Versatile Systems' Corporate Blog Guidelines
Many employees at Versatile are doing cool work that has a major impact on companies around the globe. We encourage you to talk about it and we support your interest in sharing your knowledge; however, remember your words do reflect on the company (even when you use a disclaimer). Please read the guidelines below to make the most of this opportunity, and at the same time, keep us both out of hot water.
Follow the Corporate Guidelines - Be aware of and follow the Versatile Systems' policies and guidelines. Avoid topics that can get both you and the company in legal trouble. Skip commenting on items such as, future strategies, financials, intellectual property, future product roll-outs, share prices, investors, revenue... you get the idea.
Know Your Topic - Blogging for the sake of blogging isn't interesting, it's all about the content. Read up on the industry; find out what's happening, and what others are saying. Pick the business subjects you are most familiar with and have a passion to share. Your enthusiasm (and personality) should be evident in your writing.
Links - If you read something interesting or cite another professional, be sure to indicate the author and link back to their site or blog. The Web is all about linking, we all win if we link and connect with others and visa-versa.
Consider the Consequences - avoid trashing another person's opinion or another company's products. You can tactfully disagree ("Another way to look at this problem is..."), but using harsh language ("This person is a jerk..." or "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard...") when referring to others is inappropriate. Ditto for other company's products ("The X product really sucks"). You never know what relationships will make sense for your company in the future and which potential customers the sales team is talking to on a given day. Keep your writing upbeat and informative, and be respectful of others.
Get Prior Approval - Don't mention customer names or details without prior approval. Please remove customer names or the characteristics that could identify customers unless we have their prior consent (in writing) to identify them.
Quality Does Matter - Put spell-check to work. Be mindful of punctuation and the basic rules of grammar. Read over your work in an effort to keep it short, sweet and on topic.
Commenting on a Blog:
Comments will be reviewed by bloggers before being posted on the site. We will not post comments that are spam, inappropriate, defamatory, use profanity or violate our corporate policies in any way. Please do not use our blog for customer service inquiries, these will not be posted. Direct any customer support issues to the established support channels.