1. Digital Engagement Quick guide

2. Digital Engagement and Social Media The RSA is committed to making the best use of all available technology and innovation to improve the way Fellows find each other, inspire, connect with and contribute to the Fellowship. Such ‘digital engagement’ is a great way to strengthen relationships, showcase projects and generally enhance the Fellowship experience. The web-based tools which help people to share information, opinions, knowledge and interests online are commonly termed “Social Media”. As the name implies, social media involves the building of online communities or networks to encourage participation and engagement. The RSA uses blogs, message boards, social networking websites (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) content sharing websites (such as YouTube, Flickr and Delicious) and many other online channels including Twitter. This quick guide from the RSA Digital Working Group, aims to give Fellows an understanding of how to use Social Media to communicate and collaborate with each other online. These guidelines will evolve, preferably with your help, so please check back periodically to leave comments and ensure you remain up to date.

5. Start by listening… Most people, even the most digitally literate, spend the vast majority of their time online reading. In social media, reading is often synonymous with listening. This graphic describes those people as observers. Observers make up 90% of your online audience – you’ll never hear from them yet they read your every word. Often called ‘lurkers’ they have a reputation for consuming things from an online community without contributing. Our view is that lurkers are really listeners as well as observers and we encourage all Fellows to join in the conversations online. It takes time to get used to the jargon of ‘platforms’ and the etiquette used online (netiquette). The best way to make use of that time is to spend it familiarising yourself with the layout and culture of various social networks and think about which role you might take. We all take on different roles in different online spaces and are most active in those which suit us best.

8. (N)etiquette How we behave is important and something we regularly consider online. We need more people, not just seasoned webslingers, to contribute to defining digital communication for our Fellowship, to demonstrate and test our 21st Century Enlightenment values. You could get started online by signing up on rsafellowhip.com and responding to Paul’s invitation extracted below. Dear All, Below is the post I recently made on LinkedIn to the "official" RSA group there, I am hoping to create some thinking about the 'how' and the 'why' of the RSA sanctioning any specific group/platform or technology as a means for Fellows to engage. Clearly, anything that is badged as being RSA needs to adhere to a set of principles that are in line with the aims and objectives of the RSA. Please let me know what you think. Netiquette, the RSA and social media What are the rules by which we, as Fellows, should follow when using groups like this? Is it acceptable to be flagrantly advertising our companies, trying to sell consultancy or peddle products and services? Or, should we be mindful of the aims and objectives of the RSA "For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress." Is your post to this group *really* in line with the aims of the RSA? Discuss/debate and contribute, please. Your comments and feedback will inform the RSA Fellowship Council working group on Digital Engagement and I will feedback to the next RSA FC meeting. Paul Buchanan

13. LinkedIn The RSA group on LinkedIn is a place where Fellows can share their interests, views and activities in a less formal context. The group is a powerful engagement resource because it promotes broader cohesion while overcoming the physical challenges of accessibility, synchronicity and geography. Fellow raise topics that spark interesting conversations and potential avenues for collaboration. The LinkedIn Group is an excellent source of purposeful serendipity and, unsurprisingly, the diversity of group topics bears witness to the eclectic composition of the RSA Fellowship Click here for an invitation to join the official group for Fellows of the RSA. You will need your Fellowship number to hand when requesting to join this group. Unlike the ning sites you will see external advertising on the LinkedIn pages.

15. Twitter Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service. It allows users to communicate with "followers“ – shorthand for friends, colleagues, indeed anyone with shared professional interests . Communication takes the form of short text messages 140 characters in length, called "tweets". “ Entering” Twitter is like entering a room full of people chatting. Some conversations are interesting and focussed while others are less so! As in any social context, people gravitate towards what interests them. Once you have found people whose ideas and reflections you find stimulating, the real fun of Twitter begins. For the RSA Fellowship, Twitter is already a lively medium for exchanging ideas and sharing resources. An example of an RSA tweet might look something like this. RSA avatar Text of tweet Twitter ID A searchable thread using the # tag Date of tweet

18. Remember Gapingvoid.com