Plaxo's Personal Card: Is AOL buying Plaxo?

A member asked me today, "Is AOL buying Plaxo?"

He had read the press release about how Plaxo and America Online have formed an agreement to help AOL members and AIM users to better manage contact information. He had also read AOL's Release of the Preview Edition of New AIM Triton Software that features a Plaxo-enabled AIM Address Book.

My answer to him was, No - these announcements do not mean AOL is purchasing Plaxo. They simply mean that Plaxo is powering and enabling the AIM Address book with the AIM Triton release, which in itself is very exciting news. More information on the Plaxo/AOL agreement is available on our web site.

Certainly I can't speak to the future, but the question also reminded me of what would happen if a business transition did occur for Plaxo. What would happen to a Plaxo member's information? Fortunately, we detail this in our Plaxo Privacy Policy, under the "Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition" section:

In the event Plaxo goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition or the sale of all or substantially all of its assets (a ?Business Transition?), your membership in the Plaxo Network? and the Plaxo servers containing Your Information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. In such event, you will be notified via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods prior to the Business Transition, and Plaxo?s custody of Your Information will be transferred subject to all the terms and restrictions in this Privacy Policy.

Following a Business Transition, Plaxo or its successors will continue to use Your Information in accordance with the Privacy Policy under which the information was collected. If, however, we plan to use Your Information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use Your Information in this different manner. Whether or not you wish to have Your Information used in this different manner, you will retain ownership rights to Your Information and the ability to delete Your Information at any time. Please note, if you have deleted or deactivated your account with the Services or are an opt-out User, then you will not be contacted, nor will Your Information be used in this different manner.

I've found most services do not outline what happens should a business transition occurs, but I wish more would do so. We've found that it adds to the transparency of our company, as well as our privacy practices. It allows people considering our service to better understand how their information is used and stays protected. And that I feel only helps them to make a better and more informed decision.

'till next time.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

Posted by Stacy Martin at September 21, 2005 @ 10:09 AM | permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:

http://blogadmin.plaxo.com/mt-tb.cgi/9

A member asked me today, "Is AOL buying Plaxo?" He had read the press release about how Plaxo and America Online have formed an agreement to help AOL members and AIM users to better manage contact information. He had also read AOL's Release of the Preview Edition of New AIM Triton Software that features a Plaxo-enabled AIM Address Book. My answer to him was, No - these announcements do not mean AOL is purchasing Plaxo. They simply mean that Plaxo is powering and enabling the AIM Address book with the AIM Triton release, which in itself is very exciting news. More information on the Plaxo/AOL agreement is available on our web site. Certainly I can't speak to the future, but the question also reminded me of what would happen if a business transition did occur for Plaxo. What would happen to a Plaxo member's information? Fortunately, we detail this in our Plaxo Privacy Policy, under the "Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition" section:

In the event Plaxo goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition or the sale of all or substantially all of its assets (a ?Business Transition?), your membership in the Plaxo Network? and the Plaxo servers containing Your Information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. In such event, you will be notified via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods prior to the Business Transition, and Plaxo?s custody of Your Information will be transferred subject to all the terms and restrictions in this Privacy Policy.

Following a Business Transition, Plaxo or its successors will continue to use Your Information in accordance with the Privacy Policy under which the information was collected. If, however, we plan to use Your Information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use Your Information in this different manner. Whether or not you wish to have Your Information used in this different manner, you will retain ownership rights to Your Information and the ability to delete Your Information at any time. Please note, if you have deleted or deactivated your account with the Services or are an opt-out User, then you will not be contacted, nor will Your Information be used in this different manner.