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Council blogging

So, The Improvement Service (which sounds faintly menacing, and makes me imagine the staff all walk around the office with straight backs, books balanced on their heads and have perfect pronunciation) have issued a guide for Scottish Councillors about blogging and tweeting.

Now, is it just me, or is this a bit silly? If you're tweeting or blogging, then you're at least mildly tech savvy. And if you're a Councillor, then you're probably pretty smart, and also reasonably aware about confidentiality, public image etc. You know what people will be interested in hearing about from you, what your constituents concerns are.

So, does it really need an 11 page guide to tell you how to do that?

I think that 3 sentences on page 7 about what not to do should perhaps be given a bit more prominence, else Councillors are going to blunder into trouble....

So, some top tips for Councillors on blogging and tweeting, from moi:

  • Don't talk about confidential stuff.
  • Don't be abusive or racist.
  • Don't say anything about someone you wouldn't say to them in person.
  • Don't forget that, once something's on the internet, it's there for good, even if you delete it.

In other words: Don't be dumb.



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