You’re new to Facebook, Twitter and blogging, and you’re not sure what you can or cannot post. Here are some other guidelines I developed – based on my experience as a journalist – to help you.

Accuracy:
Never post information you know is wrong or questionable. If you are unsure, check your facts. Use Google, make a phone call. You can do a lot of harm with bad information. Don’t pass along gossip. If it doesn’t check out, resist the temptation to write it. 

Honesty & Truthfulness:
Don’t take other people’s comments, words or thoughts as your own. That’s plagiarism. If you post something that’s wrong, say so. Do it quickly. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you messed up. When someone calls you on it, don’t get defensive.

Avoid conflicts of interest:
Don’t write glowingly about a company that’s paying you to do so. Use common sense in dealings like this. If you’re connected in any way to something you’re writing about, reveal it.

Children and minors:
Be careful in writing about (and posting pictures) children under 18, especially if the information is not complimentary. Information you get from a parent or a school should be OK, as long as you have their permission. It’s a good idea to be careful with your own children.

Libel & Defamation:
This is very important not only to avoid lawsuits but to avoid damaging someone’s reputation. Don’t libel or defame anyone. To defame someone is to write a false statement about them that is harmful to their reputation and is written with malice. Don’t write anything negative to “get back” at someone. So, don’t post that photo of a co-worker sleeping on the job or your friend sloppy drunk at a night club,

Privacy:
Be respectful of the privacy of nonpublic officials such as your family members, friends, acquaintances and anyone else. Don’t divulge personal information about people without their permission. If they have not made their private life public, neither should you.

Public/elected figures: You have more leeway here. A public person must show that you wrote the information knowing that it was not true or you showed a reckless disregard for the truth. You can complain about and criticize elected officials. But don’t accuse them of a crime that you know they didn’t commit or you heard about from someone else who heard it from someone else. 

Links to other sites: You are not liable if someone else has wrong info on their site that you’ve linked to. But if you know the information is questionable, don’t link. And be careful about repeating something you’ve heard that you can’t verify.

 Here’s a link for more information about legal issues on the web.

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