Activists continue to use the Internet to spread false and misleading claims about bottled water. The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has been heavily engaged in developing and implementing several social media strategies during the past several months to combat the many falsehoods.

These strategies were developed after an outside consultant performed a comprehensive, two-month Internet audit of Web sites and blogs that were either critical or supportive of bottled water. That research gave us a better idea of the current virtual environment and how to position the bottled water industry on the World Wide Web more effectively.

Getting it straight
IBWA first took on the task of revising and correcting the problematic “bottled water” listing on Wikipedia, which contained several false statements. That project is an ongoing process for us because our critics continue with their attempts to insert inaccuracies into the listing.

IBWA created “The Real Facts About Bottled Water,” a PowerPoint slideshow, and sent the presentation to more than 25,000 people who had signed our pro-bottled water petition. This slide show refutes the many false claims being made about bottled water’s regulations, safety and environmental impact. Since its initial distribution, the presentation has been converted into a YouTube video, which we featured on IBWA’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and on our consumer-oriented Web site (www.bottledwatermatters.com).

To date, IBWA has more than 1,500 friends who get our messages on Facebook and more than 800 “followers” who link to Bottled Water Matters on Twitter.

On the wildly popular YouTube.com, IBWA established a “Bottled Water Matters” channel and posted eight original videos that we hope educate and entertain the viewers.

IBWA has also been aggressively posting responses to unfavorable online commentary on The Huffington Post, Treehugger, and Planet Green Web sites.

Contributions of small bottlers
IBWA’s pro-bottled water petition drive has already garnered nearly 25,000 signatures. By getting as many people as possible to sign our online petition, we can demonstrate to legislators and regulators the strong support for bottled water among consumers.

The site also includes state-by-state economic data and online letter-writing software to help voters contact their elected representatives about bottled water issues.

Nowhere on the Internet are IBWA’s efforts more apparent than on YouTube.com. “I Am Bottled Water” highlights the contributions of small bottlers.

YouTube: More bottled water videos to watch
Following are other IBWA pro-bottled water videos on YouTube. I hope you find them educational and entertaining.

• “It’s Mr. Watercooler”: a lighthearted look at the safety, convenience, and usefulness of the home and office delivery (HOD) water cooler.

• “Hot Cars & Frozen Bottled Water”: Tackles head-on the untrue rumors about drinking bottled water from a container that has been left in a hot car or previously frozen.

• “How to Recycle Bottled Water”: This humorous video has a light take on a serious subject.

• “Packaged in Plastic”: Bottled water is just one of thousands of food and drink products packaged in plastic.

• “Recycle This Bottled Water Video”: An average teen encourages people to recycle empty water bottles.

• “Bottled Water: There When You Want It”: Generates laughs but also proves that bottled water can be much more convenient than tap when you’re on the go.

• “The Real Facts About Bottled Water”: Get solid information about bottled water here.