.

Thos sounds like New Year’s resolutions but later in the year.  I guess if it works for you it must good.

Good news for the US troops around the world, the US government has changed its “social networking policy” and now Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networks site can be used.  However, military secrets will not be know as only non-classified computers can be used.

I do not think we will have a play by play report on the action at the front, but at least the communication to the home front will be much more open.

Finally, there  is the most remarkable story that got tweeted around the world.  A bunch of people who are concerned about the security of people’s house created a website call www.pleaserobme.com.  The makers of this website and “service” have NO bad intentions in mind.  They simply want to inform people about the dangers of the social web.

This website scans Twitter accounts and posts the messages from people saying where they are.  This means two things:

1. It gives you the address and a map of where that person is which is great if I want to meet up with that person.

2. more importantly – that person is NOT home! and guess what?  A robbery in the making.

To think this only works in the US, please think again…  Just sit back and watch the message fly by and you will see that even in your country people are tweeting they are leaving.

To close this post, I would like to end with a newly discovered species: the cheerleader eating mascotte…

Thanks for reading!