These guidelines are designed to help Stanford employees, volunteers, affiliates, and consultants (e.g., creative agencies) in making appropriate decisions when managing and/or developing social media initiatives on behalf of the university. Additionally, the guidelines are intended to advise Stanford employees who indicate an institutional affiliation on their personal social media profiles on how to balance their affiliation with personal conversation.
These guidelines are intended to complement existing university policy. If there is a conflict between guidance in this document and a policy in the Administrative Guide, then the Administrative Guide controls. Further, these guidelines do not supersede or otherwise modify the social media communications policy adopted by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
These guidelines apply to all types of use of social media on behalf of Stanford, including departmental use and use by individual employees whose job duties entail such use. Employees whose job duties do not entail such use may engage on social media on behalf of Stanford only with consultation from the communications lead for their respective schools or university units.