HIT's TOS Provisions Protect Client and Company

             An Alarming Italian Court Decision

A hosting company's responsibility for 3rd-party, hosted content was recently emphasized by a court's surprising decision in Italy.

According to Google, four of its employees were recently tried in Milan for “failure to comply with the Italian privacy code,” and for “criminal defamation.” The charges were levied in relation to an event that happened in 2006, when Italian students uploaded a video on Google Video depicting the bullying of an autistic student. Google, after learning of the “reprehensible” nature of the video, promptly pulled it. It was only online for a few hours, but that was long enough for a judge in Milan to  find three of the four accused Google employees guilty of failing to comply with privacy rules.

According to Matt Sucherman, VP and Deputy General Counsel for Google in Europe, “none of the four Googlers charged had anything to do with this video. They did not appear in it, film it, upload it or review it. None of them know the people involved or were even aware of the video's existence until after it was removed.”

Too bad, said the Milan judge. 

             Mutual Responsibility For The Benefit of All

The ruling raises two issues. First, and most troublesome, is the lack of impunity Google employees received from the Italian court regarding the uploading of the video, in spite of Google's responsible and quick action once it was notified. This decision varies sharply from commonly accepted notions among Internet users regarding the posting and hosting of user-supplied information.

According to Sucherman, “(The judge's decision) attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built. Common sense dictates that only the person who films and uploads a video to a hosting platform could take the steps necessary to protect the privacy and obtain the consent of the people they are filming.” Google promises to appeal vigorously the decision and hopes to vindicate the individuals convicted.

Furthermore, the ruling shows that hosting companies must take active and aggressive stances regarding the content their customer or clients wish to post or display. Doing so protects the client as well as insures the longevity of the company.

As for HIT Web Design, several content restrictions have been spelled out in the company's Terms of Service (TOS). Unfortunately, many customers fail to read this document prior to hosting their websites, only to find out the hard way that the material intended for use is inappropriate.

             HIT Must Take A Stand

The Italian court's decision illustrates the potential ramifications a hosting company may experience when an offended or violated individual decides to escalate notice of his or her plight in the courts. Therefore, HIT Web Design legitimately and responsibly must draw the line on what it considers inappropriate material. In some cases, this is a judgment call that others may disagree with, but HIT's position is designed to protect the innocent and unsuspecting, and to preserve its integrity as a company, and therefore errors on the side of conservatism.

In general, anything that could potentially hurt or harm another individual in any way, or that is in poor taste or derogatory, or that is illegal, is contrary to the TOS of HIT Web Design.

Thus, the following categories are addressed in the TOS—

          • Gambling

          • Pornography

          • Illegal Drugs

          • Alcohol

          • Fraudulent Financial Schemes

          • Offensive Material

          • and many more—consult the TOS for a full list.

The Internet is meant to be a free and valuable informational mecca, and it is based on the principle of  responsibility of those posting (who should use good judgment) and those hosting (who should review and take down when appropriate), but the irresponsible acts of a few can potentially jeopardize the enjoyment for everyone. Sucherman warns, “If that principle (of reviewing and removing by the hosting company) is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them — every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video — then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear.”

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

© 2010 HIT Web Design, L.L.C.

Identify Your Company's Brand

Read this article on branding first…

What words listed below best describe your company or your products/ services?

·         Customer service

·         Established

·         Community service

·         Great deals

·         A name you can trust

·         Industry Expert

·         Reliability

·         Free Shipping

·         Unique products

·         Innovative

·         Experienced

·         Products that last

The list above is nowhere complete. Use it as a starting point. Really think about what you want your company to be known for. Identifying what sets your company a part from others is an important step in identifying your brand.

Many companies make these claims “the best customer service in the industry,” “over 50-years of experience,” etc. For your branding to be effective, you’ve got so do what you say. Some of the claims listed above are easy to back up. You offer free shipping, or you don’t. Others are more difficult to back up, but have a lasting positive effect if you do. Let’s take a look at Ben & Jerry’s as an example.  As you visit their website (http://www.benjerry.com/) you will notice one of their page names is “Activism.” Click on the link to the page and you find out how they’re involved with everything from supporting family farmers to reducing CO2 emissions.  Read Ben &; Jerry’s mission statement and notice how it is part of their branding effort.

After you know what makes your company unique, it’s helpful to see how your completion is branding themselves. First of all, you need to identify your competition. After you have identified them, take a look at their site and see how they are branding themselves. Finding out what you do better than your competition can help you establish your brand.

I looked at some websites to see if I could identify a company’s brand. I Googled “lawn care company” and looked at the page descriptions for the first 2 pages of web results for examples.

World's largest landscaping and lawn care company. Describes residential services, presents special offers, and features extensive lawn care and landscaping ...

We are St. Louis' premier lawn maintenance company. Beautiful Lawns in the St. Louis, MO area. Missouri, Lawn Mowing company, Total lawn maintenance service ...

Industry-leading lawn care & gardening advice. Indoor & outdoor lawn and garden products and services. Great tips on gardening, yard care, landscaping, ...

The Tree Expert Company is one of the oldest and most prestigious tree, shrub, and lawn care companies in North America, we provide a number of ...

Compare these with HIT Web Design’s page description.

HitWebDesign.com
HIT Web Design creates innovative custom web design starting at $199. Providing small to medium businesses with affordable website design and management ...

What are these companies saying about themselves? They are saying “we’re affordable,” “we’re experienced,” “we’re specialists,” “we’re innovative,” “we’re a leader in our industry.”

After you know what you want to say about your company, it’s time to think about how you want to say it.

HIT's Facebook Page a Helpful Resource

HIT Web Design is now on Facebook! Become a fan of HIT Web Design on Facebook and learn things you might not know, including: Design Tips, Small Business Helps, and updates on Haiti's Little Angels.

HIT and Haiti's Little Angels – Stay Updated on Recent Developments

• HIT has been keeping fans regularly posted about the latest developments in Haiti. The company  formally adopted the Haitian orphanage, Hope For Little Angels of Haiti, in December of 2008 and has been instrumental in funding the orphanage's food, medical, clothing, and clean-water needs.

• CEO David Aitken recently adopted three Haitian children from the orphanage, a process that began in November 2008. The weeks following the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti have been highly emotional for Aitken, who initially did not know if his soon-to-be adopted children were safe after the quake to experience the elation bringing them to his home in Utah. Utah's statewide newspapers and television stations have been covering Aitken's saga, and links can be found on HIT's Facebook fan page.

• Since the quake, all 68 of the Little Angels orphanage have been found alive and safe. HIT Web Design, which has been providing employee-donated funds for over a year to the orphanage, will be helping it rebuild after the quake.

Stay Informed with Helpful Blogs and Videos

• We posts helpful blogs and videos describing ways you can improve your website, with topics ranging from optimizing your site for search engines to design tips to effective small business practices. Links are regularly posted on Facebook, and provides an easy-to-access resource to become more educated on building your business online.

• HIT is also developing a following on Twitter . We post links to blogs posted everyday on our website. You can also find us on YouTube .

Adopted Haitian Orphans Arriving in Utah

Provo, Utah – February 3, 2010 – David and Candice Aitken are set to begin a new chapter tonight as they arrive in Utah with their three adopted children from Haiti.

The Aitkens will arrive in Salt Lake City on a Continental flight from Miami around 11:30pm. It is the final major step in the adoption process for Haitian orphans Nerlande (5), Yonelson (4), and Fabrice (8).

The past few weeks have been extremely emotional for the Aitkens. In the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, the Aitkens spent several sleepless nights worrying about whether their children were okay.

Last Friday night, the Aitkens received a phone call informing them that all of their kids were getting on a plane to Florida. However, at the last minute, Fabrice was not allowed on the plane from Haiti, after his paperwork was misplaced.

After several more frantic and frustrating days, on Tuesday Fabrice was finally allowed to join the Aitkens in Miami.

The Aitkens are excited to begin their new life together in Utah. However, the Aitkens’ involvement with Haiti is not over. David Aitken, CEO of Provo-based HIT Web Design, says his company will help rebuild the damaged Hope for Little Angels of Haiti, the orphanage HIT has been sponsoring for the past year, and where his adopted children were cared for.

HIT Web Design is a Provo, Utah-based company specializing in designing and hosting affordable and effective websites for small and medium-size businesses.

Visit HIT Humanitarian at http://hithumanitarian.com
Visit Hope for Little Angels of Haiti at http://hopeforlittleangelsofhaiti.org
Visit HIT Web Design at http://www.hitwebdesign.com

Learn more about this story by becoming a Hit Web Design Facebook FAN.