Abrams Research Blog

If you’ve recently tried to update your Facebook settings, you might have noticed that once again, everything has changed. The layout is different, and the groups you spent so much time choosing?  Gone from your profile page. And that’s only the beginning of what has turned out to be quite a major overhaul.

More importantly, however, Facebook has started to like a lot more things. In fact, now Facebook likes almost everything.

As of last week, Facebook has begun to give websites the option to install “Like” buttons, from which the websites can drive traffic—every “Like” posts an update to that user’s page. What does this mean? Effectively, it means that Facebook may slowly be transforming the internet into an SEO-resistant open-graph. Google is, understandably, starting to worry. read more »

For today’s post, let’s first take a trip back to London, 1910:

“Mary Poppins: Now! Shall we get on with it?

Jane: Get on with what?

Mary Poppins: In your advertisement, did you not specifically request to play games?

Jane: Oh, yes!

Mary Poppins: Very well then. Our first game is called ‘Well Begun is Half-Done’…

Michael: I don’t like the sound of that.

Mary Poppins …otherwise entitled, ‘Let’s Tidy Up the Nursery’”.

Michael:  I told you she was tricky!”

Ah the British… so neat, so orderly, so astoundingly capable, with a clever phrase and an affected accent, to make something so ordinary and unpleasant sound so intriguing. So who better than the practically perfect Mary Poppins to personify the recent decision by the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to clean up internet advertising practices and regulate marketing and brand activity on social media websites? read more »

It’s the age of cyber-crime, and has been ever since Sandra Bullock starred in The Net circa 1995.   Criminal prowess has only grown since then, with sophisticated hackers threatening the safety of all, from personal bank accounts to government informational systems. It would seem counterintuitive, then, for the United States military to embrace social media platforms, which are infamously noted for their ever-evolving (i.e., highly vulnerable) security regulations. Yet, with Friday came the announcement that the military will install a default policy allowing access to social media networking sites from non-classified military computer networks.

What does the new policy entail? All military units will be required to open access to networking sites, and any restrictions must be temporary. For the Army and Marines, which currently enforce restrictions and/or bans against most social networking sites, blanket regulations must be lifted. However, the policy leaves discretion to unit commanders, who, if uncomfortable with social networking, maintain the right ‘defend against malicious activity’, which will ultimately involve restricting access according to preference and circumstance (special operations, etc). read more »

Courtesy of Photobucket.com/Germanica Photos

Taking their disdain for gray areas one step further, Clorox Co. has begun to advertise for ‘full-time in house legal counsel’ to monitor its social media practices. Acknowledging that “social-media channels are a growing focus for consumer communication and stakeholder engagement”, a Clorox spokesman said that duties will include “clearing and procuring intellectual property rights regarding production and distribution of advertising.”

Wishing to rein the astounding power of the consumer en masse while maintaining control over intellectual rights, Clorox Co. may well be one of the first in a wave of companies to recognize the need for legal counsel when navigating the increasingly murky waters of social media. The creation of newer and better-integrated web applications provides the public with a number of tools that facilitate access to both licensed materials, as well as large, uncensored speaking platforms. In the age of rapid diffusion of information, such freedom is highly desirable. However, this expanded arena effectively obscures limitations on both sides of the discussion–how much freedom does an employee spokesperson truly have, and to what extent may consumers utilize and manipulate private intellectual materials? These guidelines are what Clorox Co. wishes to establish before faults on either side result in legal complications. read more »

The Associated Press

As social media policy becomes a more pressing issue for companies facing the digital age, it seems just as important to create a social media guide for businesses when dealing with their employees’ social media presence. There have been many instances of individuals getting fired from their positions because they posted negative content about their jobs on their social networking sites, but I had not heard a story like this before:

On Tuesday the New York Times reported that a Canadian woman who is unable to work due to major depression is getting her disability benefits revoked because photos of her “appearing happy” on Facebook surfaced.

read more »