| Don't sue social networking sites if you know what's good for you |
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| Written by Stan Beer | |
| Monday, 29 October 2007 | |
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Page 1 of 2 If initiating court action against the owner of a social networking site, this would be seen as an unreasonable action by hundreds of vocal bloggers around the world - a threat to the freedom of digital speech," says Hodgkinson. "People who had no interest in the company or the supposed failings of its products turned out to have a very big interest in its actions in attempting to use the courts to influence what can and cannot be said in the context of social networking. The interactive nature of the media enabled a rapid and effective backlash. While he did not mention the case by name, Hodgkinson may well have been talking about the recent case in Australia, where accounting software firm 2Clix tried to sue the founder of the popular telecommunications forum Whirlpool because of disparaging comments posted by users of the software. The story subsequently made headlines around the world and an outcry ensued forcing 2Clix (now in administration) to withdraw its legal suit. So what whould one do if one gets lambasted publicly on the Web? Roll with the punch, counter it with a well crafted rebuttal and let search engines do the rest, advises Mr Hodgkinson. "Respond to the critical comments directly and positively - acknowledging them as valid feedback - and providing either a factual and constructive rebuttal or indicating what the company is doing about addressing the issues raised," he says. |
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