Social Media Caption Template Document

Digital media connects people. Information technology tin exist used to educate the public about the government's work and services, promote cooperation beyond authorities, and connect internal audiences that are traditionally stove-piped and geographically dispersed. Engaging with others on social media puts a face to a bureaucratic federal bureau -- expanding the government'southward outreach capabilities.

The following Digital Media Guide provides website and social media best practices and is regularly updated to accost changes in the digital space.

Approved Social Media Services

The Department is required to review Terms of Service (TOS) and complete a Privacy Impact Cess (PIA) on any social media service, prior to creating new social media accounts at any level in the Section. View a total listing of social media services that are canonical for use by the Department.

If you are interested in using a social media service that is not approved, contact the social media atomic number 82 for your bureau to inquire about starting the process.

Official Social Media Accounts

Each agency and office is required to maintain an inventory of all official social media accounts and to provide that listing on the U.S. Digital Registry and the agency's or function's public website. When calculation your accounts to the U.Due south. Digital Registry, you must include:

• "Section of the Interior (DOI)" along with your bureau in the agency department.
• Additional account contact data in case of an emergency in the notes section.

Social media accounts should be updated regularly. Social media accounts that haven't been updated in 3 months will be assessed past the bureau that manages them to decide if they should exist archived and deleted.

For an official multi-partner/multi-agency entity, where a DOI bureau is a partner, then the social media accounts created to stand for that entity volition need to follow the social media policies of the chief partner'south Agency and partner's bureau.

For instance, in the case of an entity where the primary partner is a DOI bureau, so the entity volition need to follow all related social media policies of DOI and whatsoever additional policies of that DOI agency. If in that location are more than i DOI bureau partners within the entity, where one of those bureaus is considered the primary partner, and then the entity tin can decide which DOI bureau's social media policies they prefer to follow.

Rules of the Road

• The DOI Digital Media Policy addresses specific guidelines for the appropriate use of social networking websites and other social media technologies. Consult the policy before getting started.
• Only post information that is publicly available on the master bureau, Departmental or government website (OMB M-10-23, Section iii, "Agencies should also provide individuals with alternatives to third-political party websites and applications. People should be able to obtain comparable information and services through an agency'due south official website or other official means.").
• The majority of social platforms let for comments to exist submitted in response to posts. Refer to the Web/Social Media Comments department.
• Exercise not engage in arguments or debates from an official regime account(due south). Responding factually to substantive questions is OK, only engaging in policy contend is not. See the Response to Social Media Comments section.
• Exist sure that commercial advertizing does non appear on your social media site, prior to making the site public, whenever possible and accept activity to have the provider remove commercial advertising as soon as you notice it.
• Work with your bureau records direction office to decide how content posted on official social media accounts and the comments submitted as responses should be managed as Federal Records. Run across the records section below for more details. Follow the applicable rules pertaining to the revelation of personally identifiable data (PII) of any individual, including DOI employees, via social media. Run into the privacy and social media section.
• Practise not utilize a service in a manner that would violate DOI's terms of service, Privacy Impact Assessment or social media System of Records Notice.

Requesting Social Media Accounts

All social media accounts must be approved before an part/location creates a new account. The Office of Communications Digital Team approves new social media accounts for the Section'south offices. Bureau social media leads are responsible for approving new social media accounts for that bureau.

Whatsoever part, site location or program that wants to create a new social media account must fill out the social media request form.

Each official social media account (both new and already existing) must accept a primary contact who is responsible for passwords; onboarding, training, and offboarding employees who have access to that account; and sharing internal social media guidance. The contact must be a total-time, permanent employee. Official accounts must have a backup contact who fills in when the main contact is unavailable or on leave.

If contractor staff are intended to assistance manage an official account, and then the cosmos or writing of content (i.e., posts, tweets, etc.) must be done by the federal point of contact for that business relationship, or by another federal employee. If the contractor wants to write the post, information technology should exist reviewed by the federal indicate of contact earlier being posted. Contractor staff demand to become their content approved since they are not considered official representatives of the Department or Bureaus and are non able to speak on behalf of those organizations.

Any social media account that has not been approved via the official approval process may be terminated.

Onboarding and Offboarding

Interior employees must successfully complete the social media preparation class and sign the social media user understanding earlier existence granted authorisation and access to mail service to a government social media account.

The primary contact for a social media account is responsible for onboarding and offboarding employees, including brand sure individuals have the mandatory social media training and sign the social media user understanding. They also will remove social media access for employees who no longer need it.

Onboarding Social Media Access

All new employees must review the Digital Media Policy, successfully take the social media grooming and sign the user agreement before getting access to an official social media accounts. If a agency requires training beyond the 1 required at the Section-level, new employees are also required to successfully complete that training before access is granted. See the security section beneath for roles.

Offboarding Social Media Admission

When an employee leaves the Section, ends her/his detail, or moves to a different office and no longer has social media responsibilities, all passwords to social media accounts that person had access must to exist updated within 24 hours. If that person had delegated access to accounts, their access must exist revoked inside 24 hours.

When offboarding an employee of social media duties, brand sure to reassess who needs to keep having access to accounts and the third-party apps that are allowed to postal service. See the security section beneath for more details on each platform.

Blogging

There are many benefits and risks in maintaining a public weblog on a government website, with the tiptop risk being the potential legal liabilities. Although blogs are generally meant to be informal, DOI blogs are official regime communications and must be treated as such. Their content must be controlled to ensure that it is in keeping with the mission and reputation of the authoring agency.

Rules of the Route

• Consult the DOI Digital Media Policy.
• Blog Approval and Direction
  • Web log posts must exist written past Interior personnel or affiliated programs. Per SOL memorandum "External Writer Blog" dated September 19, 2011, "Allowing an author outside the Department of the Interior (DOI) to blog … presents problems including noncompliance with information quality guidelines pursuant to the Information Quality Act and the possible advent of endorsement by DOI of specific organizations or companies."
• Approving and cosmos of a new weblog requires that DOI bureaus or offices
  • Establish guidance regarding editing/disqualifying submissions if the public is immune to place comments on the blog;
  • Found guidance regarding replies to comments or questions if the public is immune to submit blog comments;
• Web log Content
  • Anything posted to the spider web that is managed, maintained, hosted, or sponsored past the Department of the Interior and/or any of its offices or bureaus is an official government publication and must comply with all applicable Federal laws and policies.
  • Blogs are intended for the informal exchange of information and ideas and not every bit a conduit to receive official comments on bureau proposed rulemaking. They play no official part in organizational controlling. Citizens wishing to get out comments regarding Federal Register notices must do then via the procedure described in the notice.
  • Blogs must be predictable, reliable, and dependable. Once a blog is started, information technology must be regularly updated. However, blogs may be established to support a specific project or written report. When the projection of study is completed, the final web log entry volition clearly point the appointment blog entries were ended.
• Blogging using external sites:
  • If you lot host a blog on an external site, such as Medium or Tumblr, the content must exist cross-posted to a government website in some form or you've established a way to archive content for records purposes. See more on records section below.

Web/Social Media Linking and Sharing

It's of import to be thoughtful with what y'all post on the spider web and social media and how you phrase it. While the post-obit list isn't all-encompassing and does not include all possible scenarios, it may exist used to guide decision making when it comes to what to link to or share. Consult with your Bureau Ethics Office for more details as some bureaus have additional restrictions in place.

• Political Parties and Groups: The Department volition go along its exercise of not sharing content from accounts run by political parties or partisan political groups. It would exist appropriate to share content from @WhiteHouse, official @POTUS, @FLOTUS and @VP. Equally the federal government, we must never show political bias. DOI bureaus may have boosted restrictions with regards to sharing content from non-DOI accounts. Contact your social media lead at your bureau for more information.
  • Remember that fifty-fifty after elections, campaign accounts are still run past a political party and all the same off-limits. This includes accounts such as @BarackObama, @JoeBiden, etc. The bios should indicate that the accounts are run past campaign organizers. Professional judgment (or consultation with your ideals office) may be required.
  • A partisan political group is defined past the Hatch Act equally any committee, club, or other system which is affiliated with a party or candidate for public office in a partisan ballot, or organized for a partisan purpose, or which engages in partisan political activity. The give-and-take "partisan," when used as an adjective, means related to a political party. "Political activity" means an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political role, or partisan political group. (5 CFR 734.101) Determining if an account is indeed run past a partisan entity volition require a case-past-case assay. However, if a website is soliciting donations for a partisan political party, candidate, or arrangement, the group or organization who runs the website is engaged in partisan political activity and would thus be accounted a partisan political grouping and DOI should not share content from its social media accounts.
• Endorsements: Never share, retweet, or repost content that would imply (or appear to imply) that the federal authorities is promoting a company or encouraging the public to buy something.
• Outside posts: It is OK to share content from people who visit public lands -- it's the point of existence social on social media -- and tagging their content. See the photo section for crediting outside photographers.
• Lobbying: Never share, retweet, or repost content that shows support/opposition to a legislative bill. Anti-lobbying laws prohibit the Department from advocating for or against anything that requires activity from Congress or country legislatures or covertly influencing public opinion. The 2015 GAO report on the EPA'due south H2o Rule communications provides social media guidance that equally function of the anti-lobbying provisions, the federal government cannot:
  1. Brand any kind of express appeal to the public to contact Congress regarding proposed or pending legislation;
  2. Link to (or liking, retweeting, etc.) any website/social media account making an appeal to contact Congress regarding proposed or pending legislation;
     • It's important to keep in mind before you link to/share content from an outsider organization that under GAO'southward interpretation, the Department would exist at risk of a violation of the anti-lobbying provisions even if an entreatment to Congress is added afterwards nosotros linked (or otherwise shared) the content.
  3. Covertly represent the Department's views (such as through a Thunderclap campaign); and
  4. Cocky-aggrandize (inflate the importance of the agency).
  • If you take questions well-nigh specific examples, we are happy to talk them through with you.
• Loose-lips: Only post data or information that is publicly available. Never share internal guidance on social media.
• Mission-focus: But share, retweet, or repost content that relates to the Section's mission. It's OK to share mission-related content, including from partners, other federal agencies, Interior bureaus, and public lands locations. Before you retweet or share annihilation with a link, be sure to read the unabridged article.
• News articles: You lot may share, retweet, or repost links to news manufactures if they are related to the Department's mission. It'due south also OK to share manufactures about or include quotes from employee(s) at your location, office or bureau. Here's a set of guidelines for sharing links to external news manufactures:
  • Brand certain the commodity is fair, accurate, and unbiased and the article meets OMB's guidance on Ensuring Information Quality and Accuracy (Section 11).
  • Make sure the article is primarily about the work/science of the Department and/or your agency.
  • Try to avoid links to articles behind paywalls.
  • When in uncertainty, contact your bureau's social media lead.
• News articles on websites: You may share links to news manufactures (as above) on your websites.
  • Interior websites contain notices that links do not imply endorsements.
  • Practice non include conflicting endorsement linguistic communication with the links themselves.
  • Instance: DOI.gov shares external news with its eponymous "External News" tool. Information technology presents the story in news-feeds, clearly flagged as being from another government source or a commercial source.
  • Your agency may choose to institute a more restrictive policy. Check your bureau guidance before publishing.

Ethics

DOI employees, or those working on behalf of DOI, who use social media for strictly personal utilise exterior of the workplace do not require approval to exercise so. All the same, many laws, regulations, and policies that apply to an employee's official activities apply besides to employee activities in their personal lives. The U.S. Part of Special Counsel has issued 2 documents (hyperlinks below) containing guidance on political activity past federal employees.

• TheHatch Act Guidance on Social Media includes a number of examples illustrating how personal social media use and the Hatch human action intersect.
• TheSocial Media Quick Guide includes a checklist for immune and disallowed social media activeness for all federal employees in their personal chapters and those who are farther restricted from actively participating in partisan political management or campaigns under the Hatch Act.

Remember: Employees, even when not on duty or in the workplace, may non post or tweet a message that solicits political contributions or invites people to a fundraising event. Additionally, employees, fifty-fifty when not on duty or in the workplace, may not like, share or retweet a mail service that solicits political contributions, including invitations to fundraising events.

Below is a chart with some typical scenarios you may run across and how you lot can respond in your official or personal capacity. If you are ever unsure always consult your ethics role.

Activity	Official Capacity	Personal Chapters
ane) Share content about bills in forepart of Congress?	Information technology is permissible to share content about a beak but you may not vestibule Congress or urge others to lobby Congress in your official capacity or past using official resources (see #4 below).	Yes, but on your ain time and on your own device (see #4below).
2) Fundraise for nonprofits (in some cases, you'll accept to check with ethics)?	Check with Ideals Counselor, in most instances this is impermissible.	Aye merely not at piece of work. You may never solicit funds from a prohibited source (defined at 5 CFR 2635.203(d)). You may not create the appearance that DOI is endorsing your activities.
3) Highlight partner stores, friends group events that cost coin?	Absent express authority, you may not endorse or encourage the public to buy items at partner or friends group stores. A purely informational post nigh available services may be permissible with a disclaimer, but consult your ideals office.	Yes, just it cannot appear DOI is sanctioning or endorsing your activities or those of another.
4a) Advocate for or comment on bills in front end of Congress?	4a) NEVER on social media.	4a) Yep.
4b) Bills in state legislatures?	4b) NEVER on social media.	4b) Yes.

Photos

Buying

Just because a photograph is on social media or the internet, doesn't hateful it's in the public domain. For photos not in the public domain, it'due south important to go permission to utilise the photo and properly credit the photographer.

The main (and like shooting fish in a barrel to remember) dominion is that if a federal employee shoots video or takes a picture on regime fourth dimension with a government-supplied photographic camera, the "work" (the image/video) belongs to the employer (the federal government), not the photographer. Copyright works very differently when the work is a federal product:

• "United states regime artistic works, including writing, images, and estimator code, are usually prepared by officers or employees of the United States authorities every bit part of their official duties." (USA.gov/authorities-works)
• "A 'piece of work of the Us Government,' referred to in this document every bit a U.Southward. Regime work, is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Authorities as part of that person's official duties." (See 17 USC § 101, Definitions.)
• For more on copyrights, check out the USA.gov entry on U.South. authorities creative works.

Credit

Photograph credits may be required.

• OCO requires photo credits for DOI.gov.
• Licensing may crave photo credit.
• Images non created by the government must be credited in such a fashion that our usage/license is clear.
• If a photo is from an outside photographer, that photographer still owns the copyright and you must give the photographer credit. Do Non link to the photographer's website in the post. We are non the marketing arm of professional photographers. If someone asks to purchase a user-submitted photo that you shared on social media, you may suggest that the person contact the photographer directly.

Below is how Interior credits photos on social media (Bureaus can create their own standard):

• Interior e'er includes a photo credit. The ane exception is Twitter: If a photograph was taken past an Interior employee and is in the public domain, that tweet will non include a photo credit in the interest of saving space. Photos taken past employees are credited as "Photo by [employee name], [Agency]." or "Photo by [Agency]." if the employee name is non known.
• Photos from the Share the Feel photograph contest are credited as "Photo by [photographer name] (www.sharetheexperience.org)." To save infinite on Twitter, the photographer's name is just used in the credit.
• Photos taken by the public and given permission past the Section to share on social media are credited as "Photo courtesy of [photographer name]." To save space on Twitter, the lensman's name is only used in the credit.

Web/Social Media Comments

Comments received through two-way blogs or social media sites must be reviewed by the agency (or DOI if it is a Departmental blog). All sites that permit visitors to mail comments should make information technology clear whether comments will be moderated and should include a disclaimer.

Below is the instance of the comment policy for Interior's Facebook page that was vetted with the Solicitor's Office:

"We welcome your comments and promise that our conversations hither will be courteous. Y'all are fully responsible for the content of your comments.

"Nosotros do not discriminate against any views, but nosotros reserve the correct to delete whatsoever of the post-obit:

• off-topic comments
• tearing, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, or racist comments
• comments that threaten or defame any person or organisation
• the violation of the privacy of some other individual
• solicitations, advertisements, or endorsements of any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency
• comments that advise or encourage illegal activity
• comments promoting or opposing any person who is campaigning for election to a political part or promoting or opposing whatever ballot suggestion
• comments including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, residential addresses, or like information
• multiple, successive off-topic posts by a single user
• repetitive posts copied and pasted by multiple users

"Communication made through this service's due east-mail and/or messaging organization will in no way establish a legal or official notice or comment to the U.Southward. Department of the Interior (or bureau) or any official or employee of the U.S. Department of the Interior (or bureau) for whatever purpose.

"References to commercial entities, products, services, or nongovernmental organizations or individuals are provided solely for information. These references are non intended to reverberate the opinion of U.S. Department of the Interior (or agency), the United States Government, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to exist given the referenced entity, product, service, or system. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service and may non be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying U.S. Department of the Interior (or bureau) endorsement or approving of any product, person, or service.

"Reporters or other media representatives are asked to send questions through their normal channels (the advisable DOI/bureau office public affairs or communications office) and to refrain from submitting questions here equally comments. Reporter questions may exist removed.

"This Comment Policy is discipline to amendment or modification at any time to ensure that its connected use is consistent with its intended purpose as a limited forum."

Inappropriate Comments on Social Media

If someone makes an inappropriate annotate on social media that violates the account'southward social media policy, remind that person to be respectful of the comment policy. Here's a helpful guide for determining how to handle the comments.

Case response: "We keep this a safe place for give-and-take and instruction, costless of [INSERT INFRACTION]. Any comments that go against our community guidelines (share where posted) will exist removed. Please feel free to comment again with respect for the guidelines!"

When inappropriate comments cross the line and become a threat:

• Take a screenshot of the comment for records (if information technology's on Facebook, practice not hide the comment).
• Email the comment URL and screenshot to the law enforcement contact at your location, who will decide what steps to take and must retain according to their ain records schedule.

What to Practice When Yous Come across Threatening or Illegal Activity

• You must report any comments about threatening or illegal activeness yous see on a government social media account.
• Have a screenshot of the post for records (see social media records section).
• Do not delete or hibernate the mail service.
• Study it to your bureau'south law enforcement pb or the law enforcement lead at your site (due east.g., park, refuge, etc.) and be sure to share the link of the post and the screenshot.
• If the investigator provides a specific notification to hold the post/annotate it must be retained regardless of the records schedule until the hold is specifically removed.
• If the investigator provides no specific instructions to concur, then the normal records retention schedule should be followed. See the investigative guidance in the social media records section.

Mishaps: What to Do When Things Go Wrong

Nosotros all make mistakes. Sometimes information technology'southward small, such equally a typo. Other times in spite of our all-time efforts, major accidents can happen.

There is a difference betwixt deleting and correcting content on social media.

• Deleting: A post should be deleted if the content should have never been posted in the first place (east.chiliad., the content doesn't reverberate the social media policy, or the account was hacked).
• Correcting: Correcting is when you update a post, or reply to the mail equally a comment, to clarify linguistic communication while still preserving the meaning of the original postal service.

What should you do when a mistake happens? Below are a number of mistakes that can happen and the steps you lot should have:

Grammer Mistakes

• Update the post on the platforms you lot tin can edit. If it'south on Twitter and yous observe it within a couple minutes of posting, delete and repost without the grammar mistake.
• Be sure to reply to any comment acknowledging the grammar mistake for transparency.
• Correcting grammar or typographical changes can exist made without preserving a re-create for records because these are considered non-substantive changes and have no records value.

Accidental Share, Hacked Login or Inaccurate Mail

• Remain at-home. Accept a screenshot of the post and so y'all tin can utilize it in your debriefing later and in case information technology is deemed a federal tape (see social media records section).
• Immediately delete the post.
• Contact your supervisor and your bureau's social media lead, who volition determine who else needs to be alerted in the Department.
  • If something majorly problematic has occurred, your public affairs staff and the Office of Communications at Interior volition need to know the details in case additional follow-up is required.
• If in that location is a question almost who posted it, immediately update passwords and review/revoke app access (see security section).
• Acknowledge what happened on the aforementioned feed where the trouble occurred, and notation the deportment taken.
  • For instance with an adventitious reshare, "Before we accidentally published a post that has since been deleted. We're looking into how that happened."
  • Bank check out this example from Reuters Twitter account about how to handle a correction.
  • Hither'south an example from McDonald's about how to handle a hack.
• Movement on. Don't dwell on the mistake. Go back to your regular posting. Avoid trolls.
• Review the incident with your social media team. What went incorrect? What went correct? How tin you amend your policies, practices, training, or response going forward?
• For more on hacking, explore the Federal Cyber-Vandalism Toolkit.

Posting Personally Identifiable Data (PII)

• Do not post sensitive personally identifiable data on social media applications.
• When PII is inadvertently posted without consent or authorization, it is important that employees accept immediate corrective action to reduce any impact to individuals.
• Accept a screenshot of the post and preserve it, and whatsoever related data, as a Federal record for investigation, notification, or other remedial activity (meet Social Media Records department below).
• Immediately delete the post and notify your supervisor and bureau/office social media lead.
• Any suspected or confirmed alienation of PII must be immediately reported to your Information technology assist desk or DOI-CIRC at DOICIRC@ios.doi.gov or 703-648-5655.
• Be prepared to provide the screenshot and details regarding the post including the appointment and fourth dimension, description or summary of what occurred, and whatsoever other pertinent information.

What to practice When You Notice a Mistake on Another Agency's Account

• Notify the social media lead for that bureau, and make sure to copy the Department'south social media lead for sensation.
• Consult Interior'southward social media contact list or Digital Registry for the account manager'southward contact information.

Social Media Records

Social media content is considered a federal tape. How long content needs to be maintained depends on the subject matter. For instance, a tweet on a major change of bureau management would likely exist preserved for longer than a tweet on how pretty a particular photograph is.

DOI is currently compiling a Departmental Records Schedule, which will address social media. Until that schedule is in place however, social media contacts will need to rely on their bureau records part to apply the advisable records schedule to the social media posts based on their content.

It is important to note that if a post is fabricated to one social media platform and and so afterwards reposted to other platforms, the reposts to the subsequent platforms can exist considered reference copies and practise not demand to be retained for records purposes.

If the mail service is altered in substance all the same, then the posts from both social media platforms volition demand to exist retained for records purposes.

Full general Records Guidance for Social Media

• The Federal Records Act (44 USC 31) provides the authority under which Federal records demand to be maintained.
• The staff at the bureau records part are experts at knowing how to comply with the Federal Records Act and should be consulted on any unusual circumstances (records loss or destruction, preservation holds, unclear disposition authorities, etc.) related to records management that may arise.

Investigative Guidance

• When records provide information that may be used in the comport of an investigation, and are copied/forwarded on for potential use by an investigator, the original possessor of the record acknowledges that these may be used for evidentiary purposes that crave further preservation.
• Records disposition (whether destruction or retirement) tin be suspended in the case of agile litigation or investigation, just this will only be done with active communication from the investigating office (or the solicitor). Otherwise, records will be maintained for the time indicated in the approved records schedule and disposed of accordingly.
• 180 days is a commonly used baseline for 'transitory' records that have little value for regular business, but even this can be shortened if there are extenuating circumstances (for case, routine surveillance videos have a 30 day memory because of the high volume of storage required to continue them). This timeframe should be understood past the investigating office and so they can brand a timely decision on whether preservation of original information is necessary.

Removing Posts/Content

• Before removing a mail service/comment, the user needs to take a screenshot of the post or other content.
• Deleting content to correct grammatical mistakes, links, or mistakes or adding missing information is not a tape and those tweets don't demand to be kept.
• Managers need to create a log in a spreadsheet that references all posts or content that has been removed and explain the rationale for removing (inappropriate content, unauthorized post, adventitious sharing, etc). This log should be organized by Fiscal Twelvemonth.
• Retain the log and the associated posts as appropriate based on the bureau or departmental records schedule; the but reason to retain by the records schedule is for an investigation or litigation.

Security Best Practices

It's important that only authorized employees have access to official social media accounts.

• Create strong passwords for your business relationship. We recommend at to the lowest degree 12 characters long, using a passphrase, and a mix of capital letter, lowercase, numbers and symbols. Some social media services display countersign "strength" meters when choosing new passwords. Cull passwords that meet the highest standard.
• Regularly update passwords to social media accounts. Be sure to modify them after an employee changes jobs in the Department, no longer works for the Department, or no longer contributes to Department social media accounts to ensure unauthorized employees don't have access to Interior social media accounts.
• Whenever possible, use two-factor authentication.
• Whenever possible, do not share passwords.

Twitter

• For Twitter, regularly review third-political party apps (settings > apps). Learn more virtually third-party app access on Twitter.
• Immediately later on updating a Twitter password, too revoke admission to whatever sites that you lot've granted posting permission to, especially:
  • iPhone, iPad and Android apps
  • Tools for posting
  • Countersign managers such as TweetDeck.
• Of import: Updating a social media password won't necessarily cause a mobile app to prompt users for the new password, but revoking app permissions will. Here's how to observe the apps that have admission to your Twitter business relationship.

Facebook

• It'due south confronting Facebook's Terms of Service to accept more one account. The issue is government Facebook pages will be managed through personal Facebook accounts. If your agency or part decides to manage Facebook accounts in a different style, you are responsible for ensuring account security and content at all times.
• These are vi different roles for pages and how they should exist used:
  • Admin: Has full access to the page, including managing page roles and settings. In that location should only exist two admins (at most) for a page.
  • Editor: Creates and deletes posts, responds to comments, etc. Can take as many editors as necessary merely must review admission every 3 months.
  • Moderator: Tin respond to posts and view insights. Can have as many moderators every bit necessary but must review access every 3 months.
  • Analyst: Can view page insights -- good for someone who needs to meet analytics only has no other responsibilities. Can have every bit many analysts as necessary.
  • Live contributor: Tin only do a Facebook Live from a mobile device. If information technology's a one-time alive correspondent, immediately remove access after the livestream ends.

Instagram

Some employees who manage an Instagram account but don't accept a government-issued device (run into guidance below on using personal devices) might add the official account on her/his personal device. Brand certain that before an employee leaves the Department, the official account is removed from the personal device. See detailed instructions on how to remove an Instagram business relationship.

Authorities Furnished Devices vs. Personally Endemic Equipment

Some social media accounts, such as Instagram and Snapchat, require a mobile device to post and respond to comments. Below is guidance for using government furnished devices and personal equipment for managing social media.

Some bureaus might have more than restrictions than others due to the nature of their work. Always check with the social media leads before adding an official account on personal equipment.

Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)

It is OCO and OCIO's preference that all social media managers or anyone responsible for updating an official social media account be provided with a government furnished device (GFE) to perform their duties.

• Social Media managers should non use their ​personal social media (unless they are required by their bureau or office to use information technology to manage an official folio) on their regime furnished equipment. Personal social media should only be used on personal devices.
• Do not integrate personal and official social media accounts on any GFE device. For example, calculation both your personal Twitter business relationship and a agency account y'all manage on your Twitter app.

Personally Owned Equipment

For Personally Owned Equipment, yous should not add an official social media account to your device. All official social media duties must be done on your GFE if you are given ane.

In the cases that social media managers aren't provided a GFE and must apply a personal device to manage a social media account, they must use extreme care to not co-mingle personal and official accounts.

Privacy

DOI has a responsibleness to protect individual privacy when engaging or interacting with the public on the Department'southward website and official social media sites.

Personally Identifiable Data (PII) is any data that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual'south identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.

Examples of PII include: name, username, email address, epitome, engagement of nativity, physical address, location information, nationality, Social Security number, authorities issued identifiers, credit carte du jour number, bank account number, medical history, or whatever other information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual'southward identity.

• PII may but exist posted when authorized, such every bit in cases where y'all have private consent.
• Collect PII only when authorized, and minimize the collection of PII to that which is needed to attain the authorized activeness.
• Safeguard PII nerveless or maintained, and limit access to authorized personnel who have an official demand-to-know, in accord with the OMB authorisation of the data drove.

Privacy Program Governance

An Adjusted Privacy Bear on Assessment (PIA) must be conducted for the official use of a social media application prior to engaging the public, to assess the privacy risks associated with the use of the social media application in accord with the DOI PIA Guide.

A Privacy Act system of records notice (SORN) must be published prior to any collection of data from individuals for maintenance in a Privacy Act system of records. Bureaus and offices may accept published SORNs that embrace their specific plan activities. These SORNs govern what and how information near individuals is nerveless, maintained and shared. Employees should use SORNs equally guidelines when collecting or using PII and making decisions almost records near individuals. Programme officials should consult with their bureau or role acquaintance privacy officeholder prior to collecting PII from employees or members of the public.

DOI has published the DOI-08: Social Networks SORN to enable bureaus and offices to implement public outreach programs, promote interaction with the public, and facilitate the sharing of information and ideas using third-party or commercial social media applications. Consult your bureau or office Associate Privacy Officer for approved uses of social media under the DOI-08 SORN, which may be viewed on the DOI SORN page.

When collecting information from the public that will be maintained in a Privacy Act system of records, mail a Privacy Human activity Statement at the point of collection that includes: the legal authorization, purpose and uses of the information, who the information will exist shared with, whether the provision of data is voluntary, whatever consequences for non providing information, and a citation or link to the applicable SORN in the Privacy Act Statement.

If PII is collected or used that will not be maintained in a Privacy Act system, post a Privacy Find that informs users the application is operated by a third-party and they are subject area to the tertiary-political party'due south privacy policy, the purpose and uses of the data nerveless or made available to DOI, and DOI'due south information handling and safeguarding practices.

Mobile applications raise distinct privacy implications that must be evaluated. The apply of mobile applications must run across DOI privacy and security requirements, including privacy impact assessments, Privacy Human activity notices, and Privacy Deed Statements, where applicable, in accordance with DOI privacy policy and OCIO Directive 2016-003, DOI Mobile Applications Privacy Policy.

Location information, pictures, contact, passwords, and credit carte numbers are a few examples of the sensitive data that may be nerveless and transmitted through a mobile application.

508 Compliance for Social Media

Social media services and device manufacturers offer a varying degree of support for accessibility. By using social media for Section communications, information technology'southward incumbent upon social media managers to ensure they brand their content as accessible as possible given the back up presented past those services. Social media managers should leverage the all-time practices within the DigitalGov Social Media Accessibility Toolkit to help make their content every bit accessible as possible.

General Social Media Accessibility Tips

• Make your contact data available on your website'southward social media page. Provide a link to your bureau/part website that lists the appropriate contact information.
• Make your social media content available through more than one channel. Provide like shooting fish in a barrel points of entry for more data. Some of the most mutual ways are to post threads on your website, provide options to sign upwardly for daily electronic mail digests of social media posts or to add a social media widget to your agency website.
• Write in plain language, utilise camel instance when appropriate (i.e., capitalize the first letters of compound words as in #SocialMedia), and limit your utilize of hashtags, abbreviations and acronyms where possible. The use of camel case is not only a common practice, only a helpful one as it makes multi-word hashtags easier to read, including for those using a screen reader.
• Learn the accessibility requirements and periodically test your content for accessibility. Read the Department 508 Standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Levels A and AA success criteria and other cardinal resources that discuss them. Then test your social media content with a screen reader or other type of assistive engineering science.
• When posting a photo of text (such as a screenshot of a statement), to aid in 508 compliance yous must provide explanatory text and a link to the full text whenever possible.

Tips for Making Facebook Updates Attainable

• The federal authorities is total of acronyms. Don't presume your audience is knowledgeable almost all acronyms. Take reward of the space Facebook provides and ever spell out the first instance of the acronym and add the acronym, in parentheses afterwards (east.g., Social Media Emergency Direction (SMEM)).
• Add captions to photos to ensure that individuals will understand what is going on in the film.
• All videos including those with text overlaid on the video still need captioning. Upload using an SRT file. Limit linking to content that your bureau/office has non created and/or you do not know whether that content is accessible or not. Facebook has an Accessibility Team that is dedicated to issues specific to accessibility and assistive technology. They can be reached through Facebook and Twitter.
  • Facebook's Accessibility Team's Facebook Page
  • Facebook's Accessibility Squad'due south Twitter Business relationship
  • Facebook keyboard shortcuts available for screen reader users

Tips for Making Tweets Accessible

• If your tweet links to photo, video or audio content, make your tweet human activity every bit a descriptive explanation so it provides context for the item.
• Make your photos more than accessible by enabling and adding image descriptions to the photos you tweet.
• When linking to content on your .gov website, exist sure that content is also accessible, e.g., a tagged photo, captioned and sound described video or audio with written transcript.
• If possible, avoid using unfamiliar acronyms that would sound foreign if read past a screen reader or that could be disruptive to some readers.
• Utilise camelcase for multiple words within a hashtag; that is, capitalize the first letters of compound words (e.thou., use #DigitalGov non #digitalgov).
• If you lot make up one's mind to link to an infographic, or picture, brand certain that you fairly describe the content through text when possible. But call back to use plain language and be concise in your descriptions.
• If publishing infographics, avoid complex layout and flows that crave the reader to follow besides many lines or arrows connecting one slice of content to another, use excessive images and text, and display wide variations and bereft contrasts in color schemes.
• Keyboard shortcuts for common actions and site navigation are available to screen reader users.

Tips for Making YouTube Videos More than Accessible

• Ensure all videos have airtight captions and audio descriptions (where appropriate -- or link to a version that has audio descriptions).
• Descriptive linguistic communication needs to be used in video captioning to denote necessary audio and visual elements. Brand sure to use like shooting fish in a barrel to understand language in your descriptions.
• Where possible, but include high-quality sound and attempt to limit utilise of music or other distracting sound effects.
• Good captions are non merely a transcript of what is said in the video. Information technology is also of import to draw sounds and significant voice inflections.
• To create captions for video, or to edit your existing YouTube captions, there are a number of free tools that can help:
  • Overstream: a pop Web-based captioning tool, with a related YouTube tutorial.
  • CaptionTube: a Spider web-based captioning tool designed specifically for YouTube.
  • MAGpie: a free Windows awarding from the National Centre for Accessible Media.
• At a minimum, provide transcribed text to YouTube, rather than trusting YouTube to recognize the spoken language in your video(south). YouTube tin can match transcribed text to video much more than effectively, when it has an accurate transcription.
• Note that there are certain companies that tin create captions for a fee. The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides a list of captioning and audio-description vendors.
• Video players should support the following requirements to be accessible to individuals with disabilities:
  • Support for closed captioning and audio descriptions for deaf or blind users including the power to turn captions and audio descriptions on and off.
  • Keyboard navigable features for users who take difficulty operating a mouse.
  • Buttons and controls must be properly labeled for screen reader users.
  • Ability to increase or decrease volume.
• The YouTube player on the YouTube site is not fully keyboard accessible (due east.chiliad., it can be incommunicable or very hard for ar user with a motor disability to turn on captions without a mouse). Therefore, exercise not employ the standard YouTube plugin. If YouTube video must be used, an accessible role player must be added and take captions enabled past default.

Audio Description

Sometimes referred to as video description, sound description is an boosted audio track that describes essential visual information. Audio clarification makes videos accessible to people who are blind or low vision by using words to capture what is happening on screen. Audio Description is usually delivered as a divide audio track that a person would play alongside the original video (in the same mode as a commentary on a DVD).

Audio descriptions are played during natural pauses or periods of silence within the audio rails. For an instance of effective sound clarification, encounter National Park Service video America's Wilderness.

There are three ways to add together audio descriptions to your videos:

1. Build the Descriptions into the Video. Before you tape your video, you tin can commonly weave the audio description of key visuals into the dialogue. This prevents you from having to become back after and add audio descriptions. For example, in a preparation video, instead of pointing to a slide and proverb, "as you tin meet on this slide, the traffic peaked here", you can say "this nautical chart of website traffic for the last year shows that information technology peaked in August." Additionally, request speakers or subjects identify themselves and their surroundings (rather than but showing their proper name on screen). This way, anyone—whether or non they are visually impaired—volition know who is speaking. Delight note that this choice is non e'er possible, specially if individuals are speaking while text is beingness shown on screen.
2. Create a 2nd Video. You may create two videos, one with sound descriptions and one without. You can post these videos with labels such as "Video with audio descriptions" and "Video without audio descriptions."
3. Add an Additional Sound Rail. If y'all take a video player and streaming protocol capable of supporting multiple audio tracks, the user can choose which sound rail to play. Many online video and multimedia players don't back up actress audio tracks. Examples of accessible video players that support multiple sound tracks include JW Player and Able Player.
   • Note: YouTube doesn't back up extra audio tracks. Therefore, you will either need to apply some other video player that supports audio descriptions or postal service two versions of the video - 1 with audio descriptions (and closed captioning), and the other with only the closed captioning.

Tips for Making Blogs Accessible

• A weblog template should accept few columns and a uncomplicated layout. The layout should be consistent beyond all pages of the blog so as not to misfile users. The weblog's design should have enough color contrast betwixt the background and the font for ease of reading. Avoid using colors that clash and try to avoid using green, blue and yellow also close together. Black text on a white groundwork is preferred.
• Add together alternative text and captions to all images on the weblog and inside posts. Link to videos and sound components. Ensure that sounds and video do not play upon a folio loading – give users the choice to press the play button.
• Text such equally "click here" or "read more" can make it difficult for people with screen readers to understand where a link volition take them. Instead of these short phrases, hyperlink fully descriptive text and then that users will know where they are going when they follow a link.
• Keep your writing unproblematic. Use obviously linguistic communication and write in the active voice. Intermission up long paragraphs into smaller chunks of text.
• Although Tumblr is considered a popular micro-blogging and social media tool, many users with disabilities find information technology difficult to navigate. There are some ways to help make this easier. Tumblr is epitome-heavy, so as with all Web content, culling text should be used. The use of GIFs on the site can likewise be hard for individuals with sensitivities to flashes.

Tips for Making Other Social Media Platforms Accessible

• Your LinkedIn profile should have a clear image to accompany your proper name so users tin can distinguish you lot from other potential contacts with a similar name or brand.
• All Pinterest content is "pinned" to boards from exterior sources. Include a description of the particular you are pinning.
• Instagram provides alternative text capabilities and users should provide a caption explaining the image. Utilise camelCase for multiple words inside a hashtag. Instagram videos should have a caption associated with information technology. For more data on video accessibility, read the Tips for Making YouTube Videos Accessible.

Trolls

1. Don't feed the trolls. Starve them of attending.
2. If it's a fellow federal bureau trolling you -- ignore them anyhow, or deal with them via telephone or email.
   

Document- and Information-Sharing Repositories

Document and information sharing websites are just what their name implies: places where users post data and material that other users can use and repurpose, creating a dynamic repository roofing a potentially wide multifariousness of subjects. Data.gov is i case of a government repository for information, but at that place are many other established online sites in the commercial sector that tin as well be used to make data and data available to the public and for the public to provide the regime with valuable information. Document sharing websites (e.g., Scribd, SlideShare, and Socrata) can share documents, presentations, webinars, and/or datasets with the public.

At present, SlideShare has been approved by DOI; however, this should not be taken as an endorsement of SlideShare, nor an indication that other certificate-sharing websites will not be approved.

Rules of the Route

• The DOI Digital Media Policy addresses specific guidelines for the advisable apply of Certificate Sharing websites and other social media technologies. Consult the policy earlier getting started.
• Just post information that is gear up for public consumption and has been approved through regular review processes. Never post information or information that is only for internal view or use to a public website. This is not the place to mail service or share working documents. Although almost services protect accounts via passwords, stored files are not necessarily encrypted, and then a successful hacker might gain access to stored-only-unpublished files on such a service.
• External (non-dot-gov) document repository websites should never exist the only source of a DOI certificate available to the public. All documents posted on certificate repository websites should also be publicly bachelor on a bureau or office website.
• Privacy & SORN
  • Use document-sharing sites only in a manner consistent with DOI policy and an canonical PIA.
  • Under no circumstances should anyone employ a certificate-sharing site in such a way every bit to violate the Privacy Act and applicable DOI System of Records Notices. Establishing a system of records or improperly disclosing records in violation of the Privacy Act may upshot in criminal penalties, including a fine and misdemeanor accuse, and disciplinary action.
• Delight see our Services section for farther details.
• Examples of Authorities Use
  • DOI (GitHub)
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Socrata)

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking tools such every bit Reddit, or Pinboard allow users to share links to interesting data with larger audiences. These web services typically permit users to organize their bookmarks using tags and share them either with the public, a specified group, or privately. Adding a simple widget (preferably DOI's NCShare or another cookie-gratuitous sharing alternative) to web pages that allows visitors to share the content of the page via social bookmarking tools, social networking tools, or electronic mail is a unproblematic way to drive traffic to our websites and allow visitors to chop-chop and easily share data with their networks or communities.

At nowadays, no such site is approved for use by DOI; notwithstanding, in anticipation of future approvals, the following will utilize:

Rules of the Route

• The DOI Digital Media Policy addresses specific guidelines for the appropriate use of social bookmarking web services and other social media technologies. Consult the policy before beginning whatever implementation.
• TOS, Privacy, SORN
  • Only utilise services that have an approved TOS and Privacy Impact Assessment signed by the Department of the Interior.
  • Be sure that whatsoever "sharing" on public-facing web infinite does not point to non-public content. The URL might exist helpful to hackers.
  • Do non employ a service in a manner that would violate DOI'due south social media or privacy policy. Establishing a system of records or improperly disclosing records in violation of the Privacy Act may issue in criminal penalties, including a fine and misdemeanor accuse, and disciplinary action.
  • Consult with your bureau'southward social media contact for the latest listing of signed Terms of Service agreements and PIAs.

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