Ethos Business Law » Government

World Economic Forum Features Ethos Business Law Research

David Baer — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:23:59 +0000

Proprietary social media research conducted by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law is being featured this week at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting taking place through January 31 in Davos, Switzerland. The 2010 event entitled “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign and Rebuild” has drawn an invitation-only participant list of 2,500 chief executives from global leading companies, government representatives from the world’s top 25 economies and fast-growing countries, and presidents of the world’s major universities.

Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law conducted a groundbreaking study with C-suite executives regarding corporate use of social media, as well as on the need for internal policies and training. The firms were contacted last month for permission to share key findings at the global event in a session entitled “The Growing Influence of Social Networks,” which featured the CEOs of LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning and Twitter, among others.

“Corporations need to recognize that the social Web has the potential to become a new mode of production and the new “operating system” of a business,” the Forum reported. “But companies face a crisis of leadership. Too many companies are reticent about incorporating social media into either the organization’s internal process or its customer strategy, viewing social networks instead as a threat to employee productivity, or a source of transparency for which some organizations feel unready.”

Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law have participated in numerous speaking engagements since the original research was released a few months ago. A free copy of the research white paper is available at here.

New Lead Paint Restrictions

David Baer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:48:05 +0000

Starting in April of 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency will require contractors working on homes built before 1978, and all schools and buildings where kids spend time, to be certified in and use lead-safe practices. The primary concern with construction or remodeling in buildings with lead-based paint is lead dust. Therefore, the EPA will require contractors to wear protective clothing, work in wet and clean areas and take other safety precautions. You can find more information here at the EPA website.

Regulating Social Media — Slippery Slope?

David Baer — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:57:42 +0000

Recently, the New York Times posted a story on the new FTC regulations that as of December 1, 2009, require bloggers who review products to disclose any connection with advertisers, including receipt of free products or payment in any way. In advancing this rule, the FTC stated that this practice frequently occurs and can be deceiving to the public.

According to the New York Times, “the move suggests that the government is intent on bringing to bear on the Internet the same sorts of regulations that have governed other forms of media, like television or print.” The FTC argues that they were “looking and seeing the significance of social media marketing in the 21st century and thought it was time to explain the principles of transparency and truth in advertising and apply them to social media marketing. Which isn’t to say that we saw a huge problem out there that was imperative to address.”

The question this raises in my mind is where this leads. Does this begin an onslaught of regulation into the use of social media. Does this invite further regulation as to what a person can include on his or her Facebook page. How do you properly disclose potential issues in a 140 character Tweet? While this regulation in isolation may not be extremely significant or onerous, it definitely signals a future of regulation in the social media world.

Let me know what you think.

Hedge Fund Transparency Act

David Baer — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:44:36 +0000

A bill has been introduced in the Senate known as the Hedge Fund Transparency Act. While directed at hedge funds, it is drafted very broadly and if passed in its proposed form would require private equity funds, venture capital funds and other private investment vehicles with more than $50 million under management to register with the SEC.

More information can be found at bloomberg.com.