Breaking Out of Social Disclosure Jail With CMP.LY It’s been about 15 months since those crazy kids at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed their new disclosure guidelines to “protect the public” from inappropriately cozy business relationships being companies and bloggers, tweeters, Facebookers and more. Since then, we’ve been expecting a steady procession of corporate marketers being led to the virtual stockade, given that actual disclosure of business relationships in day-to-day social media reality is spotty at best. (In fact, while I always disclose here at Convince & Convert if I’m writing about a client, I don’t usually tag my tweets or Facebook statuses as such, which makes me a law breaker. Probably you too.) So the good news is that the FTC isn’t pummeling brands in the digital octagon like a crazed MMA fighter. But that doesn’t mean they won’t start. Furthermore, a legion of other organizations like the FDA, FINRA, SEC and other governing bodies have passed or are studying social disclosure guidelines. Thus, like driving on ice while drinking hot coffee and trying to figure out which XM station has the basketball game you want, the best practice is to be extra-cautious with this whole disclosure situation.  As bit.ly has become the standard for URL shortening; Klout has become the standard for influence measuring; and Creative Commons has become the standard for digital copyrights, CMP.LY seeks to become the standard for online disclosure. And they’re well on their way. CMP.LY easily (if not yet elegantly) solves the main problems facing brands and the bloggers who write or tweet about them, providing a consistent and audited disclosure framework. Here’s how it works: - A company (let’s say my client ExactTarget) works with bloggers to spread coverage of their free new social media research.
- ExactTarget identifies bloggers that may be appropriate, possibly using something like BlogDash (which I love).
- The company sets ups a disclosure campaign with CMP.LY, stating the terms and conditions of the relationship between ExactTarget and the bloggers. CMP.LY creates a customized disclosure Web page, a shortened URL that leads to it, and a customized campaign ID code.
- ExactTarget approaches the targeted bloggers and asks them to participate. For bloggers that agree, the company sends them a care package that includes a printed copy of the research, a Starbuck’s gift card, and a collection of company T-shirts and other stuff. The care package also includes a letter directing the blogger to include a CMP.LY URL in any coverage of the research via blog, Twitter, Facebook or otherwise. Bloggers log-in to CMP.LY with their campaign ID code to get their special URL for the program to use in disclosure.
- CMP.LY then creates a list for ExactTarget of all bloggers that have signed in, and monitors to make sure the disclosure URL is implemented. This gives ExactTarget a paper trail in case there is ever an FTC audit.
It all works very seamlessly. For instance, since I’ve talked about ExactTarget here, and they are a client of mine, I will disclose that relationship thusly: http://cmp.ly/4/mj9nr0 There are 8 types of CMP.LY disclosures, governing most possible relationships (although CMP.LY type 0 is no relationship, so why disclose that?). There are versions for free samples, paid posts, co-marketing, etc. There’s even a custom CMP.LY if you’ve concocted some sort of “blog posts for body parts” scheme or something.  CMP.LY badges According to CMP.LY CEO Tom Chernaik, the company has an array of new features just around the corner, including visual disclosure badges to insert into blog posts. The badges (currently being beta tested by several big companies) provide a big edge because they create a valuable report showing how many times the blog post in question was viewed (the badges are javascript powered like the AdAge Power 150 badge below, not a static image). This is of course a big win for agencies and brands, as existing data for trying to determine how many times a single blog post was viewed is massively flawed. Usually, only the blogger has the real numbers and he/she typically won’t share them with the promoting company. “The real need is to document, not just disclose,” says Chernaik – who trained as a lawyer but no longer practices. Brands will also be able to create custom badges for their programs, the way they can create special badges in FourSquare and Gowalla. This is a very nice touch for large-scale outreach efforts. Recognizing that once you go beyond blogs brevity is critical, CMP.LY is also working on a “single link” solution whereby tweets and Facebook updates that merit disclosure can contain just one link (instead of the link in question + the CMP.LY link). This will be accomplished through a frame (similar to how HootSuite’s OW.LY links work). Pricing for CMP.LY is free for bloggers or other social media types that want to disclose (as I did above). For companies, fees range from $200 per campaign, per month to $1000 per campaign, per month. The sliding scale is based on customization of badges, and API access. My friend CC Chapman has been using CMP.LY for a long time, and has an interesting discussion of the system on his Managing the Gray podcast. What do you think of CMP.LY? If you’re a blogger, will you start disclosing via CMP.LY? If you represent a brand, would you pay to use this service? | | CMP.LY Announces "CMP.LY4Finance" - A Disclosure Solution Enabling Unprecedented Social Media Engagement for the Financial Services Industry NEW YORK, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CMP.LY, the first and only provider of commercial disclosure compliance solutions for social media, announces "CMP.LY4Finance." A new solution specifically tailored for the financial services industry that tackles the regulatory compliance and disclosure challenges that have been a barrier to social media for financial services companies. CMP.LY4Finance provides dynamic disclosure codes that are supported by a robust compliance management tool. It specifically addresses financial services disclosure and compliance requirements under SEC and FINRA guidelines and extends CMP.LY's universal Iconic Compliance framework of coded URLs and badges. CMP.LY4Finance uses the newly announced CMP.LY/F disclosure code that at once indicates to consumers a disclosure related to a message as they view it, and provides linked access to complete disclosure details. CMP.LY4Finance is the first solution since the advent of social media that provides financial services professionals the ability to fully and responsibly engage in social media. CMP.LY/F codes debuted today through a partnership with StockTwits, the leading real-time financial idea network and community. StockTwits is using CMP.LY/F codes to give investor relations professionals a simple way to make disclosures in social media communications as part of a new offering also released today. The full CMP.LY/F solution, which addresses key activities and functions including broker/dealer communications, investor relations, employee communications and other needs for "fine print" in social media communications, will be available to CMP.LY customers and partners later this summer. According to Tom Chernaik , CEO of CMP.LY, "We've spoken to a number of financial services professionals who have watched from the sidelines as the power of social media engagement grew exponentially for their less regulated counterparts. Their concern about the inability to use these channels to connect with consumers and their strong desire to give their teams meaningful access to platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn was our impetus for creating this customized solution. CMP.LY4Finance is an extension of the existing CMP.LY framework. It meets the specific needs of this market with integrated auditing and compliance review functions. What we've created is a tool that allows these companies to advance past simple access and actually let employees, brokers, agents, and advisors participate in social media in a meaningful, organic way rather than with a pre-approved, canned type of interaction. Consumers expect dynamic communications on social media platforms, but need simple, consistent methods to identify content that requires disclosure or 'fine print.' It's all about authenticity and responsibility. CMP.LY4Finance provides both." The new code, CMP.LY/F, was unveiled this morning at a gathering of thought leaders spanning legal and marketing functions from renowned financial services institutions. Hosted by the law firm Pryor Cashman LLP and part of Internet Week New York, today's discussion covered how financial services companies can tap into the social media revolution without risking their reputation or bottom line. Robert J. deBrauwere, Partner at Pryor Cashman LLP, provided insight into the rules and regulations governing social media communications while Chernaik briefed the industry on solutions. According to deBrauwere, who specializes in digital and social media compliance at the firm, "Social media has presented real challenges for financial services companies. The significance of the CMP.LY solution is that it is the first solution to address the substance of communications once they leave the company's walled garden, rather than, for example, the mere act of recording and archiving those communications. This has been the missing piece to date. Middleware solutions have been an important first step for regulated industries to gain access to social media, but these tools do not address the challenges inherent in making dynamic disclosures in two-way communication channels. CMP.LY4Finance enables financial services companies to employ disclosure protocols based on risk-based principles that allow employees to take greater advantage of social media platforms including the ability to interact and respond to their customers and prospects through these channels. Until today, this had been viewed as an insurmountable challenge without a simple, elegant solution." CMP.LY's mission is to protect consumers and lessen the regulatory burdens on businesses in order to create a fair, open and transparent marketplace. CMP.LY provides a universally recognizable standard to communicate required disclosures and "fine print" across all platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. The company's solutions, such as CMP.LY/F, use an iconic framework that is quickly becoming the recognized standard for social marketing disclosures. Purpose built to address regulatory compliance requirements, CMP.LY simplifies and manages the unique challenges faced by brands, agencies and now financial service representatives, as they activate and scale social marketing efforts. By using CMP.LY, companies of any size can leverage the power of social marketing channels and address disclosure requirements and scale efforts in an efficient, and cost effective way. SOURCE CMP.LY RELATED LINKS http://www.cmp.ly/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cmp.ly/"="">http://www.cmp.ly/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.cmp.ly/">http://www.cmp.ly/ | | I AM EXPECTING THE NEXT FILINGS FOR THE NEW
COMPANY NAME ANY DAY NOW. THIS IS THE TIME TO
BUY BEFORE THEY START THE NEWS RELEASES OF THE
NEW COMPANIES DIRECTION.
http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/XFMY/filings
SEC Filings | Form Type | Received | Period Ending | Size | Report | | 8-K | Apr 22, 2013 | Apr 17, 2013 | 12.4 KB |  PDF  RTF  HTML  XLS | | 8-K | Apr 22, 2013 | Apr 19, 2013 | 11.3 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 8-K | Apr 11, 2013 | Mar 15, 2013 | 15.4 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 8-K | Apr 5, 2013 | Apr 1, 2013 | 111.9 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 8-K | Apr 1, 2013 | Mar 29, 2013 | 29.7 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 3 | Mar 11, 2013 | Feb 25, 2013 | 5.9 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 3 | Mar 6, 2013 | Feb 25, 2013 | 3.0 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 8-K | Mar 1, 2013 | Feb 25, 2013 | 14.0 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | XFMY - Xformity Techs Inc (OTC)
Date Open High Low Last Change Volume % Change
03/15/13 0.0070 0.0130 0.0061 0.0120 +0.0050 508000 +71.43%
Composite Indicator
Trend Spotter TM Buy
Short Term Indicators
7 Day Average Directional Indicator Buy
10 - 8 Day Moving Average Hilo Channel Buy
20 Day Moving Average vs Price Buy
20 - 50 Day MACD Oscillator Buy
20 Day Bollinger Bands Buy
Short Term Indicators Average: 100% - Buy
20-Day Average Volume - 185895
Medium Term Indicators
40 Day Commodity Channel Index Buy
50 Day Moving Average vs Price Buy
20 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator Buy
50 Day Parabolic Time/Price Buy
Medium Term Indicators Average: 100% - Buy
50-Day Average Volume - 95522
Long Term Indicators
60 Day Commodity Channel Index Buy
100 Day Moving Average vs Price Buy
50 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator Buy
Long Term Indicators Average: 100% - Buy
100-Day Average Volume - 122306
Overall Average: 100% - Buy
Price Support Pivot Point Resistance
0.0120 0.0035 0.0104 0.0173
Read more at http://www.stockta.com/cgi-bin/opinion.pl?symb=XFMY&mode=stock#Dms04Yle6iigVf7H.99
 | |  | The dream team of social media is now in the XFMY shell. We have a new company that includes an Accomplished CEO with two new Directors and below we detail there accomplished each as CFO and Vice President.
This is the time to now get in as this is the cleanest deal I have ever seen reverse merge.
The reasons I say this are the facts that this shell had an existing Computer company in it that now has been moved out to make room for this new company.
they also sold the assets to clear this shell of debt and sold the assets for 1.6 million and paid down the liabilities to make this a brand new company balance sheet.
They next announced the change by way of filings and now even have announced the new directors.
Please take the time to read all the information in this newsletter before you buy this week.
I am confident once you do the reading here now you will see a powerful new company ahead of the news releases and release to the market.
Filings are now below this box.
Please Take the Time to Read the
Email
SEC Filings | Form Type | Received | Period Ending | Size | Report | | 3 | Mar 6, 2013 | Feb 25, 2013 | 3.0 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 8-K | Mar 1, 2013 | Feb 25, 2013 | 14.0 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | 10-Q | Feb 15, 2013 | Dec 31, 2012 | 518.8 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | NT 10-Q | Feb 14, 2013 | Dec 31, 2012 | 10.7 KB | PDF RTF HTML | | PRE 14A | Jan 16, 2013 | Jan 16, 2013 | 695.8 KB | PDF RTF HTML XLS | | | Tom Chernaik. Tom Chernaik is the CEO of CMP.LY. Working with leading brands, agencies and PR firms, Tom has been on the forefront of digital marketing in Web 2.0 ... www.linkedin.com/in/tomchernaik - Cached More results from linkedin.com » -
tom chernaik 1 of 1 profiles View Full Profile; Tom Chernaik Title Co-Founder at Cmp.ly Demographic info Greater New York City Area | Marketing and Advertising www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/tom/chernaik - Cached -
The latest from Tom Chernaik (@CMPLYTom). CEO, CMP.LY - Transparent communications by brands and their advocates to build trust, improve engagement and evaluate ROI ... twitter.com/cmplytom - Cached More results from twitter.com » -
Everything you need to know about Tom Chernaik Email addresses, Phone numbers, Biography, Brands, Financial, 2.0 www.123people.com/f/tom+chernaik -
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CMP.LY’s Tom Chernaik was joined by Apu Gupta of Curalate and Geoffrey Colon of Social@Ogilvy to examine best practices for giveaways, ... cmp.ly - Cached Sprinklr caught up with Tom Chernaik, CEO of cmp.ly, who shared his thoughts on what it takes for large enterprises and brands to do Social@Scale. | | | -
CMP.LY social media disclosure solutions allow companies to mitigate risk, fulfill regulatory obligations and optimize social campaign impact. cmp.ly - Cached -
The latest from CMP.LY (@CMPLY). CMP.LY social disclosure solutions allow companies to mitigate risk, fulfill regulatory obligations and optimize social campaign ... twitter.com/cmply - Cached More results from twitter.com » -
Disclosure: Paid The author of the message that directed you to this page has the following material connection: the author was paid or otherwise directly compensated ... cmp.ly/3 - Cached -
More and more businesses are using social media — from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, to Tumblr and Foursquare, more recently — to manage customer ... techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/cmply-raises-750k-seed-round - Cached More results from techcrunch.com » -
CMPLY, INC. company research & investing information. Find executives and the latest company news. investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/... - Cached -
Join LinkedIn and see how you are connected to CMP.LY. It's free.Get access to insightful information about your network at thousands of companies! www.linkedin.com/company/cmp.ly - Cached More results from linkedin.com » | | | Corporate Profile
OTCBB Markets: XFMY Business Description Overview CMP.LY social media disclosure solutions allow you to mitigate risk, fulfill regulatory obligations and reduce the overhead of social initiatives. Our easy-to-implement social media disclosure platform leaves plenty of room for companies of all sizes — even those in the most highly regulated industries — to run effective and creative programs. In addition, our structured disclosure architecture unlocks the power of campaign impact data. This information offers multi-platform insights into program and participant dynamics not measurable with typical social media monitoring/listening tools to help you quantify social program performance, maximize your programs’ effectiveness and enable consistently repeatable success. Why CMP.LY CMP.LY provides an integrated means to: - Mitigate social media risks
- Optimize marketing
- Reduce social media overhead
- Standardize practices across all platforms
- Develop and maintain consumer trust
CMP.LY’s structured disclosure solutions include: - Our universal system of social media disclosures
- Easy-to-use program management tools
- Automated documentation and monitoring
- Performance measurement and compliance reporting
CMP.LY is designed for: - Social advocate and affiliate programs
- Contests, promotions, sponsorships, endorsements
- Corporate communications, PR, IR
- Employee social engagement
- Industry-specific compliance requirements
Learn more | | | FORM 3 | UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES | | | | | | | 1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * CHERNAIK TOM | 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 2/25/2013 | 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol XFormity Technologies, Inc. [XFMY] | | (Last) (First) (Middle) P O BOX 1590 | 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __ X __ Director _____ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) | | ITEM 5.02 | DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR CERTAIN OFFICERS; ELECTION | | | OF DIRECTOR; APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN OFFICERS; COMPENSATORY ARRANGEMENTS OF CERTAIN OFFICERS | Effective February 25, 2013, the Board of Directors of XFormity Technologies Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, XFormity, Inc. (collectively the “Company”) appointed three (3) new members to serve on the respective Boards of Directors, bringing the total number of members to eight (8). The following information is provided for each of the new members:
Tom Chernaik , age 40, has been CEO of CMPLY, Inc. in New York City since 2010, CMP.LY has developed a leading platform for disclosure, compliance and measurement of specific social media initiatives for brands and their agencies. Prior to Founding CMP.LY, Tom provided consulting for business solutions in digital communications as president of Begodo Holding Corp. in New York. From 2003 to 2008, he was Senior Account Manager and Senior Manager Marketing Solutions with XM Satellite Radio. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1995) from New York University and Juris Doctorate (1998) from Cardozo School of Law. He has served as Adjunct Professor – Digital Marketing with Rutgers University and Adjunct Professor in the Entertainment Industry Continuing Sales Program at Baruch College in New York.
Mark Weston , age 61, is owner of WestonWorks, LLC, a service firm which he established in 2005 that provides general management, marketing, financial and strategic consulting to early stage and small to mid cap companies. His range of experience extends from leading and growing start-up firms and turn-arounds to directing strategy for corporate divisions. Weston has led company growth in products and services across a wide range of industries including the Performing Arts, Internet, Wireless Telecom, Software, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals. He served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President of Ceetox, Inc., from 2003 to 2005, a start up Contract Research Organization which developed and marketed a process and database used to predict drug toxicity in animals. From 2001 to 2002, he was Vice-President of Marketing and Business Development of Visogent Technologies, Inc., a start up software developer of data services management solutions for wireless network operators and enterprises. He attained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1975 and M.B.A through University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1986. Sheldon Drobny , CPA, age 67 is Founder, Chairman and Principal of Paradigm Group II, LLC, an investment firm with over $200 million of investments in over 40 companies (1991 to present). He is also co-founder of AnShell Media, LLC, precursor of Air America Radio Network (2002 to present). Mr. Drobny attained his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Roosevelt University in 1967; and worked at a licensed CPA with the firm Adler Drobny Fisher LLC from 1971 to 2003. He is a NASD Member Series 7, 24, 63 and is licensed in Insurance in the State of Illinois. Additionally, he is admitted to practice before the US Tax Court as a non-attorney since 1993.
| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters. | The following table sets forth information with respect to beneficial ownership of our common stock at September 19, 2012 by each person who beneficially owns more than 5% of the common stock; by each of our executive officers named in the Management section; by each of our Directors; and by all executive officers and Directors as a group. Unless otherwise indicated, we believe all persons in the table have sole voting and investment power for all shares beneficially owned by them. (1) | | | | | Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (2) (3) | Shares | Percent | | Chris Ball (4) | 1,602,465 | 2.33% | | Drew Seale (5) | 1,415,298 | 2.06% | | Michael Shahsavari (6) | 1,938,667 | 2.82% | | Farzin Ferdowsi (7) | 6,052,300 | 8.79% | | Homayoun Aminmadani (8) | 6,047,067 | 8.78% | | Jack Rabin (9) | 1,027,500 | 1.49% | | Ken Johnson | 580,600 | .84% | | Farsheed Ferdowsi | 629,155 | .91% | | Cook County Pension and Benefit Fund | 4,037,724 | 5.87% | | | | | | All officers and directors as a group-seven persons | 7,193,685 | 10.45% |
News Article:
CMP.LY Announces $2.4M Series A Funding Company Addresses Growing Demand for Social Media Disclosure and Consumer Trust New York, NY — May 31, 2012 — CMP.LY, the standard for making disclosures in social and digital media, today announced an initial close of more than $2 million in Series A financing led by Innovation Ventures L.P. headquartered in DE and PA-based Originate Ventures. David J. Freschman, Managing Principal of Innovation Ventures and Eric Arnson, Managing Partner of Originate Ventures, join CMP.LY’s board of directors. Series A participants also include angel investors Jay Baer and Steve Garfield. They join seed investors Safir Capital, Angel Street Capital and others. “As the line between genuine, unpaid endorsement and compensated endorsement continues to blur, CMP.LY invented a new approach to transparency. Anyone — most notably consumers — can now see for themselves if a recommendation or promotion is unbiased,” notes Originate Ventures’ Arnson. Innovation Ventures’ Freschman observes, “The rapidly evolving marketplace requires scalable solutions for standardized disclosures, automated monitoring, performance measurement and compliance documentation. CMP.LY is first to address these needs across social media, the web and mobile.” “Leading brands understand that they must better measure program performance and manage risk as they roll out increasingly larger social initiatives,” states CMP.LY CEO Tom Chernaik. Among the companies that have turned to CMP.LY to address trust, transparency and regulatory compliance are well-known brand Jamba Juice, digital marketing agency 360i, social marketing agency Big Fuel, public relations agency Coyne PR and word-of-mouth and social media marketing agency Zócalo Group. Case Study: UK Regulator Bans Nike Tweets for Lack of Social Media Disclosure Recent events have brought focus to the digital and social media disclosure requirements for promotions and marketing communications. In the past few months, we have seen the FTC hold a daylong workshop on the topic and settle an investigation of Spokeo for $800,000 for violations of both the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and for lack of disclosure by employees. Furthermore, Facebook settled a class action lawsuit for a lack of disclosure around its Sponsored Stories product by pledging to donate $10mm to charity and providing users more information this ad product along with new opt-out options. Most recently, on June 20, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK ruled against Nike and banned a campaign they were running leading up to the Olympics due to Tweets from sponsored athletes about the brand because they lacked the required disclosures. During the Olympics, I seemed that London had gone a bit mad about the games. Leveraging that excitement, many brands focused efforts on social media — in particular leveraging sponsored athletes to help deliver their marketing messages. In early April, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made public statements about concerns with sponsored Olympic athlete Tweets. The discussion had been brewing since as Tweets were identified in the press about cars, razors and other perks shared with athletes. Nike was one of the brands cited by the OFT. Back in January, the brand’s campaign was shared in the personal Twitter accounts of two football (soccer in the US) stars, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere. The ASA received a complaint and investigated the matter. Nike UK responded that both players were well known for being sponsored by the brand and argued that Twitter “followers” would not be misled about the relationship it had with the players. The company further argued that the web address in the tweet was clearly branded as Nike, and that the message carried the company’s known ad tagline — clearly indicating which tweets by the players were personal and which were ads. Although Nike indicated that the players were free, as part of the campaign, to independently reply or re-tweet consumer tweets at their own discretion, the ASA said it was understood from its investigation that the final content of the tweets was “agreed with the help of a member of the Nike marketing team”. Social Media Disclosure Must be Obvious The ASA said the average Twitter user quickly scrolls through many tweets a day and that the marketing code states that ads must be “obviously identifiable”. (Note that this is similar to the FTC’s “clear and conspicuous”.) The ASA stated: We considered that the Nike reference was not prominent and could be missed. We considered there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate they were Nike marketing communications. It concluded Nike breached the advertising CAP code. As a result, the campaign has been banned and all of the related posts will have to be removed. - Mandate a policy that is in compliance with the law
- Make sure that those who work for them or on their behalf know what the rules are; and
- Monitor for compliance with their policies
In the UK, both the OFT and the ASA have weighed in, stating that disclosures must be included in such messages and clarifying that even celebrities — traditionally a gray area in the US — must disclose their connections to a brand when they are paid or incentivized. What’s next for social media disclosure? What have we learned in the past few weeks of activity? We’ve learned that regulators are serious about ensuring that advertising is not deceptive and that sponsorship or other relationships between brands and their advocates are clearly disclosed. The good news is that the FTC is expected to issue additional guidance for Dot-Com Disclosures later this year. That document was last updated in 2000, when Mark Zuckerberg was a sophomore in high school and before Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest were even an idea. In advance of the FTC guidance, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) issued an updated draft of their Social Media Disclosure Guidelines this week. (Disclosure: CMP.LY CEO Tom Chernaik is Co-Chair of the Members Ethics Advisory Panel of WOMMA.) The previous version is referenced throughout the FTC’s 2009 update and in the social media policies of countless organizations. It is our hope that, with this renewed attention from regulators and additional guidance and clarification, marketers will focus on getting attention in all the right ways. We look forward to brands and agencies better understanding that the benefits of transparent disclosures to their client relationships far outweigh the consequences of the alternatives. More White Papers from CMP.LY NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
TO BE HELD ON _____________, 2013 TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF XFORMITY TECHNOLOGIES, INC. You are cordially invited to attend a special meeting of shareholders of XFormity Technologies, Inc. to be held on _______________, 2013 at __:00 a.m. local time, at _____________________________________. At the special meeting, you will be asked to vote on the following: 1. To approve the sale of substantially all of the assets of our wholly-owned subsidiary, XFormity, Inc., to Altametrics XFormity, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company in exchange for $1,300,000 in cash as set forth in the Asset Purchase Agreement between the parties dated effective as of August 1, 2012; 2. Subject to the approval of the Asset Sale, to authorize the Board of Directors to change the name of the Company to a name approved by the Board at such time in the future as the Board may determine, in its sole discretion. 3. To approve a reverse stock split by a ratio determined by our board of directors of up to 1-for-20 of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and issued and outstanding options, warrants and other rights convertible into shares of our common stock, all at the discretion of our board of directors to be implemented in the future as and when determined by our board of directors; 4. To transact any other business as may properly come before the special meeting, including any adjournment or postponement of this meeting. Only shareholders of record at the close of business on _______________, 2013 are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the special meeting and at any adjournment and postponement. Your vote as a shareholder of XFormity Technologies, Inc. is important. You may vote your shares: ‘ by completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card as promptly as possible using the postage prepaid envelope provided; or ‘ by dialing 1-800-____________] and voting in accordance with the instructions given to you on the telephone; or ‘ via the Internet in accordance with the instructions given to you at www.eproxy.com; or ‘ in person at the special meeting even if you voted your shares before the meeting. | | | | Dated:____________________, 2012 | By Order of the Board of Directors | | | | | | ________________________________________ | | | ______________, Secretary | | | XFormity Technologies, Inc. (XFMY) | Prev Close: | 0.00 | | Open: | N/A | | Bid: | N/A | | Ask: | N/A | | 1y Target Est: | N/A | | Beta: | 1.14 | | Next Earnings Date: | N/A | | Day's Range: | N/A - N/A | | 52wk Range: | 0.01 - 0.10 | | Volume: | 0 | | Avg Vol (3m): | 9,311 | | Market Cap: | 0.00 | | P/E (ttm): | 0.37 | | EPS (ttm): | 0.01 | | Div & Yield: | N/A (N/A) | | | |  | | Social Media Compliance | |  | | Case Study: UK Regulator Bans Nike Tweets for Lack of Social Media Disclosure Recent events have brought focus to the digital and social media disclosure requirements for promotions and marketing communications. In the past few months, we have seen the FTC hold a daylong workshop on the topic and settle an investigation of Spokeo for $800,000 for violations of both the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and for lack of disclosure by employees. Furthermore, Facebook settled a class action lawsuit for a lack of disclosure around its Sponsored Stories product by pledging to donate $10mm to charity and providing users more information this ad product along with new opt-out options. Most recently, on June 20, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK ruled against Nike and banned a campaign they were running leading up to the Olympics due to Tweets from sponsored athletes about the brand because they lacked the required disclosures. During the Olympics, I seemed that London had gone a bit mad about the games. Leveraging that excitement, many brands focused efforts on social media — in particular leveraging sponsored athletes to help deliver their marketing messages. In early April, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made public statements about concerns with sponsored Olympic athlete Tweets. The discussion had been brewing since as Tweets were identified in the press about cars, razors and other perks shared with athletes. Nike was one of the brands cited by the OFT. Back in January, the brand’s campaign was shared in the personal Twitter accounts of two football (soccer in the US) stars, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere. The ASA received a complaint and investigated the matter. Nike UK responded that both players were well known for being sponsored by the brand and argued that Twitter “followers” would not be misled about the relationship it had with the players. The company further argued that the web address in the tweet was clearly branded as Nike, and that the message carried the company’s known ad tagline — clearly indicating which tweets by the players were personal and which were ads. Although Nike indicated that the players were free, as part of the campaign, to independently reply or re-tweet consumer tweets at their own discretion, the ASA said it was understood from its investigation that the final content of the tweets was “agreed with the help of a member of the Nike marketing team”. Social Media Disclosure Must be Obvious The ASA said the average Twitter user quickly scrolls through many tweets a day and that the marketing code states that ads must be “obviously identifiable”. (Note that this is similar to the FTC’s “clear and conspicuous”.) The ASA stated: We considered that the Nike reference was not prominent and could be missed. We considered there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate they were Nike marketing communications. It concluded Nike breached the advertising CAP code. As a result, the campaign has been banned and all of the related posts will have to be removed. - Mandate a policy that is in compliance with the law
- Make sure that those who work for them or on their behalf know what the rules are; and
- Monitor for compliance with their policies
In the UK, both the OFT and the ASA have weighed in, stating that disclosures must be included in such messages and clarifying that even celebrities — traditionally a gray area in the US — must disclose their connections to a brand when they are paid or incentivized. What’s next for social media disclosure? What have we learned in the past few weeks of activity? We’ve learned that regulators are serious about ensuring that advertising is not deceptive and that sponsorship or other relationships between brands and their advocates are clearly disclosed. The good news is that the FTC is expected to issue additional guidance for Dot-Com Disclosures later this year. That document was last updated in 2000, when Mark Zuckerberg was a sophomore in high school and before Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest were even an idea. In advance of the FTC guidance, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) issued an updated draft of their Social Media Disclosure Guidelines this week. (Disclosure: CMP.LY CEO Tom Chernaik is Co-Chair of the Members Ethics Advisory Panel of WOMMA.) The previous version is referenced throughout the FTC’s 2009 update and in the social media policies of countless organizations. It is our hope that, with this renewed attention from regulators and additional guidance and clarification, marketers will focus on getting attention in all the right ways. We look forward to brands and agencies better understanding that the benefits of transparent disclosures to their client relationships far outweigh the consequences of the alternatives. More White Papers from CMP.LY | | | Iconic Disclosure Framework Clear and conspicuous disclosures can help you mitigate social risks, build consumer trust and improve the performance of your marketing programs. However, the limitations of social communication platforms, including character restrictions and small screen sizes, make delivering visible and meaningful disclosures challenging — if they can be included in messages at all. Enter CMP.LY. Our structured and scalable disclosure solutions allow you to overcome these hurdles. Whether you’re a brand conducting contests on Pinterest; a financial institution providing legal disclosures; or an agency managing multiplatform advocate programs for a score of clients, we help you achieve the objectives of both your marketing teams and legal stakeholders. CMP.LY Iconic Disclosure Framework Providing standardized elements recognizable at a glance, CMP.LY makes it easy for you to communicate many types of “fine print” disclosures. Readers of social messages, blogs and websites quickly recognize the presentation of a disclosure and can choose to access additional details without interrupting their social engagement. The framework has three disclosure methods — URLs, badges and banners. Each program can use multiple methods to address cross-platform campaigns. In addition, all clicks between framework elements are tracked as part of the CMP.LY solution’s monitoring and documentation capabilities. Disclosure Pages These web pages are complete disclosure statements, easily created on and hosted by the CMP.LY platform. The Disclosure Pages present default language based on the disclosure type selected for the program, with customizable fields for your branding and ample room for program-specific content. Disclosure Methods  Disclosure URLs Unlike generic short URLs and mystery hashtags, our Disclosure URLs are easily understood, provide context and retain their integrity when shared across social channels. Designed for Twitter, SMS and other channels with very limited character counts, the Disclosure URLs use 15 or fewer precious characters. They can link to a page of content you designate, which is framed with a Disclosure Banner previewing your disclosure. Alternatively, you can choose to have the link go directly to your dedicated Disclosure Page. Taking quick recognition to its highest level, CMP.LY offers the plain language URLs rul.es, leg.al and ter.ms. These readable text links function in the same manner as standard CMP.LY URLs, using at least two fewer characters.  Disclosure Badges The emerging standard for graphic disclosure on digital and social media, these instantly recognized badges offer thumbnail disclosure and link to a Disclosure Web Page or a content page framed with a Disclosure Banner. Disclosure Banners Banners frame a graphic and text disclosure summary on web and blog content pages. They’re created on the CMP.LY platform at the same time as the Disclosure URLs and/or Disclosure Badges that point to them. | | | | | | |
