Jamboree: SCGS sets social media policy

The Southern California Genealogical Society, which runs the annual Jamboree - this year is the 41st - has just posted the event's social media policy.

This is important as the number of attending bloggers has grown exponentially over the past few years.

Tracing the Tribe first attended Jamboree in 2007, and spoke ("Creating Hope") at the writers' breakfast, focusing on how mainstream media family history articles - using my own articles in the Jerusalem Post and other media as examples - not only assist established researchers, but also attract new people to our passion. Those who have never considered investigating their families may read an article in a local paper that ignites the spark of curiosity.

As part of the first-ever innovative Blogger Summit (2008) and Blogger Summit II (2009), Tracing the Tribe will be back for this year's event from July 11-13, for Blogger Summit III (Part 2 for more advanced bloggers) and to also speak on the nuts and bolts of creating a DNA project.

As many as 50 of our blogging colleagues may attend this year, which is sure to be a record. Has anyone called the Guiness World Book of Records? Geneabloggers may want to do that.

With that many bloggers busily blogging, Facebooking and tweeting, it makes sense to have a policy that is fair to everyone. Similar policies have been instituted for other conferences.

Here is Paula's post:

------------------------------

To ensure that we have an environment that is mutually supportive for the social media users, our lecturers, and our lecture audience members, the SCGS Board of Directors adopted the following Social Media Policy:

The Southern California Genealogical Society is an active supporter of the use of social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and blogging) at its events, including the society’s annual Genealogy Jamboree. Event attendees are allowed and encouraged to promote, critique, and review the conference, its exhibitors, speakers, and activities using these forms of media.

Use of smartphones, netbooks, laptops, etc., shall not disrupt other attendees. Mobile device ringers must be set to silent during lecture sessions.

Attendees are prohibited from recording the proceedings of any lecture or workshop session by any means, including but not limited to photography, audio recording, video recording, or verbatim transcription, without expressed written permission from both SCGS and the lecture speaker. Some sessions will be professionally audio recorded and available after the event.

Social media may be used to summarize or extract lecture content provided:

(1) the author is referenced and cited appropriately; and
(2) material is not shared in full.

We fully respect the intellectual property rights of the authors of syllabus materials and lecture content. Copyright laws apply.

-----------------------------------

See you in Burbank!