Your relationship with Instagram needn't be exclusive

 

Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013.

Inman News®

The honeymoon is over image via Shutterstock.

I followed with interest the confusing changes to Instagram's terms of service that, for a while at least, seemed to indicate that parent company Facebook was claiming the right to license all public Instagram photos for commercial uses, including advertising.

The resulting outcry led Instagram to issue an apology and announce that it was going back to the original terms of use that they have had since they started up in 2010.

Over the years there have been rumors about Google+ owning my content, and Facebook owning it, and then Pinterest came along and staked a claim to it as well. 

I will admit that on those rare occasions when I do read terms of service, I rarely understand them completely. They are usually huge and complicated, but I am told that I have to agree to them before I get to use something that I want to use.

Fiscal cliff compromise must begin with president

Commentary: Is Obama out to break the Republicans?

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012.

Inman News®

President Obama on the campaign trail before the November elections. Photo credit: barackobama.com.

In reverence of Peter Drucker -- who once observed that "nobody predicts the future -- the idea is a firm grasp of the present" -- no predictions here for the New Year.
I'll just prioritize the puzzles ahead, and point out some things to watch for.
Nothing in 2013, no issue at all, compares to the need for fiscal repair. The Fed can buy our new debt for another year, but now we must make progress. And the fiscal cliff is only the first turn in a larger maze.
None of us can know another's mind, and even firsthand reporters can misunderstand intentions. Political matters today are touchy almost beyond discussion. However, the mind of the president is central to the fiscal issue.