All Access Arts policies relate to all Staff as well as Members.
Access Arts Inc. defines a Member as any person who has filled out a membership form and paid the appropriate fee to join the organisation.
Staff are defined as persons engaged in Office, workshop/project or program, Volunteer or Student placement work at Access Arts Inc.
This policy governs the publication of and commentary on social media by employees of Access Arts Inc. For the purposes of this policy, social media means any facility for online publication and commentary, including without limitation blogs, wiki’s, social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. This policy is in addition to and complements any existing or future policies regarding the use of technology, computers, e-mail and the internet.
Access Arts sees the value in using social media as a means to communicate with Members, partners, Government bodies, and the community.
Access Arts employees with delegated authority from the Executive Officer are free to publish or comment via Access Arts’ social media accounts in accordance with this policy.
This policy also applies if you choose to make reference to Access Arts, its staff, Members, partners, products, programs or services when you are using social media in a personal capacity.
This policy does not apply to personal use of social media where you make no reference to Access Arts related issues.
Publication and commentary on social media carries similar obligations to any other kind of publication or commentary.
All uses of social media must follow the same ethical standards that Access Arts employees must otherwise follow.
Setting up Social Media
Access Arts’ IT Administrator, or their delegate, will set up the organisation’s social media accounts and their settings.
Confidentiality
It’s perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it’s not okay to publish confidential information about Access Arts or its Members. This relates to both Access Arts accounts and employee’s personal accounts.
Protect your own privacy
Privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to allow anyone to see profile information similar to what would be on the Access Arts website. Other privacy settings that might allow others to post information or see information that is personal should be set to limit access. Be mindful of posting information that you would not want the public to see.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others, including Access Arts’ own copyrights and brands, and the work of Members. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else’s work, and always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others’ work rather than reproduce it.
Respect your audience, Access Arts, Members and partners
The public in general, and Access Arts’ employees and Members, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don’t say anything contradictory or in conflict with the Access Arts website. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion. If publishing links to web content, check that they comply with web content accessibility guidelines before doing so. If publishing visual content, ensure it is described and if publishing audio content ensure there is an auslan version or transcript.
Controversial Issues
If you see misrepresentations made about Access Arts in social media, you may point that out. Always do so with respect and with the facts. If you speak about others, make sure what you say is factual and that it does not disparage that party. Avoid arguments. Brawls may earn traffic, but nobody wins in the end. Don’t try to settle scores or goad competitors or others into inflammatory debates. Make sure what you are saying is factually correct.
Be the first to respond to your own mistakes
If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly – better to remove it immediately to lessen the possibility of a legal action.
Think About Consequences
Breach of confidentiality, as defined in Access Arts’ ‘Privacy, Confidentiality and Freedom of Information Policy’ and ‘Code of Conduct’, will result in disciplinary action.
If you break the law, you may be personally liable.
Disclaimers
Wherever practical, you must use a disclaimer saying that while you work for Access Arts, anything you publish is your personal opinion, and not necessarily the opinions of Access Arts.
An example of a disclaimer is “the views expressed in this post are mine only and do not necessarily reflect the views of Access Arts”
Your supervisor can assist with determining where and how to use disclaimers.
Don’t forget your day job.
Make sure that updating social media, and blogging does not interfere with your job or commitments to Members.
Social Media Tips
The following tips are not mandatory, but will contribute to successful use of social media.
The best way to be interesting, stay out of trouble, and have fun is to write about what you know. There is a good chance of being embarrassed by a real expert, or of being boring if you write about topics you are not knowledgeable about.
Quality matters. Use a spell-checker. If you’re not design-oriented, ask someone who is whether your blog looks decent, and take their advice on how to improve it.
The speed of being able to publish your thoughts is both a great feature and a great downfall of social media. The time to edit or reflect must be self-imposed. If in doubt over a post, or if something does not feel right, either let it sit and look at it again before publishing it, or ask someone else to look at it first.
Personal Use of Social Media
When using social media personally, keep the following in mind:
Use your personal E-mail address, not your Access Arts E-mail.
Ensure that posts do not harm the reputation of Access Arts or its members.
Make it clear that your contributions are as a private individual, not in your role at Access Arts.
Consider that:
Information you post on the web is nearly impossible to remove. Once posted, you relinquish control over it.
Seemingly basic information such as your title or project details could be coupled with other information and have a negative impact on Access Arts, so consider carefully before posting them.
Be aware that when you connect with members, office and workshop staff and volunteers via social media, you are sharing personal information with them. Be aware of the information you publish and your security settings on social media sites, especially information that can be viewed without first accepting ‘follow’ requests.
Enforcement
Breach of this policy will result in disciplinary action, and if in breach of your contract, may be terminated.
Complies with Queensland Disability Service Standards: 1, 4, 5
Update Responsibility: Emma Bennison
Date of last update: 29/08/2011
