Using Social Media – a FreshWater Watcher’s Guide

Introduction

An online social network is much like your real social network. It is made up of friends, family, work colleagues and acquaintances.

Social media is a way of staying in touch and making new connections. In the real world you can’t see connections between people. In the online world you can immediately see who knows who, and who your friends are friends with.

Social media is a really useful way to share your thoughts about being a FreshWater Watcher, and inspire others to take action.

Blogging

At its simplest, a blog (or web log) plays a similar role to a diary, providing an opportunity to record your experiences while doing FreshWater Watch.

Social networking sites, like the blog pages on the FreshWater Watch website, are organic; you can engage with them as often as you wish and can write about most things that come to your mind and are related to FreshWater Watch and the HSBC Water Programme.

As blogs are personal statements, they help your audience to understand more about you – what is important and motivating to you. Your audience can also ‘talk’ to you directly to share ideas and experiences via comments to blogs.

Do’s Don’tsDO write about your personal experiences with the HSBC Water Programme and what it means to you.

DON’T give away your working location or post which organisation you work for (eg HSBC)

DO keep your posts brief and readable. Bullet points are brilliant. As are lists. They are the most accessible form of blogging. If you can write 10 Ways to Change My Life it will bring people in.

DON’T post personal information like your address, mobile number or date of birth. This could create a security and a personal risk to yourself.

DO use pictures. They tell a thousand words, break up text for the reader and help them visualise what you are up to.

DON’T copy and paste other people’s blogs and pass them off as your own.

DO write a blog in response to another blog and then notify the author. This creates a conversation and often encourages the author to bring his/her audience to your post.

DON’T forget that blogging is a two-way conversation and other people can post comments on your blog.

DO include links in your blog to other interesting stories or sites. Cite your sources if quoting external resources and links. Again, notify the author of the site so they can provide further comment.

DON’T be provocative for the sake of it. Stating an opinion is a great way of engaging others but say something meaningful which invites people to comment.

DO paint a picture of the scene to show others what the situation/event is like. Try to give a sense of events unfolding. What has been positive or negative? Low and high points? Outcomes?

DON’T discredit other companies or individuals. Whilst it is important that you express yourself bear in mind that your blog will be in the public domain.

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The following guidance is for HSBC employees only.

Any blogs published on the FreshWater Watch website will be in the public domain, so from an HSBC perspective, please check through your blog against the following criteria:

Don’t state you work for HSBC or where you work. The content cannot be construed as HSBC taking the moral high ground. We must not be seen to be claiming to lead on this work – we should be praising our partners, rather than

ourselves. Ensure the content could not be construed as calling for political change. HSBC can be positioned as facilitating the ability of people (particularly our employees) to see and

understand the issues, but that we are reliant on the expertise of the partners. As a sanity check, imagine being a cynical journalist reading the blog.

The HSBC Social Media Policy

A policy was developed within HSBC in the UK and circulated on April 15, 2013. Its aim is to minimise Information Security Risk and as such not everything within the policy will apply to those on the HSBC Water Programme. However, please read and familiarise yourself with the policy and also consider the specific points below to ensure you are making the best use of social media from a professional and personal perspective.

Bear in mind that even if you do not name your employer, if it is evident that you work for any part of HSBC, because all your online ‘friends’ are colleagues or from photos posted online, your postings could still potentially be viewed as bringing the bank into disrepute.

Do not ‘tag’ photographs on sites such as Facebook with names and details of colleagues which may identify them as HSBC employees, and do not post photographs taken in the workplace.

If you choose to post photographs taken at work related events, do bear in mind that these will give an impression of HSBC; if in doubt, don’t post.

If you see any negative or incorrect comments relating to HSBC or questions relating to HSBC posted by others, do not take matters into your own hands and defend the bank or assist with a query, however tempting this may be. Report the matter to your local Corporate Sustainability team.

Do not re-post, re-tweet or forward any authorised HSBC comments, postings or material, so that there is no misunderstanding about whether you are acting on behalf of HSBC or in a personal capacity.

Remember that what you post online can potentially be viewed and circulated by numerous people and, even if you subsequently remove a posting, it can be difficult to remove completely. If you are doubtful about whether to write something, you probably shouldn’t.

Be cautious about publishing personal information about yourself, which could jeopardise your security or that of others. Be aware of the guidelines on social engineering and how to keep business and personal information safe.

Do not post any disparaging or defamatory statements concerning or relating to HSBC, its clients, suppliers etc.

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Some key questions to ask yourself as you write your blogs:

What inspired me to become a Citizen Science Leader? What is this experience teaching me about fresh water issues? What can I / we do about fresh water challenges – at work (remembering not to mention that you work

for HSBC or the location of your work), in the home and in our communities? What can I write that will inspire my colleagues/others to get involved?

Blog Examples

Have a look at these examples and decide which is the most interesting and inspiring to read:

‘’We got up at 7am. I like it here. I am having fun checking for nitrates and phosphates. Water issues are serious. I will turn off the tap when I clean my teeth.’’

OR

“I have learnt so much today. I had little idea of what was meant by the term citizen science or the issues facing global shortages of fresh water but my eyes have been opened.

I now hold the title FreshWater Watcher and have been trained to collect data for Earthwatch’s part of the HSBC Water Programme. My data will help answer questions such as what the seasonal variations in water quality are, what the main factors affecting water quality are, and what the relationships between water quality and changes in a fresh water ecosystem are.

There are thousands of people just like me all around the world doing the same scientific research and it is mind-boggling to think that while I collect samples under grey, cloudy skies in London, there are people doing the same thing in the blazing heat of Rio De Janiero and the middle of summer in Sydney.

The things I have learnt today will stay with me for a long time. By 2025, 65% of us will live in water-scarce areas and although we in the west think we are safe, developed countries are as much at risk, if not more so because we use so much water.

I’ll be making a lot of changes. Less coffee, shorter showers and one veggie meal a week might not make a huge difference on my own but if we all did it then change would happen.

Next step for me is to find some fresh water near my home where I can carry out the testing in my own time and to enthuse my kids into helping me. I’ll let you know how I get on.”

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Twitter

Twitter is a great way to let people know how FreshWater Watch is going. The Twitter app is free to download and can be found by searching for the Twitter app in your smartphone app store.

You can follow us at our @FreshWaterWatch account and use #freshwaterwatch in your Tweets to help people find out more about your FreshWater Watch experiences.

Twitter Tips

We must remember that Twitter is a journey, not a destination. Your tweet will be part of a larger entity – whether that is someone’s feed at the other end, part of a #hashtag or part of a conversation. Therefore we can’t just send our thoughts out there without thinking about how they might be read.

1) A good Tweet is often a ‘hook’ that draws a reader to a more detailed posting on the FreshWater Watch website.

2) Language: General rules of accuracy apply. Poor spelling and grammar can have a more damaging impact on

a Tweet than on a longer item such as a blog. Read before you send. Predictive text is seen as a blessing but it can be a curse.

Symbols are to be encouraged where they are in common use such as £ $ & because it reduces word count.

Use contraction. You’re, I’m etc only save one character a time but it all counts. Avoid text speak: U for you, thx for thanks etc are acceptable in a social setting but not for the

professional. The same goes for the overused LOL (Laugh Out Loud) etc.

3) Tweet in a timely fashion: A Tweet about Hallowe’en on October 31 is great. A Tweet about Hallowe’en on November 1 is acceptable. A Tweet about Hallowe’en on November 2 will disappear.

4) Don’t forget you can upload pictures and videos directly to Twitter. They really can tell a thousand words.

5) Try to mix your content otherwise your followers will lose interest. Thus, make sure you’re spicing it up by including some variety such as links to other blog posts, news article or something more personal to yourself. It’s a great way to keep your followers engaged.

6) Retweet (RT) others: the RT isn’t an endorsement; it is simply you passing on someone else’s message and taking part in the conversation. If you wish, you can clarify as follows:

RT @MBradbrook HSBC Water Programme is the most rewarding project I've worked on <-- and we are delighted to have you on board

If you significantly change someone’s tweet, such as adding a hashtag in order to share the content with your community or showing you have added or deleted an element of the tweet, you can use MT (Modified Tweet) rather than RT.

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FacebookFreshWater Watch has a page set up on Facebook – please give us a like.

You can share pictures and thoughts here and use it to link to blog posts or forum topics that you have contributed to or just think should be shared on a wider stage.

Forums on the FreshWater Watch website

Why join the conversation?

Forums are an excellent place to find information on the wide-ranging topic of fresh water, social interaction with peers, and networking opportunities.

For scientists it’s a great opportunity to see how you and the public are responding to their project, and find out what people are saying about fresh water challenges worldwide.

What can I post in a Forum?

You could link to a blog you have written, or an interesting news article you’ve seen, and encourage other members to comment on it.

You could upload a great photograph that you’ve taken from your or your data collection, or report on your experience as a FreshWater Watcher.

You could also ask questions, brainstorm answers, compare ideas and relate back to the wider subject.

What conversations are going on?

These are the different forums that you can subscribe to:

Out in the Field: This is where members discuss their experiences of being a Citizen Scientist Leader on a particular project.

Meet and Greet: This allows members to introduce themselves to other members, and network with peers.

FreshWater Watcher/FreshWater Watch Training: Here, people talk with people from other projects about what they have learnt on a CSL day.

Why Water? Here, members discuss wider water issues, locally and globally. 5

Ask an Expert: Here, members ask questions to scientists or staff.

Technical Support: This is where members can report any problems they are having.

Forum Rules:

Three basic rules apply to all Forum categories:

1. Be nice.

Don’t be rude, offensive, abusive, or swear. We will not tolerate links to pornographic, racist or other offensive web sites. If you post a link, be sure to state what the link is about. We will not tolerate political propaganda, or the promotion of extreme political messages.

2. Don’t spam

Avoid advertising and promoting in any way, unless it is suitable and relevant within the context of the conversation. Use common sense. Neither HWP, the partners of the Programme, nor our staff and research teams endorse any of the goods or services that may be promoted on our forums.

Don’t post any message that is commercial by nature. Our member base is not a resource to be "mined" by individuals, groups, or businesses. If we believe you to be spamming our forum members, or promoting goods or services, we may disable your account.

3. Don’t break the law

Any posts that encourage illegal intent will be removed and the account disabled.

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