Terms of Use

ATTENTION: BY USING THIS WEBSITE (“SITE”), YOU AGREE AND AFFIRM THAT YOU HAVE READ AND ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE THIS SITE. THESE TERMS OF USE GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE SITE, ANY CONTENT (SUCH AS TEXT, DATA, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, GRAPHICS, OR PHOTOGRAPHS) THAT SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY, LLC (“SMT”) MAY MAKE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE (COLLECTIVELY, “MATERIALS”) AND ANY SERVICES THAT SMT MAY PROVIDE THROUGH THE SITE (COLLECTIVELY, “SERVICES”). THE SITE, MATERIALS, AND SERVICES ARE REFERRED TO IN THESE TERMS OF USE COLLECTIVELY AS THE “SMT WEBSITES.”

Your use of the SMT Websites forms a legal agreement between you and SMT and is subject to the terms of that agreement as stated in these Terms of Use. You acknowledge and agree that SMT may stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the SMT Websites to you or to users generally, at SMT’s sole discretion, without prior notice to you. You may stop using the the SMT Websites at any time. You do not need to specifically inform SMT when you stop using the SMT Websites. In order to access certain Materials or Services, you may be required to provide information about yourself (such as identification or contact details) as part of the registration process for the Service, or as part of your continued use of the Services. You agree that any registration information you give to SMT will always be accurate, correct and up to date.

Content of, and/or opinions expressed on, the SMT Websites and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of SMT. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by SMT or any other party. You understand that all information (such as data files, written text, computer software, music, audio files or other sounds, photographs, videos or other images) which you may have access to as part of, or through your use of, the SMT Websites are the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated. You understand and acknowledge that the SMT Websites may be protected by intellectual property rights which are owned by SMT or by other entities. You may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the SMT Websites, either in whole or in part, unless you have been specifically told that you may do so by SMT or by the owners of rights to content of the SMT Websites, in a separate agreement.

Use of SMT Websites

SMT authorizes you to use the SMT Websites only for your own personal, non-commercial purposes. Use of the SMT Websites for any public or commercial purpose (including, without limitation, on another site or through a networked computer environment) without an express written agreement with SMT is strictly prohibited. If you make copies of any of the Materials, you must retain on any such copies all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Materials. You may not modify, publicly display, publicly perform, or distribute the Materials. As between you and SMT, SMT owns the SMT Websites. The SMT Websites are protected under United States and international copyright laws. Any unauthorized use of the SMT Websites may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

You agree to use the SMT Websites only for purposes that are permitted by (a) the Terms of Use and (b) any applicable law, regulation or generally accepted practices or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions. You agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the SMT Websites by any means other than through the interface that is provided by SMT, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with SMT. You specifically agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the SMT Websites through any automated means (including use of scripts or web crawlers). You agree that you will not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the Services (or the servers and networks which are connected to the Services). Unless you have been specifically permitted to do so in a separate agreement with SMT, you agree that you will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade or resell the Materials or Services for any purpose. You agree that you are solely responsible for (and that SMT has no responsibility to you or to any third party for) any breach of your obligations under the Terms of Use and for the consequences (including any loss or damage which SMT may suffer) of any such breach.

SMT reserves the right (but shall have no obligation) to pre-screen, review, flag, filter, modify, refuse or remove any or all content from the SMT Websites.

Access

You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all equipment and services needed for access to and use of the SMT Websites. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your SMT Websites password and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your password. You agree to notify SMT immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or any other breach of security related to the SMT Websites. SMT reserves the right to require you to change your password if SMT believes that your password no longer is secure.

Prohibited uses

You agree not to use the SMT Websites (a) in a manner that violates any local, state, national, foreign, or international statute, regulation, rule, order, treaty, or other law; (b) to stalk, harass, or harm another individual; (c) to impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; or (d) to interfere with or disrupt the SMT Websites or servers or networks connected to the SMT Websites. You further agree not to (1) use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods in connection with the SMT Websites; or (2) attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the SMT Websites or any other accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to the SMT Websites, whether through hacking, password mining, or any other means.

Termination

SMT may terminate, suspend, or modify your registration with, or access to, all or part of the SMT Websites, without notice, at any time and for any reason. You may discontinue your participation in and access to the SMT Websites at any time. If you breach any of these Terms of Use, your authorization to use the SMT Websites automatically terminates and you agree to immediately destroy any downloaded or printed content obtained from the SMT Websites (and any copies thereof).

Disclaimers

THE SMT WEBSITES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS” AND THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SMT WEBSITES IS WITH YOU, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRESENCE OF ADWARE, VIRUSES, SPYWARE, AND/OR WORMS, ETC. SHOULD THE MATERIALS OR SERVICES PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU, AND NOT SMT, ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING AND REPAIR. SMT EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, WITH RESPECT TO THE SMT WEBSITES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS). WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, SMT MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SMT WEBSITES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE SMT WEBSITES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SMT WEBSITES WILL BE CORRECTED. SMT MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SMT WEBSITES OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SMT WEBSITES. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SMT WEBSITES OR FROM SMT, ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, OR OTHER AFFILIATED COMPANIES, OR ITS OR THEIR SUPPLIERS (OR THE RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS OF ANY SUCH ENTITIES) (COLLECTIVELY, “THE SMT PARTIES”) SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. SMT DISCLAIMS ALL EQUITABLE INDEMNITIES.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL ANY OF THE SMT PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES OR (B) ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER IN EXCESS OF ONE HUNDRED UNITED STATES (US$100.00) DOLLARS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM LOSS OF REVENUES, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES), ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SMT WEBSITES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF THE SMT WEBSITES), WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND EVEN IF ANY SMT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED (OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN) OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Exclusions and limitations

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for certain damages. Accordingly, some of the above disclaimers and limitations of liability may not apply to you. To the extent that any SMT Party may not, as a matter of applicable law, disclaim any implied warranty or limit its liabilities, the scope and duration of such warranty and the extent of the SMT Party’s liability shall be the minimum permitted under such applicable law.

Modifications to SMT Websites

SMT reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the SMT Websites at any time without notice to you.

User submissions

Certain areas of the SMT Websites may permit you to submit feedback, information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, or other materials (each, a “User Submission”). By submitting a User Submission; whether blog posts contributed via RSS, blog posts written directly on the site, or comments, the contributor agrees to give SMT a perpetual, non-exclusive license to the content that SMT publishes; you grant to SMT an irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide, license (sublicensable through multiple tiers) to (a) use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, and publicly display your User Submissions (or any modification thereto), in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed and (b) use (and permit others to use) your User Submission in any manner and for any purpose (including, without limitation, commercial purposes) that SMT deems appropriate in its sole discretion (including, without limitation, to incorporate your User Submission or any modification thereto, in whole or in part, into any technology, product, or service). SMT reserves the right to display advertisements in connection with User Submissions and to use User Submissions for advertising and promotional purposes. SMT may, but is not obligated to, pre-screen User Submissions or monitor any area of the SMT Websites through which User Submissions may be submitted. You agree that you are solely responsible for all of your User Submissions. SMT is not required to host, display, or distribute any User Submissions on or through the SMT Websites and may remove at any time or refuse any User Submissions for any reason. SMT is not responsible for any loss, theft, or damage of any kind to any User Submissions. SMT does not want to receive any User Submission that is confidential. You understand and agree that any User Submission will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary and that SMT will be free to disclose your User Submission to any third party absent any obligation of confidence on the part of the recipient. SMT does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through SMT or any third party to edit or delete any User Submission you have submitted. By posting you agree to be solely responsible for the content of all information you contribute, link to, or otherwise upload to the website and release Social Media Today LLC from any liability related to your use of the Website.

By submitting any User Submission, you represent and warrant that:

you are at least 18 years old;
you own all rights in your User Submissions (including, without limitation, all rights to the audio, video, or digital recording and the performance contained in your User Submissions) or, alternatively, you have acquired all necessary rights in your User Submissions to enable you to grant to SMT the rights in your User Submissions described herein;
you have paid and will pay in full all license fees, clearance fees, and other financial obligations, of any kind, arising from any use or commercial exploitation of your User Submissions;
you are the individual pictured and/or heard in your User Submissions or, alternatively, you have obtained permission from each person (including consent from parents or guardians for any individual under the age of eighteen (18)) who appears and/or is heard in your User Submissions to grant the rights to SMT described herein;
your User Submissions do not infringe the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other legal or moral rights of any third party;
you voluntarily agree to waive all “moral rights” that you may have in your User Submission;
any information contained in your User Submission is not known by you to be false, inaccurate, or misleading;
your User Submission does not violate any law (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination, or false advertising);
your User Submission is not, and may not reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially, ethnically, religiously, or otherwise biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening, or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership, or corporation, vulgar, pornographic, obscene, or invasive of another’s privacy;
you were not and will not be compensated or granted any consideration by any third party for submitting your User Submission;
your User Submission does not incorporate materials from a third party web site, or addresses, email addresses, contact information, or phone numbers (other than your own);
your User Submission does not contain any viruses, worms, spyware, adware, or other potentially damaging programs or files;
your User Submission does not contain any information that you consider confidential, proprietary, or personal;
your User Submission does not contain or constitute any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation;
you are solely responsible for the content of all information you contribute, link to, or otherwise upload to SMT Websites; and
you release and indemnify SMT and sponsors of SMT Websites from any claims and/or liability related to your use of those Websites.

Content Contributors

SMT publishes user contributed content in the form of blog posts and comments. By providing blog posts either via RSS feed or directly on the site, comments or other content to the site, contributors agree to the following:

1. Contributors may cease contributing new content at any time by emailing the site editorial team

2. SMT reserves the right to not publish contributed content at SMT’s discretion.

3. SMT will attribute content to the author.

4. SMT reserves the right to syndicate all contributed content in summary form via RSS to third parties.

5. All contributed content may contain the author’s byline, a very brief biography of the author, and, in the case of material provided to us via RSS from the author’s own blog, a link back to the original post in the footer of the full post.

6. Contributing authors are solely responsible for the originality and accuracy of their submissions.

7. SMT has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. SMT recognizes that blogging is a heavily referential medium and that bloggers frequently cite and quote from each other’s work. Such citations might be protected under the legal doctrine of fair use. However, SMT will remove any post that crosses the line from fair use to plagiarism, at SMT’s sole discretion. Authors who knowingly submit plagiarized work may be banned from SMT communities.

8. SMT reserves the right to remove any sharing links or advertising accompanying contributed posts.

9. SMT reserves the right to set fonts and styles, adjust image alignments, and otherwise alter post layout to insure that posts comply with SMT’s global site styling.

10. From time to time, SMT may need to display summary versions of contributed content. In such cases, SMT may edit posts in summary form. Such summaries will contain a link to the full and unaltered post. In such circumstances, SMT will strive to preserve the original meaning and intent of the content.

11. SMT reserves the right to edit post headlines for clarity or search engine optimization (keyword inclusion).

12. SMT reserves the right to make corrections for spelling and grammar.

13. SMT reserves the right to reproduce blogger bios and accompanying pictures in SMT’s marketing and promotional materials.

Visitors

SMT’s communities are intended to enable lively but civil interaction. Use of language that is abusive, off-topic, uses excessive foul language, or includes ad hominem attacks will not be tolerated. SMT reserves the right to determine what constitutes inappropriate behavior and to bar offenders at its sole discretion. Unless expressly permitted, you may not publish or reproduce the content that appears on any part of this site. SMT reserves the right to block or remove postings or communications at any time at SMT’s sole discretion.

Links to third-party websites

Some links on SMT Websites may link to third-party sites. Such links are provided solely as a convenience to you. If you use these links, you will leave the SMT Websites. SMT is not obligated to review such third-party websites, does not control such third-party websites, and is not responsible for any such third-party websites or their content (or the products, services, or content available through the same). Thus, SMT does not endorse or make any representations about such third-party websites, any information, software, products, services, or materials found there or any results that may be obtained from using them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to from the SMT Network, you do so entirely at your own risk.

Linking to this Site

You may create links to this Site from other websites, but only in accordance with the following terms and in compliance with all applicable laws.

Absent SMT’s written authorization otherwise, a website that links to this Site:

may link to, but shall not replicate, any content of the SMT Websites (including any SMT logo);
shall not create a browser or border environment around any content of the SMT Websites;
shall not imply that SMT endorses such website or any products, services, or content available through such website;
shall not misrepresent its relationship with SMT;
shall not present false or misleading information about SMT, its products, or its services;
shall not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive, or controversial; and
shall contain only content that is appropriate for all age groups.

Trademarks

SMT and any other product or service name or slogan or logo contained in the SMT Websites are trademarks of SMT or its suppliers or licensors and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of SMT or the applicable trademark holder. Ownership of all such trademarks and the goodwill associated therewith remains with SMT or the applicable trademark holder. You may not use any metatags or any other “hidden text” utilizing any name, trademark, or product or service name of SMT without SMT’s prior written permission. In addition, the look and feel of the Site (including all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts) is the service mark, trademark, and/or trade dress of SMT and may not be copied, imitated, or used (in whole or in part) without SMT’s prior written permission. Reference to any products, services, processes, or other information, by trade name, trademark, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation thereof by SMT.

Procedure for making claims of infringement

SMT respects the intellectual property rights of others. Accordingly, SMT has a policy of removing User Submissions that violate copyright law, suspending access to the SMT Websites (or any portion thereof) to any user who uses the SMT Websites in violation of copyright law and/or terminating in appropriate circumstances the account of any user who uses the SMT Websites in violation of copyright law. Pursuant to Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 512, SMT has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed copyright infringement and for processing such claims in accordance with such law. If you believe your copyright or other intellectual property right is being infringed by a user of the SMT Websites, please provide written notice to the following SMT agent for notice of claims of infringement:

Social Media Today, LLC
Email: socialmediatoday@socialmediatoday.com

Your written notice must: (a) contain your physical or electronic signature; (b) identify the copyrighted work or other intellectual property alleged to have been infringed; (c) identify the allegedly infringing material in a sufficiently precise manner to allow SMT to locate that material; (d) contain adequate information by which SMT can contact you (including postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address); (e) contain a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material or other intellectual property is not authorized by the owner, the owner’s agent or the law; (f) contain a statement that the information in the written notice is accurate; and (g) contain a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright or other intellectual property right owner.

International and export issues

SMT makes no representation that the SMT Websites is appropriate or available for use outside the United States and access to the SMT Websites from territories where its contents are illegal or restricted is prohibited. If you choose to access the SMT Websites from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable Laws.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the SMT Parties from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that such parties may incur as a result of or arising from your (or anyone using your account’s) violation of these Terms of Use. SMT reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you and, in such case, you agree to cooperate with SMT’s defense of such claim.

Electronic communications

When you visit the Site or send e-mails to SMT, you are communicating with SMT electronically. SMT may respond to you by e-mail or by posting notices on the Site. You agree that all such notices, disclosures, and other communications that SMT provides to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

General

These Terms of Use constitute the entire and exclusive and final statement of the agreement between you and SMT with respect to the subject matter hereof, superseding any prior agreements or negotiations between you and SMT with respect to such subject matter. The law of the State of Virginia shall be used to govern, construe and enforce all rights and duties of the parties arising from or in any way relating to the subject matter of these Terms of Use including, without limitation, the performance, construction interpretation and enforcement thereof. All lawsuits arising from or relating to these Terms of Use shall be brought in the Federal or State courts located in Albemarle County, Virginia, and you hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of such courts for such purpose. The failure of SMT to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions of SMT and you as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of these Terms of Use remain in full force and effect. The section titles in these Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. These Terms of Use shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any termination of your use of the SMT Websites. These Terms of Use will be interpreted without application of any strict construction in favor of or against you or SMT. These Terms of Use, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by SMT without restriction.

Modifications to these Terms of Use

SMT may, in its sole and absolute discretion, change these Terms of Use from time to time. SMT will post notice of such changes on the applicable Site. If you object to any such changes, your sole recourse shall be to cease using the SMT Websites. Continued use of the SMT Websites following notice of any such changes shall indicate your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes. Certain provisions of these Terms of Use may be superseded by expressly-designated legal notices or terms located on particular pages of the SMT Websites and, in such circumstances, the expressly-designated legal notice or term shall be deemed to be incorporated into these Terms of Use and to supersede the provision(s) of these Terms of Use that are designated as being superseded.