Blogging Policies

College of Continuing Studies

The University of Alabama

August 25, 2008

 

Core Rules and Policies:

#1  You’re personally responsible

CCS employees and affiliates are personally responsible for their posts.

Bloggers should include a disclaimer where applicable.

 

#2  Abide by existing rules

Existing CCS policies form a basis for blogging rules (for example: As a condition of employment you agree to abide by the rules of the University Handbook. This also applies to your blogging activities.

 

#3  Keep secrets

(for example: it’s perfectly OK to talk about a keynote speaker but it is not OK to publish their phone number.)

 

#4  Be nice

This common sense rule means that you watch what you are saying, don’t insult anyone, don’t be obscene, don’t attaché people personally, avoid inflammatory subjects, etc.

 

Common Rules and Policies:

 

#5  Add value

Be relevant, write about what you know, and don’t rant about things you don’t understand.

 

#6  Respect copyright

We will require permission to use company trademarks or reproduce company material on the site.

 

 

#7  Follow the law

We do not talk about revenue, future plans (other than the publicized), or rumored hiring or firing.

 

#8  Cite and link

To make this a useful tool, provide links to support the information given.

 

#9  Discuss with your manager

Bloggers should discuss with their managers if they are uncertain about what they are going to write.

 

Unusual Rules and Policies:

 

#10  You can write on company time

State if blogging is allowed on the job—after all, we’re talking about blogging about the job. You can also state “don’t let blogging interfere with your work.”

 

#11  Our goal

(make our stated goal clear)

Our goal is three-fold:

·        To raise the visibility of our organization

·        To make a contribution to our industry

·        To give the public a look at what topics of interest will be presented in public forums.

 

#12  You may disagree with the boss

You may not attack personally fellow employees, authors, customers, vendors, or shareholders, but you may respectfully disagree with company actions, policies, or management.

 

#13  Stop blogging if we say so

Please be aware that CCS may request that you temporarily confine your commentary to topics unrelated to The University (or in some cases, we may temporarily suspend weblog activity altogether) if advisable to ensure compliance with policies.