Social Media Policies and Guidelines webinar, with case study presented by Rabbi Amy Bolton of Jewish Family Service of Bergen and North Hudson, NJ.

1. standing together. moving forward.
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES
& GUIDELINES
Presented by Lisa Colton and
Rabbi Amy Bolton, JFS Bergen
& North Hudson Counties
Oct 28, 2010

2. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
What & Why?
• Protect and guide
employees – your
online representatives.
(Like being at an
event or answering the
phone.)
• Have something to
point to when issues
arise.
• Provide comfort to
skeptics - some sense
of control.
Flickr user: mscaprikell

3. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
What & Why?
Flickr user: Matthew Piper
Flickr user: EUSKALANATO
-
=
Barriers to contributing
online are low. Help
people be mindful. Teach.

4. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Who It Covers
• Employees
(personal and
professional uses)
• Volunteers/Board
Members
• Public who
participates in your
spaces
Flickr User: Janey Kay

5. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Employees
• Today it’s about a
work/life BLEND not a
work/life balance. This
can work in your favor!

6. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Employees
• Professional Use:
• Personal Use:
-How to use, tone, info
-How/when to respond, engage (or not)
-What’s off limits
-What’s the intention
-When to ask for help
-How to avoid conflicts
-How to clarify roles, disclosures
-How to navigate fuzzy boundaries
-How to support your org/mission
-Reference other policies where
applicable

7. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Public / Community Members
• The Living Room Policy (Shel Israel):
If you came into my home and were rude to another
guest, I would ask you to stop. If you continued to be
rude, I would ask you to leave. From this point forward,
this is what I will do. If I feel you are being abusive,
hogging the conversation or otherwise discouraging the
open exchange of legitimate points of view. I will ask you
to be more polite. If you ignore the request, I will ban you
from further Comments. I call the the Living Room rule
and I will enforce it subjectively.

8. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Public / Community Members
• Set an intention for the
online space, and model it.
• “Reserve your right…” to
delete postings, etc.
• Provide appropriate
channels for private
discussions for problems,
and invite them.
• Engage in discussion. Not
all negative things are bad.
Flickr User: Jonesrocio

9. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Creating a Policy
Step 1. Establish the policy: Determine the policy and
what you want to accomplish. Buy in is important!
Step 2. Educate: Important to train and/or make
employees aware of the implications. Create ongoing
opportunities for discussion and education.
Step 3. Enforce: Less about the top down control, but
the fact that you need to consistently use the policy – it
shouldn’t sit in a drawer. Ongoing education, and
educating new employees/volunteers is important too.

10. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE

11. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Red Cross Policy
• Handbook and guidelines as well as a policy
• http://sites.google.com/site/wharman/social-media-strategy-handbook
Use Disclaimers
Be Accurate
Be Transparent
Be Considerate
Respect Copyright Laws
Be Generous
Uphold the Fundamental Principles

12. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Bread For the World Principles:
As an organization,
…we will establish a Bread presence wherever target audiences or constituencies already congregate online.
…we will be flexible as we encourage experimentation and testing of new social media tools
…we will encour-age Bread staff and supporters to use social media and Web 2.0 tools.
…we will provide train-ing and resources to Bread staff and as appropriate, for key Bread activists.
…and whenever possible, we will be supportive of social media sites initiated by Bread’s grass-roots.
...we will endeavor to ensure consistency of messages and actions across all media platforms.
…we will adhere to Bread’s policies, including those covering privacy and confidential information.
..we will identify ourselves clearly in what we write and what we post.
…we will respect copyright rules.
As individuals,
…we will not use our identity as Bread employees, including our Bread email accounts, in association with personal
sites that are outside the scope of Bread’s mission.
…we will be responsible for what we write and what we post.
…we will ensure that our blogging and social networking activities will not interfere with our work commitments.
More here: http://www.socialmedia.biz/social-media-policies/bread-for-the-worlds-social-media-policy/

13. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Examples of Other Policies
100+ sample policies from for- and non-profits:
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
Beth Kanter’s blog: http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/policy/
See many links within her posts on this topic for examples.
10 Must Haves for your Social Media Policy, from Mashable:
http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/

14. standing together. moving forward.

15. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE
of Bergen & North Hudson
Social Media Policies and Guidelines
Helping Hands from the Heart of the Community
By Rabbi Amy Bolton
October 2010

16. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
What is a Policy?
“Prudence or wisdom in the
management of affairs”
“management or procedure”
-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/policy

17. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Developing a Policy
Know your Organization’s process!
• Committee approval
• Senior Staff approval
• Legal Issues
• Trustee approval
• Streamline with existing policies

18. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
General Tips
• Mission-based
• Positive language
• Short and Sweet!

19. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
JFS Policy Outline
• Guiding Principles
• Responsibilities of Staff, Volunteers and Trustees
• Confidentiality and Copyright/Legal Issues
• Personal and Professional Boundaries

20. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
JFS Policy Outline
• Guiding Principles
• Privacy
• Personal and Professional Boundaries
• Establishing Social Media Presence
• Posting Guidelines

21. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Mission Statement
Based upon
Jewish tradition and values…
The mission of Jewish Family Service is
to strengthen and preserve the well-being
of individuals and families;
to help them effectively meet the challenges
and changes through life
by providing quality human services and
professional counseling
to all who call upon its services.

22. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Introduction
“Social media shall be utilized in a way that furthers the mission
of Jewish Family Service, Inc. (JFS) to strengthen and
preserve the well-being of individuals and families…
“JFS Staff, Trustees and volunteers are ambassadors for
the agency, and are viewed as such by the public.
Therefore, the guidelines and policies outlined below must
dictate the use of social media when engaging in online
activities both in and out of work.”

23. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Guiding Principles
“Social media shall be utilized in a way that furthers
the mission of Jewish Family Service, Inc. (JFS)”
• Preserve privacy and dignity of clients and
community members
• Education
• Community Engagement

24. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Jewish Values
Hachnasat Orchim – Welcoming Guests
• “Engage more people with JFS to better serve those in
need and provide opportunities for others to serve.”
Klal Yisrael – Unity in the Community
• “Promote community dialogue and education to enhance
partnerships”
Lashon Hara – Gossip & Negative Speech
• “Social media shall not be used in a way that promotes
gossip or the discussion of individuals over issues.
Privacy and confidentiality must be preserved in all social
media interactions.”

25. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Privacy
“Maintaining the dignity and confidentiality of
clients is essential.”
• Do not discuss specific clients or cases
• Get written permission to use photographs or video
• Direct private conversations offline

26. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Personal and Professional Boundaries
“JFS Staff, Trustees and
volunteers are ambassadors
for the agency, and are
viewed as such by the
public.”

27. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Personal and Professional Boundaries
• Official posts must be designated as such
• Clearly indicate whether posting as a representative
of JFS
• Personal online posts, publication of photos and
videos, etc, including communications on issues
unrelated to JFS, should be consistent with JFS’
mission
See New York Times Magazine article, 7/25/10
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25privacy-t2.html?pagewanted=all

28. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Personal and Professional Boundaries
“As JFS ambassadors, staff, trustees
and volunteers shall exercise sound
judgment in their personal social
media usage.”

29. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Establishing Social Media Presence
Only Executive Director approves
new social media usage
“Establishing a JFS presence on a public
social network (Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube, Linked In, etc.) must be
authorized beforehand by the Executive
Director.”

30. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Posting Guidelines
“Posts on established sites shall be updated regularly
according to the conventions of each site, only by staff,
volunteers and trustees designated by the Executive
Director.”
• Create Dialogue
• No Anonymous posts or responses
• Personal comments must be clearly designated
• Only speak for agency if explicitly told to
• Bring inappropriate posts or comments to
Management’s attention

31. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Liability & Insurance
Know your organization and potential legal pitfalls.
• Have Lawyer/Insurance Agent review policy
• Errors and Omissions
• Professional Liability (D & O)
• Employment Practices Liability
• Disclaimer

32. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Disclaimer
• On “Info” tab of JFS Facebook page

33. INTERNET STRATEGIES FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
DARIM ONLINE
Positive Outcomes
• Policy as teaching tool
• Review overall communication policies
• Keep Insurance up to date
• Solidify goals of social media