Comportamenti, politiche e procedure online secondo Edelman

Anticipiamo un interessante riflessione sui comportamenti nelle relazioni online proposta da Edelman. La prossima settimana la traduzione in italiano

The evolution of Edelman's policies with regard to online media closely mirrors the dramatic pace of change that has occurred in such a small period of time. And we will continue to evolve them over time to keep pace with new changes.
In the summer of 2005, such rules took the form of a "blogging policy" – a focus on a particular platform for online communications. More recently, the explosion of social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, as well as micro-publishing platforms such as Twitter, have inspired their own sets of rules and policies.
The inevitable result was several sets of policies across the enterprise and, most disturbingly, a tendency to cite a lack of policy regarding a particular site or type of site as an excuse for less-than-acceptable behavior.
Social media – and anything "social," as a matter of fact – strongly resists being heavily policed. That said, Edelman cannot possibly craft a new policy for every online destination where its clients are likely to seek acceptance and employees are likely to gather.
These rules below – necessarily a living document – have been constructed to reflect the evolving norms of online community behavior, especially as pertains to how corporations and the agencies acting on their behalf comport themselves online. These threads of commonality – woven through common sense and your company handbook – will help.
What you see below represents company policy. Edelman is committed to focusing online behavior through the lens of "doing the right thing", not "mitigating risk of getting caught." The former is proper motivation for engaging online communities. The latter rightly inspires ridicule and derision, is highly risky and should be avoided.
1. You are personally responsible for any of your online activity conducted with an Edelman email address, and/or which can be traced back to an Edelman domain, and/or which uses Edelman assets.
The edelman.com address attached to your name implies that you are acting on the company's behalf. When using an Edelman email address or Edelman assets to engage in any social media activity, be aware that all actions are public and employees will be held fully responsible for any and all said activities.
a. Honor the terms of your employment agreement, as well as those of any contract we have with any client.
It is inappropriate to disclose or use Edelman's or a client's confidential or proprietary information in any form of online media. Sharing this type of information, even unintentionally, can result in you, Edelman and the client getting sued and, in some cases, may violate SEC or other regulations.
(Michael  Hanscom Example) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3341689/
2.  Proactively disclose your true identity and affiliation with Edelman and the client you may be serving.
When participating in any online community, be completely transparent and disclose your true identity and affiliation with Edelman, your clients, and professional and/or personal interest in communicating. (Sneaky PR people Example)
http://www.techdirt.com/fotr/20030903/0222206_F.shtml
3. Respect the privacy of your colleagues and the opinions of others.
Before sharing a comment, post, picture or video about a client or colleague through any type of social media, his/her consent is not only a courtesy, it is a requirement.
4.  Gain case-by-case or standing approval from your supervisor or GCRM before writing about a client, a known competitor of that client, or otherwise responding on Edelman's or a client's behalf.
If a blogger or any other online participant posts an inaccurate, accusatory or negative comment about Edelman or Edelman's clients, do not engage in the conversation without prior approval from a supervisor.
5. Avoid personal attacks, online fights, and hostile personalities.
If a blogger or any other online influencer posts a statement you disagree with, you can voice your opinion, but do not escalate the conversation to a heated, personal argument. Speak reasonably, factually, and with good humor. Try to understand and credit the other person's point of view. Additionally, avoid communicating with hostile personalities in an effort to avoid personal, professional, or credibility attacks.
6.  Identify any copyrighted or borrowed material with citations and links.
When publishing any online material through social media that includes another's direct or paraphrased quotes, thoughts, ideas, photos, or videos, always use citations and link to the original material where applicable.
(Example: SF Chronicle's plagiarism of a blogger's coverage of the BlogHer conference:
http://www.socialmedia.biz/2005/08/plagiarism_in_t.html)
7. Evaluate your contribution's accuracy and truthfulness before posting.
Before posting any online material through social media, ensure that the material is accurate, truthful, and without factual error. It is always helpful to provide hyperlinks to credible sources that could support whatever argument you make.
If you find that you've made a mistake, admit it, apologize correct it and move on.
8. Follow the rules in Edelman's Employee Handbook.
The rules in Edelman's Employee Handbook also apply to employee behavior within social media and in public online spaces.
9. Build a reputation of trust among your clients, media and the public.
When you are reaching out to journalists, bloggers, clients or colleagues through social media, take every opportunity to build a reputation of trust and establish yourself as a credible and transparent public relations professional.
Don't use your own personal online relationships or the company's network to influence polls, rankings, or web traffic.
This is called astroturfing or sock-puppeting and is highly unethical. You are not to use the size and breadth of the company network to unduly influence polls, rankings, or web traffic where said traffic is a measure of success.
Examples include sending emails to the company network requesting that agency employees vote for clients in online polls. Here is how one company tried to do this, with disastrous results:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,2102244,00.htm
12. Do not "friend" anyone (as through a social network) whom you either do not actually  know and/or with whom you have not previously corresponded.
13. You should ask the permission of any client, journalist, blogger or other online influencer before "friending" them as through a social network. Additionally, any Edelman employee who has client, journalist, blogger, or other online influencer contacts should ask them if they want to receive communications via the social networking site. Social Networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace should not be compromised as a way to get the attention of busy clients, journalists, bloggers or other online influencers.
14. Always be respectful to Edelman, its employees, our clients and your audience.  This applies to the type of information posted as well as the manner and context in which it is presented.
15.Follow the established terms and conditions of use that have been established by the venue used for your social media activities (Web site, blog, discussion forum, etc.).  You can usually find links off the home page of each site. Don't do anything that would violate those rules.
16. Obey the law. Don't post any information or conduct any online activity that may violate applicable local, state or federal laws or regulations.
17. Don't be afraid to be yourself. Being professional doesn't mean you can't also speak in a human voice