1. Write as yourself. Use your real name. We don’t want people writing anonymously or under a pseudonym. The blogger's name should be prominently displayed on the blog’s title or subtitle. This will add credibility with readers and promote accountability within our company.
2. Be nice. Avoid attacking other individuals or companies. This includes fellow employees, authors, customers, vendors, or competitors. You are welcome to disagree with the Company’s leaders, provided your tone is respectful. If in doubt don't post it.
3. Keep secrets. Do not disclose sensitive, proprietary, confidential, or financial information about the Company, other than what is publicly available in our corporate press releases. This includes revenues, profits, forecasts, and other financial information related to specific authors, brands, products, product lines, customers, operating units, etc. Again, if in doubt don't post it.
4. Respect copyrights. For your protection, do not post any material that is copyrighted unless (a) you are the copyright owner, (b) you have written permission of the copyright owner to post the copyrighted material on your blog, or (c) you are sure that the use of any copyrighted material is permitted by the legal doctrine of “fair use.” (Please note: this is your responsibility. The Company cannot provide you with legal advice regarding this.)
5. Obey the law. This goes without saying, but by way of reminder, do not post any material that is obscene, defamatory, profane, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, embarrassing to another person or entity, or violates the privacy rights of another. Also, do not post material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or any other computer code that is intended to damage, interfere with, or surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data, or information.
6. Remember the Handbook. As a condition of your employment, you agreed to abide by the rules of our company handbook. This also applies to your blogging activities. We suggest you take time to review the section entitled, “Employee Responsibilities”.
