Posts Tagged ‘Blogging’

Finding Windom: What a difference a blog can make

May 25th, 2011

Editor's Note: Increasingly, community and economic development officials are turning to blogs as a means of communicating with their constituents. But what happens when a community member takes on that responsibility? That is the situation in Windom, MN where Mari Harries created a blog titled My 2 Cents: Finding Windom. I've been following Mari's writing for around a year now, and I find it inspirational. Not only is Mari sharing her passion for her community, but she's building a dialogue about Windom's future. Last week, I asked Mari some interview questions, and she graciously responded. After reading her comments below, I hope you will check out the blog. Maybe you are a "Mari waiting-to-happen" in your community.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Windom, Minnesota, and while I enjoyed growing up in rural Windom, I couldn’t wait to leave after high school graduation with absolutely no intentions to come back. During college I started to realize just how important my family was to me and decided after college to move back to Windom. I dodged a lot of questions from community members about my decision to move back and felt like I didn’t live up to these passive expectations to be successful “out there.” It was a very hard transition after moving back to Windom, but after awhile I got more comfortable with my decision. Now, I live in a beautiful, old house near the downtown square of Windom with my husband and my one-year-old son, Henrik. We enjoy riding our bikes around town, we enjoy the city’s parks, the river and lakes. We just love Windom.

Why did you start to blog about your community and what type of information do you share?

I started the blog because I love two things: writing and Windom. So why not combine the two? Not only do I think Windom is a great place to be, but it has the capability to be so much more. I felt there was so much potential that wasn’t being utilized. So instead of complaining about it, I thought I would try to do something about it. I made a commitment to myself and the community in my first blog post that I would not only do everything that I could to make a difference in my community, but I would track my journey through the blog. Not only would I blog the journey for others to read about and find inspiration from, but the blog would be used to seek assistance, guidance, ideas, resources, or anything that could help me in the journey as well. I started writing about positive things that people might take for granted, like Windom’s history, the beautiful courthouse, the businesses, recreation. I write personal stories about my family, my memories of Windom, my hopes and dreams for Windom and what I’m working on to make it a better place. The blog lead to people getting excited about community revitalization. I would get a lot of emails from community members, former residents, and classmates telling me how they have always loved Windom and felt it needed and deserved some TLC.

What has been the result of the blog?

The blog lead to a handful of people coming together to form Finding Windom, now a non-profit organization dedicated to making the community a better place. Finding Windom has done a lot of great things in the community and is working on a lot of great things right now and for the future too. Since the inception of the blog, I have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of great people. I have had the opportunity to do more writing for other entities as well, such as Minnesota 2020. The exciting thing about Windom and Finding Windom is that the possibilities are endless! And we like to have a little fun making our community a better place to be. It is absolutely amazing all the wonderful support we have had from the community, businesses and even former Windom residents and Windom High School alumni. It has been awesome hearing memories and stories about Windom and hearing all the ideas the community has for Windom as well.

What else have you been up to?

My online efforts have lead to so many offline activities that I’m having a hard time keeping up with my online efforts now—a good problem to have! Since the inception of Finding Windomwe have:

Started a support local campaign titled, The Little City That Would, which is going strong. The Windom Economic Development Authority has adopted our support local campaign efforts as their own marketing tool.
Working with the city council to do community outreach in order for the city council to organize strategic planning and goals for the city.
Started a community portal website (coming summer 2011), findingwindom.com, which links all aspects of the city, along with a community online calendar, community Facebook pages, while encouraging other city/community entities to update websites to look unified and user friendly.
Worked with local businesses to guide them as far as marketing and consumer happiness, as well as encouraging local businesses to utilize the internet by stressing that if you are not online these days you do not exist to a huge population of people.
Our latest and most fun endeavor was reaching out to our youth by hosting a Community Pride Day on the last day of school to show our students how to get involved in the community by picking up trash around town and visiting with local businesses and organizations to get an idea of all the great things the community has to offer. On this day, our landscaping students helped build a pocket park on our downtown square!

I am so proud to be from Windom, Minnesota! I can’t wait to see what is next for this little city that would.

Tags: Blogging, Minnesota, social media, storytelling, Windom MN
Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Leadership, Rural | Comments (2)

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June 7th, 2010

Last week I wrote a post Buy Verapamil Without Prescription, suggesting rural communities should conduct video interviews of entrepreneurs in their communities as a way of showcasing local businesses and building their community's brand as a great place for entrepreneurs. A couple days ago I stumbled across a blog that's doing something very similar. Verapamil craiglist, Hood River Biz Buzzrepresents the community of Hood River, Verapamil over the counter, Verapamil to buy online, OR (pop. 5831 according to the 2010 Census). The blog's "About" page offers the following as its purpose:

A big part of what makes Hood River special is the vital business scene, ordering Verapamil online. Verapamil to buy, Frustrated with the lack of local media attention to business news, I thought that a blog would be a good first step to share what I learn in my various work and volunteer activities."

Peruse its posts and you will discover articles featuring local businesses, Verapamil in australia, Verapamil price, coupon, upcoming community events, and the latest news. It's a bit more expansive and eclectic than what I was talking about the other day, buy Verapamil no prescription, Order Verapamil online c.o.d, but I think that's what makes it so fun and interesting. It definitely leaves me with an impression that Hood River is a place I'd enjoy.

Stu Watson, buying Verapamil online over the counter, Buy Verapamil online with no prescription, the blog's publisher, is a professional journalist with over thirty years of experience. The blog, Verapamil in mexico, Saturday delivery Verapamil, however, is a volunteer activity and a display of his love for his community.

When I called on people to interview entrepreneurs in their community, buy Verapamil without a prescription, Where can i find Verapamil online, I had in mind community volunteers being engaged in the project. After all, that's who gets the work done in most of the rural communities in our part of the country.

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I like the idea that Rebecca Terk left as a comment on my blog post:

I do think this is the kind of project that community volunteers could pull off with some assistance, but I also think that group of volunteers has to be diverse enough in order to be able to identify different facets of the entrepreneurial efforts in the community, Buy Verapamil Without Prescription. Verapamil in uk, I wonder if it's also something that could be accomplished in a media/journalism course (do they still have such courses?) on a high school level if the school had faculty savvy in this area. That ties in young people and what they see as valuable/cool/attractive about a community (the promotion of which could attract more young people to the community)."

I love the idea of youth engagement. I can see the project being a perfect match for a media/journalism course or even a business class for that matter. It's also an opportunity for community volunteers to contribute their knowledge to young people. I know most educators would welcome a volunteer with knowledge of video production expertise in their classroom, Verapamil discount. Order Verapamil no prescription, Whether it's a blog like Hood River Biz Buzz or a series of video interviews with student involvement, I hope you find a way to lift up entrepreneurs and build a stronger brand for your rural community.

Note: I discovered Hood River Biz Buzz in a blog post by Rural Tourism Marketing, Verapamil in canada, Verapamil in us, another excellent resource.

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Tags: Blogging, branding, entrepreneurship, Hood River OR, marketing, Oregon
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

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April 28th, 2010

I've been to Buy Shatavari Without Prescription, Galena, IL. I saw the Ulysses S. Grant home and attended my first wine tasting there.

It's been about twelve years, rx free Shatavari, Saturday delivery Shatavari, but I remember Galena as a fun place with a lot of tourism potential. I had heard about the community from some friends who lived in nearby Dubuque, IA, online buy Shatavari without a prescription. Buy Shatavari without a prescription, This raises an important question: "How do rural communities get the word out to tourists?"

The transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

The old way of marketing a community was to print a brochure, join a tourism association, purchase Shatavari online, Shatavari prescriptions, create a website, and maybe try to attract the attention of some tour operators. That's so Web 1.0.

Galena may still be doing those things, buy cheap Shatavari no rx, Buy Shatavari online cod, but they have also moved on to include Web 2.0 strategies in their tourism efforts They recently invited 8 "mommy bloggers" from the Chicago area to tour their community. The obvious hope was that these influential bloggers would write about their experience and encourage their readers to discover Galena's hidden treasures.

Why mommy bloggers? According to the blog post where I learned about the event:

Mom bloggers were specifically targeted because when they reviewed who was following their Twitter account they found moms to be the common thread. Plus, where to buy Shatavari, Shatavari in mexico, families are taking shorter trips closer to home and Galena is a 3 hour drive from Chicago - where many of the women are from." (source: Esther Brady Crawford, "Rural Jo Daviess County Turns To Mom Bloggers For Tourism Boost, where can i order Shatavari without prescription, Buy generic Shatavari, " She Posts, April 22, order Shatavari no prescription, Shatavari from canadian pharmacy, 2010.)

It's about Trust

Great idea. Reach the decision maker in the family through a source of information they trust, their favorite mommy blogger.

Some people may criticize this approach saying that the old way of marketing offers the potential to reach more people. They are right. You can print a million brochures and pay to get your community recognized by Google.

But I'd respond to those critics by asking them to consider how I got to Galena twelve years ago, buy Shatavari online without prescription, Real brand Shatavari online, in the days before social media. I didn't Google a website, I didn't pick up a brochure at visitors center. A friend told me about it. Someone who's opinion I trusted, order Shatavari online overnight delivery no prescription. Buy Shatavari without prescription, Social media has helped us discover new friends, and rural communities need to figure out ways take advantage, order Shatavari from mexican pharmacy. Shatavari in india, Congratulations Galena. We look forward to hearing more about the project and what you learned in the process.

( Thanks to Becky McCray for sharing the post via Twitter, buy cheap Shatavari. Where can i find Shatavari online, )

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Tags: Blogging, Galena IL, Illinois, social media, tourism, trust
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (5)

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February 23rd, 2010

Buy Barbital Without Prescription, Have you been thinking about developing a blog as a part of your community development strategy? If so, I highly encourage you to check out Ord Pumping Sunshine, a blog published by Caleb Pollard, Executive Director of Valley County Economic Development & the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce.

I've never met Caleb in person, Barbital medication, Purchase Barbital, but I've been familiar with Ord, Nebraska since the late 1990s when both Ord and Howard were active with the Rural School and Community Trust. Since that time, buy Barbital online with no prescription, Free Barbital samples, I've been impressed with the community's entrepreneur support system and continued investment in young people. There's no doubt they are one of the rock stars in rural community development.

Caleb has been the executive director of the chamber and development group for about a year and one-half. He brings with him experience with sales and marketing in the technology and health care fields, Barbital from canadian pharmacy, Over the counter Barbital, which might explain his zeal for blogging. Caleb recently answered the following questions for me, which I hope will inspire more rural communities to recognize the value that blogging offers.

What' the purpose of Ord Sunshine Pumping, Barbital san diego, Buy Barbital without a prescription, and why use a blogging platform?

First, I love to write, Barbital price, coupon, Barbital craiglist, especially about issues involving rural development. It's my passion and I find blogging is a great way to share a story about rural issues. I feel we have a great story to share in Ord, because of the tremendous success we've had in the last 10 years and blogging is such a great social tool to share it with, buy Barbital no prescription, Real brand Barbital online, like communities facing the same issues we've had. Since we've had this great success, blogging makes it easy to take those models, online buying Barbital hcl, Buy Barbital from mexico, ideas, examples and overall rural economic philosophy and share it with the world.

More importantly, where can i buy Barbital online, Purchase Barbital online no prescription, however, is the that the blog allows me a direct conversation with my community, delivered overnight Barbital, Barbital in canada, in a dynamic and social way, to weave the "what" of what we are doing with the "why" of its importance. There is no filter, Barbital buy, Barbital pills, and with social media like a blog, you can connect it to a greater whole and then you begin to see why the work we accomplish in Ord is so important to all rural communities.

We often hear from community leaders who say they don't have time for writing on a blog, order Barbital online overnight delivery no prescription. Barbital in australia, How do you deal with time issues?

Everyone has time. Saying they don't have time is a total cop-out. Many people don't like to write, and that's totally okay. But using the "I don't have time" routine is just an easy way out. As for blogging, Barbital overseas, Barbital prescriptions, I find it is a great outlet for me to tell our story. But making time is about prioritizing my schedule to make it work. Plus, blogging cuts down on a ton of extra time I spend with press releases to local and statewide media, where can i buy cheapest Barbital online, Order Barbital online c.o.d, along with our monthly, quarterly and annual reporting. Blogging actually saves me time. Prioritizing my schedule means something has to lose or it's delegated to one of my staff. I'm blessed to have great staff that gives me the ability to dedicate my time to blogging. Plus, Barbital paypal, Buy Barbital without prescription, I find when you're passionate about something, getting it done isn't too tough.

When did you start the blog and what have you learned about the process of operating a community blog since then?

I've been blogging on and off for about 6-7 years now, where to buy Barbital, Barbital in india, and our current blog has been in operation for a little over a year. What have I learned? First, building a robust conversation about *positive* things is much harder than talking about the negative. Second, buying Barbital online over the counter, Purchase Barbital online, finding local contributors that are willing to take on the workload of actually doing the writing is difficult. I'd love to have more contributors on our blog and we're just starting to expand our efforts this year. I anticipate having 2 additional contributors by year's end, but like you said above, Barbital in us, Online buy Barbital without a prescription, it's a time sink.

Finally, I think honesty is appreciated. While I'm the Chamber dude, saturday delivery Barbital, Buy Barbital online without a prescription, and pumping sunshine is part of my modus operandi, being honest about my love for rural communities, Barbital trusted pharmacy reviews, Buy Barbital online no prescription, especially in Nebraska, has won our blog a lot of fans. Authenticity counts BIG TIME.

Do you have any stories that exemplify the impact the blog has had on your work, Barbital gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release. Barbital in uk,

Yes, two specifically. First, Barbital in usa, Buy Barbital from canada, in Spring of 2009 I wrote an innocuous post about wine tasting in Central Nebraska. While some of the wine aficionados may bat an eye at this, we really do have some fab wineries in Central Nebraska and their wine is pretty darn competitive to what I've had out of Chile or Napa. Seriously. This one post here earned us a lot of publicity. A writer from NPR happened to be driving through the Great Plains and picked up on the blog post and bam! We had national coverage. The piece ran on NPR here:

The other post I would say exemplifies our "what" and "why" would be this post on our 100 new business in Valley County (and Ord) since 2000. Of those 100, buy no prescription Barbital online, Barbital from international pharmacy, 78 are still in business, lending to the power of dedicated economic gardening. We spend a lot of time and effort grooming entrepreneurs and building supportive programs to keep their businesses in operation. To say we've seen 100 new businesses in a county of 4500 and a community of 2200 is straight amazing. That post can be found here.

Photo Description: The above photo show FFA students from Ord H.S, Barbital prices. Barbital overseas, who participated in a project with the local economic development group and an ethanol plant. It's an example of Ord's continued commitment to engage the youth in their community. Free Barbital samples. Where to buy Barbital. Where can i find Barbital online. Delivered overnight Barbital. Barbital craiglist. Buy Barbital from mexico. Purchase Barbital. Buy cheap Barbital no rx. Purchase Barbital online. Cod online Barbital. Buy Barbital online without a prescription. Where can i buy cheapest Barbital online. Buy Barbital without prescription. Barbital discount. Rx free Barbital. Order Barbital online c.o.d. Barbital in us. Barbital from canadian pharmacy. Barbital in india.

Tags: Blogging, entrepreneurship, Nebraska, Ord NE, social media
Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (2)

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November 12th, 2008

Buy Methotrexate Without Prescription, Blogging is a great way for rural communities to connect to people both within and outside their community. The Rural Learning Center has been setting up blogs in the communities they work for the last three years, rx free Methotrexate. Purchase Methotrexate, (Check out the Faulkton, Methotrexate in uk, Purchase Methotrexate online no prescription, SD blog here.)

If you are looking to establish a community blog, I'd encourage you to look at the presentation and read the post created by Ann Treacy of the Minnesota Horizons program, buy Methotrexate no prescription. Methotrexate in mexico, The presentation was created specifically for communities that are members of the Horizon's program, but there's still lots of good ideas in there for everyone interested in a community blog, where can i buy Methotrexate online. Buy Methotrexate online without prescription, Ann also provides additional information on how to use programs like Flickr and Picnik, so you'll want to check out her whole post.

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Tags: Blogging, faulkton sd, Minnesota Horizons, South Dakota
Posted in Community Development, Leadership, Rural | Comments (0)

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