General

This blog will not be updated in the future, but please feel free to browse through previous posts using the links at the right. We think you’ll find some useful information there.

If you are a minister, congregation member or leader looking for help with new media tools, you may want to check out the information available on the Communications and Social Media for Unitarian Universalist Congregations web page.

If you are looking for a content moderation policy to help guide Facebook Page administrators, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church has provided an excellent sample.

In addition, many congregations may find it useful to post a public disclaimer in the “General Information” section of the “Info” tab on the congregation’s Facebook Page. (My recommendation is to begin the “General Information” section with upbeat information about your congregation, then to add the disclaimer farther down in the “General Information” section.)

Congregations are more than welcome to adapt the content moderation disclaimer which is currently on the Facebook Page of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). It reads:

About this page:

The UUA welcomes all people to contribute to conversations on this page and to share content directly related to Unitarian Universalism. Wall posts, comments, photos, and other content posted on this page are expected to be relevant and respectful.

The UUA has the right to delete any inappropriate content from this page, including but not limited to: irrelevant content, redundant content, hateful content, malicious content, uncivil or disrespectful content, attacks or complaints against an individual, financial solicitations, endorsements of a political candidate or party, and content that violates Facebook’s terms of use, code of conduct, or other policies. Content that violates Facebook’s policies may also be reported.

In the case of the UUA’s Facebook Page, “irrelevant content” is generally considered to be content that does not directly relate to Unitarian Universalism. If your congregation’s Page is intended to be a place for discussion about a wider variety of topics, you may wish to strike that phrase or develop a different definition of relevant content. That said, the rest of this disclaimer offers a good starting point for congregations looking to encourage respectful and positive contributions to the congregational Facebook Page, and to identify and discourage inappropriate content.

Following up on yesterday’s post offering a video  from the Massachusetts Bay District 2010 Spring Conference, a second video from the conference is now available. This one provides a basic overview of the opportunities and challenges of using social media in congregations. Unlike the previous video, it focuses primarily on determining a content strategy and choosing social media tools. Topics covered include:

• Building online relationships with seekers and newcomers.
• Grappling with a growing diversity of communication tools.
• A quick overview of when and why to use the following tools: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, podcasting, and YouTube.