06-24-14 Press Release - Supplemental Social Media Practices

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South Bend Common Council Supplemental Social Media Practices and Guidelines Page 3 of 6 Policy# 03-2014 apply to other social networks as well, such as Foursquare, Digg and Yahoo Buzz. Just as politicians learn, to their regret, that they should always assume that the mic is live, we should always assume that we are always on. 8. Post Only What YOU Know — Make sure that what you post regarding official City business falls into your specific area of expertise. Don't post anything about City business that you are not involve in and never post anything which is confidential. There are too many opportunities for misperceptions to be created if you post on subjects that you aren't completely familiar with the details. Link to sources for facts or statements you reference, and encourage others to do likewise, rather than state your opinion. Posts should be informative and based on real facts which can be verified. While widely disseminated and reported, material gathered online can be just as inaccurate or untrustworthy as some material collected or received in more traditional ways. As always, consider and verify your sources BEFORE posting. Content gathered online is subject to the same attribution rules as other content. By sticking to the facts, you will be seen as an unbiased, trusted source of information on City business. Always review content for grammatical and spelling errors. Make sure that you are complying with settings which require approval for all posts from other people on your page, as well as approval for all photos that you are tagged in before, if it actually includes your tag. 9. Attribution — If you wish to publish an interesting email or other message you have received from a reader, you must be clear in your post that the email or message is from another person and that the words are not your own. You must also check the accuracy of the comment because YOU are responsible for the accuracy of comments you personally republish with permission or attribute the source when republishing. 10. Be Honest and Straightforward — All posts should be accurate and should avoid being misleading in any way. Present information in posts as simply as possible. Posts that are brief and to the point leave less room for misinterpretation. If you happen to post information that misses the mark, be quick to point it out and correct it. 11. Think before you post—One of the reported secrets to social media's success is how easy it has become to participate. But that also makes it easy to respond or repeat before you have thought through potential consequences. Whether we think it fair or not, other media will use your social media output. Always be CAUTIOUS. If you are about to post information that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, take time to pause and think about it. Be smart about protecting sensitive and/or confidential city information, as well as your own privacy concerns. Remember that what is posted via social media is widely accessible, not easily retractable, subject to scrutiny, and will be around for a long time. Check with the City's Law Department on what can be legally shared as official information from the city.