The phenomenal growth in digital technology and the rise of social media platforms over the past few years have revolutionised the way in which people communicate and share information. The use of social media tools in society around the world has been gaining acceptance in all spheres of society. This provides an opportunity for two-way communication between government and citizens, partners and stakeholders thereby increasing the frequency and speed of engagement. At the same time social media presents new challenges to governments who must address resulting citizen expectations and the differences in communication culture while navigating the blurry line between official and personal use. All around the world, including South Africa, people are embracing digital technology to communicate in ways that could never have been imagined just a few years ago. With this in mind, governments across the world have begun to recognise the need to embrace social media, but are generally still finding their feet in terms of the most effective use of these new communication tools. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of these guidelines are to create awareness of some of the opportunities that social media presents for government, as well as making government agencies and staff aware of how to manage the risks associated with the use of this kind of technology. The guidelines focus on guidance in the use of social media within the South African government communications environment, in order to improve government transparency, participation and interaction with the public. These policy guidelines establish the principles for: • government employees using social media for official government communication purposes; and • personal use of social media by government employees, when the employee‘s government affiliation is identified, known, or presumed. The intention is to provide: • a standard personal responsibility for government employees • an introductory overview of the social media tools that are most likely to be relevant in a South African environment; • the potential benefits and risks associated with these tools; • guidance in best-practice use of social media; brief examples of where such social media tools have been used in government; and 4 GCIS Social Media Guidelines and Resources • general advocacy applications. These guidelines are not an exhaustive user manual or instruction guide on social media or specific social media tools. Government departments or agencies differ when it comes to communication objectives, audience profiles, availability of human and technical resources, Internet use policies and other factors that will dictate if, what, when and how social media is used. Also, the social media environment is an extremely fluid one, and the available tools and applications are constantly evolving to address evolving user needs. An exhaustive user manual would run into hundreds of pages, and generally be redundant before it is published, in terms of accuracy of information. While governments around the world may face some challenges in adopting social media tools, we are convinced that the potential benefits of using selected social media tools far outweigh any risks, and these benefits will continue to grow as more and more South Africans bridge the digital divide. As public servants we have a unique opportunity to step out and be part of the digital revolution, joining a historical transition that allows conversations with the public, rather than simply communicating to them. South African government employees have the same rights of free speech as other citizens when it comes to the use of, and participation in online social media platforms. As public servants, however, government employees have some additional obligations when it comes to sustaining, building and defending the reputation of government through social media. Social media are powerful communication tools that have a significant impact on institutional and professional reputations. Because they blur the lines between personal voice and institutional voice, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has produced the following policy guidelines to help clarify how best to enhance and protect institutional and personal reputations when participating in social media. The use of social media in a government department will also be governed by the department’s Internet and email policies, which sets out unacceptable behaviour while using the Internet. As technology and social media platforms evolve, this policy and its accompanying handbook of resources will also evolve as our collective experience in the use of social media evolves.
Tuesday, 24 May 2016
Q.4 INAPPROPRIATE DIGITAL CONDUCT AND THE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY
INAPPROPRIATE DIGITAL CONDUCT AND THE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY
The phenomenal growth in digital technology and the rise of social media platforms over the past few years have revolutionised the way in which people communicate and share information. The use of social media tools in society around the world has been gaining acceptance in all spheres of society. This provides an opportunity for two-way communication between government and citizens, partners and stakeholders thereby increasing the frequency and speed of engagement. At the same time social media presents new challenges to governments who must address resulting citizen expectations and the differences in communication culture while navigating the blurry line between official and personal use. All around the world, including South Africa, people are embracing digital technology to communicate in ways that could never have been imagined just a few years ago. With this in mind, governments across the world have begun to recognise the need to embrace social media, but are generally still finding their feet in terms of the most effective use of these new communication tools. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of these guidelines are to create awareness of some of the opportunities that social media presents for government, as well as making government agencies and staff aware of how to manage the risks associated with the use of this kind of technology. The guidelines focus on guidance in the use of social media within the South African government communications environment, in order to improve government transparency, participation and interaction with the public. These policy guidelines establish the principles for: • government employees using social media for official government communication purposes; and • personal use of social media by government employees, when the employee‘s government affiliation is identified, known, or presumed. The intention is to provide: • a standard personal responsibility for government employees • an introductory overview of the social media tools that are most likely to be relevant in a South African environment; • the potential benefits and risks associated with these tools; • guidance in best-practice use of social media; brief examples of where such social media tools have been used in government; and 4 GCIS Social Media Guidelines and Resources • general advocacy applications. These guidelines are not an exhaustive user manual or instruction guide on social media or specific social media tools. Government departments or agencies differ when it comes to communication objectives, audience profiles, availability of human and technical resources, Internet use policies and other factors that will dictate if, what, when and how social media is used. Also, the social media environment is an extremely fluid one, and the available tools and applications are constantly evolving to address evolving user needs. An exhaustive user manual would run into hundreds of pages, and generally be redundant before it is published, in terms of accuracy of information. While governments around the world may face some challenges in adopting social media tools, we are convinced that the potential benefits of using selected social media tools far outweigh any risks, and these benefits will continue to grow as more and more South Africans bridge the digital divide. As public servants we have a unique opportunity to step out and be part of the digital revolution, joining a historical transition that allows conversations with the public, rather than simply communicating to them. South African government employees have the same rights of free speech as other citizens when it comes to the use of, and participation in online social media platforms. As public servants, however, government employees have some additional obligations when it comes to sustaining, building and defending the reputation of government through social media. Social media are powerful communication tools that have a significant impact on institutional and professional reputations. Because they blur the lines between personal voice and institutional voice, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has produced the following policy guidelines to help clarify how best to enhance and protect institutional and personal reputations when participating in social media. The use of social media in a government department will also be governed by the department’s Internet and email policies, which sets out unacceptable behaviour while using the Internet. As technology and social media platforms evolve, this policy and its accompanying handbook of resources will also evolve as our collective experience in the use of social media evolves.
The phenomenal growth in digital technology and the rise of social media platforms over the past few years have revolutionised the way in which people communicate and share information. The use of social media tools in society around the world has been gaining acceptance in all spheres of society. This provides an opportunity for two-way communication between government and citizens, partners and stakeholders thereby increasing the frequency and speed of engagement. At the same time social media presents new challenges to governments who must address resulting citizen expectations and the differences in communication culture while navigating the blurry line between official and personal use. All around the world, including South Africa, people are embracing digital technology to communicate in ways that could never have been imagined just a few years ago. With this in mind, governments across the world have begun to recognise the need to embrace social media, but are generally still finding their feet in terms of the most effective use of these new communication tools. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of these guidelines are to create awareness of some of the opportunities that social media presents for government, as well as making government agencies and staff aware of how to manage the risks associated with the use of this kind of technology. The guidelines focus on guidance in the use of social media within the South African government communications environment, in order to improve government transparency, participation and interaction with the public. These policy guidelines establish the principles for: • government employees using social media for official government communication purposes; and • personal use of social media by government employees, when the employee‘s government affiliation is identified, known, or presumed. The intention is to provide: • a standard personal responsibility for government employees • an introductory overview of the social media tools that are most likely to be relevant in a South African environment; • the potential benefits and risks associated with these tools; • guidance in best-practice use of social media; brief examples of where such social media tools have been used in government; and 4 GCIS Social Media Guidelines and Resources • general advocacy applications. These guidelines are not an exhaustive user manual or instruction guide on social media or specific social media tools. Government departments or agencies differ when it comes to communication objectives, audience profiles, availability of human and technical resources, Internet use policies and other factors that will dictate if, what, when and how social media is used. Also, the social media environment is an extremely fluid one, and the available tools and applications are constantly evolving to address evolving user needs. An exhaustive user manual would run into hundreds of pages, and generally be redundant before it is published, in terms of accuracy of information. While governments around the world may face some challenges in adopting social media tools, we are convinced that the potential benefits of using selected social media tools far outweigh any risks, and these benefits will continue to grow as more and more South Africans bridge the digital divide. As public servants we have a unique opportunity to step out and be part of the digital revolution, joining a historical transition that allows conversations with the public, rather than simply communicating to them. South African government employees have the same rights of free speech as other citizens when it comes to the use of, and participation in online social media platforms. As public servants, however, government employees have some additional obligations when it comes to sustaining, building and defending the reputation of government through social media. Social media are powerful communication tools that have a significant impact on institutional and professional reputations. Because they blur the lines between personal voice and institutional voice, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has produced the following policy guidelines to help clarify how best to enhance and protect institutional and personal reputations when participating in social media. The use of social media in a government department will also be governed by the department’s Internet and email policies, which sets out unacceptable behaviour while using the Internet. As technology and social media platforms evolve, this policy and its accompanying handbook of resources will also evolve as our collective experience in the use of social media evolves.
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