Emerging platforms for online collaboration are fundamentally changing the way we work, offering new ways to engage with customers, colleagues, and the world at large. It’s a new model for interaction which can help to build stronger, more successful business relationships and provide a way to take part in global conversations related to work and industry.

There are two categories that govern Tallebudgera Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre’s use of social media:

  • for private use
  • and for business use (Tallebudgera Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre’s social media accounts).

It is improper to be communicating with students via social media using your private or unofficial social media account (e.g. twitter, Facebook, google+). This communication must be conducted using the official channels.

Items posted online within a social media environment will likely be indexed by search engines and copied by other sites, so it can remain public and associated with you even if the original post is deleted. Post with care:

  1. Understand and follow Tallebudgera Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre’s Code of Practice, Terms of Service, Acceptable Usage Policy.
  2. Ensure there is a clear division between ‘Tallebudgera Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre’ pages and ‘personal’ pages.
  3. Blogs, microblogs and other personal websites which do not identify the author as a Tallebudgera OEEC employee, do not discuss Tallebudgera OEEC and are purely personal, would fall outside this guidance.
  4. New and existing blogs, microblogs and other personal websites which do identify the author as a Tallebudgera OEEC employee should be discussed with your line manager to ensure that due impartiality and confidentiality is maintained.
  5. All posts, comments and information must be approved by the Principal / RTO Manager before being posted by the administrator.
  6. Principal / RTO Manager must check that the information in posts are suitable for release to the public and do not contain any information that is restricted or sensitive to the Department of Education’s operations.
  7. Post meaningful, respective comments and information which means no spam, off-topic remarks or offensive comments. Social communication from Tallebudgera OEEC should help our customers, partners, and co-workers and build a sense of community.
  8. Tallebudgera OEEC staff are personally responsible for the content they publish on-line, whether in a blog, social computing site or any other form of user-generated media. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time – protect your privacy and take care to understand a website’s terms of service.
  9. Follow copyright, fair use and financial disclosure laws.
  10. On Social Networking sites, you should ensure that the information you disclose does not bring Tallebudgera OEEC into disrepute.
  11. Don’t publish confidential or other proprietary information of Tallebudgera OEEC or any other company or person. If you want to post or report on a conversation that was meant to be private or internal to Tallebudgera OEEC, first seek permission from those originally involved.
  12. Never share personal information regarding other employees or customers.
  13. Don’t cite or reference clients, partners or suppliers without their prior approval. When a reference is made, where possible, link back to the source.
  14. When uploading images, information, podcasts or videos, ensure that all images used on the site have the relevant signed Consent Form. Any content that is added to the site must not infringe copyright laws. To assist individuals with visual or hearing disabilities, title images, videos or photos with a descriptor.
  15. Due care must be used when accepting fans, friends or following others. Departmental pages or sites should not follow any individuals, businesses, political parties or religious organisations. When caretaker period is in place, monitor and remove any political messages that are posted.
  16. When communicating online, behave professionally and with the utmost respect for those individuals involved in the discussion. Ethnic slurs, personal insults, foul language, or conduct that would not be acceptable at Tallebudgera OEEC  should not be used. Do not post any material that:
    1. is racist, obscene, hateful, defamatory, libellous, derogatory, threatening, profane, harassing, abusive, discriminatory or humiliating to another person or organisation
    2. vilifies individuals based on their religion, gender, race or sexuality
    3. contains copyrighted material (written, audio, video and other electronic forms) or infringes intellectual property rights
    4. contains personal information about you or another individual (including identifying information, email addresses, phone numbers or private addresses)
    5. falsely represents another individual, organisation, government or entity
    6. endorses a product, business, company or organisation
    7. promotes a product, business, company or organisation
    8. is a direct copy of information already posted on another website
    9. is irrelevant or otherwise unsuitable.
  17. On social networks where you identify yourself as an employee of Tallebudgera OEEC, be aware that the content posted will be visible to colleagues, customers and partners. Make sure that the information posted is professional.
  18. When forwarding or ‘retweeting’ messages, take care that it does not appear that Tallebudgera OEEC is endorsing a particular opinion.
  19. Refrain from engaging in heated discussion and use good judgement when expressing opinions that may pose a potential conflict. Do not post angry comments or attack individuals engaging in the discussion. Use a positive tone in all communications.
  20. If you publish content online relevant to Tallebudgera OEEC in your personal capacity, use a disclaimer such as: ‘The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent Tallebudgera OEEC’s positions, strategies or opinions.’
  21. Be aware of your association with Tallebudgera OEEC in online social networks. If you identify yourself as an employee of Tallebudgera OEEC, ensure your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues and clients.
  22. When complaints are received through social media, individuals are to be directed to the department’s Complaints Management policy to officially record complaints.
  23. Observe generally accepted online publishing standards. Do not alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so.
  24. Do not insult or disparage Tallebudgera OEEC, its products and services, or any fellow employees, even if specific names are not mentioned.
  25. Refrain from discussing specifics about work-related matters—situations, names of people or any other information that would allow someone to identify people, technical details etc., and never discuss confidential information related to Tallebudgera OEEC. A good guide is that if an employee is uncomfortable sharing content with a member of management or will be embarrassed seeing it posted in mainstream media (i.e. in a television report), then the content should not be posted. Take the time to think and reflect before hitting ‘Post’.