For the last year, I’ve been trying to find examples of offices which had demonstrated success in using the SCA’s release forms to collect consent from people for their likeness or creative works to be used in Society publications.
I was hoping that if we could identify a handful of folks who were doing this effectively, we could document the processes they used and share them with others.
Instead, I’ve found that nearly all offices fall into one of two groups:
- They generally avoid publishing photos or member-submitted content because the release forms feel like a burden.
- The publish photos and member-submitted content, but just quietly ignore the release-form policies.
I’ve written to officers at the kingdom and Society level, in the chronicler’s office, social media office, and web ministry, but none of them have identified any success stories.
If you know of examples of branch officers who frequently post photographs or members’ creative work while adhering to the Society’s policies, please comment below — I’d love to speak to these folks and learn about how they’re doing it.
[Update, October 4:] I’ve attached some of my correspondence with Society officers on this topic below.
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 18 December 2023
Hello again,
I am writing today to ask whether you can point me to a few Social Media Officers who have figured out effective ways of handling release forms that allow them to publish lots of art and photos and videos every month while collecting all of the necessary paperwork?
I ask this question because over the last year or so, the subject of release forms has come up repeatedly when I’ve spoken with Social Media Officers here in the East Kingdom, as well as to other officers who interact with social media, like branch A&S officers who want to use social media to connect with artisans in their region.
To be honest, I’ve been surprised by how frequently releases are cited as a key pain point in social media work — it’s routinely mentioned as the primary obstacle to producing more content by officers who say they would like to be posting more photos or videos, but are blocked by the hassle factor of getting model and photographer release forms signed.
Other officers don’t experience this problem… because they just routinely don’t bother to collect release forms for their photos and videos. And a number have set up “unofficial” social media channels specifically so that they can post frequently while ignoring release forms.
That’s why I would love to talk to a few people who are handling this issue successfully, to see if they have some “tips and tricks” or “best practices” that the rest of us can learn from.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
— Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
From: Social Media Office
To: Mathghamhain Ua RuadháinDate: 18 December 2023
Hi, will come back to you but it will be after Christmas as I have some work for the BoD that is my primary focus as the moment due to its nature.
Cheers
Brigid
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 18 December 2023
Totally reasonable — this is not urgent — enjoy your holidays!
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 29 April 2024
Hello again,
I wanted to follow up on this conversation from four months ago.
In my informal conversations with several social media officers, I’ve gotten the impression that they basically all fall into one of two categories:
- They don’t publish photos or creative works, or do so vanishingly rarely.
- They just quietly ignore the release-form policies.
(I think the same is largely true for webministers and chroniclers, although again I have not conducted a systematic survey.)
If the current policies are working well for some officers, I think it would be worthwhile to document and publicize the techniques they’re using so that others can leverage them as well.
That’s why I would like to talk to a few kingdom or local social media officers who are successfully publishing lots of material while complying with the release-form policies.
Thank you for any references you can provide.
— Mathghamhain
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 29 July 2024
Hello,
I know you folks must be busy, but I’ve heard another round of grumbling about how difficult it is to comply with the release form requirements from folks in multiple kingdoms who are flirting with with just ignoring the policies instead — if there’s any way you could put me in touch with a couple of officers who are doing this successfully, I would love to help publicize the techniques they are using so that others can follow their lead.
— Mathghamhain
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 21 September 2024
Good evening, Your Excellency,
Some of the social media officers I’ve spoken to here in the East have grumbled about the hassle involved in getting release forms filled out by photographers and people pictured in photos and videos, and then in keeping track of all of the resulting paperwork, and so I’ve been on the lookout for “success stories” of folks in the Society who are handling this challenge well in hopes that others can learn their techniques.
The Society’s official social media feeds on Instagram and Facebook share a dozen or more photographs every month and I’d love to hear how you manage the associated record-keeping.
Do you generally have people sign paper release forms, or sign the PDF forms electronically, or have them agree to the release via email?
Roughly what proportion of the photos you publish are considered “portrait style” and require a model release?
How do you keep track of all of the release forms you’ve collected over the years?
Thank you so much for any information you’re able to share!
— Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: Society Social Media OfficerDate: 4 October 2024
Hello,
Just a quick follow-up to make sure that this inquiry from two weeks ago hadn’t fallen between the cracks…
I’d love to learn a little bit about how your office manages release forms in hopes that it might provide some lessons or inspiration for the folks handling social media for local branches here.
Thank you for your assistance!
— Mathghamhain