PRIVACY POLICY

Date of Last Revision: December 5, 2009.

SoBizNetwork.com was built to help make it easier for you to connect and share information with your friends and personal networks. It also helps to keep you informed about local businesses and promotional events that pertain to your personal interests. You are given the control over your information and the type of communication that you prefer to receive. Our default privacy settings limit the information displayed in your profile to your networks and other reasonable community limitations that we disclose to you. The privacy policy detailed below is designed to help you understand how we collect and use the personal information you decide to share and help you make informed decisions when using this website. By using this website you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of a notice on our home page. By continuing to use the service after notice of changes have been sent to you or published on the website, you are consenting to the changes.

1. Personal information collected: The purpose of SoBizNetwork.com is to permit Users to voluntarily provide information about themselves for the purposes of developing, maintaining and enhancing a network of personal friends and professional contacts. You willingly provide us certain personal information, which we collect in order to allow you to benefit from the website. If you have any hesitation about providing such information to us and/or having such information displayed on SoBizNetwork.com or otherwise used in any manner permitted in this Privacy Policy and the other posted Agreements, you should not become a member of the community.
   • 1.1. We collect your personal information in the following ways:
     • 1.1.1. Registration: In order to become a User, you must first create an account on our website. To create an account you are required to provide the following contact information, which you recognize and expressly acknowledge is personal information allowing others, including the SoBiz Network, LLC, to identify you: name, email address, country, ZIP/postal code, a brief summary of your professional background, and a password chosen by you.
     • 1.1.2. Profile Information: Once you become a User, you may provide additional information in the Profile section describing your skills, professional experiences, and networking objectives. Providing additional information beyond what is required at registration to become a User is entirely optional, but enables you to better identify yourself and find new opportunities in the system to build and leverage your professional network. Any information you provide at registration or in the Profile section that is not personally identifiable may be used in the same manner and extent to which other information that is not personally identifiable is permitted to be used hereunder, including for the purpose of serving advertisements through the service. If you opt-out you may lose the potential benefit of being a User, including receiving ads that are more targeted to your interests.
     • 1.1.3. Contacts Information: In order to invite others to connect with you directly in SoBizNetwork.com you may use the services to invite them if they are a User, or enter their names and email addresses. This information will be used to send your invitation including a message that you write. The names and email addresses of people that you invite will be used only to send your invitation and reminders.
       You may also choose to manually enter or upload data about your contacts into the private “My contacts” section of SoBizNetwork.com. You may not invite anyone to connect with you whom you do not know. All information entered there will only be viewable by you and will not be searchable by others in the network without your permission. All information that you enter or upload about your contacts will be covered by the same terms of this privacy policy as cover your own information.
     • 1.1.4. Customer Services: SoBizNetwork.com may collect information through the website in order to, among other things, accurately categorize and respond to a customer’s inquiry and deliver appropriate service levels.
   • 1.2. How Information is Collected:
     • 1.2.1. Cookies: Like most websites, SoBizNetwork.com uses cookies and web log files to track site usage. A cookie is a tiny data file which resides on your computer which allows the website to recognize you as a User when you return to the website using the same computer and web browser. If your browser settings do not allow cookies, you will not be able to use SoBizNetwork.com. Like the information you enter at registration or in your Profile, cookie and log file data is used to customize your experience on our website.
       One type of cookie, known as a “persistent” cookie, is set once you’ve logged in to your account. The next time you visit the website, the persistent cookie will allow us to recognize you as an existing User so you will not need to log in before using the service. In order to access or change any of your private information (like a credit card number) or to send a message to another User, however, you must log in securely again with your password even if your computer contains your persistent cookie.
       Additionally, if you log out of SoBizNetwork.com you will need to re-enter your password the next time you visit in order to log in to your account. Another type of cookie, called a “session” cookie, is used to identify a particular visit to the website. Session cookies expire after a short time or when you close your web browser.
       We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing User preferences and tracking User trends. In the course of serving advertisements or optimizing services to our Users, we may allow authorized third parties to place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. Any information provided to third parties through such cookies will not be personally identifiable but may provide general segment information, e.g. your industry or geographic location, your occupation, or information about your professional or educational background, for greater customization of your user experience. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. Unfortunately, if your browser settings do not allow cookies or you opt to refuse all cookies, you may not be able to use the website or services. SoBizNetwork.com does not store personally identifiable information in the cookies.
     • 1.2.2. Web Beacons: We allow other companies, called ad networks, to serve advertisements to Users. Ad networks include third party ad servers, ad agencies, ad technology vendors and research firms. SoBiz Network, LLC may “target” some ads to Users that fit a certain general profile – for example, “product managers in Texas.”.
       To deliver these ads properly, SoBizNetwork.com may include a file, called a web beacon, from these ad networks within pages served by the website so the networks may provide anonymized, aggregated auditing, research and reporting for advertisers as well as to target ads to you while you visit other websites.
       Because your web browser must request these advertisements and web beacons from the ad network’s servers, these companies can view, edit or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. These general targets may also be used by ad networks to display targeted ads on other websites as a substitute for random, irrelevant ads.
       You may opt-out of use of web beacons in the website pages that you view and of placement of a cookie by ad networks in your browser. To opt-out click here and go to the “Advertising” section at the bottom and change the setting there to “No”. If you opt-out you may lose the potential benefit of receiving ads that are more targeted to your interests which, in turn, may limit your ability to fully realize the benefits of SoBiz Network, LLC services to build and leverage your professional network.
     • 1.2.3. Log files, IP addresses and information about your computer: Due to the communications standards on the Internet, when you visit SoBizNetwork.com we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave the site. We also receive the Internet protocol (IP) address of your computer (or the proxy server you use to access the World Wide Web), your computer operating system and type of web browser you are using, email patterns, as well as the name of your ISP. This information is used to analyze overall trends to help us improve SoBizNetwork.com services. The linkage between your IP address and your personally identifiable information is not shared with third-parties without your permission or except when required by law. Internal research on our member’s usage patterns, demographics, interests, and general behavior helps to better understand and service you and our community needs.
   • 1.3. Consent to Processing Information About You: Certain information you provide to SoBizNetwork.com may reveal, or allow others to identify, your nationality, ethnic origin, religion or other aspects of your private life, and more generally about you. Please be aware that in providing information to the website for the purposes of opening your user account, you are expressly and voluntarily accepting the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy and the other website Agreements. The supplying of all such information by you to SoBizNetwork.com, including all information deemed “sensitive” by applicable law, is entirely voluntary on your part. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy and the User Agreement, but please note that your withdrawal of consent will not be retroactive.
   • 1.4. Rights to Access, Correct and Eliminate Information About You: You have a right to access, modify, correct and eliminate the data about you which has been collected pursuant to your decision to become a User. If you update any of your information, we may keep a copy of the information which you originally provided to us in our archives for uses documented herein. We take your rights seriously and encourage you to use them if you deem this to be appropriate. You may exercise these rights by emailing us at ___________________or by contacting us at: E-Mail: Fax: Mail: SoBiz Network, LLC ATTN: Content Abuse Agent 3111 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33607 USA
   • 1.5. Third Party Access: We reserve the right to use the services of a site analytic partner tohelp us measure the effectiveness of our advertising and how visitors use our site. The tools of web beacons and cookies shall be used to help measure and optimize our business and communications for a more personalized experience.
   • 2. Uses of personal information: SoBizNetwork.com is an online service dedicated to helping all types of individuals and professionals more effectively connect with one another. The personally identifiable information you choose to provide on our website is used to help you describe yourself to other Users. Other information, that does not personally identify you as an individual, is collected by the website from Users (such as, for example, patterns of utilization) and is exclusively owned by SoBiz Network, LLC. This information can be utilized by SoBiz Network, LLC. in such manner as SoBiz Network, LLC., in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.
     • 2.1. Website Communications: The website will communicate with you through email and notices posted on the website or through other means available through the service, including text and other forms of messaging. If we send any communications to you via the carrier service with which you have a mobile communications subscription or otherwise have access, you understand you will pay any service fees associated with any such access (including text messaging charges for messages to your mobile device). These include a series of up to five welcome emails which help inform new Users about various features of the service. Please be aware that you will always receive certain emails from SoBizNetwork.com related to the proper functioning of your account, such as email notices when another User in your network sends you an opportunity. SoBiz Network, LLC may send you promotional information unless you have opted out of receiving such information. You can change your e-mail and contact preferences at any time by logging into your ‘Account & Settings’ and amending your email notification choices. If you wish, you can also opt-out of receiving promotional emails, by sending a request to _____________________
     • 2.2. Customized Content: Information provided to SoBizNetwork.com (or to third parties with whom it offers combined services) is also used to customize your experience on our website. For example, when you login to your account we will display the screen names of new Users who have recently joined your network.
       The website offers a “public profile” feature which allows Users to publish portions of their profile, including their “name”, but not their “email address” to the public Internet. Users may opt-out of this feature by editing their account and settings, however SoBiz Network, LLC. does not warrant how often third-party search engines will update their cache.
       We may provide aggregated anonymous data about the usage of our services to third parties for such purposes as we deem, in our sole discretion, to be appropriate, including to prospective advertisers on SoBizNetwork.com. We may segment our Users by role (i.e. product managers, vice presidents), industry, geographic location, or company. If you would like to be excluded from the aggregated research or products based upon aggregated data about our Users’ activities on the site, please email ___________________________,
     • 2.3. Teaming with Other Organizations to Offer Combined and Other Services: SoBiz Network, LLC may offer our services in connection with other websites (including updates about the service) or may team with other online services to give you the combined results of both services or additional services and benefits.
       In the case of Partners, we do some vetting and we only work with trusted Partners. Because of SoBiz Network, LLC’s trust in these Partners, Platform Applications or services designed by a Partner may be automatically granted permission to access account information to provide the combined services..
       Platform Developers are required to agree to restrictions on access, storage and usage of your information. However, while we typically enter into contractual agreements and take technical steps to restrict possible misuse of such information by such Platform Developers, we may not screen or approve Platform Developers, and we cannot and do not guarantee that all Platform Developers will abide by such restrictions and agreements. Certain actions you take through the Platform Applications will be displayed to your connections. You understand that your use of any Platform Applications is on an “as is” basis without any warranty as to the Platform Developers’ actions.
     • 2.4. Surveys and Polls: As a User, you will receive requests to participate in market research including polls and surveys submitted by other website members. If you participate in surveys and polls offered through our website, the information you provide may be visible to others using the website. You may opt-out of participating by changing your Account & Settings to stop receiving these inquiries and requests.
     • 2.5. Forums/Chats/Blog: If you post on the Answers section of the website, or use a bulletin board, import a blog, or participate in a chat room on the website, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you choose to provide there can be read, collected, or used by other Users of these forums, as well as Platform Developers and other third parties, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. SoBiz Network, LLC is not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in these forums.
     • 2.6. Testimonials and Advertisement Placed through Direct Ads Service: If you provide any testimonials about the service or place advertisements through the DirectAds services, we may post those testimonials and examples of advertisements you place in connection with website’s promotion of its service to third parties, which testimonials and advertisements may include your name and other personal information that you have provided..
     • 2.7. Communications to other Users: Many emails you initiate through SoBizNetwork.com, e.g., an invitation sent to a non-User, will list your email address and name in the header of the message. Emails you initiate may also provide aggregate information about your network (for instance how many people are in your network), but will not list the people to whom you’re directly connected. Other communications that you initiate through the website, like a request for contact, will list your name as the initiator but will not include your personal contact information. Your contact information will only be shared with another User if both of you have indicated that you would like to establish contact with each other.
     • 2.8. Links: This website may contain links to other websites. We are of course not responsible for the privacy practices of other web sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by SoBizNetwork.com.
     • 2.9. Third Party Advertising: Advertisements that appear on the website are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. These third party advertisers may also download cookies to your computer, or use other technologies such as JavaScript and "web beacons" (also known as "1x1 gifs") to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. Doing this allows the advertising network to recognize your computer each time they send you an advertisement in order to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. This website does not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third party advertisers. Third party advertisers have no access to your contact information stored on this website unless you choose to share it with them. This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by this website and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.
   • 3. E-commerce: This website allows users to share information with marketers and electronic commerce providers through on-site offers. These exchanges are done voluntarily and at users own risk.
   • 4. Joint Services: This website may offer stores or provide services jointly with other companies on the site. This website may share customer information with that company in connection with your use of that store or service.
   • 5. Legal Disclaimer: It is possible that we may need to disclose personal information when required by law, such as responses to civil or criminal subpoenas, or other requests by law enforcement personnel. We will disclose such information wherein we have a good-faith belief that it is necessary to comply with a court order, ongoing judicial proceeding, subpoena, or other legal process or request to SoBiz Network, LLC brought in any country throughout the world, or to exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.
   • 6. Disclosures to others: We may also disclose your personal and other information you provide, to another third party as part of a reorganization or a sale of the assets of SoBiz Network, LLC corporation division or company. Any third party to which we transfer or sell SoBiz Network, LLC.’s assets will have the right to continue to use the personal and other information that you provide to us.
   • 7. Your information choices
     • 7.1. Accessing and Changing Your Account Information: You can review the personal information you provided us and make any desired changes to the information you publish, or to the settings for your account including your email, and contact preferences, at any time by logging in to your account on the website. Please be aware that even after your request for a change is processed, the website may, for a time, retain residual information about you in its backup and/or archival copies of its database.
     • 7.2. Your risk: When you use the website, certain information you post or share with third parties (e.g., a friend or someone in your network), such as personal information, comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other information, may be shared with other users in accordance with the privacy settings you select. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other items , this information may become publicly available.
     • 7.3. Closing Your Account: You can also close your account through the website. If you close your account, we will remove your name and other personally identifiable information from our publicly viewable database. We may retain certain data contributed by you if we believe it may be necessary to prevent fraud or future abuse, or for legitimate business purposes, such as analysis of aggregated, non-personally identifiable data, account recovery, or if required by law. To request that we close your account and remove your information from the website, please send your request to ________________________ Please send your request using an email account that you have registered with SoBizNetwork.com under your name. You will receive a response to requests sent to ___________________________within five business days of its receipt.
     • 7.4. You can:
       • 7.4.1. Review, enhance or edit your personal information through your personal profile page.
       • 7.4.2. Choose what information you make available through your public profile.
       • 7.4.3. Control the messages you receive from SoBizNetwork.com and other Users and how these messages are sent.
       • 7.4.4. Change your settings to control visibility and accessibility through our website.
       • 7.4.5. Tell us to close your account.
   • 8. Your Obligations: As a User, you have certain obligations toward the other Users with whom you will be communicating. Certain of these obligations are imposed by applicable law and regulations, and others have become commonplace in user-friendly communities of like-minded members, such as this website:
     • 8.1. You must, at all times, respect the terms and conditions of the then-current Privacy Policy and the other website Agreements. This includes respecting all intellectual property rights which may belong to third parties (such as photographs).
     • 8.2. You must not download or otherwise disseminate any information which may be deemed to be injurious, violent, offensive, racist or xenophobic or which may otherwise violate the purpose and spirit of SoBizNetwork.com and its community of Users.
     • 8.3. You must not provide information to SoBiz Network, LLC and /or other Users which you believe might be injurious or detrimental to your person, professional or social status.
     • 8.4. SoBizNetwork.com has also self-certified its privacy practices as consistent with U.S.-E.U. Safe Harbor principles: Notice, Choice, Onward Transfer, Access and Accuracy, Security, Data Integrity and Enforcement. More information about the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program can be found at http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/
     • 8.5. Any violation of these guidelines may lead to the restriction, suspension or termination of your account by website administrators, as we take these principles seriously and consider them to be the basis on which our Users adhere to the website and the services which it offers.
   • 9. Important Information
     • 9.1. Children: Children are not eligible to use our service and we ask that minors (under the age of 18) do not submit any personal information to us or use the service. We recommend that minors 13 years of age or older ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet.
     • 9.2. Children Under 13: This website does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register. If you are under 13, please do not attempt to register for an account or send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. No one under age 13 may provide any personal information to or on the site. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us through on our privacy help page.
     • 9.3. Changes to this Privacy Policy: SoBiz Network, LLC. may update this privacy policy at any time, with or without advance notice. In the event there are significant changes in the way we treat your personally identifiable information, we will display a notice on the website or send you an email, as provided for above. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.
       If you use the service after notice of changes have been sent to you or published on our site, you hereby provide your consent to the changed practices.
   • 10. Security
     10.1. In order to secure your personal information, access to your data on the website is password-protected, and sensitive data (such as credit card information) is protected by SSL encryption when it is exchanged between your web browser and the web site. (To learn more about SSL, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer). To protect any data you store on our servers we also regularly audit our system for possible vulnerabilities and attacks and we use a tier-one secured-access data center. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your login information. Please note that emails and instant messaging and similar means of communication with other users of the website are not encrypted and we strongly request you not to communicate any confidential information through these means.
     • 10.2. You post User Content on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.
     • 10.3. Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on the website is a violation of the Terms of Service and should be reported through the Help Center.
   • 11. How to contact us

     If you have any questions or comments please contact us at:

     SoBiz Network, LLC
     ATTN: Privacy Agent
     3111 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. Suite 100
     Tampa, FL 33607 USA