Debbie's e-Portfolio

I had an opportunity to review the terms of service (TOS) for four social software sites, namely Delicious, Flickr, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Discoveries

I chose to summarize the information I discovered in a table (see below).

What Surprised Me

In reading the individual TOS, I was shocked by the number of adjectives used to describe what the site could do with the information that was posted, e.g. exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, etc..  While every site noted that the user owned their information, the terms give the site owners a great deal of flexibility over what they can do with the content.  I was also surprised that Facebook and Delicious noted that even a deletion by the owner of the content does not completely delete the information/content on the site.  The original content may still exist in back-up copies.

How Does This Inform My Own Participation

I am very selective about which sites I choose to set an account with.  I have never had a Facebook account, and despite prodding from some of my colleagues in the corporate world, I have not set up a LinkedIn account yet.  I think my hesitation stems from the fact that I’m just not sure who will be able to view my information, and what the site will do with it.  From reading the various TOS agreements, my hesitation is completely justified!

Implications for Education

Of the four sites reviewed, students would only be able to sign up for an account on two of them, namely Delicious and Facebook.  While the imposed age limits are meant to restrict access, I know many students under the age of 13 who have Facebook accounts.  I don’t think setting age restrictions necessarily restricts the access.  Of all the sites I reviewed, I believe Delicious is the site I would be most inclined to use with my students.  I can envision having a site listing a number of relevant sites for my grade 12 International Business students as they complete a trade manual on one of Canada’s trading partners.  This would be a very helpful, and constantly evolving resource for students to use, semester after semester.

Name of Site	Who Owns the Information	How Can Information be Used	Appropriate for Students
Delicious	The user owns the information which is simply a repository of information	Can mark certain information private to restrict access Can label certain content with licenses Delicious is not responsible for the manner or circumstance by which the information could be accessed and used by third parties Can delete content and personal information that you posted, but that does not extend to back-up copies	Yes
Flickr	Yahoo does not claim ownership of the content submitted, the user owns it	Content on the site is accessible by the public When putting content on the site, you must agree that to give Yahoo worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to it If you post something other than photos, graphics, audio or video, you give Yahoo “perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish or translate” the content (http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html)	No – must be of legal age to form a binding contract Site contains a caution that some areas contain mature content that you must be 18 to access
LinkedIn	You own the information you provide and can request deletion at any time	When you post content, you grant LinkedIn a “non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sublicensable , fully paid-up and royalty-free right” for them to copy, publish, remove, distribute, retain, add, process, analyze, use or commercialize your content (http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=user_agreement&trk=hb_ft_userag)	No – must be 18 years of age to participate on the site
Facebook	You own the content posted and you control how it is shared through the settings chosen	You can remove content at any time but it may still exist in back-up copies If you select “everyone”, your content would be viewed by those within and outside of Facebook When posting content, you provide Facebook  with a “non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free” right to use any content that you post (http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf)	Possibly – Must be at least 13 to open an account