Policy overview and purpose

 

Social media is changing the way we communicate.

 

This policy has been developed to inform our community about using social media so people feel enabled to participate, while being mindful of their responsibilities and obligations. In particular, this policy provides practical guidance allowing all parties to benefit from the use of social media, while minimising potential risks and protecting those involved. 

 

This policy assists to establish a culture of openness, trust and integrity in all online activities related to South East United Football Club (SEUFC). 

 

This policy contains SEUFC guidelines for the SEUFC community to engage in social media use. It also includes details of breaches of the policy.

 

In circumstances where guidance about social media issues has not been given in this policy, we suggest you use common sense or seek out advice from those who have approved this policy.

 

Underlying principles

 

This policy complements SEUFC’s core values:

 

Business:  A PROFESSIONAL AND TRANSPARENT ORGANISATION, INCLUSIVE AT ALL LEVELS AND FINANCIALLY SUPPORTS ALL ACTIVITIES OF THE CLUB

 

Culture:  THE CONDUCT OF THE SOUTH EAST UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB COMMUNITY IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR ACCEPTED VALUES

​

Pathways/Performance: WE PROVIDE LEADING GRASSROOTS PROGRAMS THAT DEVELOP OUR PLAYERS, ALLOWING THEM TO REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL

​

People: WE HAVE A CLEAR LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY FOR QUALITY COACHES AND VOLUNTEERS.

 

The SEUFC President is responsible for all matters related to this policy.

 

Coverage

 

This policy applies to all persons who are involved with the activities of SEUFC, whether they are in a paid or unpaid/voluntary capacity and including:

 

• members, including life members of SEUFC;

• persons appointed or elected to SEUFC boards, committees and sub-committees;

• employees of SEUFC;

• members of the SEUFC Executive;

• support personnel, including managers, physiotherapists, psychologists, masseurs, sport trainers and others;

• coaches and assistant coaches;

• athletes;

• referees, umpires and other officials;

• member associations

• <<AFFILIATED CLUBS AND ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS>>; and  

• SEUFC spectators and family members.

 

 

Scope

 

Social media refers to any online tools or functions that allow people to communicate and/or share content via the internet.

 

This social media policy applies to platforms including, but not limited to:

• SEUFC Website

• Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Yammer, etc)

• Video and photo sharing websites or apps (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Flickr, Vine, etc)

• Blogs and micro-blogging platforms (e.g. Tumblr, Wordpress, Blogger, etc)

• Review sites (e.g. Yelp, Urban Spoon, etc)

• Live broadcasting apps (e.g. Periscope, Meerkat, Facebook Mentions, etc)

• Podcasting (e.g. iTunes, Stitcher, Sound cloud, etc)

• Geo-spatial tagging (e.g. Foursquare, etc)

• Online encyclopaedias (e.g. Wikipedia, etc)

• Instant messaging (e.g. SMS, Skype, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, etc)

• Online multiplayer gaming platforms (e.g. World of Warcraft, Second life, Xbox Live, etc)

• Online voting or polls

• Public and private online forums and discussion boards

• Any other online technologies that allow individual users to upload and share content.

 

 

This policy is applicable when using social media as:

 

1. an officially designated individual representing SEUFC on social media; and

 

1. if you are posting content on social media in relation to SEUFC that might affect SEUFC’s business, products, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation. 

 

NOTE: This policy does not apply to the personal use of social media where it is not related to or there is no reference to SEUFC or its business, competitions, teams, participants, products, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation.  However, any misuse by you of social media in a manner that does not directly refer to SEUFC may still be regulated by other policies, rules or regulations of SEUFC. 

 

Using social media in an official capacity

 

You must be authorised by SEUFC President before engaging in social media as a representative of SEUFC.

 

As a part of SEUFC’s, community you are an extension of the SEUFC brand. 

 

As such, the boundaries between when you are representing yourself and when you are representing SEUFC can often be blurred. This becomes even more of an issue as you increase your profile or position within SEUFC.  Therefore it is important that you represent both yourself and SEUFC appropriately online at all times.

 

Guidelines

 

You must adhere to the following guidelines when using social media related to SEUFC or its business, products, competitions, teams, participants, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation. 

 

Use common sense

Whenever you are unsure as to whether or not the content you wish to share is appropriate, seek advice from others before doing so or refrain from sharing the content to be on the safe side. 

 

When using social media, the lines between public and private, personal and professional, may be blurred. Remember, you are an ambassador for SEUFC.

 

Protecting your privacy

Be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy.  

 

When posting content online there is potential for that content to become publicly available through a variety of means, even if it was intended to be shared privately. Therefore, you should refrain from posting any content online that you would not be happy for anyone to see, even if you feel confident that a particular individual would never see it.

 

Where possible, privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to limit access. You should also be cautious about disclosing your personal details.

 

Honesty

Your honesty—or dishonesty—may be quickly noticed in the social media environment. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue or misleading. If you are unsure, check the source and the facts before uploading or posting anything. SEUFC recommends erring on the side of caution – if in doubt, do not post or upload.

 

Do not post anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. Be transparent and honest. Use your real name, be clear about who you are and identify any affiliations you have.

 

If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. If you make an endorsement or recommendation about something you are affiliated with, or have a close relationship with, you must disclose that affiliation.  

 

The web is not anonymous. You should assume that all information posted online can be traced back to you. You are accountable for your actions both on and offline, including the information you post via your personal social media accounts.

 

Use of disclaimers

Wherever practical, include a prominent disclaimer stating who you work for or are affiliated with (e.g. member of SEUFCand that anything you publish is your personal opinion and that you are not speaking officially. This is good practice and is encouraged, but don't count on it to avoid trouble -– it may not have legal effect.

 

Reasonable use

If you are an employee of SEUFC, you must ensure that your personal use of social media does not interfere with your work commitments or productivity.

​

Complaints Process

For matters of complaint regarding Junior and Youth Football contact Michael 'Tiki' Monticchio (info@seufc.org.au).  For general club matters contact the President (president@seufc.org.au) or Secretary (secretary@seufc.org.au) and for all other complaints use info@seufc.org.au.  

 

 

 

Respect confidentiality and sensitivity

When using social media, you must maintain the privacy of  SEUFC’s confidential information. This includes information that is not publically accessible, widely known, or not expected to be shared outside of SEUFC

 

Remember, if you are online, you are on the record—much of the content posted online is public and searchable.

 

Within the scope of your authorisation by SEUFC it is perfectly acceptable to talk about SEUFC and have a dialogue with the community, but it is not okay to publish confidential information of SEUFC.  Confidential information includes things such as details about litigation, unreleased product information and unpublished details about our team, coaching practices, financial information and trade secrets.

 

When using social media you should be considerate to others and should not post information when you have been asked not to, or where consent has not been sought and given. You must also remove information about another person if that person asks you to do so.

 

Permission should always be sought if the use or publication of information is not incidental, but directly related to an individual. This is particularly relevant to publishing any information regarding minors. In such circumstances, parental or guardian consent is mandatory.

 

Gaining permission when publishing a person’s identifiable image

You must obtain express permission from an individual to use a direct, clearly identifiable image of that person.

 

You should also refrain from posting any information or photos of a sensitive nature. This could include accidents, incidents or controversial behaviour. 

 

In every instance, you need to have consent of the owner of copyright in the image.

 

Complying with applicable laws

Do not post or link to content that contains illegal or indecent content, including defamatory, vilifying or misleading and deceptive content.

 

Abiding by copyright laws

It is critical that you comply with the laws governing copyright in relation to material owned by others and SEUFC’s own copyrights and brands.

 

You should never quote or use more than short excerpts of someone else's work, and you should always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good practice to link to others' work rather than reproduce it.

 

Discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying

The public in general, and SEUFC's employees and members, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view.

 

You must not post any material that is offensive, harassing, discriminatory, embarrassing, intimidating, sexually explicit, bullying, hateful, racist, sexist or otherwise inappropriate.

 

 

Dealing with mistakes

If SEUFC makes an error while posting on social media, be up front about the mistake and address it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses SEUFC of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), address it promptly and appropriately and if necessary, seek legal advice.

 

Conscientious behaviour and awareness of the consequences

Keep in mind that what you write is your responsibility, and failure to abide by these guidelines could put your member status at risk.

 

You should always follow the terms and conditions for any third-party sites in which you participate.

 

Branding and intellectual property of SEUFC

You must not use any of SEUFC’s intellectual property or imagery on your personal social media without prior approval from SEUFC.

 

SEUFC’s intellectual property includes but is not limited to:

• trademarks

• logos

• slogans

• imagery which has been posted on SEUFC official social media sites or website.

 

You must not create either an official or unofficial SEUFC presence using the organisation’s trademarks or name without prior approval from SEUFC. 

 

You must not imply that you are authorised to speak on behalf of SEUFC unless you have been given official authorisation to do so by SEUFC President. 

 

 

Policy breaches

 

Breaches of this policy include but are not limited to:

 

• Using SEUFC’s name, motto, crest and/or logo in a way that would result in a negative impact for the organisation, clubs and/or its members.

• Posting or sharing any content that is abusive, harassing, threatening, demeaning, defamatory or libellous.

• Posting or sharing any content that includes insulting, obscene, offensive, provocative or hateful language.

• Posting or sharing any content, which if said in person during the playing of the game would result in a breach of the rules of the game.

• Posting or sharing any content in breach of SEUFC’s anti-discrimination, racial discrimination, sexual harassment or other similar policy.

• Posting or sharing any content that is a breach of any state or Commonwealth law.

• Posting or sharing any material to our social media channels that infringes the intellectual property rights of others.

• Posting or sharing material that brings, or risks bringing SEUFC, its affiliates, its sport, its officials, members or sponsors into disrepute.  In this context, bringing a person or organisation into disrepute is to lower the reputation of that person or organisation in the eyes of the ordinary members of the public.

• Using mobile phones in the change rooms for Junior/Youth football or take photos or videos of anyone without their permission.  

 

Reporting a breach

If you notice inappropriate or unlawful content online relating to SEUFC or any of its members, or content that may otherwise have been published in breach of this policy, you should report the circumstances immediately.  

 

By emailing secretary@seufc.org.au or president@seufc.org.au with as much information as possible.

 

 

Investigation

Alleged breaches of this social media policy may be investigated according to SEUFC’s …

 

Where it is considered necessary, SEUFC may report a breach of this social media policy to police.

 

Disciplinary process, consequences and appeals

Depending on the circumstances breaches of this policy may be dealt with in accordance with the disciplinary procedure contained in the SEUFC’s Member Protection Policy.   

 

Employees of SEUFC who breach this policy may face disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment in accordance with SEUFC Member Protection Policy or any other relevant policy.