The document provides notes for a presentation on social media, community building, and the law. It discusses how social media has led to a shift from private to public communication and from controlled messaging to engagement. It emphasizes building communities on social media by asking early followers to share messages and engaging with all users, even critics. The presentation also notes that while social media seems anarchic, the same laws around issues like libel and intellectual property still apply online.

1. Speaking notes for BCS Social Media, Community Building and the Law event
Thank you for inviting me to come and speak with you about Social Media,
Community Building and the Law. This is my first meeting since joining the BCS –
so it is a bit of a baptism of fire but I hope that what we discuss tonight will be of
interest to you and will generate a bit of discussion.
I would also like to particularly thank you for asking me to come on 26 January 2010
– the day before Apple launches a product, as yet unknown, but purported to be a
tablet device with gesture recognition that could prove to be a real game changer in
the way that we interact with and conceive computing and our relationship with the
internet.
I would therefore like to ask you to take all the following with a large pinch of salt on
the grounds that it is likely to be completely out of date within 24 hours and, in any
event, by the time this recording gets online!
I would finally like to make two points about this presentation. The first is that it has
been partially crowd sourced and so jumps around a little. I looked at changing that
but I think it is, of itself, an interesting way of looking at how the stream of
consciousness that is social media can shape things on a day to day level. This is a
presentation guided by the thoughts, ideas, stories and pictures that have come across
my own social media horizon in the past few weeks.

2. The second thing is that I do concentrate quite a lot on Twitter in this presentation and
I do so in an entirely unapologetic way. As you will hear, my own view is that the
move will be towards a Twitter approach and the way that Twitter has impinged on a
number of competitor companies (as well as spawning others) really does show its
power and presence. However, that is not to say that Twitter is the only game in
town. It isn’t. Flickr, YouTube, Facebook and others all have their place but things
are very fluid and, with each step, the outlook changes. Indeed, if Steve Jobs decides
to make an announcement while I’m talking, I’m scrapping the end of this
presentation!
[Slide 1]
Now, I am often asked why a lawyer is quite so ‘in’ to social media. We go through
the usual ‘it’s a waste of time’, ‘it’s inane’ and all the rest of it.
However, I view social media and the shift in internet use over the past 2 years as a
seismic shift in communication media.
[Slide 2]
When I first joined Twitter back in October 2007, it was a bit like talking to yourself
in a sealed room. However, it was clear to me then that the principle design features
of Twitter were likely to lead to a fundamental change in the way that other sites
worked.

3. The move from Friendster and MySpace through Facebook to Twitter marks a shift
from application heavy to application lite – from PC to mobile. Interestingly, and this
is often a point that is overlooked, it is also a shift from private simple (email) and
private group (Facebook/Myspace) communication to public broadcast – Twitter and
YouTube. Google Wave will be the next step which will allow for the integration of
all of those communication models into a single package.
And my own analysis is that the further development of mobile technology is likely to
favour the cleaner Twitter model of one to many communication than the clumsier,
more time consuming Facebook model. That is also borne out by recent research that
has shown that 44% of Google News users scan the headlines but do not bother
clicking through. We need fast, easily digestible content – and that, to me, screams
Twitter.
I should point out at this stage, so as to avoid the inevitable brickbats from my Twitter
followers and others when this goes online, that Facebook use and membership
currently far outstrips that of Twitter but I do believe that the service evolution will
continue to favour short and quick over long and complex.
[Slide 3]
So tonight, I will be speaking about three areas: Social Media, Community Building
and the Law. What I would like to do is to speak to you in general terms and then
open up to a discussion because, at the end of the day, that is what social media is all
about.

4. Social Media
Tonight I will be predominantly speaking about how businesses can use social media
but the same principles apply to personal use and use by charities and social
enterprises. Indeed charities in particular can make good use of social media as
causes, tribes and social media tools integrate extremely effectively.
As can people.
As I wrote this speech, I realised that I needed a picture of a sheep. So I sent a tweet
[Slide 4]
And people replied
[Slide 5]
And, for the sake of completeness,
[Slide 6]
One of the most fascinating things about the business use of social media is that it has
marked one of the first times that businesses have gone on to the turf of an entirely
consumer driven environment. By that, I mean that the traditional model is to call the

5. consumers on to your patch – be that a shop or office or factory or some other
physical presence. This time, acknowledging the mass of people that are using social
media, businesses have moved into social media, to the clients.
[Slide 7]
The move for businesses on to social media platforms has been a tough process for
two reasons. The first is that many businesses are scared of publically engaging with
their clients in this way. I often hear people say ‘but what if people say something
bad about us’. Well, the simple answer to that is, of course, if people want to say
something bad, they are going to anyway – would you rather not know about it and
try to put things right?
Once that quite simple issue has been dealt with, businesses have to attempt to do
something that they have never had to do before – engage in community management.
In this context, community management means making and keeping your customers
happy and, if you can manage it, making them your foot soldiers – but more of that
later.
What it does not mean is controlling what they way. Control means something
completely different now.
Businesses up until now have preferred to use a ‘control’ model when dealing with
customers – although that it is something that is rarely publically acknowledged!

6. Being responsive to customers has tended to mean ‘responsive within our operating
framework’.
Imagine, then, the culture shock of engaging within a social media environment.
From a culture of control to a culture of messiness, uncertainty and anarchy.
[Slide 8]
It is no longer the case that the business decides the direction – the power is now with
the consumer to a degree that it has never been before.
The game has changed. Fundamentally – and it is not going to change back.
For a small case study, I’d like us to take a look at Coca Cola.
With no implied criticism, Coca Cola has successfully, over the years, had a very tight
control over its brand and the way people discuss it. The focus, since the internet has
been commonplace, has been to use campaign sites to get the message across.
And just think about that phrase for a minute ‘get the message across’ – it is very
much one way traffic. It is not talking with but talking at.
I cannot say enough that this is not a criticism. Traditional marketing techniques have
been about talking at – even though emotional and psychological techniques to

7. emotionalise marketing have tried to ‘link in’ with the consumer, they have never
been about a two way discussion.
So, Coca Cola have used campaign sites but they recently announced that they are on
the move – Coca Cola have embraced the idea that it’s good to talk.
[Slide 9]
Prinz Pinakatt, the Coca-Cola Company’s interactive marketing manager for Europe,
recently said, “In some cases some of our campaigns won’t need a coke.com-hosted
site. In most cases these will still exist as it’s the most obvious destination for a
consumer, but it might only be a page linking to YouTube encouraging people to join
the community there.
“We would like to place our activities and brands where people are, rather than
dragging them to our platform.”
This is a massive shift.
But Coca Cola’s strategy does not stop there. They have published their Online
Social Media Principles.
And, whilst I am sure the Coca Cola Company does not need me to do their PR for
them, I have to say, it’s pretty good stuff. It’s worth getting online and taking a look.

8. [Slide 10]
These are the fundamentals of how to engage and the type of values that you need to
display in order to gain trust and turn your followers into your evangelists.
[Slide 11]
Community Building
The one thing that everyone needs to know when using social media for business
purposes (and for others like social enterprise, charity or cause supporting) is how to
build your community.
Once you know how to do that, the rest is easy – ish.
However, if there was one way of doing that, everyone would be doing it.
Indeed, we come back to the central message of all social media – it’s about
engagement and it’s about people. There is no one-size-fits-all. The tone of
conversation that you use, for instance, on a social media outlet for a broadcaster
aimed at under 18 year olds is not going to be the same as that for a medical
businesses aimed at the over 60s. But there are some important common threads that
work everywhere.

9. [Slide 12]
This is not a speedy process and it can take months to get out of the waiting room. (I
am still talking about Social Media here!)
But here is a truism - Big Tribes grow from a few good foot soldiers
When you start out, you will know some people on whichever social network you
use. It is inevitable. They may be personal friends, clients, trustees, donors, business
acquaintances or just people you know from the pub.
They are your foot soldiers.
They are people who you could ask for just a second or two of their time. Just to join
your tribe and to share a message – the message that you are there, that you exist.
If you have 100 friends on Facebook and you ask 10 of them to spread the message to
their 100 friends, you’re up to 1,100 people already.
Of course, that’s just a theory. And theories don’t work.
So, a few months ago, I tested the theory.
I built a tribe.

10. I was about to run a seminar on social media use for charities and I wanted to show
how far a tweet could go and how quickly it could do it. I couldn’t do it on my own.
I needed a tribe. Technically, I needed a Twibe.
So, I sent a message to my followers. It read:
Help! Am running a seminar & want to show how far a tweet can go. We’re in
Devon, UK. Pls RT! Ta! #charitysm
I clicked send, sat back and monitored the #charitysm hashtag.
Within a minute, it was in Manchester thanks to my good friend @MoreHavoc but, if
I’m being honest, I wasn’t quite prepared for what happened next!
Within 20 minutes, we heard from @kymriskadraken in Stockholm, Sweden! Then
we went on a tour of the world taking in France, Florida (lots of Florida), Texas (lots
of Texas), NYC, lots of the rest of the US, South Africa, Ethiopia, Romania and a
number of other countries before hitting South West Australia.
It took under three hours for the message to spread across four continents.
[Slide 13]
The message was spread by my tribe, by my tribe’s tribe, by their tribe and so on.
Until it went half way round the world. Many of those people are now part of my
direct tribe and you can see more about that tweet on my blog at Socialholic.co.uk

11. The next issue is how to keep them.
The watchword for social media is engagement. Engagement is difficult to get right.
It is not just about sending messages - it is about understanding individuals and
conversing with them on a human level, as individuals. It is completely alien to most
advertising and marketing plans.
It is discussion. It is chat. It is personal.
It is about searching out those who don't like you and talking to them.
A few months ago, I criticised the BBCs decision to commission Walk on the Wide
Side. For those of you who don't know it, it's the one on Saturday nights that has
comedy voiceovers to wildlife footage.
At the end of the day, people like it but it's not for me and I said so.
A few minutes later, I had a tweet from comedian Jason Manford, who does
voiceovers on the programme. A short exchange ensued. We both left as friends -
well, amicably anyway - I didn't get a Christmas card from him or anything. The
point is that he looked for comments and decided to engage with me about mine.
Now, it didn't necessarily change my view of the programme but it did raise Jason
Manford massively in my estimation.

12. A number of businesses have opened communication channels on social media. Two,
Virgin Media and O2 are known for their customer service teams on Twitter.
I have had cause to use both - with very different results - and I think they both can
teach us very useful lessons.
I had a number of issues with O2 and my mobile contract which were not getting
resolved - so I tried to tweet them. I heard nothing. My own tribe heard of the issues
and, without any prompting, some of them tweeted them to get in touch with me too.
Nothing.
O2 has taken the time to put together a team but, as I found out later from my
discussions with them, there aren't many of them and they are inundated.
VirginMedia has taken a slightly different approach. They also have a team on
Twitter but there seem to be more of them. In addition, they have other people who
work for them on Twitter. And those people, as well as being themselves, are willing
to act as the eyes and ears of company.
So, when I was querying whether broadband had gone down where I was (workmen
were digging up the road), I had a reply from one of their employees within a couple
of minutes, a tweet from the official VirginMedia team and, once they had my phone
number, a call within 10 minutes.

13. They might be the extremes of engagement but they do illustrate a point. One is
actively looking for people who are discussing them, the other is waiting for you to
come to them (and then possibly not having enough people to deal with it).
You wouldn't install an extra phone line, tell everyone the number and then not
answer it.
Build a tribe and engage with them. Everyone knows that you love your product,
we’re more impressed if someone else does too.
[Slide 14]
If you get the chance to see or hear or read any of Olivier Blanchard’s stuff, I really
would recommend it. He is a man that really understands brand and social media.
His predictions for the development of social media this year are…[slide 14]
And I think that is a pretty accurate assessment of where a lot of businesses are
headed. This has been described as the end of the beginning for social media and,
while there will still be a lot of people playing catch up, the real work can now begin.
Law
And finally, the question that I am most often asked – tell us about the law and social
media.

14. [Slide 15]
Well, it is the same as the law anywhere else. Libel is libel. Employment issues are
employment issues. The data protection legalisation, computer misuse legislation and
terrorism legislation are all in play.
Social media may be an anarchical playground but it is one in which the law is very
much present.
I just want to look at two examples today because I think they illustrate things that we
may not have considered.
A few weeks ago, Paul Chambers was due to fly out of Robin Hood Airport but, as
you’ll remember, it was a bit snowy. So the airport is shut.
So he turned to Twitter and posted "Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week
and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"
He was then arrested and questioned for seven hours under the Terrorism Act.
Apparently, he spent most of that time explaining to the officers exactly what Twitter
was and how it worked! He has been bailed and is due to reappear on 11 February –
so we can only say so much about it right now.

15. However, I will just observe that while there has been quite a lot of chatter on the
internet about this and whether it was a bit of an overreaction to what was clearly a
joke, if there is something I have learnt over the past year of cohosting PhotoLegal, it
is that the police have not been exactly discriminating about their use of section 44 of
the Terrorism Act when it comes to photographers and I doubt that they will be
putting too much thought into their use of the powers in other areas of life either.
Notwithstanding that it has just been declared illegal by the ECHR.
But, that to one side, it is an interesting illustration of the fact that all parts of the law
are active in the social media realm – not just the obvious bits about libel and
intellectual property.
The other example that I would like to touch on is an intellectual property based one.
Flickr is a community image sharing site. It is run by Yahoo! and it allows users to
change the settings on each image to show what the user allows others to do with the
image. For instance, an image may be freely available for use, subject to a Creative
Commons licence or marked ‘All Rights Reserved’.
Recently the Independent Newspaper used the api to search for images for one of its
stories. It found an image and used it.
When the photographer who took the image asserted his rights and demanded
payment, they took the view that they had done nothing wrong, there was no
copyright and they weren’t making payment.

16. They said, “We took a stream from Flickr which is, as you know, a photo-sharing
website. The legal assumption therefore is that you were not asserting your copyright
in that arena. We did not take the photo from Flickr nor present it as anything other
than it is shown there. I do not consider therefore that any copyright has been
breached or any payment due.”
Their lawyers then took a look and they changed their mind!
The message is that sometimes what you see is not the full story. The api did not
seem to send the copyright information along with the image information or
discriminate as to what it offered up in terms of images. So, never assume that what
you find online is fair game. It almost certainly isn’t – it probably belongs to
someone else. Much like if you see a car in the street. It might well belong to
someone. Just because it’s been left by the side of the road does not mean it has been
abandoned, it might just have been parked.
What next
I thought it might be fun to end with my predictions for the coming 24 months. If
nothing else because it will be great to hear from you all in the coming 24 months,
telling me that I got it wrong! Or within the next 24 hours when Jobs launches the
iSlate and the internet closes down to be replaced by something more interesting!

17. Before I get into my specific predictions, I would like to address the issues of
longevity and transience.
It is always dangerous to predict
My first prediction is to do with the development of existing sites.
I believe that the key drivers of interaction design will lead to simplification and
specialisation by media or function.
Looking, for instance, at the Facebook iPhone app, it currently offers the basics but
does not offer the key ‘sheep throwing’ utility (do you see the sheep link now?). I
think that throwing sheep will become a thing of the past. Actually, I’m not so sure
whether that is a prediction or just a fervent wish but the principle is there –
pointlessness will fall by the wayside.
I therefore see Facebook stripping itself down and Twitter possibly beefing itself up
with some added functionality – possibly relating to integrated picture, music and
video hosting as well as search as it tries to generate a revenue stream.
Secondly, I believe that portability will be the watchword and I think that Facebook
will concentrate more on its mobile apps than on its main site.
Foursquare and Gowalla – two sites which provide geo-location, review social
networking hybrids - could prove to be successful if, and only if, the mobile devices

18. on which they rely become better at using GPS, triangulation or WPS in order to
pinpoint the location of the device. What FourSquare and Gowalla both show is a
move to geolocation and topic specialisation.
However, I do not think that many of these specialist applications will survive or
succeed. Other than a game element, I am not quite sold on the idea that they provide
anything new or distinctive enough to draw consumers away from the main sites and
keep their attention.
Google Wave, launched in beta amidst much hype, will come of age. Google Wave
has much to offer and will be a great thing – once more people are on it. I suspect
that Google will also integrate Mail and their other applications such as Documents
better into Wave so as to create a better cloud package.
Employers, finally realising what social networks can generate, will identify and
encourage power users within their organisations. They will be the new rainmakers
and will go out, scout new business and promote brand.
Governments will suddenly realise that social media is big – and not just in terms of
campaigning. They will therefore try to regulate it (and fail as it is largely
unnecessary) and find a way to tax it (and fail).
And finally, on a gloomy note, as we move more to being part of an always-on
connected social network society, the UK (the only place that describes 2meg
broadband as superfast!) will lag the world in the adoption of 4G mobile.

19. Social media and social networking are no longer a play thing that can be ignored.
They are the real thing, effective and powerful communication tools. And they are
very much here to stay.
Thank you for inviting me. [Questions]