Though it may be obvious to most everybody, I must reiterate that it is all possible that anybody can see any public Web site or blog. When I say public, I am speaking of any Web page which is not password-protected or is in a “walled garden” like a company Intranet or Facebook. In other words, if it’s out there, it’s out there.

In the early days of the Web, most everybody who was putting information on the Web was putting too much information out there. Present company included! We all got wise as to how to structure and craft content to meet the needs of the Web visitor as well as ourselves and became more strategic about what was put out there for all to see. But with the proliferation of Web platforms where anyone could publish content, you would start to see more and more go out there than was required or necessary. It started with sites like Geocities and has continued to blogging platforms like WordPress, where anyone can publish a blog for free.

Believe it or not, much thought goes into what I write, namely as I write it in Word before I post it. But I continue to read people’s blogs and Web sites where they put too much information out there. What do I mean? Everything from family photos to vacation schedules to start qualify as too much information. I have talked to some people about this and they tell me nobody but close friends know the link to the blog or Web site. Where that may be the case, it is still a public link, and anybody has the potential to see it, and use it to your disadvantage.

Think strategically when you put information on the Web. If it is information for everybody to see, craft the message and create a Web design to make it easy to do so. But if it is private information, consider password-protection on the Web page, or just don’t post it at all. For if it is out there, it’s out there.

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Bloggers are all in a tizzy over updated guidelines on product endorsements and testimonials by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As The Hot Iron frequently talks about companies, products and services, my interest in these guidelines has been high. This led me to reading the complete text of the Q&A process over the guidelines as well as the revised guidelines themself. These are linked from one page on the FTC’s Web site on the guidelines which now includes videos.

These guidelines do not only pertain to bloggers, and also includes traditional media – TV, radio, print – with regards to any testimonials and celebrity endorsements. Part of this pertains to advertisements that make claims that are not typical for the average user, and now must state what the average user would experience. If you think pharmaceutical ads are annoying as hell, just wait to see how every other commercial out there will be complying with these guidelines.

As you may infer by tone, I am not in favor of this. I am not alone, as many trade industries and law firms submitted opinions against it, namely for bloggers. As traditional advertisements has been around for thousands of years – from the snake oil salesman to digital billboards – and blogging can probably be traced back about 10 years, many opinions felt these guidelines are premature. But the bureaucrats at the FTC disagree, and here we are.

After reviewing all of this material, I am presenting my conclusions on this, as well as a list of questions not addressed in the guidelines. This is all my opinion from my very own head. I am not an attorney, rather someone who understands the power of social media and the reality of the world.

Conclusions

The following are my conclusions from the FTC guidelines.

Disclose Either Way in Each and Every Blog Post – The guidelines state that if there is not a relationship between the blogger and a company, no disclosure needs to be made. But what if, after reading a post, the FTC thinks there is a relationship there? The last thing you want is federal bureaucrats subpoenaing you. It is better to state this in anything you write.

When in Doubt, Lie and State There is a Relationship – Let’s face it folks, the business world is complicated, and business deals are happening every minute of every day. One minute you may write something favorable about a company, the next minute the manager of a mutual fund you own may buy shares of that company. You wouldn’t know this, but the FTC’s investigators would. Plus, there does not appear to be a penalty for stating there is any type of relationship when there really isn’t one.

Get a Good Lawyer – In this litigious society, everybody should have a lawyer. Every small businessperson should have one already, and if not, there’s no time like the present.

Confusions

Where the language used in the FTC documents is relatively easy to read, as least for me it was, it left many unanswered questions for me. These are reflected in my conclusions above, but I feel they need to be addressed here, namely to identify the gaps I found in these guidelines.

How Will These Guidelines Be Enforced? – Is the FTC filling rooms with computers and people to search for product and service blog posts and dig through them for endorsements or testimonials without disclosure? Thinking about it more, that will probably be the case.

The FTC even skirts the issue if they will sue bloggers in this video which is on their Web site – it is embedded below, or click this link to watch the video.

Clearly not following these guidelines has penalties, and they should simply say it.

How is this Different from Movie Reviewers or Journalists – This is not an argument about bloggers being journalists, as some are and some are not. I do not consider myself a journalist. In conversations with real journalists, they have said they never typically disclose any freebies given to them. I have never heard Roger Ebert mention he goes to the movies for free, yet it is my guess he does. Yet these guidelines do not apply to journalists.

What if Someone is a Poor Writer? – Someone could have bought a product off the shelf and then wrote about it in their blog, using language like, “this is the bestest video game in the world... if Michael Jordan made video games he would have made this one… if you don’t buy this game you are a fool… everybody should own this game,” which could clearly be considered a testimonial and could even be inferred the writer has a tie to the video game.

Is There a Difference Between Free and Loaned Products for Reviews? – Say you get a product to keep vs. getting one to use for a few weeks, is there a difference there? It could be inferred you profited by having the product’s use during that time.

What about Negative Reviews? – The guidelines appear to address endorsements, but what about a negative review of a product, even if a company gave you that product? My guess is you still need to disclose this, even if the blog post discourages people from buying it.

Who Defines An Expert Blogger? – There’s mention in the guidelines about “expert” bloggers. Who makes this determination? Ask any blogger and I am sure they will say they are one. But if it means they are a close target of the FTC, I am sure they will shun the title.

Does a Disclaimer Have to be Within the Blog Post or Just Somewhere on the Blog? – Many people read blog posts from the Web pages of the blog, others by RSS feed and even others by email. Must the disclaimer be written within the post itself, or is it sufficient for it to be somewhere on the Web page?

What about Blog Comments? – An endorsement or testimonial could be added to a blog in the comments. Who then would be responsible, especially if the comments were posted anonymously or the blogger did not know the person and could not verify if they were a real person or not?

What about Microblogging? – Microblogging, or tweets on Twitter for many people, doesn’t give you much room to make an opinion as well as disclaim any relationship. Does this mean you will have to write text elsewhere stating the relationship and include a short URL in the tweet?

What about Forums? – At the end of one of the FTC documents it mentions forums. Maybe if you post to a forum you should put your disclaimer in the post signature area?

What about Old Blog Posts? – Will I and every other blogger out there have to edit all of our past blog posts to indicate any business relationships?

Are there Geographical Boundaries to This? – What if the writer of a product review is outside of the US, but his Web server is inside the US? What if the opposite? What if both are outside the US but the company being reviewed is inside the US?

What about My Trip to Nokia OpenLab? – As I mentioned in a previous post, Nokia flew me halfway around the world and wined and dined me when I participated in OpenLab. Must I always reference this each and every time I make a reference to a Nokia product in any capacity?

Final, Chilling Thought

When I read one of the documents, one word stuck out to me – chill. It is used as a term to describe the change in activity as a result of these guidelines, as in a freezing of blogging activity as a result. I wasn’t aware “chill” was a legal term. Nonetheless, I don’t think these guidelines will chill or stop any word-of-mouth or personal thoughts on companies, products and services. If anything, it will spark a new wave of ways for people to talk about products without fear of The Man coming down on them. This is the entrepreneurial resourcefulness here in the US, and it isn’t dead yet!

So what do you think? Any help in analyzing this is most appreciated. But make sure you identify who you are and any business relationship you may have with me, ok?

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Have you ever been alone in a crowded room? It can easily happen, when you first enter a room or area where a meeting or event is going on. It can be crowded or even spread out with a few people. You don’t know anyone and nobody knows you. If you read any number of networking resources, there are all kinds of advice and tips to tackle this situation and make it work for you.

But what if it doesn’t work? What if you just can’t crack into the audience? Is it solely your fault? Of course not! Somebody or some organization spent time and money to put on this event, extended an invitation to you and others, and then they leave it to others to ensure its event? This failure in logic is the direct result of not having facilitators or greeters in order to prevent situations like this.

Proven In Action

When I was involved in the Boston Jaycees and eventually became its president, I learned first-hand how having greeters made our meetings more successful. We held monthly membership meetings, and the second someone entered the room they needed to check-in. Everybody wore nametags – members would have one color border on their tag and guests another. This way, any member of the board of the Jaycees, as well as general members, would be able to know who was new and reach out to them. We held an orientation a few minutes before the meeting started for guests to welcome them and give them an overview of the organization and the meeting itself, so when it commenced they would be in the know as to what was transpiring.

As a result, new guests felt welcomed and it helped break the ice for them in a room where most people knew each other. For the Jaycees, as we were a membership organization looking to grow, we were easily able to identify people and connect with them. Where we had specific membership people who would seek out people, as a result of the color-coded nametags, all members automatically became greeters, namely because many of them had a similar, engaging experience when they first came to a meeting.

The Opposite Proven In Action As Well

A few years back my wife and I went to a local networking event for a business organization in Chicago whose name is purposely being withheld. I was on their mailing list, but had no other connection to them or knew anyone involved. As we entered the meeting area, there was a check-in table, but after that we were purely on our own. The attendees appeared to know each other from our observation. Many people had nametags indicating they were officers of the organization. But as we moved through the room, we found people did not want to engage with us, despite our efforts to reach out to many people. We got frustrated, namely as this was billed as a networking event and welcomed non-members. My wife made a last-ditch effort by boldly going up to several individuals, including those with nametags, but nobody had any interest in talking with us! Needless to say we left, and that’s all we talked about the remainder of the night.

It Doesn’t Take Much

A couple of packs of nametags was the way we at the Jaycees were able to identify new people, not to mention a culture of welcoming. If you are going through the cost and effort to hold an event or meeting, why not ensure people get as great of a return on the event as you do? Or put it like this – could your event or meeting be less successful because you do not do this? I could have easily mentioned the name of the organization I slammed above, and someone else may not be as kind.

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Transferring domain names between people, businesses or entities is a common practice today and something I do quite a bit at my Internet consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC. Where it may be common for myself, for those involved it takes a little understanding, especially as it is something may not do too often. The following is the overall process for transferring a domain name. There may be nuances with each domain name registrar, to which they can help you.

Before We Begin

Domain names are registered through a registrar. In order to do anything with the domain name, you should have a login and password to an account with them. In some cases you may be going through a reseller who will handle much of this for you. If not, the process describes the overall transaction.

You should know who you are transferring the domain name to, their email address and their registrar, which I’ll refer to as the receiving registrar, or receiver. Other information may also be pertinent depending on the receiver. You will ideally get an email or two from the receiver and it should have identifying information to verify to whom you are transferring the domain name. The registrar the domain name is leaving is sometimes referred to as the losing registrar, but we’ll never call them losers! With regards to email messages being sent to the person who is transferring a domain name to someone else, the messages will be sent to the email address which is listed in the contact information of the domain name. Therefore, you should verify the contact information on the domain name is accurate before the process begins. It is also a good practice to ensure all of the contact information for all of your domains is correct as well!

In some cases you may be transferring a domain name to an escrow service, which usually happens when you sell a domain name. Escrow services serve as a middleman between a buyer and a seller. The buyer will pay the escrow service and the seller will transfer the domain name to the escrow service. Once both have been done, the escrow service will transfer the domain name to the buyer and pay the seller, minus some fee. If you are selling a domain name and don’t know to whom you are selling it, it is best to use an escrow service.

There are 2 ways to transfer a domain name to someone else – to another registrar or within the same registrar.

Transferring To Another Registrar

Transferring a domain name to another registrar is initiated by a request from the receiving person. They will do this within their registrar account. The process of transferring a domain name will involve renewing the domain name for an additional year, which will be added to the domain name once it has been received into your account at the receiver. There will most always be a cost for transferring a domain name.

An authorization code is needed from the losing registrar to give to the person initiating the request. Every registrar has their own way of providing you with the auth code. Some, like name.com, make it very easy and it is visible on a domain name’s detail page. Others like GoDaddy.com require you to request it and it is sent by email. Registrar.com requires you to call them to request it by email, which is totally obnoxious in my opinion, but so are their prices! Once received, pass it along to the requestor and they will enter the code on their end during the initiation.

As well as the auth code, the domain name must be “unlocked.” A registrar lock is a preventative measure so a domain name isn’t inadvertently or fraudulently transferred to someone else. You will have to click a link at the losing registrar’s page for the domain name to unlock it. If a domain name is locked and a transfer is initiated, some receiver’s automatically reject it before an order is placed, and if it is placed the losing registrar will definitely reject it.

Once a request is made, there are several steps. Verification of the request is done by the requestor, followed by an email address sent to the contact’s email address. In cases where there are multiple contacts, the email may be sent to all contacts or just the registrant’s email address. This email will require a confirmation in order for the transfer to be performed. In the email is commonly a link to a Web page to approve the transfer. This Web page may either be a page with a yes or no button, or it may require a login to the receiver’s account. If the latter, you should forward the email address to the receiver, thus it’s handy to have their contact information.

If approved, a follow-up email may be sent to confirm the transfer is in process. If it is not approved, a message to that effect may be sent. If the transfer email is ignored, no other emails may be sent or follow-ups may be sent, depending on the registrar. I would not ignore a transfer request, rather I would reject it if it is not desired.

Now the wait begins. It can take up to a week for a domain name to transfer. Once completed, ideally you should get an email from both the receiving and losing registrar’s that the transfer has been completed, but this also varies by registrar.

Transferring Within A Registrar

If the receiver’s registrar is the same as where you have the domain name registered, the process may be more streamlined as it is a transfer within accounts of the registrar. This is commonly referred to as a “push.” Registrars will have their own process of doing so, but it is commonly initiated by the current owner of the domain name, where they are requesting the domain name be “pushed” to another account. The domain name may or may not have to be locked. This process can usually be achieved within a short period of time, hours as compared to days. As well, pushing a domain name may not incur a fee or any renewal.

It Happens Every Day

Domain name transfers occur daily in large numbers. It is important to know the process in case any issues arise. Whether selling or buying or moving domain names of your own from one registrar to another, transfers are a large part of Internet business, and now you are in the know.

I welcome your comments on the process as I outlined it. I was detailed in my explanations, and maybe you have some thoughts on it, or any clarifications that may be helpful for others.

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For many bloggers, creativity can ebb and flow when it comes time to put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard. I have experienced this myself, where I can sit down one day and write 3 or 4 posts at once, and the next day I can’t think of a topic for anything. This is where I found a feature of the blog engine coming in handy – write a post ahead of time and set its live date for sometime in the future.

Depending on your blog, some of your posts may be very timely and topical, where others may be reference or opinion. As a result, writing these ahead of time, or whenever creativity strikes you, makes perfect sense. Prior to pressing the publish button in your blog engine of choice, you should change the post date and time to a point in the future. This comes in handy when you’re on vacation or away for a long weekend, yet you find you have readership at those times, so why not keep them happy?

Benefits readers as well as publishers

At first thought, post-dating a post may seem solely selfish to the author, but that is hardly the case. Not all of your readers may be in the same time zone as you, let alone same continent. By adjusting the time a post appears in your blog and RSS feed can benefit all readers. Using Web analytics you can find when the preferential time of day to have posts appear. For The Hot Iron, I typically have my posts appear at 4am Central US Time, which has it appearing in someone’s feed reader in the US first thing in the morning and late morning for someone in Europe.

Do you post-date blog entries? How has it worked for you? If you try it, let me know how it works for you. Or if you are adamantly against it, please share that as well.

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