Social Media
Lessons Learned from a Social Media Specialist’s Firing
July 26, 2011Last month, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Center (LVEDC) in Pennsylvania fired a social media “specialist” after she posted the following Tweet: “We start summer hours today. That means most of the staff leave at noon, many to hit the links. Do you observe summer hours? What do you do?” It seems that the specialist was using social media correctly to try to engage followers in a conversation. On the other hand, the tweet led some followers to question if Friday golf was appropriate for an organization funded at least partially by tax dollars.
Read More...July 19 Webinar Explores Prize Promotions in Social Media and Mobile Platforms
July 12, 2011Today’s social media and mobile platforms offer companies unique outreach strategies that encourage customers to return and to spread the word about their products and services. At the same time, it is important to understand that these exciting opportunities also create legal risks and challenges. Companies may unwittingly push the boundaries of the law as they forge ahead with these new marketing strategies.
Read More...Ten Tips for Managing Summer Interns in Social Media
July 5, 2011Do you think your company is ahead of the curve? Maybe you have social media policies in place. Perhaps you have training sessions twice a year to review social media do’s an don’ts and to sensitize your employees to appropriate behavior in social media. But what about your summer interns? Here today, gone tomorrow, summer interns should be subject to different social media policies from year round employees.
Read More...Common Errors in Seeking Website Copyright Protection
June 9, 2011Last week, the IT BusinessEdge blog quoted me about copyright protection for websites in an article entitled “How Much Will You Do to Protect Content?” The article fleshes out some of the benefits of copyright protection, including statutory damages, attorney’s fees, but implies that the copyright protection process seem unwieldy and perhaps not worth the effort. Although I was quoted in the article, I cannot agree with its overall message. I would answer the article’s title query but saying that protecting a website is a smart business move. If the website is initiated properly, the process is painless and adds value to your brand.
Read More...Facebook’s New Promotions Guidelines: More Options for Marketers But Increased Legal Onus
June 2, 2011On May 11, 2011, Facebook released yet another version of its Promotions Guidelines. It appears that Facebook has accepted that it is not the proper arbiter of legal principles. Instead, such decisions are more appropriately made in the hands of the courts or governing authorities.
Read More...Fearless Marketing: Five Steps to Launching a Social Media Presence
May 24, 2011Last week, I spoke at the GSMI Social Media Legal Risks and Strategies Summit on “Protecting Your Brand in Social Media” and “Prize Promotions in Social Media and Mobile Marketing.” Most of the audience was feeling their way into social media and trying to get a handle on the legal issues they might confront. While many attendees seemed convinced of the power of social media, they also seemed scared by the risks. I was reminded of the words of Theodore Roosevelt: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Indeed, it is possible to chart a course in social media that affords legal protection and safeguards to a brand. Below, I outline a five step process.
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