Following on from our post on what telecoms giant Telstra told its staff re social media (use it, but...), Australian social media writer Laurel Papworth has published a fantastic resource - a list of 40 openly published company social media guidelines.
These are from organisations ranging from the IOC to the UK civil service.
I think the main thing that jumps out from this list isn't so much who is on it as who isn't.
The guidelines come almost exclusively from the tech, media and Government sectors. What about finance, FMCG etc? My guess is 95% of companies don't have anything, and some of those that do, have a policy that can be summed up in one word - don't.
All 40 guidelines are similar to the extent that they all ask employees to (in the words of Telstra) be responsible, respectful and be open about 'representation.' But within those general principles there are huge variations in how much leeway staff are given to be themselves.
For example, from Canadian broadcaster CBC: "The blog cannot advocate for a group or a cause, or express partisan political opinion" - note that this was for personal blogs, which caused a huge fuss and made CBC backtrack slightly.
Then there is a fair amount of consistency within some of the guidelines. On one hand, the (Ad Agency) Greteman Group says, "please refrain from reading personal or non-industry blogs during company time", but on the other hand, "watching a quick video on YouTube can spark creativity and lighten a stressful day. " Why is scanning through vids on YouTube any more or less of a time waster than reading non-work related blogs?
My personal favourite though comes from Norwegian software company 'Opera', the people behind the Internet browser of the same name. Their guidelines to staff are as follows:
Share your thoughts - "This area is yours, use your personality and use your language"
Be Active - "We want to encourage other users to become active in the community too."
We're not your mama - "No one is here to look over your shoulder, but please use common sense."
Don't give away the farm - "Remember your obligations to your NDA. If an item is questionable, in terms of secrecy, it may be better to err on the side of caution."
Check your sources - "Some sources may acquire inside knowledge that is not meant for publication."
Our friends are your friends - "Remember to protect the privacy of Opera's partners and customers."
For the squeamish - "Some may feel more comfortable posting a disclaimer claiming that the opinions posted are not those of Opera Software." (As I've posted before, I am not sure whether this in practice works)
Above all - "Remember to use common sense. If you need help in a situation, don't hesitate to ask your manager. Your blog is meant to be an open window, but remember there are legal obligations."
Progressive guidelines like this may not be to everyone's taste, but even so, Opera has managed to publish it on a single page, and it reads as if it was written by a human being and not a stuffed shirt.
Above image. We've posted about the (excellent) US Airforce guidelines before. On her site Laurel has included another Air Force diagram, demonstrating how new and traditional media interact. Though the mind boggles in what exactly is meant by 'enemy media'!
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