change

You didn’t know Facebook made a change to their data use policy? That’s probably because they sent the email to users the night before Thanksgiving, right when you decided to unplug and relax for a couple of days.

In fact, you may have seen other Facebook users posting a “copyright notice” to claim ownership of content before you even realized Facebook made a policy change.

The “copyright notice” post your Facebook friends are sharing is a hoax. Both Facebook and Snopes have released statements confirming that the post is useless. You “signed” a user agreement when you created your Facebook account, and must abide by Facebook’s policies- changes and all- if you continue to use the platform. No ridiculous post can override that fact.

So what provisions did Facebook change, exactly, to their Data Use Policy?

Facebook users will no longer be able to vote on changes to the privacy policy. They will still be able to comment on the provisions, however.

Facebook may obtain data about you “from our affiliates or our advertising partners” to “improve the quality of ads.”

But What About the Copyright Stuff?

And no changes were made regarding the rights to the content you post, as suggested by the hoax posts. Facebook’s terms of use still reads, “You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings.”

However, the terms also say:

For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

So, copyright law protects your content, but your privacy and application settings dictate how Facebook is permitted to use that content. If you’re worried, check your settings to ensure you’re sharing what you want, with whom you want.

And if you’re a station or show using Facebook for marketing and listener engagement, make your content a strong representation of your brand, and make it public to increase reach.

Thanks to Don Anthony at The Morning Mouth/Jockline Daily who asked me to ponder this. Read the full Data Use Policy here.

Regardless of where you stand on the convergence of radio and digital, the fact that the conversation exists proves that the radio industry is adapting. We’re putting our heads together– sharing knowledge, experience, and research to carve out the path ahead of us. Whether you’re market 2 or 200, it’s in our best interest as an industry to innovate and remain relevant.

With that collective spirit in mind, I have collaborated with a few of radio’s best thinkers for the annual Convergence issue of Radio Ink Magazine. I set out to explore the challenges we face in marrying radio and digital, and will be sharing them with you. This is the first of four.

Challenge #1: Accepting Change
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone in radio say they wanted to go back to the days when the request line rang and “social” meant being friendly at remotes, I’d have more than a radio salary! Pull yourself out of the past and accept that change is inevitable. Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s happening. You don’t want to be left behind.

Mike Stiles, Content Specialist at Vitrue, is respected for his honest (and often funny as he is also a Comedian) thoughts on radio’s digital efforts. He views social media as an opportunity:

“I believe step one is for radio to view the social media challenge as the social media opportunity. It is the means by which our terrestrial radio stations can throw off limitations and take off as multimedia brands, which are far more attractive to advertisers. No station should be limited or threatened by technology, only empowered by it. The only and greatest threat is our self-inflicted abdication as content creators and entertainers. So either stop thinking small or get the hell out of the way so radio can thrive.”

His point about not being threatened by technology is important not only for social media, but for everything digital. The fear of unknown creeps in on all of us from time to time. We should use that fear as a motivator for success, not an excuse to stay stagnant.

Follow in the footsteps of Alcoholics Anonymous and include acceptance as a step in our guide to a new “way of life”.

change

Footer