#governing docs

Customized Your Resale Documents through ReadyRESALE

By: Casey McCallister It's no secret now that Facebook is once again proposing to update their Governing Docs causing photographers left and right to share in their outrage, and for some to finally throw in the towel with their Facebook accounts. But, is it really something that we should be concerned overly about?

As a photographer that markets nearly entirely on Facebook, I have zero concerns for a variety of reasons. First, Facebook is likely to use a photo you took as tiny thumbnail in the sidebar. To me, this is nothing to concern myself with. We are talking pennies on the dollar. Do users really believe that Facebook would blatantly steal a photographer's work straight from their page for use a large image ad? Perhaps I have too much faith in the service, but considering the horrible PR from the inevitable backlash, it seems unlikely and it's not like Facebook doesn't have the money to pay for image rights to a photo. Thirdly, as Jim Goldstein points out in his post, Facebook users fail to remember that they have already "sold their soul" to Facebook upon signing up for the service. Per the original Facebook Terms of Service that has remained unchanged, you've already given permission for any photo posted to be used with connection to Facebook. Even if you delete your account, this includes any shares that might have been posted to other personal pages.

Don't get me wrong, I care where my photos end up online, but Facebook is about collecting data and displaying ads. They're not making the leap into a stock photo website any time soon. I always consider the mantra when posting my photos that "if you don't want your images stolen, they don't belong on the Internet in any way shape or form." To me, the benefits of sharing my photos vastly outweigh keeping them hidden for few to see.