The FORUM Effect

Avoid Legal Pitfalls on the Web

In lean times, every association needs to stay focused

on cost-effectiveness, especially when marketing the

annual meeting or other major events. One relatively

inexpensive way to do that is via the Internet. But while

it may ease some financial and time constraints on

tightened marketing initiatives, it can have a converse

effect if association staff is not careful. When turning to

the Internet to generate revenue, from registrations to

exhibit space or sponsorships, it is imperative to avoid

certain pitfalls that may lead to costly legal actions.

 

Many associations are just now becoming aware that the

Internet should be the medium of choice for marketing, promotion

and even meeting/convention management. However, one

must consider myriad legal pitfalls when creating and maintaining

a Web site. Issues such as those involving the use of images,

music, written content, testimonials, people’s likenesses or

other forms of intellectual property can lead to legal action or

unexpected costs. By simply failing to understand the basic

legal issues involving Internet content, anyone operating a Web

site can be at risk for a potential lawsuit or can become a victim

of a deceptive or infringing practice.

 

Whether a site is extremely simple in its content or encompasses

millions of dollars worth of transactions, there are a plethora of

ways a Web site can lead to legal trouble. The following are some

problem areas to avoid:

 

For many associations, the initial step in creating a Web

site is selecting and purchasing a domain name. An association

should proceed cautiously in its selection of a domain

name that could be confusingly similar to another organization’s

trademark. A simple transposition of letters or addition

of a descriptive word is generally not enough to avoid

legal liability. Thus, any Web site owner should consult with

a trademark attorney before selecting and purchasing a

domain name.

 

User-generated content has become a popular marketing

medium; however, it is not without potentially serious pitfalls.

A Web site owner is at risk of liability for users posting

defamatory, obscene, illegal or infringing material, and should

take steps (e.g., through acceptable use policies, terms and

conditions and take-down policies) to minimize its exposure.

 

Misuse of financial information, along with unsafe handling,

is a potentially costly problem area, and marketing initiatives

are not the only source of revenue generation on the

Web that can lead to lawsuits. All sites that handle funds

need to be PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant to keep

payment card data secure and protected. If you intend to

collect financial information, consult with a specialist to

ensure that you are complying with all of the relevant laws

and regulations.

 

Unauthorized use of third-party trademarks on a Web site

may lead to legal liability for trademark infringement, dilu-

tion or unfair competition. While in certain circumstances

it may be permissible to refer to an association member’s

product or service or to include corporate information on a

tradeshow exhibitor, it is not permissible to use the trademarks

of others to create a false impression of endorsement,

affiliation or sponsorship by your company. The safe approach

is to always seek permission before using someone else’s

trademark or service mark on your Web site.

 

Best practice and the laws of many states require that Web

sites post a privacy policy. There is no required format or

language, but the basic principle is “say what you do and

do what you say” with respect to the personal information

of your site’s visitors. If you have unique policies regarding

the e-mail addresses or other contact information of your

visitors — say so. If you place cookies on your visitors’ computers

— say so. Specifics of your privacy policy should be

tailored to how your site operates.

 

Web developers spend countless hours developing source

code for their clients’ Web sites. It can be tempting to

“borrow” source code for interesting or unique elements of

other Web sites. However, to avoid infringement, a good

Web developer will use only code that it owns or otherwise

has the right to use.

 

If an association’s Web site contains large amounts of

information and/or language that was copied from another

location, such as information on a member or a member’s

company, or text from a third-party Web site, the site

owner is susceptible to a lawsuit.  Best practice is to always
seek permission when using content from other sources.

 

If a Web site owner decides to use or post a musical

recording on a site, the organization must have the owner’s

permission or face a potential copyright infringement suit.

Generally speaking, music used or posted on Web sites

must adhere to the same guidelines as photographs, so

it’s best to be informed, get permission and avoid costly

mistakes.

 

Photographic images often are used to enhance the overall

look of a Web site. However, use of digital images that were

created by someone other than the Web site owner may constitute

copyright infringement, unless the owner of the photographic

work provides permission to the Web site owner.

As a general rule, always find the source of photographic

images that you intend to use on your Web site and obtain

permission, even if a fee is involved.

 

In summary, anyone can get in trouble, but usually a little

knowledge and diligence can help a Web site owner avoid getting

into a legal mess. With a little perseverance and attention

paid to these points, the Web can be the effective tool it has

become over the years. Regardless of potential troubles with

legal restrictions, associations and their Web sites can stay safe

in tough times through careful practices.

Creative Uses for Second Life

In the March issue of the magazine, I wrote about how the American Association of School Librarians used Second Life for a month-long series of events for School Library Media Month. Prior to writing the article, I had never used the program. In talking to people who use it, and after trying it out myself, I found the depth and range of uses for Second Life astonishing. Over the next few weeks, I’ll write about the creative uses people have found for SL and go into more detail about some of the ideas in the article.

Another magazine ran an article about Second Life this week. The New York Times Sunday magazine talks about an artist who launched his career selling real artwork to real people he met in Second Life. One of the things that creeps people out about Second Life is the disconnect between the real world with its real people and the virtual world with its avatars. The author draws a connection between the real and the virtual—both people and money. It also covers some of the SL basics that you are now familiar with after reading the FORUM article.

Is your association using Second Life? Are you using it to network with other people who share your hobbies and interests? Tell us about your experiences, criticisms or enthusiasm for Second Life by posting a comment (you don't have to create an account to comment).

How to Build It So They Will Come

In our article for this month's Forum, Unleashing the Ultimate Cool Factor: Social Media Ideas from SxSW, Lindy Dreyer and I wrote about one way to build an engaged audience before, during and after an event using a white label social network.  Many associations are exploring building a social network or online community as a permanent "home" online for their members, and timing the launch of such a network to coincide with a big annual meeting or conference is a great way to get members involved and excited about it, as well as to show them the potential of such a space for adding a whole new layer of participation to their usual membership experience.

But we're almost getting ahead of ourselves here.  There are many other crucial factors to consider when thinking strategically about building yourself an online community - white label versus free public space, how much should be open/how much behind the firewall, who your target audiences are and what they will use it for, etc.  I'd like to talk about two factors specifically.  If we constantly and consistently bear these in mind, we will build it in such a way that they will come.

First is the importance of the social object, the WHAT, the thing that people will connect around.  For LinkedIn, it's jobs, for Flickr- photos, for Youtube - videos, for Dopplr - travel, for other sites it might be committee work, or a study group,  basically any specific "thing" that people share or interact around.  For more on the social object, read these posts by Hugh Macleod and Jyri Engstrom. (I also write about this a lot on my blog, here's a quick summary post). It is essential to understand that people being connected by virtue of being fellow members of your association is NOT enough to keep them using your online community.  They may all sign up initally, but they need things to do and actions to take to keep them there.  Figure out what your particular social objects are and make it clear to your users.

The second idea is to identify the motivation factors, the reasons WHY people might want to be in your online community.  Joshua Porter, in his book Designing for the Social Web, identifies the following motivations for people using social software (my descriptions):

- Identity (people have an identity, a profile that they can manage)

- Uniqueness (people feel they have a unique and valuable contribution to offer within the social space)

- Reciprocity (they want to give back or feel rewarded)

- Reputation (they want to build their reputation and relationships)

- Sense of Efficacy (they want to do good work and have a positive effect)

- Control (they want to be able to manage how their own information is displayed or shared)

- Ownership (they feel ownership over content they submit to the group)

- Attachment to a group (they want to find like-minded people)

- Fun (it's fun to share and participate)

It's likely that your members will draw upon some combination of these, which may also differ by target slice of your membership.  Don't try to be all things to all people, but figure out who your typical member might be who would be interested in participating in your online community, why they might want to take part and what they would be doing.  Put yourself in that member's shoes.  Do the same excercise for different types of members.  Design your online community for them - not for you, the organization, but for Joe and Jane Member.

If you can identify and design for which motivations are the most important for your members, hand in hand with what social objects they will be using within the online community, then you will be well on the way to energizing your membership, building community and improving your value proposition.  

 

Welcome March Bloggers

Please welcome the March bloggers:

Rick Biago, Lindy Dreyer, Maddie Grant, CAE and Dennis LaMantia. Read their articles in this month's issue of FORUM.

FORUM's March Digital Edition Now Available

    

View the March 2009 digital edition here.