Mathew Ingram of GigaOm has nailed the most common problem with newsroom social media policies:
One of the biggest flaws of most policies is that they spend so much time talking about how bad social media is for the profession, and so little time talking about what makes it useful, or how to approach it as a positive tool for journalism.
I have written extensively here about newsroom social media policies, often making similar points. So I’ll praise and encourage you to read Mathew’s advice about what you should do:
- Talk to people.
- Reply when you are spoken to.
- Retweet others.
- Link to others.
- Be human — but not too human.
I especially like this advice: “Be the best version of yourself.”
Mathew’s blog post follows excellent advice provided recently by three outstanding leaders in journalism:
Journal Register CEO John Paton blogged about his three simple rules for employees using social media (best to read them yourself, rather than me trying to quote or summarize). Mike Masnick praises John’s rules on TechDirt.
John’s blog post prompted tweets from Greensboro News & Record Editor John Robinson and New York University journalism Professor Jay Rosen, adding their social media rules:
I like these, and its nice to see them phrased in positive language. Really, these are guidelines everyone should follow, whether they’re using social media personally or professionally.
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[…] rather than rules (though some have the thou-shalt-not tone of rules). I’ve already noted my preference for simple rules. As I’ve noted frequently in my many posts about newsroom social media policies, too many […]
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[…] simple, easy-to-grok guidelines for managing social media in either the news or commercial arenas. You can find them here. Find It […]
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[…] flipping through Steve Buttry’s site I found a reblog from Mathew Ingram on simple guidelines for social […]
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[…] One last tip as a journalist: we all have our private accounts and like to post silly things, but don’t forget you are constantly watched and people rely on you! Just don’t be stupid! https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/simple-guidance-on-social-media-what-you-should-do-not-p… […]
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[…] However, to reach that hallowed next step in journalism, reporters are going to need more lists of dos than don’ts. […]
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[…] 2011 post praised Mathew for a post suggesting that newsroom social media policies tell staffers what they should do on […]
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