So what do you think of Social Media

June 18th, 2009 by Mike Knutson

Today is a big day for Lindsey, Jim and I. We’re speaking on the subject of social networking at the 2009 National Economic Gardening Conference. It’s a big deal for us. We believe social media has tremendous potential for community and economic development work, But we don’t consider ourselves to be either economic gardening or social media experts. So the conference is still about learning.

For that reason, we believe it’s important for us to engage people in conversation between sessions so that we can gain from their experiences. We started that process last night at the conference social by asking people, “So what do you think about social media in your line of work? (Keep in mind conference attendees come from a variety of professions.)

Here are a few of the responses.

”Everybody keeps telling me I need to get into it, but it seems to take away from my real work.”

”I got onto Facebook because my kids have it; but I don’t see myself using it professionally.”

”I’m working with some people who use it in their business, and they think it’s a great marketing tool.”

”I’m still finding my way, but I know it’s important because it’s how kids communicate. If we want them to be a part of our rural communities, we need to figure out how we can use it in our work.”

This last statement struck me, and is one that I want to emphasize in our presentation today. We need to be willing to get out of our comfort zone and try different social media tools because it’s how young people communicate.

Photo Description: Don Macke, Lindsey Karlson, and Jim Beddow at the Wednesday evening reception.

Share and Enjoy: