Social Media Policy

Policy Overview and Purpose
This Policy has been developed to inform our club members and associated community about using social media. Hence, people feel enabled to participate while mindful of their responsibilities and obligations. This Policy provides practical guidance allowing all parties to benefit from using social media while minimising potential risks and protecting those involved. This Policy assists in establishing a culture of openness, trust and integrity in all online activities related to Alamanda Basketball Club. This Policy contains the Alamanda Basketball Club guidelines for the Alamanda Basketball Club members and associated 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 advice from those who have approved this Policy and advice from those who have approved this Policy and Basketball Victoria guidelines. Underlying Principles This Policy complements the Alamanda Basketball Club’s core values and vision.
Coverage
This Policy applies to all persons who are involved with the activities of the Alamanda Basketball Club, whether they are in a paid or unpaid/voluntary capacity and includes:
  • members, including life members of Alamanda Basketball Club;
  • persons appointed or elected to the Alamanda Basketball Club board; Executive committees, and committees;
  • employees of Alamanda Basketball Club;
  • members of the Alamanda Basketball Club;
  • support personnel, including managers, physiotherapists, psychologists, masseurs, sports trainers and others;
  • coaches and assistant coaches;
  • athletes.
  • referees, umpires and other officials;
  • member associations such as Altona Bay Basketball Association (ABBA) and Basketball Victoria.
  • Play HQ:
This Policy is applicable when using social media as:
  • an officially designated individual representing the Alamanda Basketball Club on social media; and
  • if you are posting content on social media in relation to Alamanda Basketball Club that might affect Alamanda Basketball Club’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 Alamanda Basketball Club 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 Alamanda Basketball Club may still be regulated by other policies, rules or regulations of the Alamanda Basketball Club.
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:
  • Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, 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.
Using social media in an official capacity
You must be authorised by the Alamanda Basketball Club in writing before engaging in social media as a representative of the Alamanda Basketball Club. To become authorised to represent the Alamanda Basketball Club in an official capacity, you must have Alamanda Basketball Club official authorisation letter issued by Club President. As a part of the Altona Bay Basketball Association, PlayHQ and Basketball Victoria’s, community, you are an extension of the Alamanda Basketball Club brand. As such, the boundaries between when you are representing yourself and when you are representing the Alamanda Basketball Club can often be blurred. This becomes even more of an issue as you increase your profile or position within the Alamanda Basketball Club. Therefore, it is important that you must represent both yourself and the Alamanda Basketball Club appropriately online at all times.
Guidelines
You must adhere to the following guidelines when using social media related to the Alamanda Basketball Club or its business, products, competitions, teams, participants, services, events, sponsors, members or reputation.
Use common sense
Whenever you are unsure whether 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, private, personal, and professional, may be blurred. Remember, you are an ambassador for the Alamanda Basketball Club.
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 various 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. Alamanda Basketball Club 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 the Alamanda Basketball Club) and 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 and it may not have legal effect.
Heading
If you are an employee of the Alamanda Basketball Club you must ensure that your personal use of social media does not interfere with your work commitments or productivity.
Respect confidentiality and sensitivity
When using social media, you must maintain the privacy of the Alamanda Basketball Club’s confidential information. This includes information that is not publicly accessible, widely known, or not expected to be shared outside of the Alamanda Basketball Club. 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 the Alamanda Basketball Club, it is perfectly acceptable to talk about Alamanda Basketball Club and have a dialogue with the community, but it is not okay to publish confidential information about the Alamanda Basketball Club. And Confidential information includes things such as details about litigation, unreleased product information and unpublished details about our Club: e.g. 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. However, the Alamanda Basketball Club have all rights to use club members' photos related to club activities without any prior notifications or seeking further consent after signing and agreeing on the general terms and conditions listed under the membership application. 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/seek the consent of the copyright owner 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
You must comply with the laws governing copyright in relation to material owned by others and the Alamanda Basketball Club’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 general public and Alamanda Basketball Club's employees and members reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. You must not post any offensive material, harassing, discriminatory, embarrassing, intimidating, sexually explicit, bullying, hateful, racist, sexist or otherwise inappropriate. When using social media, you may also be bound by the Alamanda Basketball Club’s values and Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy.
Avoiding controversial issues
Within the scope of your authorisation by the Alamanda Basketball Club, if you see misrepresentations made about the Alamanda Basketball Club in the media, you may point that out to the relevant authority in your Basketball Club, and we always do so with respect and with the facts. If you speak about others, make sure your opinion is based on fact and does not discredit or belittle that party.
Dealing with mistakes
If the Alamanda Basketball Club member 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 the Alamanda Basketball Club 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 membership or voluntary involvements or employment positions at risk. You should always follow the terms and conditions for any third-party sites you participating.
Branding and intellectual property of THE Alamanda Basketball Club
You must not use any of the Alamanda Basketball Club’s intellectual property or imagery on your personal social media without prior approval from the Alamanda Basketball Club. The Alamanda Basketball Club’s intellectual property includes but is not limited to: • trademarks • logos • slogans • imagery which has been posted on the Alamanda Basketball Club's official social media sites or website. You must not create either an official or unofficial Alamanda Basketball Club presence using the organisation’s trademarks or name without prior approval from the Alamanda Basketball Club. You must not imply that you are authorised to speak on behalf of the Alamanda Basketball Club unless you have been given an official authorisation to do so by the Alamanda Basketball Club official authorisation letter signed by the club President.
Policy breaches
Breaches of this Policy include but are not limited to: Using the Alamanda Basketball Club’s name, motto, crest and/or logo in a way that would result in a negative impact on 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 breaches the Alamanda Basketball Club’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, Alamanda Basketball Club, 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.
Reporting a breach
Suppose you notice inappropriate or unlawful content online relating to the Alamanda Knights Club or any of its members, or content that may otherwise have been published in breach of this Policy. In that case, you should report the circumstances immediately.
Investigation
Alleged breaches of this social media policy may be investigated according to the Alamanda Basketball Club’s relevant policies and guidelines as well as the Windham Basketball Association and the Basketball Victoria policies and procedures. Where it is considered necessary, the Alamanda Basketball Club may report a breach of this social media policy to the 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 Alamanda Basketball Club’s Member Protection Policy. Employees of the Alamanda Basketball Club who breach this Policy may face disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment in accordance with the Alamanda Basketball Club Member Protection Policy or any other relevant policy.
Appeals
Any person who is sanctioned under a disciplinary process for breach of this Policy may have a right of appeal and details listed under the relevant member protection policy document.