Farming Your Online Community

Farming Your Online Community:
Social Networking & Beyond

Temperament Not Technology

Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved.

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Sign of the Times?
4 out of 5 online Americans are active in some
form of social content at least once a month


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Why does this matter to agriculture?
• Learn from Obama campaign; Facebook co-founder
Chris Hughes ran online operations & created
communities of support to drive record voter turnout.
500+ Obama Facebook groups following election.
• Opinions formed daily in communities – 99% without
any connection to ag. It’s our chance to be proactive!
• Proliferation of misinformation online multiplying daily
as social media use increases. Facebook reached
tipping point in Dec. 08 & Twitter in March 09.



3

Today’s Social Media Landscape
• Over 350 million people are on Facebook and
66% are beyond college age. 9% are teens.
• Twitter grew 1,928% in last year; it is the fastest
growing social media site according to Nielsen Media.
Roughly 27 million tweets/day.
• More than 20 hours of video are uploaded every hour of
every day on YouTube.
• Use of social networking by people aged 35-54 grew
60% in last year. (Forrester)

A glimpse of 2.0 tools…


4

What is Web 2.0?
• Wikipedia’s : “Web 2.0 encapsulates the idea of the proliferation
of interconnectivity and interactivity of web-delivered content.”
• MPK: Web 2.0 is about people utilizing technology in an
interactive way to drive information they want to their desktops,
rather than just visiting the internet
• Efficiency is key through RSS feeds, news readers and social
media.
• 66% of the world’s Internet population visit social networking or
blogging sites, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time,
according to Nielsen.


How are our ‘friends’ using SM?
• HSUS: 21,500 followers on Twitter & growing with celebrity
connection – 36x increase since January 2009. Wayne
Pacelle’s blog proliferated by fans.
• PETA: 386,800 Facebook fans (28x increase in 6 months) and
51,500 Twitter followers
• Greenpeace: 28,800 followers on Twitter & 352,000 FB fans
(doubled in 6 months)
• Farm Sanctuary: 17,700 Facebook fans (150% increase in 6
month) & 3,300 Twitter followers.
• Sierra Club: 6600 Twitter followers & 41,600 FB Fans
Source: Cause Matters Corp.

5


Facebook: Changing Culture
• Wikipedia: A social networking website launched on February
2004. Users can join networks, share photos, support causes,
fan pages or become group members.
• 350 million users, 2/3 outside U.S. and 2/3 beyond college age
• Largest user group is ages 35-54
• 922% growth in users over 55, Jan. 09 to Jan. 2010.
• Continues as the top U.S. social networking site
• Two-thirds of users beyond college age, but remains as #1 site
for ages 17-25.
Source: NielsenComScore & Fortune

6

Facebook: Population Facts
• FB reached 150 million users in 5 years, compared to:
– Telephone: 89 years
– Television: 38 year
– Cell phones: 14 years
• Edges out TV audience for Super Bowl XLIII.
• FB now larger than the United States

Source: Fortune


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Food, Inc. on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/Foodinc

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Twitter: Global Conversation
• Wikipedia: Twitter is a free networking and microblogging service
based upon tweets, which are text-based posts of up to 140
characters in length. Founded in 2006
• Twitter grew 1,400% in 2009 but slowed in last quarter.
• Approximately 27 million tweets sent daily as of Jan. 2010.
• Measuring number of tweets is difficult because nearly 2/3 of
tweets are sent through third-party services
• Think information snowball where your ideas attract more ideas;
search #agchat for example at http://search.twitter.com.


Re-framing Twitter
• Look at Twitter as a global cocktail party; you get to
decide which conversations are interesting.
• It’s as much about listening as it is about talking, just as
you would in any conversation. Twitter is an idea
exchange.
• Keywords and hashtags determine which rooms you go
to in the party – and who begins following you
• Think of an information snowball where your ideas attract
more ideas.

9

Question from @rosstucker, Women's Wear D
Writer/editor covering denim, textiles and trade
“Why was I under impression pig manure didn
break down or something? #cityfolk RT
@foodprovider Apply organic pig manure to fie
today”

Twitter Demographics
• Majority of Twitter
users are >35.
• Younger
demographics 12%
less likely to tweet.
• Tweeps in the 35-44
age group spend
nearly 20 min. per
Twitter/visit.


10

Twitter Terminology
• Tweet: Message
• @name: User or tweeter
• Tweeps: People in your community
• DM: Direct message (like e-mail)
• @ reply: Public message to designated user
• RT: Re-tweet, similar to a forward
• Unfollow: Act of dropping tweeps
• Hashtag (#): Defined subject area to collage
• Block: Not allowing follower
• Tweet-up: Meeting of tweeters (usually live)
• Chat: Streaming conversation


Twitter Phases
1. Sign up and think it’s a stupid fad.
2. Find info that piques your interest.
3. Build your community.
4. Feel obligated to give information back.
5. Realize the power of messaging in your community and
their community, harness the power.
6. Become addicted.


11

Twitter Management Tools
• Tweetdeck = air traffic control
• Hootsuite: scheduling & online management
• Mobile applications: UberTwitter for
Blackberry, Tweetdeck or Tweetie on iPhone



12

YouTube: Driving a Generation
• Critical tool for gaining attention of Gen Y and younger. 20
hours of video uploaded every minute daily!
• Impact of shocking video became apparent when Farm
Sanctuary, PETA and HSUS videos aired on major networks in
2007.
• Food, Inc. further drives home point of video impact.
• Nearly 18,000 videos on animal rights and 48,000 on
environmentalism (both up 30% per month).
• Channels and subscriptions can help manage your interests.



13

Food, Inc. on YouTube


Linkedin: Rolodex Online
• Wikipedia: Business-oriented social networking site launched in
May ‘03 used for professional networking with more than 30
million experienced professionals from around the world,
representing 150 industries.
• Professional focused with emphasis on jobs, professional
development, B2B, robust career search tool.
• Site traffic increased 485% from the end of 2006 to 2007 and
153% 2007 to 2008, about 140% 2009. Average age = 40.
• Moving slower with adding platforms, widgets and interfaces with
other programs.


14


Blogging
• Wikipedia: Blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a
website, usually maintained by an individual with regular
entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other
material such as graphics or video.
• “Blogging has moved far beyond a hobbyist phenomenon and
proved itself a legitimate news force and shaper of opinion.” ~
Business Week
• Blogs of farmers, activists, and ag organizations with
information to help you at http://causematters.wordpress.com


15

Experience: Blogging
• Rather than just writing, I consider the blog a resource or
compilation of information for my community– see
http://causematters.wordpress.com
• Regular feeds or messages are critical; I combine the blog
updates with my newsletter list & social media updates
• Use RSS or News Readers to manage information from
blogs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU


What’s Your Roadmap?

Tool:
Goals:

Timeline:

Tool:
Goals:
Tool:
Goals:

Timeline:

Timeline:


16

The Power of People!
“If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain.
If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees.
If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.”
~ Chinese Proverb


Corn on Twitter


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Farming Your Online Community

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