Legal Marketing & PR

Your Facebook Friend?s Don?t Count. Your Blog does not make you an Expert.

By Peter

A fun legal opinion came out that says Facebook friend’s don’t count.  Funny.

I am assuming this also applies to Twitter, MySpace and other social networks too. Check out footnote 3 on Page 10.

“For purposes of this litigation, the Court assigns no significance to the Facebook ?friends? reference. Facebook reportedly has more than 200 million active users, and the average user has 120 ?friends? on the site. The fastest growing demographic is those [users] 35 years old and older. Facebook Pressroom, http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics (May 13, 2009). Regardless of what Facebook?s apparent popularity or usefullness may say about the nature of 21st century communications and relationships, the site?s designers? selections of icons or labels offer no substance to this dispute. Indeed, the Court notes that electronically connected ?friends? are not among the litany of relationships targeted by the Exchange Act or the regulations issued pursuant to the statute. Indeed, ?friendships? on Facebook may be as fleeting as the flick of a delete button.” [Emphasis added]

Quigley Corp. v. Karkus, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 41296 (May 15, 2009).  You can read up more on G4TV.com on their take too.

So there you go, Facebook friends don’t count because the relationship are too fleeting and easily deleted.

I guess by the same theory then, twitter posts and blog posts do not make you an expert or authority in your field, since they too are fleeting and easily deleted (or possibly forgotten).

I know, a bit of a leap from not counting friends, to not counting advice, but still worth discussing.

I am sure there will be a court opinion on whether someone is an expert because of their blog.  At the very least would their twitter comments or blog be used against them on cross.  That begs the question, does posting a lot on twitter or your blog make you an expert or authority in your area?

I am thinking that your work product, knowledge, and experience in the off-line world, make you an authority an expert in the online world.  You use tools from your day job to market online using Twitter and blogging.  Without the background though and knowledge, you are simply noise online when you tweet or post about your subject.

Full post as published by PaperStreet Web Design: SpeakOut on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).