Technology is always a hot topic at trade shows, especially at the 2009 Farm Progress Show. But as growers venture in from the Yields of Tomorrow tour and into the Genuity tent- what other technologies can they learn about? Well, if you continue past the giant soybean display, you will find a team of Monsanto employees talking about a technology most know about, but are reluctant to try ... Social media! This team is committed to helping farmers get online and share their own personal stories with the 98% of the world who are not involved in agriculture.
Social media specialist Kathleen Manning, and Multimedia specialist Tyne Morgan gave a special presentation Tuesday afternoon for those who have questions about the various different outlets for social media. Their presentation focused on how to get started and how to engage people through websites like Twitter and Facebook. They even had a guest appearance from Illinois state FFA Vice President, Caroline Bremer, who discussed how FFA was already very involved and "AGtive" online! Bremer also talked about the importance of not only current farmers being involved with these online communities, but agriculture youth as well.
Manning and Morgan also showed the audience the fun side of social media as they shared the top five FFA student-produced YouTube videos from the 2009 Washington Leadership Conference, where they had been given 30 minutes and a flip cam to produce a three minute commercial about the importance of agriculture. Now those videos are posted on YouTube where millions of people have access to the important messages these students are delivering through their very creative (and highly entertaining) videos.
Luckily though, for those who aren't excited by the idea of making videos- there are still many ways to share your thoughts and experiences with the online world. Starting a blog where you can talk about things in detail- no matter what the topic, or a site like Flikr where you can share images and photos of any kind can make a huge impact on those who view your site. There are plenty of ways to be involved, you just have to find the channel that works best for you- and that is what the committed team of media experts beyond the giant soybean are there to help you discover!
Everyone has a story- who better to tell your story than, well- YOU! Even if it's simply taking a photo of your field and sharing it with the Twitter world, you will be making a difference and sharing something with people they might not ever see that closely. So as we embrace the technologies that can make a difference in the productivity of our fields, why not embrace the technologies that can make a difference in how people view farming?
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