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When drafting a social media policy, how do you give your smart, passionate and opinionated team the freedom to manage their own affairs on social media sites, while also ensuring you’ve signalled your expectations about behaviour to them, so they (and the organisation) can be clear on what’s ok and what’s not ok? It may sound wanky, but the fact is if something goes wrong, you don’t want to be in the position where policy vagueness leave your company or your employee vulnerable to censure either internally or externally.
Here’s the draft social media policy I’m working on at the moment. It’s part of a larger communications policy. I’d welcome your thoughts on whether this frames the organisation and its team’s rights and responsibilities clearly enough.
The use of social media by [organisation] and its projects is supported by [organisation], and any official [organisation] or project presence on social media is subject to this communications policy.
Personal social media accounts of our staff are not bound by this policy. We respect the privacy and maturity of our staff, and trust they’ll reciprocate by ensuring that if they talk about [organisation] and its projects in any public forum (including social media) they’ll do so in a professional manner.
Comments or examples of ways to do this better would be welcome!
Update: Thanks everyone who came along to the second #4good brekky! The next one will be held from 8am on Friday, 30 September at Big Table in the Adelaide Central Markets on Gouger Street. Hope to see you there!
If you’ve ever chatted to me, or read my blog, you probably know that I love to connect people. I do it in my work as TACSI‘s Connector/Communicator… I do it in my volunteer work, I do it for fun (like when I was online matchmaking through 100 dates!).
So it’s no surprise that my latest idea is a new way for people who do good stuff to meet each other. #4good brekky will combine a bunch of my favourite things – breakfast, great coffee, and conversation with people who have great ideas & are working to put them into action!
There are a lot of great meetups already happening in Adelaide, (hello NetSquared! hello Socadl!) but I’m hoping this meetup won’t just be technology/social media people (much though I love them and certainly identify as one of them!). When chatting over this idea, Katy from Connecting Up commented to me that she really needs to spend time with her “hands in the dirt” doing stuff to make social change happen and she wants to connect to other people like that, and I totally agree. So please, help me spread this invitation online and offline to people who are doing good stuff in Adelaide. Renew Adelaide, I’m looking at you! Radelaide, I’m looking at you! Format, I’m looking at you!
Inspired by the wonderful community building of Kate Kendall who started #socialmelb brekky in Melbourne, #4good brekky will happen before work on a Friday morning. For many of us, meetups during work hours just aren’t doable – and swapping ideas when you’re freshly caffeinated in the morning can be a really inspiring start to the day!
If this sounds appealing, pleas come along for a coffee or brekky before work! The first #4good brekky will be on Friday, 5 August from 8am at Big Table at the Central Markets.
Here’s some feedback I just submitted to Google about its seeming decision to enforce a “real name” policy on Google+.
Hi there,via a couple of friends of mine who are using Google+, I understand that Google is starting to enforce a “real name” policy for Google+. I’m really disappointed if this is the case.
Many people online choose to use pseudonyms to keep their professional life separate from their personal life or hobbies. Or they are trying to protect themselves from abuse. As a woman who’s written about feminism online and received anonymous hatemail and death threats for doing so, I would like to preserve my right to post under a pseudonym to keep myself safe in the real world and if I choose, so I’m not identified as a woman online in places where it might not be safe to do so. I don’t believe that getting rid of anonymity online will stop bad behaviour like the abuse and death threats I’ve received. I do think that getting rid of anonymity and pseudonymity online will make it easier for people like myself to become targets of abuse and potentially put us in danger.
Quoting from the Geek Feminism blog post on Pseudonymity:
“Persistent pseudonyms (those used over many years and perhaps across multiple sites) can accrue social capital and respect just as “real” names can, and be subject to the same social pressures towards civil behaviour if the community has a strong culture of respect. Without a culture of respect, real names won’t help. With it, real names won’t matter.”
Thank you for listening to my feedback, I hope you will change your policy and allow anonymous and pseudonymous accounts on Google+ (which. by the way, I’m loving so far). Cheers!Sarah Stokely (my real name!)
I have some news I’m so excited about… and a cool story about how social media helped make it happen.
I have a new job at the Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) which is located in Adelaide, South Australia (you can read the blog post introducing me if you like). It’s mission is to “identify and support the innovative ideas, methods and people that will contribute to and accelerate positive social change”. The team at TACSI describe it as a “do-tank” (as opposed to a thinktank!) for helping make social innovation happen.
How did this come about? I just happened to see a tweet from @totocol about a Social Innovation job… I clicked on it, and reading the job description gave me shivers – I felt like they were describing ME! I had to apply…
The job was for a Connector/Communicator:
” the ultimate connector: someone who can animate a community (be it geographical or topical) around an idea or event. As our Connector/Communicator you will search out people, groups and organisations and connect them with the work TACSI is doing, with inspiring ideas, methodologies and people, and continue to build a community of interest for social innovation in Australia. These connections could be through events, through partnerships, through media – you name it! You’ll be working within an organisation dedicated to doing things differently to what’s been done before. Apply only if you’re passionate about working differently.”
(you can see the full position description if you’re interested – it’s on PDF)
Everyone who applies for a job says they’re passionately excited about the opportunity, and says they have references. Ho hum. But I really was passionately excited. I decided not to let a couple of pages of resumé do all the talking for me. I called on my network.
Over the next couple of days, I contacted a number of people I’ve worked with and volunteered with, telling them about the exciting job I was going for, and asking them to recommend me on LinkedIn. They very generously took the time to write recommendations for me. (Thank you, Sophie, Donna, Emma and Catherine!). I started peppering the TACSI folks with my recommendations by email. I guess it was a risk that they’d think I was an overenthusiastic self promoter, but fortunately they appreciated my enthusiasm!
One of the reasons I was excited about TACSI was the presence of Dr Nicholas Gruen on their Board. I met Nicholas briefly through my volunteer work with eDemocracy website OpenAustralia around the time he was chairing the Government 2.0 Taskforce. So, I took the bold advice of the wonderful Pia Waugh (advisor to Senator Kate Lundy) and emailed him directly to express my interest in working at TACSI. Again, I took the risk of coming across as a self promoting spammer. Again, the approach was received positively. (Thank you Pia, thank you Nicholas.).
A couple of weeks ago, I had a wonderful interview which felt more like an energetic brainstorming session with TACSI CEO Brenton Caffin and Program Director Erin Green. They’d asked me to prepare a presentation on what I thought their Communications program should look like for 2012. I had so much fun preparing it. I drew a lot of inspiration from one of my mentors in the open source community, Leslie Hawthorn, whose approach to community building is full of generosity and practical support. Thank you Leslie.
This seems to be turning into a Paltrow-esque Oscars acceptance speech, so I’ll just add a couple of final thank yous… to Donna, Sophie and Kat (from OpenAustralia) for being my referees. Thanks to Caroline Siler and the team at Keep Left PR for giving me some valuable experience in corporate Public Relations. Thanks to David Lee and the team at Nuffnang Australia for the opportunity to work in advertising land as their community manager. Thanks to Mark Davis and Bryony Cosgrove for letting me fulfil my dream of teaching at the University of Melbourne. And thanks to Raul (@totocol) – for tweeting the job opportunity. If I hadn’t seen his tweet, I wouldn’t have known about the job, and I wouldn’t be looking forward to 2011 nearly as much as I am. 
In short, it was a whole social network who helped me get this job, I’m humbled and grateful and so damn excited for 2011 to start. Thanks everyone, and hello Adelaide and TACSI!
This post is intended to provide a list of the practical things can do to try to ensure fair legal treatment for Julian Assange and protect free speech and the Wikileaks project. If you’re organising an event in support of Assange or Wikileaks, or have some other practical resources to share, please leave the details in comments and I will add them to the list.
Phone Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office (02) 6277 7700, and Attorney-General Robert McLelland’s office ((02) 6277 7300 and tell them you support free speech, due process and expect them to provide full support to Julian Assange in his upcoming legal battle overseas. [When I called the AG's office, they suggested also putting it in writing and provided the email address: attorney @ ag.gov.au, so a quick email is suggested as well]
While you’re at it, why not look up your local MP and call them and tell them too?
They are still accepting donations via their website. I’m looking into alternatives too. Or if you prefer to support an organisation which has a clearer legal status, why not join or donate to Electronic Frontiers Australia, which acts to protect online civil liberties (disclosure: I recently joined the EFA Board).
(I’ve used strikethrough to denote past events)
“Protest the government betrayal of Wikileaks figurehead Julian Assange”
Date: Sunday, December 12, 1pm – 2.30pm
Venue: SA Parliament House
Date: Monday, 13 December, 6.30pm
Venue: QUT Gardens Point B Block, Rm 224. Contact: Bec (0401 785 942)
Date: Friday, December 10, 12 noon.
Venue: Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, 295 Anne Street, Brisbane CBD. (Information via Green Left)
Emergency Protest to Defend Wikileaks & Julian Assange
Date: Thursday December 9, 5:30pm
Venue: Brisbane Square, Top of Queen St Mall, Brisbane
Protest to support Julian Assange & Wikileaks
Date: Saturday, December 11, 12noon – 1pm
Venue: Parliament Lawns, Salamanca, Hobart
Defend Assange & Wikileaks on Human Rights Day – Friday 10 December, from 4.30pm, State Library.
Julian Assange, Law & Politics: A meeting to discuss Wikileaks’ Julian Assange’s legal and political position
Speakers: Julian Burnside AO QC, Peter Gordon, John Faine and Professor Spencer Zifcak
Date: Thursday 9 December 2010, 5.30pm.
Venue: the Law Institute of Victoria, 470 Bourke St, Melbourne
Date: Friday, December 10, 6pm.
Venue: Wesley Church (cnr William & Hay Sts, Perth) (Information via Green Left)
Australian Public to Rally in Support of Wikileaks
Date: Friday, December 10, 1pm.
Venue: Sydney Town Hall.
Sign the Avaaz petition “Wikileaks: Stop the Crackdown”
Sign the GetUp petition “Media on Trial”
Sign the open letter to Julia Gillard by Jeff Sparrow Elizabeth O’Shea and at the ABC website (leave your name as a comment).
The Justice for Assange website has support banners you can download and display online.
I also love that someone has suggested nominating Julian Assange for Australian of the Year. You can also vote for Assange as Time’s Person of the Year, but it doesn’t actually influence who the Editor picks.
EDIT 13 December: There’s now a petition to nominate Julian Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize and there’s also a new Brisbane-based website, Help Julian Assange which has an online petition and will soon offer the ability to contact politicians and post letters of support to Julian Assange.
Yesterday the EFA published their statement “Julian Assange and Wikileaks Deserve Protection.” I also interviewed Colin Jacobs, Chair of EFA on RRR last night (available for download as a podcast).
Crowdfunding is going off in Australia right now… here’s why I’m supporting New Matilda, and why I’m not funding Youcommnews or Elsewhere… at least not yet.
One of my passions, as a longtime journalist, publishing employee and more recently, a digital media lecturer, is finding new ways to fund writing online. In fact, I spoke at the Sydney Bloggers Festival on this very topic only last week. This is why I’m so excited to see so many different crowdfunding initiatives being launched or mooted in Australia right now.
The highest profile, and most ambitious of these is New Matilda. Here’s why I’ve chosen to support New Matilda, and why I’m chosing to pass on the other crowdfunded projects on offer – at least for now.
New Matilda has a track record as a web publisher. We have seen their team, led by Editor Marni Cordell, produce New Matilda over the past few years. They’ve (finally) taken the bold and bloody steps of paring down to a skeleton team, and seeking funding for that team. We know what we’re getting. And I’m confident that they”ll deliver what they promise.
They’re also being quite smart – they’ve resumed their email service during this fundraising period. The website is showcasing their new content, as well as prominently promoting the progress of their fundraising activity. They’ve giving their audience something to talk about and share with others, who may in turn become financial supporters. This is crucial.
I believe it was Cory Doctorow (@Doctorow) who tweeted the other day something along the lines of ‘I like your ideas but if you haven’t run a mag before, giving you $100,000 to do it isn’t going to make it work’. Bingo.
Show the proof, show you can do it, start to build an appreciative audience around that, then the money will follow. Not the other way around.
The recently launched Australian version of Spot.us, Youcommnews has a couple of wildly expensive story pitches up there at the moment. Mumbrella points out that while they’ve gotten one story published, overall they seem to be struggling to attract funding. Seems crazy to go out to the public (even the civic-minded, monied public) asking for $9,500 for an investigative piece on forestry policy on the Solomon Islands, when you are are a new and green publication (or community, if they’re styling themselves that way) in the scheme of things. Surely you need to have built up a strong community of readers/funders to ask for that much? I hope that Youcommnews does build up such a community. But in the meantime, hopefully they’ll do a good job of promoting successes with smaller, cheaper articles, to start building a community which trusts them.
If I ever get my life back from the two (no wait, three if we count freelance!) jobs I’m doing at the moment, I’ll be tending to my new baby, the Digital Writers Festival. This will be a crowdcreated, and hopefully crowdfunded event. But it’s going to start as free media. There’s no way I’d *start* building this festival by going out and asking for $40,000 (or whatever it will end up costing). Show the proof, show you can do it, start to build an appreciative audience around that, then the money will follow. Not the other way around. I’ll be curating the Digital Writers Festival blog, and a Digital Writers podcast. This will help build a participating audience, and show people what kind of event we want DWF to become. Then, I think, we’ll have earned some trust as well as some interest. Then, hopefully, financial support will follow.
So, although I would love to read more from Clem Bastow, and suspect she does have a cool creative team working with her, I won’t be signing up to her newly launched Fundbreak application, to set up a print magazine called Elsewhere magazine. Putting aside the fact that I’d rather be paying writers, artists and photographers for their work rather than for printing a paper magazine, I would just like to see some smaller Elsewhere productions first. I don’t even mind if you want to charge me something for it. Give me a taster first, please. A website? A fundraising evening at the pub a la Cherchez La Femme?
I wish all these initiatives the best of success. If this post offers up even one small idea for how to make this projects more successful, then I’m really glad. And, I’m still looking for one other person to join me in becoming a New Matilda supporter (they emailed me asking me to find two friends to join up, and I took the request seriously). So if you’re of a mind to join up to support New Matilda, please do so. And, if you’re in Melbourne, I’ll cook you dinner as an added incentive.
Guest post by Donna Benjamin
I rely on free software. My business, Creative Contingencies, totally depends on free software, and we earn income from supporting others using free software. I’m not a coder so finding other ways to participate in the community that creates free software and make a contribution is important to me.
So for the past five years, I’ve been involved in organising Software Freedom Day celebrations in Melbourne. This year, the extraordinary Dale Dickins of Mad in Melbourne T-shirt painting fame is bravely steering us through the rapids of organising one small part of a global event with local volunteers.
I have no doubt, #SFD2010 from 11am til we pack up at 4pm at the State Library of Victoria on Saturday 18 September will be the best yet.
Some of you have heard me go on and on about free and open source software, but perhaps not yet made it to our event. This is the year you’ll come. Here’s why.
ACT Senator Kate Lundy is flying down from Canberra to speak about Gov2.0 and why an open, transparent approach to government and policy is so important. She’s been leading the way, not just in Australia, but globally, in finding ways to engage more people in the dialogue, using the web and open tools to do so. Her public sphere events were brilliant. I hope to see more of them in the future.
Rami Olwan is flying down from Brisbane to speak about Creative Commons and the legal aspects of freely sharing ideas and software.
We’ll hear Andrew Cunningham from the State Library’s VicNet team will speak about The Open Road multi-lingual web project.
Paul Took from RedHat Melbourne will show that Open Source Software is alive and thriving in corporate enterprise and government infrastructure here in oz and across the globe.
Pia Waugh, former President of Software Freedom International and Linux Australia will also be joining us to share her passion and vision for Software Freedom.
What a line-up!
We’ve also got hands on workshops (sorry – these have been booked out for weeks) on OpenOffice.org, WordPress and Inkscape, and a series of short talks covering many different topics, from android phones to writing your own games with Python, to web development with Drupal. See the full program online at http://www.sfd.org.au/melbourne/
The fun doesn’t stop there. The State Library of Victoria’s Experimedia space will be jumping with live demos of open source games, open hardware hacking with arduino, home audio, and representatives from Melbourne’s diverse open source community.
I’ve been out and about trying to spread the word. We want as many people as possible to know about the event and know it’s just one of many going on around the world next week.
Check out the global map of registered teams!
I’ve done interviews on JoyFM’s technogaze show and this morning on Breakfast with Red Symons at ABC Melbourne. On Sunday I’ll be talking to Alan Brough [edit: that interview was cancelled due to an ABC policy preventing promotion of the same event twice on the same station - or something like that] – and on the world famous community radio station TripleR’s Byteintoit show.
Download our flyers or the black and white poster, or even the full colour poster if you want! Print ‘em and hand ‘em out or stick ‘em on your noticeboard! You could even stick flyers in the letterboxes in your street.
You should definitely tell your friends.
You could blog, as I have done, and add this button to your site, and link it to our website http://www.sfd.org.au/melbourne/
Note: This blogpost is licensed 
You may copy it, and post it elsewhere without changes, providing you make a link back to it herehttp://kattekrab.net/sfd2010-melbourne
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