Telstra – staff can tweet if they do it transparently
Telstra has today published its internal rules of engagement for social media.
Writing on the telco’s Now We Are Talking blog, David Quilty, the company’s group MD for public policy and communications, says that staff aren’t banned from participating in social media conversations, but says they should disclose their affiliations. He says:
“People will still use social media and inevitably conversations turn to matters relating to Telstra. So shouldn’t we start from a position that Telstra employees are responsible people and, if we give them the opportunity, they are likely to be among our best advocates – our best online ‘word of mouthers’ if you like?”
Although Telstra had already been working on rules of engagement, the publicity surrounding the fake Stephen Conroy Twitter profile, which turned out to be written by employee Leslie Nassar, focused the company’s attention.
According to Quilty, the rules boil down to the three Rs – responsibility, respect and representation.
However, when it comes to Twitter, full disclosure may be a problem in 140 characters, as Nassar demonstrated this morning, tweeting:
“The following Tweet is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the position or attitude of my employer, Telstra. — cat in my”
On Wednesday, Mike Hickinbotham, Telstra’s senior social media adviser will be speaking at the Mumbrella Masterclass on using social media as a marketing tool about the company’s experiences with Twitter. And next Monday, Nassar will be speaking at Social Media Club Sydney about his experiences.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Is grammar important in communication?
Is it me or is grammar so unimportant that the “MD for public policy and communications” for such a small organisation like Telstra should think so little of it…. Perhaps with the global financial climate Telstra can’t afford a corporate proof reader… “More often than not” I suspect is more correct….
But – I have a serious question for the Dag’s Dictionary – what do you call a professional communicator who pluralises a word that cannot be plural…. perhaps a multipluraliser, or an essingerliser, perhaps a clumsies…
The person used very specific communications to explain the problem…..
The bloke gave me too many informations……
The rain came down and saturations happened in many towns…..
They have been displaying their eruditions….
I blame silicon valley for the only vaguely acceptable use of the word “communications” – many parallel cables communicating in unison…
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Anonymous,
Way to miss the point. Are you drunk?
Did you mean to simply say “communications isn’t a real word.”
Except you’re wrong and it is.
Communication can quite happily be pluralised in certain senses, such as the one used.
Grab your nearest dictionary, you twunt.
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