26Feb10
Jeanine Willboughy > Q: "How do I convince my company to relax a little on content 'moderation'?"

Susan Crawford > A: "I'm assuming that writing a social medi policy isn't your issue. A policy is a good step but if it is not written from some level of experience which can demonstrate a good marriage of YOUR social media and goals, it will be inadequate (until it does reflect this integration). The problem I most often see is beyond setting the SM policy. As SM is usually delegated to staff to execute, "management" still tends to micro-manage the living breath out of it. I would recommend taking your SM policy a step further and for each platform (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.), outline why your company is there (the value, the kind of community you'll open, content, sources, other team contributors, a moderation schedule, and measurables to be tracked). Then, I would take this plan to each of your stakeholders for buy-in. At least some form of this should give you a basis for discussion and calming fears that may be driving undue SM hype for you.