What is official, personal and professional use?

Official use of social media

This document provides guidance on the selection, establishment and management of official social media accounts. Official use of social media is any use of a Queensland Government-managed social media account, profile or presence by an authorised user. Comments made through official social media accounts are representative of the agency and made by those authorised to do so. Uses can include: publishing messages, uploading content (text, images, video), and responding to communication from others.

Example:

• Sam Green is the Online Media Liaison Officer for the department he works for. The department has accounts with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Ning, that Sam is authorised to use to communicate Agency information after it has been published on the department website. Sam uses a departmental login to respond to any public enquiries or comments from the social media accounts. Sam doesn’t add any comment relating to his personal/private life or publish his private or personal details. Sam captures all of his responses for recordkeeping purposes.

Professional use of social media

Professional use of social media is based on your area of expertise and association with other practitioners in that field.

Example

• Stuart White is a Forensic Scientist working in a Government laboratory. Stuart is a highly respected expert in his field and blogs about developments in the industry informed by his work. He is careful not to disclose information about cases he is working on and provides disclaimers on his blog disassociating his views with those of his employer.

Personal use of social media

Personal use of social media is defined as individual or private use and not attributable as an official or professional use.

Examples:

• Jane Smith has personal Twitter and Facebook accounts. She uses them to keep in touch with her family and friends. She has limited personal information in her profile. She does not use Twitter or Facebook to comment on her work or her professional life.

• Laura Black has a Facebook and a Flickr account that she uses to publish photos and commentary from her holidays for her friends. Laura has included many of her work colleagues as her friends on Facebook and Flickr.

Find out more

These guidelines relate to the official government use of social media. For further advice about personal and professional use, the following may be of relevance:

• Information Standard 38: Use of ICT Facilities and Devices (IS38) – accessing social media sites for limited personal us
• the Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service² (or equivalent) – covering behavioural considerations
• the Australian Public Service Commission – Protocols for online media participation³ – Federal government online protocols (relevant, but not applicable to the Queensland Public Service).

² Refer to the Public Service Commission website

³ Circular 2009/6: Protocols for online media participation