Facebook Flips Then Flops Terms of Service; Modicum of Emotions from Confusion to Rage to Happiness Ensue

by Ellis Watts, Manager

Have you heard the latest out of Palo Alto?

Recently, Facebook decided to edit a line of legalese in their Terms of Service. They cut a line that stated: “You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.” Essentially, if you close your account, your posts on friends’ walls will remain and Facebook retains the right to use your information, which they always have had. And be honest, when was the last time you actually read a TOS agreement?

This has been met by a smattering of negative reactions. The Consumerist was quick to lash out for the people (as they often do on their noble crusade of consumer protection), and user groups have popped up across Facebook protesting this change. But let’s face it, anytime Facebook makes a TOS change, new feature, or redesign, protest groups catch on and start making demands. Usually the story fizzles out in a week or so after Facebook issues an official statement saying either “hey, it’s cool, you’ll like it, just give it some time,” or “deal with it”. In this case, Facebook decided to revert to the old TOS understanding the sensitivity of the matter, regardless of how justified it may or may not be. Furthermore, as of Thursday they created the Facebook Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. These two documents define user rights and provide the framework for user feedback for any future policy changes.

The last time Facebook was met with such heightened criticism was following the launch of its Beacon advertising platform. Brands were excited by the opportunity to integrate their message or, more importantly, a consumer’s interaction with their brand into the daily social network conversation. What may have seemed like an interesting idea to consumers at first was then met with some static in execution. I can integrate my Blockbuster.com account my profile to show everyone what movies I am currently renting. But maybe I don’t want my friends finding out that I rented The Women last Tuesday, or find out that I LOVED IT.

No, just kidding. That movie was terrible. I mean, there wasn’t a single male actor (or extra, for that matter) in the entire movie.

But I digress. The fact is, Facebook may still have a few risky (but profitable) propositions up their virtual sleeve. As they continue to further evolve as a revolutionary media vehicle (and eventually work toward an IPO…any day now…whenever you’re ready, Mark), it will be interesting to gauge the user reactions with each step along the way. Facebook walks a very fine line between user privacy, content ownership and distribution. When there is an adaptation to the terms, user perceptions do change. It seems as though Facebook will escape this latest debacle relatively unscathed, and may have even gained some credibility and trust in the process.

Facebook still remains a very viable place for brands to play but they need to be cognizant that this particular property is still developing. Audience perception of the actual property itself (and not always the content within it) is still somewhat malleable. This is very much unlike most other platforms and media. That would be like a car radio that suddenly has the ability to use the conversations you have with yourself in traffic for future commercials. Man, that would be creepy.

During a time of confusion, brands need trusted advisors who are aware of not only the conditions of current social networking sites but their respective audiences and attitudes within each. In the event of a cataclysmic fallout from a controversial TOS change, is your brand prepared to be caught in the crossfire?

Rest assured, our clients have the security of knowing that the AMP Interactive team keeps an ear to the ground, a finger on the pulse, and various other appendages applied to measurable sources, just in case situations like this should arise. Read more!

Fun Facts

We tapped into our Pulse Network to get some answers about consumer spending, school spirit, and social networks. Over 100 high school and college students shared their thoughts, below are their answers.

Spending: Students Are Willing to Contribute More to Tuition Costs
Q: If you had more spending money, which category would that extra cash most likely go toward?

22% Tuition
20% Clothes
18% Technology (iPod, cell phone, computer, etc)
15% Entertainment (movies, music)
14% Buying a car
5% Food

School Spirit: We've Got Spirit, Yes, We ... erh ... Sort of Do
Q: What best describes how you feel about your school?

38% I have a lot of school spirit!
47% I don't hate it or love it
15% I have NO school spirit

Social Networks: Facebook Rules!
Q: Facebook, MySpace or Both?

59% Facebook definitely!
17% I like MySpace better
13% I love them both
10% Neither - I don't like social networking sites
2% Neither - I use a different social networking site

We will be polling our Pulse Network every month. If you have questions, let us know! Read more!

Conversations With Consumers

Over the past couple of weeks we interviewed 10 consumers between the ages of 19 to 49 years old from across the country. The bulk of our conversations centered around two different but somewhat related topics - Obama and the concept of free time. Here is what we heard.

Obama
Before the election, we as an agency talked a lot about Obama, the brand. We discussed what a great job he did in not only capturing the attention of the youth market but also about his ability to convert that attention to loyalty and support. So while he has only been in office for a few weeks, we wanted to see if that support and loyalty was still strong. We asked consumers how they felt about Obama's first few weeks as president. We found that expectations are high but the jury is still out, for the most part.

- "I feel that while Obama has hit the ground running and I want to support him, his recent appointments are making it hard for me to do so." (Joe, 21 years old, New York City, NY. Note: Joe made it pretty clear that he voted for McCain)

- "There is a lot of pressure on him, a lot to be expected so I am very curious to see how the rest of the year pans out." (Meredith, 20 years old, Boston, MA)

- "His early address to the nation was proof enough of how much he is putting into solving our economic crisis at a very fast pace." (Tara, 23 years old, Minneapolis, MN)

Most of the consumers that we spoke with were prepared to give the President time to deliver on his message of hope and change but they are expecting change. We will watch how Obama the brand continues to evolve is his message and communicates with the nation.

Free Time
More time seems to be the one thing that all consumers want. We asked consumers if they had more of this precious commodity what would they do. Not surprisingly, in a world where we are constantly connected the people that we spoke to simply want more time for themselves.

- "I wish that I could spend more time outside. Between the weather and work, I get frustrated." (Emilie, 49 years old, Rochester, NY)

- "I wish I had more time and money to spend going back to school again." (James, 28 years old, Sand Diego, CA)

- "I definitely wish I had more time to read just for the fun of it. With all the texts [books] that I am required to read for college, there's no time to actually read something that I enjoy." (Nick, 24 years old, Rochester, NY)

Every month, we will be having these types of conversations with consumers. If you have a topic you want us to explore or a question to ask - let us know! Read more!

Reading a Blog

By: Vince DiGirolamo, Associate Planner, Consumer Insights

If you've ever wondered what your friends are doing when you're not with them, you are in luck. No no, I'm not talking about some new superage spy kit thing - I'm talking about websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Users of these sites are able to post updates about what they're so that all their friends, and even complete strangers, can know what they're doing. If Eric from Boston is in Lake Winnipesaukee for the weekend - he can post it for everyone to see. If Natalie from Seattle is on a date - she can update everyone on how it's going, even right from dinner.

The Pew Research Center recently announced that "as of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others." In May, this number was at 6%. According to Alexa.com, the average number of unique page views per user for Twitter is up 41.9% in the past three months.

And it's not only everyday people that are using these sites. They are also quickly becoming a way for brands, musicians, athletes, etc. to connect with their fans. Whole Foods, Dunkin Donuts, CNN, Shaquille O'Neal, Coldplay, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Fallon, and MC Hammer are all on Twitter. That's right - you can now fulfill your dream of knowing exactly what MC Hammer is doing on a daily basis.

I know that people love talking about themselves, but will we reach a point when people don’t care about Eric’s weekend on the lake or Natalie’s date? I don’t think so. Using these sites is not only a way for people to stay connected with friends, but it’s also a form of entertainment. With just a few clicks of my mouse, I can see what hundreds of people I know are doing. Whether it’s my colleague at the desk next to me or my brother in L.A., if they post it, I can know what they’re doing 24/7.

But what do you think – will you ever stop caring or will you continue to check and see if Natalie is going on a second date?

Read more!

Sports & Sponsorships

By: Vince DiGirolamo, Associate Planner, Consumer Insights

This year, the NBA is incorporating a new element to it's All-Star Weekend extravaganza - the game of Horse. The goal of this game is to make a shot that your opponent can't. If they fail to successfully make a shot that you make, they get an "H" and once you have H-O-R-S-E, you are eliminated. It's a simple game, and pretty much anyone who has ever shot a basketball has played or at least heard of this game. Following the announcement of including Horse, it was also announced that instead of spelling out "HORSE" the participants will be spelling out "GEICO." Yup, that's right. It's one thing if Geico simply sponsored the game, but changing the name to spell out their brand name is another story.

We've all become accustomed to the stadium being named [insert company name here] park or stadium. We've even accepted that NCAA football bowl games are now known as the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and the Gaylord Music City Hotels Bowl.

Things like this I'm ok with. I was even cool with when MLB's Chicago White Sox changed the start time of all of their home games to 7:11pm based on a sponsorship deal with convenience store chain, 7-Eleven. But this whole Horse-Geico thing, I have a problem with - and based on what I've been hearing, I'm not alone. It's one thing to slap a name on a stadium or sponsor a game. However, it's a whole different story once you get into changing how the actual games are played or the terminology that has been around since the games we know and love have been invented. With sports, tradition is something that is widely valued and once you start tampering with that, everything goes out the window.

I would think there has to be a line in the sand somewhere...right? For all we know, a home run will soon be known as a "Guitar Hero Homer" and a touchdown will be known as a "ShamWow."

Oh man, I hope not. Read more!

TVs for Tots

by Allison Marsh, VP Consumer Insights



I just came across a crazy statistic - a 2008 Kidsay Trend Tracker survey found that 81% of kids ages 5 to 7 years old have a tv in their bedroom. My first thought was "Yipes! that number is high." But things have definitely changed since I was 6 years old. TVs in bedrooms seem to be the norm. And now that you can watch all your shows online, by the time that these kids hit high school TVs may be a thing of the past. Read more!

Old School Product Placement

by Allison Marsh, VP Consumer Insights

I am a fan (alright a huge fan) of shows like the Biggest Loser and Top Chef. I watch them religiously and I have noticed that over the past year that product placement on those shows is getting more and more prevalent.

Last night, for example, on the Biggest Loser, the trainer Jillian was meeting with the black team. In a confessional, she told us that she wanted to give them some tips on how to maintain a healthy diet when they were at home. Next we see her meeting with the black team and praising the virtues of Cheerios. On Top Chef, there are countless mentions of GladWare® and there was a quick fire challenge that used Diet Doctor Pepper a the hero ingredient.

All of these products are naturally integrated into the show and while I recognize it as blatant product placement, I can't decided whether or it is annoying. In fact, it seems to be a throw back to the old school product placement that started with P&G's radio soap operas in the 1930's.

I guess this is a way around DVRs and watching the shows online and right now it seems to be a sort of natural extension to the show. It will be interesting to watch brands walk that fine line between annoying and somewhat interesting and how consumers / viewers respond. Read more!