CorpComms Magazine

Councillors across Scotland have been issued a guide to negotiating the potential pitfalls of the blogosphere.

Whilst encouraging politicians to 'move with the times' and exploit new communication tools such as blogs and social networking forums, it also reminds them that any content they publish enters the public domain immediately and can remain in search engine caches indefinitely.

The 11-page document, published by public sector consultants the Improvement Service, includes such nuggets of wisdom as 'Think before you write' and 'Use good sense at all times'. It also advises councillors not to 'post anything you wouldn't say at a public meeting' and to 'remember to take legal issues into consideration'.

The publication comes after several parliamentary candidates got into hot water in the run-up to the election for provocative online comments. SNP representatives in one constituency were accused of employing smear tactics to discredit Labour and Tory rivals via a blog entitled 'The Universality of Cheese'.

Labour candidate Stuart MacLennan was sacked for posting offensive comments on microblogging site Twitter despite the disarming disclaimer, 'I am young and stupid'. The young candidate termed pensioners in his Moray constituency 'coffin-dodgers' and made quips about slavery.

Colin Mair, chief executive of the Improvement Service, said: 'The aim of the note was simply to provide a short practical guide to the potential of blogging as part of good communication with constituents.'

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