The City has an interest in engaging, informing, and cultivating its stakeholder audience using traditional as well as new media. Social media has become one of the main channels of communication for many and is an excellent communication tool for public organizations. By leveraging social media as a primary communication tool, we are engaging our customers on their terms and supporting our business goals. Communication informs, educates, listens, and responds. Sharing information from other agencies, individuals, businesses or organizations can help the public better understand the issues, influences, concerns, challenges, and opportunities before us as a public entity. Sharing our own original content personalizes our messages and demonstrates our “social persona.” In social media, there are appropriate occasions for both original and shared content. Everything we do on social media ties back to our brand and the membership we serve. We use social media for:
· Organizational press releases, announcements, media information, event information, photos, job opportunities, and membership or municipal-related interest news and resources. We do not share or post:
· Political advocacy information (endorsements) or crude, rude, offensive, or derogatory statements. Community Standards
We encourage a dialogue with our audience regarding City services and related topics where communication and self-expression is made with respect and courtesy to others. As such, municipal site administrators will remove a comment if it violates our terms of use:
Terms of Use
The purpose of this policy is to establish regulations that are intended to help facilitate and enhance the exchange of information and ideas through the City’s Social Media. Any comment posted by a member of the public on an official City social media page or department social media page is the opinion of the commentator only, and its publication on such Page shall not imply endorsement of or agreement by the City. All Social Media established by the City, including the City’s Social Media Page and those Pages utilized by individual City departments, is not intended to create a public forum. As such, each Page shall have, in a place visible to the public or accessible by link, a notice that comments containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed for posting and will be removed:
a) Comments not related to the topic of discussion;
b) Profane, obscene, uncivil, harassing, or inappropriate language or content;
c) Sexual content;
d) Solicitations of commerce;
e) Promotion or encouragement of illegal activity;
f) Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public, public systems, the City, its employees, or public officials;
g) Content that reflects negatively on the City, its employees, or public officials, unless such comment relates to a matter of public concern and is otherwise in compliance with the remaining provisions of this policy;
h) content that holds the City of Girard, its departments, officers, employees or public officials in false light
i) Defamatory remarks, personal attacks, or threats against any individual person or group of people. j) Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any party;
k) Any content in violation of or inconsistent with federal, state, or local laws and ordinances;
l) Links to any outside websites that are inconsistent with this policy;
m) Content that is repetitive or duplicative;
n) Any content not listed herein but that is otherwise inconsistent with the spirit of civility intended by these Terms of Use & Comment Policy. The City reserves the right to remove content that is deemed in violation of this policy, applicable law, or the City’s employee handbook. Any participant on a City Social Media Page or Department Social Media Page that repeatedly violates the commenting guidelines as set forth in this policy may be permanently removed from the City’s social media page(s). The City reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend access to any Page at any time.
