gor[b] Paul Gorbould: Words and Pictures

Blogging guidelines, for real this time

After an abortive attempt at drafting up guidelines for how CBC'ers should and should not blog, the corp today released the real version of it's approach to employee blogging, Facebooking, podcasting and more.

It's called "Self-publishing and self-expression on the Internet", and - though not perfect - it is an eminently more sensible document. The tone is cautiously encouraging, and the bulk of it explains how existing policies - journalistic, IT and HR - affect what you do online.

Though I don't know of any bloggers who were consulted this time or last, the change in tone certainly reflects the lively conversation that evolved last time around. I recognize a few bits of the text.

And I'm very much surprised to see the last bullet point referencing the CBC Blogging Manifesto, which I helped create more than a year ago.

- The CBC Blogging Manifesto that is referred to on Inside the CBC, the official blog of the Corporation, and elsewhere on the Web, is not corporate policy or guideline. It was devised and adopted independently by a number of prominent employee bloggers. While not formally sanctioned, it nonetheless offers good advice to those wishing to blog about CBC/Radio-Canada, or to those wishing to carry out any similar self-publishing activity.