Hi folks, here a few tips for effectively sharing information, or reporting on things that concern you, be it via social media, email, phone, snailmail, etc.

Learn and remember the journalist’s question prompts of 5WH.

5WH?

Who
What
Where
When
Why
How

Answer those questions as best you can before you start sharing information, before you start writing, calling, Tweeting, posting to Facebook or blogs, emailing… and you’ll be miles ahead in clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and so on.

For a fleshed-out guide to 5WH see the Wikipedia entry here.

This applies to streamkeepers reporting spills or fish kills, to citizens reporting crime, to folks contacting their local papers, to students posting on blogs, to. . .