Task: Identify 5 key points which you would use to advise a Social Media Policy Working Group regarding the development of a policy for your organisation with regard to employees use of Web 2.0 tools and spaces for work and personal use while using your organisations’ computers/network and time.
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Be proactive in creating policies
If you don’t have policies in place, it is important to engage with staff and understand how they are using social media and create policies that encorporate the best practices you find. Organisations are better placed if they adopt social media policies and controls in a proactive manner using a formalised risk management process. (Demek, Raschke, Janvrin, & Dilla, 2018)
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Policies don’t work on their own
Social media policies need to be combined with staff training to ensure that there is an understanding of the policy and the tools the staff will be using. The more rigorous your policy, the more training staff will require to understand they can implement it.(Demek et al., 2018)
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You have to be explicit with you policies – down to the platform specific level
Different plafroms have different norms and expectations. AMSA’s social media terms of use does a good job of specifying that although on Twitter ther may be an expectation that you follw someone who follows you, AMSA will not. If you commit to a platform then you have to consider the specific information that this will necessitate you will including in your policy.
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Listening and Monitoring
By listening and monitoring social media you will quickly identify challenges and opportunities. If you leave it unchecked then there is the chance that the narrative incorrect or false information can quickly spread. If you do engage, then there is the opportunity to help provide essential information and to build an understanding of if and when your social media policy needs to be updated. (Brennan, 2017)
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Updating
Social media quickly evolves and therefore you need to regularly review your policies to ensure that they still meet the goals and requirements of the organisation. (Nathan, MacGougan, & Shaffer, 2014) There should be a schedule to review policies and monitoring in place to understand if a review needs to occur outside of the schedule.
References
Brennan, R. (2017, November 7). How to create a social media policy — NCVO Knowhow [How to]. Retrieved 18 January 2019, from https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/how-to/how-to-create-a-social-media-policy
Demek, K. C., Raschke, R. L., Janvrin, D. J., & Dilla, W. N. (2018). Do organizations use a formalized risk management process to address social media risk? International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 28, 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2017.12.004
Nathan, L. P., MacGougan, A., & Shaffer, E. (2014). If Not Us, Who? Social Media Policy and the iSchool Classroom. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science; North York, 55(2), 112–132. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1539530272/abstract/3B03040B2FE748E3PQ/1