Guidelines

The contents of this page remain a draft as long as this line is still visible

Introduction

In Feba UK, we want to encourage you to blog about our organisation, our mission, and your work. Our goal with organisational blogging is three-fold:

• Raise the visibility of our organisation,
• Make a contribution to the Christian media ministry and enterprise, and
• Give the public a look at what goes on within a real live Christian media organisation.

Therefore, we have established a dedicated ‘multi-user’ installation of WordPress which is being hosted on our http://blogs.feba.org domain and linked to our www.feba.org.uk website.

In order to give some direction to Feba staffers who wish to blog from our WordPress MU (Multi-User) (Multi-User) installation, the New Media Working Group (NMWG) is taking on the responsibility to promote blogging within the Feba family, plus making sure that the Feba UK interests are protected and served.

Want to start your own blog?

Acquaint yourself thoroughly with the content of the Get a Blog? page first. If you would like to start an official Feba blog, submit a request by email to any member of the NMWG. Prior to this request, you should have fully read these guidelines, and have a draft of your first post ready for publication. Once all the above has been done, the NMWG will:

• consider your request,
• review your draft post, and will in due course
• notify you if /when your blog has been created.

Play by the rules

To participate in official Feba blogs, you must abide by the following guidelines. You must also clearly understand that review by the NMWG and having been provided with a Feba blog does not absolve you of responsibility for #everything you post.

Official Feba blogs are hosted on our dedicated web servers using the blogs.feba.org/your name domain. Feba UK’s naming conventions will be used. Only NMWG approved themes and page templates may be used. Blogs which use third-party blogging services, such as Blogger, TypePad, Live Spaces, etc. will not be linked to by Feba UK websites neither will they be considered your official Feba blog space.

Write as yourself.

In other words, always use your real name. Feba blog posts should never be written anonymously or under a pseudonym. (In fact, we enforce this: your name will be prominently displayed on your blog’s title and posts because we believe this will add credibility with your readers and promote accountability within our organisation)

Own your content.

Employee blogs are not official corporate communications devices. Therefore, your blog posts legally belong to you. They represent your thoughts and opinions. Importantly, we remind your readers of this fact by including a disclaimer prominently in the page design itself (see the top right corner of any Feba blog).

Additionally, the footer text on every page in the blog will carry these words: “The posts on this blog are provided ‘as is’ with no warranties and confer no rights. The opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.” You assume full responsibility and liability for all actions arising from your posts. We also automatically place a copyright notice on your site in your name on each page (e.g., “© 2008, John Smith”).

Write relevantly. Write often.

Whether you know it or not, you are an expert. You have a unique perspective on Feba based on your talents, skills, and current responsibilities. People want to hear about that perspective.

Also, in order to develop a consistent readership, you should try to write on a regular basis. For some, this will be daily; for others, it may be weekly. The important thing is consistent posting. New content is what keeps readers coming back. You may write on Feba time, provided it doesn’t become excessive and doesn’t interfere with your job assignments and responsibilities.

No advertising. No unauthorised soliciting of funds.

There are numerous ways that bloggers try to make money by allowing ads to appear on the blog, in their posts, or in-between their posts. Google’s AdSense is an example. Feba UK has legal requirements to comply with in terms of UK legislation governing charities, and we cannot allow advertising for the present time. Requests for donations towards Feba projects may be permitted under certain circumstances, but should be cleared with your line manager and the UK Director of Resources first, in every instance.

Be nice.

Avoid attacking other individuals or companies. This includes fellow employees, authors, customers, vendors, competitors, Associates, and board members. You are welcome to disagree with Feba leaders, provided your tone is respectful. If in doubt, we suggest that you defer posting whilst seeking opinions from (for example) your line manager, a trusted colleague, or even the NMWG, before hitting the publish button.

Keep secrets.

Do not disclose sensitive, proprietary, confidential, or financial information about Feba Radio, other than what is publicly available in our publications and web sites. This includes revenues, profits, forecasts, and other financial information related to specific projects, national associations, productions, customers, partners, etc. If in doubt, check with your line manager or the NMWG before posting this type of information.

Respect copyrights.

For your protection, do not post any material that is copyrighted unless you:

• are the copyright owner,
• have written (email is acceptable) permission of the copyright owner to post the copyrighted material on your blog, or
• are sure the use of any copyrighted material is permitted by the legal doctrine of “fair use.”

(Please note: this is your responsibility. Feba UK cannot provide you with legal advice regarding this.)

Obey the law.

This goes without saying, but by way of reminder, do not post any material that is obscene, defamatory, profane, libellous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, embarrassing to another person or entity, or violates the privacy rights of another. Also, do not post material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or any other computer code that is intended to damage, interfere with, or surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data, or information.

Remember existing policies and rules.

Consider your own job description, and stick within any general working conditions described therein. Use Feba’s Programming Policies as a guide when deciding on whether to post something you have written or are thinking about writing. Be aware of Feba UK’s Information and Communication Policies. Follow I & C security guidelines for posts about specific countries and projects. Seek advice if you are unsure.

Please note: reluctance to abide by the above guidelines will prompt a response from the NMWG. Feba UK reserves the right to:

• request deletion of any offending post, or
• permit a blog admin to un-publish any offending post, or
• (in cases of repeated disregard for these guidelines) suspend, close or delet your blog

Thank you for reading these (draft) guidelines

The NMWG encourages people with things to say, to say them. We hope that helpful organisational blogs will start and develop within the Feba family, helping to join the dots, keep Feba’s work on the radar, contribute to the Christian media community, and help our supporters better appreciate the kind of work we do.

Links helpful in developing our guidelines:

http://forrester.typepad.com/charleneli/2004/11/blogging_policy.html

http://www.eu.socialtext.net/charleneli/index.cgi?corporate_blogging_policies

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/workingsmart/2005/03/corporate_blogg_1.html

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2005/06/corporate_blogg.html

http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html

http://www.corporateblogging.info/2005/06/policies-compared-todays-corporate.asp

http://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/06/corporate-blogging-policies.asp

http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/2005/03/thomas_nelson_p.html

http://feedster.blogs.com/corporate/2005/03/corporate_blogg.html

http://www.blogwriteforceos.com/blogwrite/corporate_blogging_guidelines/index.html

Posted by Mark June 2008

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