Gartner Public Web Participation Policy |

Gartner Blog Network

POLICY PHILOSOPHY

Social media provides an opportunity for Gartner to expand and deepen our
interactions with clients, prospects, journalists and other key stakeholders. This
Policy for social media participation builds upon our Code of Conduct and the sound
judgment that we expect our associates to use in all professional interactions.

We define social media participation as all forms of public communication and

expression on platforms such as blogs, social network sites (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat), wikis, content sharing sites (e.g., photo, video, image
or document), forums, mailing lists, discussion groups and chat rooms. This includes
both creating a new and individual conversation and commenting in a pre-existing
public conversation.

SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY OF THIS POLICY

This Policy applies to all Gartner associates, wherever located, including experts who
participate in the Gartner Blogger Network. Use this Policy to guide your behavior in
all forms of social media participation.

When applying this Policy to your social media participation, be conscious of the
“persona” in which you are speaking, especially when commenting on topics related
to the industries we cover: are you in the “professional persona” of a Gartner
associate, or the “personal persona” of any member of the public who uses relevant
products and services?

You are acting in your professional persona as a Gartner associate when:

You identify yourself in any social environment as a Gartner associate, regardless of

your role at Gartner; or You occupy a role at Gartner responsible for creating our
intellectual capital, such as an expert in Research & Advisory, consultant, executive
partner or leadership partner, and are commenting on a topic related to your
coverage area; or You are an associate participating in any Gartner-branded social
media property, including our Blog Network.

When you adopt your “professional persona” on social media, you have a
responsibility to approach subjects in a thoughtful and professional manner, as a
representative of Gartner. Associates who create our intellectual capital, including
experts, consultants, executive partners and leadership partners, have a heightened
responsibility to represent the Company’s approved research positions.

While acting in your “professional persona” and identifying yourself as a Gartner

associate publicly, consider each and every post you make as a representation of the
Gartner brand and not you as an individual.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOLLOWING THE POLICY

1 of 5
It is your responsibility to know, understand and follow the Social Media Policy at all
times. If you have any questions about the Policy or whether it is appropriate for you
to post something, please contact the social media team (socialmedia@gartner.com)
before you post content on social media platforms.

Report any potential misuse of social media, or any questions regarding the content
or application of this Policy, to the social media team (socialmedia@gartner.com).

Managers are responsible for being stewards of this Policy and ensuring that all
associates on their teams understand and comply with the Policy.

Policy Discussion:

1. All Gartner policies apply.

Never use social media in a way that breaches any Gartner policies. For example,
associates are prohibited from using social media to:

(a) Debate Gartner strategy in the public domain;

(b) Engage in conduct that violates Gartner’s Code of Conduct or policies prohibiting
discrimination, harassment, and other inappropriate behaviors;

(c) Disclose confidential information of Gartner, our associates, or our clients

2. Think before you post.

Use sound judgment and think about reactions to your post before you post it.
Remember all social media posts and conversations are “discoverable” in a court of
law – even if you delete them immediately after posting. Avoid posting in the heat of
the moment. Ask yourself, “Is this issue better handled by another part of Gartner,
such as Research & Advisory management, the Ombudsman, Legal, or PR?” If the
answer is yes or maybe, do not post your content.

3. Respect your audience.

Avoid personal attacks or insults, obscenities, name-calling, ethnic or racial slurs,
profanity, comments around gender, sexual orientation, politics or other protected
classes, and exercise caution around topics that may be considered objectionable or
inflammatory – such as politics and religion.

Be the first to correct your own mistakes, and be constructive and respectful if
correcting others. If you get into a situation where you are unsure of what to do, reach
out to the social media team (socialmedia@gartner.com) for guidance.

Always accurately represent your role and/or title when acting in your professional
persona.

LinkedIn is primarily a professional social media network. Associates promoting

research or engaging with followers in this context can assume that it is primarily an
environment in which their Gartner persona matches the topics that likely will
dominate the discussion. As such, use of the Gartner logo/banner carries little risk as
long as associates stay in their professional persona and adhere to the Social Media
Guidelines. Identify yourself in your LinkedIn profile as a Gartner associate and add a
line that states “These thoughts and views are my own and do not represent those of
my employer.”

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are primarily personal social media networks

2 of 5
where the topic of discourse is wide-ranging including, at times, some professional
content. As a result, you may not use Gartner branding in banners on personal
profiles. On these social networks, identify yourself in your profile as a Gartner
associate and add this statement: “These thoughts and views are my own and do not
represent those of my employer.” Always adhere to the Gartner Social Media Policy.

4. Have productive conversations.

When acting in your professional persona as a Gartner associate, remember that the
primary benefit of social media participation is for others to learn about Gartner and
for Gartner to learn from others. While it is OK to offer criticism, this criticism should
be constructive and never mean-spirited, and should never involve accusations of
wrongdoing or improper conduct.

If Gartner has relevant research on the topic, link to it (even if you only link the
abstract). Try to add value. Provide worthwhile information (get your facts straight)
and perspective (be constructive). Test your ideas and move research forward while
avoiding direct disagreement with published research.

5. Don’t share information clients pay for.

Do not post the kind of information and advice for which clients pay Gartner. This
includes sharing complete research documents (for example, Magic Quadrants) and
presentations, as well as highly specific information, such as analysis,
recommendations and predictions.

Gartner Pulse, an associate advocacy tool, makes it easy for associates to share pre-
approved content. To join the program, please visit (getbambu.gartner.com).

6. Protect and enhance the value of Gartner’s brand.

We encourage all associates to present Gartner in a positive light and avoid
inappropriate comments about our products, services, systems or associates. For
further information on expectations, please refer to the Code of Conduct.

On each social media platform in which you participate, make it clear that you are
posting as an individual (that is, not a Gartner spokesperson). Use a disclaimer in
your description such as: “These thoughts and views are my own and do not represent
those of my employer.” Please note that any recommendations or endorsements
provided by you to a current or former colleague, on LinkedIn or a similar online
platform are from you personally and do not represent the views of Gartner. If you
have been asked for a formal recommendation outside of the LinkedIn platform,
please review the Gartner Guidelines for Providing References. Also, because we are a
public company, don’t disclose or discuss Gartner’s revenues, future business plans or
share price. This includes any company-confidential information you may be privy
to.

We do not allow associates to create Gartner branded social media profiles in the
public domains, if you have questions about this or think there may be a need for a
new profile please reach out to the social media team (socialmedia@gartner.com)
There is a higher risk to the Company to have accounts branded as “Gartner” with no
documented or assigned control, governance, standards or ongoing management. We
want our clients and prospects to be able to easily identify and follow our corporate
social profiles.

There are times when it is appropriate to engage a third-party agency to amplify

the Company’s voice and brand on social media. All third parties are required to

3 of 5
submit content for approval via Corporate Communications before distribution via
corporate profiles. Following security best practices, third parties do not have direct
access to any Gartner corporate social media accounts.

7. Protect confidential information.

Protect Gartner’s and our clients’ confidential information. Gartner associates are
prohibited from posting any confidential or proprietary information on social media
sites or other content-sharing sites. This includes any discussion of clients or internal
Gartner content.

8. Be personable and have fun.

Social media participation is about enjoying personal interactions, not delivering
corporate communications. A big part of the social media experience is that it is more
authentic than most other media. Let your social media participation reflect this
characteristic. Keep in mind that humor should always be appropriate and should
stimulate discussion, not stifle it. Because content on social media can be taken out of
context, please be mindful of statements that could detract from the Gartner brand,
including statements about our business or specific vendors and personal
experiences.

9. Personal Blogs.
Regardless of your role at Gartner, you may not initiate or maintain a personal blog,
social network discussion group, or other internet site that discusses or relates to
Gartner, our business, or to the industries Gartner covers. But you are free to publish
your own blogs on topics of personal interest to you that do not concern Gartner or
the industries we cover.

10. Don’t engage in arguments that attack published Gartner Research.

If published Gartner research is disputed on social media, inform the Ombudsman’s
Office (ombudsman@gartner.com) and refrain from engaging in public debates. Do
not publicly explain or clarify Gartner research methodology. This is the role of the
Ombudsman’s Office.If you see social media content that disparages or reflects poorly
on the Gartner brand, products or business strategies, contact the social media team
(socialmedia@gartner.com) instead of inserting yourself directly into these
discussions. This approach will help avoid exacerbating the situation.

11. Comply with Applicable Laws.

When engaging in social media, you must respect and adhere to all applicable laws
and regulations, including those concerning Financial Reporting, Insider Trading,
Antitrust, Copyright, Discrimination and Harassment, Anti-Bribery and Data
Protection.

12. Publicity.
If a social media post generates a request from a company for a briefing, a journalist
for an interview, or a client or prospect for an inquiry, route it through normal
Gartner channels. Forward requests for media interviews to the PR team (Find the
right person to contact here: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom).

13. Monitoring.
Gartner reserves the right to monitor all social media pages and conversations our
associates participate in to ensure compliance with this Policy. There is no right to
privacy for publicly posted social media content, and Gartner may monitor for such
postings for compliance with our Code of Conduct and other corporate policies.
Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to, and including,

4 of 5
termination of employment.

5 of 5