True Confessions Of A Marketing Intern

As I’m sure most of you have heard, Facebook’s user agreement terms
became public recently.  Someone in the media finally figured out that
Facebook included in their terms proprietorship over all user
generated content and released this information to public outcry.
People started canceling their accounts (just as an aside, canceling
doesn’t matter once they own the information) and Facebook began
losing their brand equity.  What is really remarkable about this whole
situation is the way Facebook managed to turn this situation around.

Their first reaction was to deny and lie.  They said that the clause
was misunderstood by the public and that what they really meant was
that even if you untagged yourself in a picture it would still be on
the uploader’s page.  They claimed that the clause had nothing to do
with them owning or keeping the content, it was necessary for them to
allow content sharing.  This was clearly  completely untrue and likely
did more to damage their image than renew public trust.  In case you
believe there is any validity to Facebook’s claim consider the current
situation: Facebook has removed the ownership clause and untagged
picture are still available.

That is when Facebook did what it does best and used social media to
solve the problem.  Facebook is putting all of its Web 2.0 skills to
the test and allowing the public to discuss the terms and conditions
of the site.  Among other means of gathering public opinion on the
issue they will host “Town Halls” (election anybody?) and hold public
votes.  This is a great move because not only will the term and
conditions be accepted by the public; creating them in a collaborative
environment will, I believe, create affective commitment within the
community.

I really think this is a great move for Facebook, both from a PR and a
Marketing perspective.  They don’t really need to own the information
posted if they continue to expand in the social media industry as fast
as they are currently growing.  In the long run it is much better for
them to lose this little bit of control to gain back their brand
equity.

I found the following article does a great job explaining their new method for developing terms and conditions.
http://tiny.cc/Empp5
(You need to clickon the right hand side link for “Faebook - A More Open Book Policy Toward It’s Users?)

When I was 20 years old I did the unthinkable.  I quit school.

I had been attending university for 2 years and I did not know what I was doing.  I had ideas.  I had a lot of ideas in the 2 years I was in academia.  I was going to be a teacher, a child psychiatrist, an anthropologist, a nutritionist, and the list goes on and on.  Ultimately, I did not know what I wanted and until I figured that out school was getting me nowhere.  At the end of my 2 year sample of everything university had to offer I quit.

I faced the usual throwback from family and friends.  I was told that quitting school would ruin my life, that I would never make above minimum wage, that I would never return to school again, that I would have goblin children, etc.  None of this turned out to be true.

After quitting school I began working at a call center and quickly became a supervisor.  This helped me realize that I was really interested in business, particularly human resources.  It was also while I was working there that many of my friends started graduating.  They were graduating with huge debts and no jobs.  I decided then that I would return to university, but not until I could afford it on my own.

I am now 3 years into a double major in Business Commerce and Religious Studies.  I eventually decided on Marketing as opposed to Human Resources but it was in working that I found direction.  While quitting school isn’t the path for everyone it is definitely what I needed to find the right career for me.  I am now on my work term and I am more certain than ever that I made the right decision.  My life wasn’t ruined, I always made above minimum wage, I did return to school, and I never had goblin children (but that remains to be seen).