AUCC Blogging Guidelines for Student Bloggers
Frequency of posts:
We ask that you register on the site and that you publish at least one post during your time abroad or upon your return to Canada. We encourage you to publish as often as you can to attract comments and engage bloggers.
What to post:
Share your experiences of your internship in your host country. Talk about how you coped with the cultural differences. Write about your achievements and the daily challenges you faced. Share tips on how to make an international internship a success. Highlight best practices. Feel free to include postings that talk about your experiences in meeting new people or learning new ideas from different cultures. Upon your return to Canada, talk about the challenges of re-entering the country.
Content isn’t just about words. You can also post photos and videos.
How to post:
Please refer to the How to Use WordPress tutorial document to familiarize yourself on how to post content.
Steps in posting content:
You will be using the WordPress tool to post your content. You will access the WordPress tool through your Web browser using a username and password. Please keep your password secure and confidential and do not disclose it to anyone and do not permit any third party to access your account. Please notify the AUCC blog administrator at sfdblog@aucc.ca immediately of any actual or suspected unauthorized use of your password or account or other breach of security.
Partial moderation by AUCC:
Your posts will be published directly to the Students for Development blog. Although AUCC is not responsible for the content of this blog and the views and opinions expressed are those of the individual bloggers, AUCC reserves the right to semi moderate the posts and delete blog posts that contravene these Blogging Guidelines.
Inappropriate posts include:
Hateful content: Users may not publish material that promotes hatred toward groups based on ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, and sexual orientation/gender identity.
Violent content: Users may not publish direct threats of violence against any person or group of people.
Private and confidential information: We do not allow the unauthorized publishing of people’s private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, social insurance numbers, and driver’s and other license numbers.
Impersonation: We do not allow impersonation of others through our services in a manner that is intended to or does mislead or confuse others.
Steps in posting images:
There are three image sizes used by the Students for Development blog template.
When adding an image to a post you will be given an option as to which image size you’d like to use. You can choose from thumbnail, medium or full size. You will also need to select the alignment of the image within the post. WordPress will automatically resize images into the pre-determined horizontal and vertical sizes.
You are encouraged to upload professional looking photos. Please include descriptive text in the alt tag.
For more details on how to insert an image, please review the How to use WordPress tutorial document.
Steps to follow in posting videos:
Videos should be fed from an external source. Size and length do not matter as long as the video is relevant to the content of the post. Please upload your video on the YouTube service and embed your video on the Students for Development blog. Simply embed your YouTube video code string in your post.
For more details on how to insert a video into a post, please review the How to use WordPress tutorial document.
Comments policy:
Users’ comments will be published immediately to the Students for Development blog. You have the option to unapprove, mark as spam, or delete comments that do not conform to the Comments Guidelines as posted on the Students for Development blog. The AUCC blog administrator will also review published comments on a weekly basis. We encourage you to respond to users’ comments and engage in the discussion.
Writing style guidelines:
The Students for Development blog’s tone should be conversational and avoid jargon. Please write in the first person and provide first-hand testimonials of your experiences during and after your internship.
Please use correct grammar and style, and review for typos before posting. Ensure that the posts provide accurate information. Please reply to e-mails and/or comments when appropriate, and do so promptly.
The best way to make the Students for Development blog interesting is to write about what you know. Try talking about the challenges and issues around your internship and re-entry to Canada. Share best practices or survival tips with others. It is okay to disagree with other opinions expressed on the blog but do so respectfully. You are encouraged to link to other blogs, publications and resources that readers will find useful.
If you need to update a post or correct erroneous information in a post write “UPDATED” at the top of a post along with the correction and description of the original error. Correct the error in the body of the post. You can also use this device if you want to leave the original post intact, but indicate that you have new related information to share with readers. Please never delete a post.
It is forbidden to post images, video, audio or textual content on the Students for Development blog that is hateful, sexist, racist, inappropriate, or that contains sexual content or nudity.
Media inquiries:
Your blog postings may generate media coverage. If a member of the media contacts you regarding a Students for Development blog posting or requests AUCC information of any kind, please contact Mélanie Béchard, AUCC’s communications officer at mbechard@aucc.ca or 613-563-3961, ext. 306.
Respect copyright and fair use laws
For AUCC’s protection as well as your own, it is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use of copyrighted material owned by others, including AUCC’s own copyrights.
You may not post, modify, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information belonging to others without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else’s work and include proper credit for the quote. And it is good general blogging practice to properly credit all images, video, audio and textual content you post. Keep in mind that laws will be different depending on where you live and work.
Please adhere to the AUCC copyright policy as posted on its website at http://www.aucc.ca/copyright/index_e.html
Privacy policy:
Please adhere to the AUCC Privacy Policy located at http://www.aucc.ca/privacy/index_e.html
Additional assistance:
You may contact the AUCC administrator at sfdblog@aucc.ca if you require technical assistance in posting content, images or videos or if you need editorial assistance.
