Social Media policy

We have a very active website, and many things are posted there: Board meeting minutes, Rules and Regulations, etc. Our Communications Committee has the task to make changes, update information posted to the site, etc. But we do not have a written policy that defines what can be added (or deleted), who approves additions and deletions, etc. If you have a written policy you are willing to share with me, I would appreciate it. It would give me a better idea as to how comprehensive such a policy should be. [email protected].

Stanley,

Our site separates into Public and HOA - public includes things already known, like D, CC&Rs, etc - that are available elsewhere. Private is for association members only.

Stanley,

I had suggested we have one but the majority of the board voted against it (thought it would simply take to long to do). Therefore, I don't have a policy to share. Personally, I don't think the Association should have a presence on social media. They should have a website. Since you are in VA, that website should have a forum to easily comply with statutes. There should be a policy for the forum.

Here are some references:

Power Point Slides from epohoa.org

To Be Or Not To Be On Social Media:
The Legal Ramifications of Community Associations and Social Networking from a legal firm

Social Media in Communities: Is Facebook Your Friend or Foe? Is Using Twitter Good or Bad for the Community? How Associations Can Benefit from and Properly Handle Social Media Issues. from CAI

I moderated our neighborhood Facebook page for 2.5 years. This is what I learned.

A few actual policies found online:

https://poudreproperty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CFHA-PAP-MEDIA.pdf

city of Peoria AZ

I agree with others about having an association web site (we also have a board email address so that homeowners can communicate directly with the board) but not being on social media. Facebook and the like are suitable for communicating about things that aren't official business, but it's way too easy to get drawn into a discussion of official matters and speak out of turn. It's also easy for a few disgruntled folks to turn social media into their personal soapbox, and this can negatively affect the emotional climate of an entire community.

Other things to be concerned about on social media:

1. Privacy issues (for example if someone posts photos from a community party without getting permission from the people in the photos -- especially tricky if kids are involved).
2. Plagiarism if someone posts videos or written work of others.
3. Liability issues for the association if someone posts defamatory statements and the posts are not taken down promptly .
4. General security issues if your page is visible to others outside your community (don't want the bad actors to be able to case the joint online).
5. Finally, consider that not everyone uses social media - you may be lulled into thinking you're communicating with the whole community when you're actually reaching only a portion of it.

If you absolutely want to deal with social media, educate yourself about the issues involved and be sure you have someone dedicated to monitoring the site regularly and often. Consider disabling comments by anyone other than the official page owner/monitor (you can't really do this on Facebook yet but there is a kind of kludge-y workaround). You can also look into sites such as Nextdoor which is hosted by a third party.

In my community we decided that the benefits of social media did not justify the amount of work and risks involved. We do have a web site that is updated regularly; the public section has our governing documents as well as informative info for would-be buyers and newbies, and the homeowner section has board meeting minutes, current financials, copy of latest reserve study, copies of the newsletter, etc. In short, the board controls the messaging. However, every community has its own personality, so your mileage may vary.

Cathy

MakinA is spamming us.