Filed under: Blowback, Brand Protection, Brand Reputation, Case Studies, Citizen Media, Content Filtering, Content Management System, Controversial Marketing, Copywriting, Corporate Partnering, Corporate Responsibility, Google, Google YouTube, Honesty, Industry Reputation, Influence, Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Invasion of Privacy, Legal Issues, News Organization, Online Applications, Online Brand Protection, Online Copywriting, Online Reputation, Online Reputation Management, Online Video, Personal Privacy, Personal Responsibility, Privacy

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton may have opened up a Pandora’s box.

Last year, Viacom, the owner of  such major cable networks as Black Entertainment Television, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon, sued YouTube and Google because YouTube, through it’s uploading system, was allowing it users to upload Viacom copyrighted videos.  YouTube was profiting from this as it increased its audience and, thus, advertising revenue.  Viacom was, in turn, losing online audience and potential revenue.  It saw itself, legitimately in my mind, as a content provider for YouTube, without receiving compensation.

YouTube immediately began scouring its databases and removing copyrighted video from Viacom. But considering the amount of videos that are uploaded - every hour on the clock, 780 hours of video are sent to YouTube’s servers - the task of finding and identifying copyrighted material is daunting.  A lot can get by the YouTube’s regulators, so to speak.

So the lawsuit stayed, with Viacom demanding access to YouTube’s database of user info.  The database is larger that that of the Library of Congress mind you.

YouTube’s database essentially contains four pieces of info:  the user’s unique login ID, their IP address, the time frame that the video was watched, and the video itself.  Usually, a login ID and an IP address can’t be used to identify an individual, but “usually” is a very inexact word.

Viacom is saying that they aren’t doing this to go after individuals.  They’re not doing this to nail someone who uploaded last night’s The Daily Show.  I believe them, at least for now.  But that doesn’t mean that they keep to that forever.

It makes no sense for them to try to use this data to sue people who have been uploading copyrighted videos at this juncture.  The ‘YouTube culture’ is one that has permitted this to happen and Viacom needs to work to change that culture over a year or two.

Viacom is saying that it wants to gauge the popularity of its copyrighted material.  Again, that makes sense.  We are talking revenue generating material that, while on YouTube, ins not directly generating measurable video.

There is some good news here.  Google, while not appealing, has asked Viacom to give them time to erase user names and IP addresses.  Viacom is open to the idea.

That’s great.  But that’s only this case.   You can be that this is opening a can of worms.

I’ll be investigating this further.  Stay tuned.

No Comments » Posted on July 6th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: 3rd Party Apps, Abraham Harrison, Abraham Harrison LLC, Abraham Harrison Staff, Facebook, Facebook Application, Facebook Apps, Facebook Beacon, Facebook Social Ads, Flugpo, Flugpo.com, Online Privacy, Privacy

Last fall, when the calamities of Facebook’s Beacon program became public, I was pissed. The fact that Beacon partners would capture and then share with Facebook an individual’s personal, private purchases and make them public without the individual’s prior knowledge let alone consent was one of the most egregious forms of legal online privacy violations that I had ever heard of. While they have improved their privacy options, Facebook still pulled a fast one. Instead of asking for permission first, they went right ahead and committed a foul and then apologized…and only moved a quarter of the way back in the correct direction.

Well, with any luck, they’ve been moved back a little further. Thanks to MyDataIsMyData.org and our client Flugpo.com, and, frankly, the folks here at Abraham Harrison, a new plug is being developed - it’s in beta phase right now - to combat the intrusiveness of Beacon.

Here’s a link for more information.

The plug-in is free and it is essentially a “Beacon cookie deleter” that gives people all sorts of options (I love that word) as to what to delete. Facebook cookies, Facebook Beacon partner’s cookies, or any other type of cookie for that matter. It will also notify you when you make a visit to a Beacon partner. That’s important, because what we don’t know may come back to hurt us.

This free plug-in (found at MyDataIsMyData.org)is a toolbar that will allow users several different options to monitor and delete cookies, offline content, and track visits to Facebook Beacon collaborator companies. Once downloaded, the toolbar allows users to decide how often he or she would like certain cookies deleted. The user can choose to delete Facebook cookies and Facebook Beacon collaborator companies’ cookies. It also includes the option to delete all cookies at once or none at all.

Flugpo. an Abraham Harrison client, is an online social network in itself. It describes itself as a cross between MySpace and CraigsList. It features user profiles, yet it has a significant “classified” capability where people can buy and sell things or list jobs.

Mashable wrote up a piece about it yesterday.:

While there are already a number of privacy options inserted into Facebook, and even more services out there that will rid you of cookie problems all together, Facebook Beacon’s mainstream press presence in itself may help My Data is My Data gain a good amount of users based on principle alone.

As did TechCrunch:

The MyDataIsMyData plug-in notifies users via their browser toolbar when Facebook or one of Beacon’s participating affiliates creates or accesses these cookies. The plug-in can automatically delete these cookies at regular intervals, and also allows for users to individually select which (if any) sites will still function with Beacon. Finally, the toolbar will feature a constantly-updated list of sites that participate in Beacon, allowing users to boycott them, should they choose to do so. MyDataIsMyData will soon be available for Internet Exporer, and plans to expand to offer functionality for both Firefox and Macintosh-based browsers.

If you think this isn’t needed, I’ll come back and say that the MyDataisMyData plugin gives people more control…a very good thing. And if there are other options out there that may do some things similar, who is to say that another option is not needed? Let the virtual marketplace decide.

Suddenly, I’m not as pissed as I used to be about Facebook Beacon.

TechCrunch

1 Comment » Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Online Privacy, Privacy

I just had a quick exchange of twits with Chris Parandian of Mobile Diner regarding the views that baby boomers have regarding their own privacy. I came away disagreeing in part. Chris thinks its a paradigm shift - and I don’t necessarily disagree with that concept, but I think something is missing in the theory that the younger set is (or at least will be) more concerned about privacy as the get older.

To be sure, the older one is, the less likely one is going to be appreciative of third party involvement in one’s privacy. And yes, baby boomers are less likely to conduct “share info and conduct biz online” than GenX. Some of that is by habit, some of that is by fear. And that GenXers are more used bo being online and sharing info etc. And they are more likely to understand that their data is being sold here and there.

But I’m talking privacy overall. I’m talking about how people age and mature, a certain set of values set in. These values affect their outlook on life, on relationships, on how they want themselves to be presented.

College kids and young adults are more open. Their social lives are often the most important part of their lives. They seek gratification/acceptance through their vast social networks of friends. For instance, one way to say how you met someone on Facebook is “We hooked up”.

But as people age, they do things like marry. They buy homes. They have kids. They are less outward focused on their greater social lives and more focused on their family lives. And they start to see themselves as ‘protectors’ in a way of their family life.

And family life can be difficult. Marital issues. Careers affecting marriages. Issues with the kids. You’ve got a mortgage to pay and are leaving around a financial trail. You naturally become more private…because it’s nobody’s business how much you make or that one spouse is sometimes bored with life. It affects one’s way of thinking.

So, yeah, today’s 23 year old may live a more open life than a 53 year old. But I’m betting those life changes that are ahead for the 23 year old will stunt that paradigm change more many expect.

2 Comments » Posted on December 10th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC, Facebook, Facebook Apps, Facebook Beacon, Online Privacy, Privacy

I’m pretty sure I just opted out of Beacon.

Wait a minute. Just exactly WHAT IS Beacon?

Is it that “service” that “allows” us to “let our friends know what we’re up to” outside of Facebook? You know, the one we involuntarily became part of by simply having a profile with friends on Facebook?

Or is it the other deeper - but less tangible - thing. The whole “following” thing. The following of me (and something like 50 million others along with supposedly with just about everyone else on the ‘net) when I happen upon a site that has partnered with Facebook. Where they, the partner sites, that send data to Facebook?

Anyway, I (think) I’ve opted out of the former. But they sure as hell make it unclear.

I clicked on “Privacy” - made sense - and came upon a series of choices. In the first section, I had to decide between “Newsfeed and Minifeed” (because that’s where the stories show up), “Applications” (because I guess that Beacon is an application - isn’t it?), and the last listing which was “External Websites”.

No large notice pointing people in the direction of their quest. No clear cut pathway to opting out. Why not add the word “Beacon “?

Speaking of words, I love the way they present them. Tiny print. There’s a white background, “External Websites” is in blue. And the color of the words used to describe the actions one will can take by clicking on: “You can edit your privacy settings for external websites sending stories to your profile” is a very light gray…on that white background. Specifically designed to blend in with the background, once again making it all that more difficult to get out of the damn thing.

By clicking on “Exteral Websites” you come to another page where they try to re-sell you on the concept of what they’re doing: “Show your friends what you like and what you’re up to outside of Facebook. When you take actions on the sites listed below, you can choose to have those actions sent to your profile.”

The site’s a mess with all sorts of fonts and colors but down below, once again, in light gray, you’ve got “Don’t allow any websites to send stories to my profile.” Barely able to see it as the tiny font blends into the background and is indented unnecessarily.Facebook is going out of their way to make it as difficult as possible. There is no concern for the person simply trying to opt out. Those who hadn’t been following this issue but find out about in the future are simply not going to be able to opt out. They won’t be able to find it.

And they’re still following me around the net.

No Comments » Posted on December 10th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Blog Messaging, Blogger Code of Conduct, Blogger Effect, Blogger Influence, Blowback, Counter Messaging, Facebook, Facebook Apps, Facebook Beacon, Mainstream Media, Online Privacy, Privacy

One of the things that was clarified for me with all of the coverage of this recent Facebook Beacon episode was both the effectiveness and limitations of both mainstream media and the blogosphere in covering major issues of the day.

When Facebook introduced Beacon amidst much fanfare, the advertising, business, and technology communities followed the story with great interest. It seemed to offer a lot: traditional display mixed with viral word of mouth. Major brands, both online and offline were partnering with Facebook on Beacon.

Soon things started to go haywire as people suddenly found out that things they bought were showing up in their ‘friends’ Facebook’s newsfeed without their knowledge or permission. It turned out that Beacon, which had led it partners and the media to believe that was to be opt-in, was, in fact, opt-out. And it was also clear that Facebook did not let its 50,000,000 users that they’d be playing roles as marketing agents from now on. Disasters began happening and the blogosphere was first to react.

Geeks examined the technology behind the program here, here, and here. Marketing bloggers wondered if it was good strategy here, here, and here. All excellent posts. All made sense. All contributed to the conversation.

The problem here is that we all can’t act as a cohesive investigative unit, uncovering the ‘truth’ all together. We go at it from the angle we are familiar with. We get info bit by bit, some of which can be misleading and simply untrue. That’s exactly what Stefan Berteau of Computer Associates ran into in his trying to get answers from Facebook. While Stefan was apparently finding out - and thankfully telling us - he was getting his answers from a customer service rep. A possibly uninformed on the exact details customer service rep.

Bloggers often have a limited amount of time to research, confirm, and blog about these things. We have jobs to do. So, unfortunately, while we can have great impact, it can be limited in its influence.

In the meantime, much of the mainstream media looked at this from afar, with only passing interest, waiting to see if the situation blew up in Facebook’s face. And when it did - or at least when it came time for Facebook to respond - they did it mostly with press releases and shut off communications channels. And most of their responses were to the mainstream business and technology press. The problem there is that their explanations were often covered in PR spinspeak and technobabble. The very points that key people in the blogosphere raised weren’t answered. The mainstream media simply reported how Facebook says it will now carry on their Beacon program.

This is a classic way of responding. Assure the media that you’ve heard the complaints and that changes are coming. A mea culpa with a smiley face. The mainstream media may not know all the details and therefore not ask the key questions. So we may never know as a whole what the real deal is. Unless we keep up on those blogs. But then again…we’ve all got jobs to do…and other things to blog about.

3 Comments » Posted on December 4th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn

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