Managing information overload and social media

Staying Connected with Your Community Through Social Media
Steven E. Newman, Ph.D., A.A.F.
Greenhouse Crops Extension Specialist and Professor of Floriculture
Colorado State University Extension

or How to drink from a fire hose
MIT Museum
http://museum.mit.edu/150/entries/684

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Traditional Extension Model
Outreach and Service

Client based
Outreach delivery
Continuing education
Laboratory testing
Field days
Youth development
Ag consultation
Food and nutrition

Staying Connected with Your Community
Through Social Media

Where is our audience?
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Using Social Media for Extension
Evaluation

Clear goals
Adequate preparation
Appropriate methods
Significant results
Effective presentation
Reflective critique

Which Social Media is for You?
Start with the big three
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Discover what your audience is using
Ning
MySpace
YouTube
SlideShare
Blogs
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LinkedIn
Business-oriented social networking site
Place for professional profiles
Maintain connections
Job postings or personal search
Blog links
Groups with similar interests
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How do I use LinkedIn
Business connection with many that do not use other social media
Maintain connections with former students and colleagues looking for references
Sharing among groups
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Facebook
Fourth largest population in the world (>300 million active users)
Fastest growing group 35+
6 billion minutes
40 million status updates
10 million users become fans of Pages
2 billion photos and 14 billion videos
2 billion pieces of content
65 million mobile users
65 translations
70% users outside of US
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Facebook Statistics:
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

How do I use Facebook
First, I follow my teenage sons (they don’t like it)
I have reconnected with many previous colleagues, friends, and classmates
I have made many new friends and colleagues. It has built some new and interesting connections
I keep what I post relevant (at least to me)
I do mix personal and professional
I follow a lot of sources that provide information that I did not previously have access to in one spot
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Fan Pages on Facebook
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Data from Fan Pages
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Group Pages on Facebook
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Group Pages on Facebook
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Twitter
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Twitter
Twitter is a micro-blogging service, which are text-based
More than 25 million accounts
Tweets are updates or a miniature blog
Announcements
reTweets
Direct messages
News reporting
Marketing
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Twitter Platforms
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Twitter Mobile
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Windows Mobile Twitter Clients
Which is the right Windows Mobile Twitter microblogging client for you?

Tiny Twitter http://www.tinytwitter.com
Twobilehttp://www.infinitumsoftware.com/twobile
ceTwithttp://www.kosertech.com/blog/?page_id=5
PockeTwithttp://code.google.com/p/pocketwit/
Twikinihttp://www.trinketsoftware.com

Most reviewers recommend ceTwit and PockeTwit
http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/windows-mobile-platform.aspx
I have chosen ceTwit
Stripped down Twitter client for Windows Mobile device
Tiny download
Resource-light installation
No fussy graphics

TwitPic
TwitPic.com almost seems like it was developed for Extension
Quick sharing of photos on the go from a mobile phone
Means to get a photo out for diagnostics or comments
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Plaxo
Plaxo is an online address book and a social networking service
20 million users
Plaxo will provide several feed linkages
This was my first service and I used originally to help manage my Outlook contacts
I use the Plaxo Badge to combine many services
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Ning
Ning is a mans to create your own social network
ASHS is making use of Ning for its working groups
Owner controlled
Private Forums
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What are the costs?
Most are free services
LinkedIn has a fee-service that provides more data
Advertisement is available on Facebook
What is the value of your time?
What does it cost for your specific service to access the sites?
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Making them work together
Find applications that make it easy
Facebook and Twitter are easily linked
Tools such as FriendFeed will merge postings from blogs automatically
Don’t be afraid to recycle materials
Stay current
Find the social media platforms that you like and enjoy
Make sure that you keep it fun
Promote self
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Tools to manage the information
Use your blog with widgets that link services
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Consider using an aggregator (rss feed)

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Develop a personal portal with a reader

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Develop a personal portal with a reader

Things to remember
Keep it professional
Post what is meaningful
Make sure that your information is current
Make sure that your information is correct
Make sure that your information is relevant
Take care in the use of autofeed services
Follow many others, but use filters
Remember, social media is social and PUBLIC
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For more information, contact me at
http://ghex.colostate.edu/
http://www.twitter.com/newman7118
http://twitpic.com/photos/newman7118
http://www.facebook.com/senewman
http://ghadvisor.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/snewman7118
stevennewman@chat.extension.org
steven.newman@colostate.edu
And….. (970) 491-7118