Facebook is retreating from its new terms of service and going back to the older language that so many people felt more comfortable with and had already approved.

This is a good move by Facebook who made a rookie mistake in not taking the roll out of new TOS more seriously. These major moves around consumer data must be transparent to all. Facebook lives its life under a microscope and it could have made this effort more open and more in the light of day.

Having been involved in each of the major TOS updates at AOL over the years, I know firsthand how important the crafting of the language; the spirit and intent of the agreement; and the communications of the new data is to an organization but, more importantly, to its customers.

When you are in the consumer business TRUST is the foundation upon which all commerce is conducted. If a customer doesn’t trust you, they can’t love you.

I see Facebook making lots of mistakes because it operates in its own little bubble. It has many young people who are gifted and talented but inexperienced in key positions. They are NOT historians and really don’t look to see what folks did in past iterations of the web. It is good to be a pioneer but in many cases there are lots of folks who have “been there done that” that could have helped in an instance such as this one.

Live and learn.