Alternative Media

I just received the latest issue of Forum, the official publication of an honor society to which I belong, Phi Kappa Phi. The cover story is about "transcending traditional communications through technology." It is titled "Does social media really connect you to humanity? Or does anyone really have thousands of friends?" Besides the fact I think this title is extremely too long, the article is very interesting. I would include a link here, but the magazine is by subscription only. I couldn't find the article online.

The main point I got out of the article is that we need a way to differentiate from our true friends and our "friends of friends" - the people we've never met, but are connected with through the virtual world. The author believes Twitter is the best tool to stay connected, and he thinks it's the easiest to use. (Again, this is just what I got out of the article.)

I don't know if I agree that a way to differentiate is necessary, but whatever new things come out next, I'm sure it will be interesting. I still like Facebook over Twitter because my college friends post pictures and update their current cities and work info. It's an easy way to keep up without actually talking. If that's good or bad, I'm not sure. I don't stay in contact with them directly.

Twitter doesn't seem very popular among my friends. It seems to reach a more professional audience. What do you think?

The author of the article from the Forum article, Dave Taylor, can be found on Twitter here.

Social networking for a different generation

At the OSU Creativity Retreat I participated in Wednesday and Thursday, I got into a wonderful conversation about social networking. I was the only student - every other person was either a professor, department head, dean of a college, etc. Most of them are not into Facebook, Twitter, blogging or any of the like. One lady, not knowing my keen interest in social networking and how it affects different generations, mentioned she recently joined Facebook, but is sad because nobody is adding her as a friend. Another lady said she just added Facebook, but is afraid to add friends because she doesn't want her identity stolen. They had never heard of Twitter and didn't read or publish a blog. One woman did have a Linked In account. I don't ... should I?

I was very excited to explain to these people about the direction communication and marketing has taken. I explained the importance of protecting your information and being careful who you add as your friend. I explained where the privacy settings are located and how to control them. I also explained the wonders of Twitter and told them the name of my blog. They thought it was quite creative, haha.

These academically-minded people were thrilled to hear about social networking and social media as a new innovation. I shared with them how Monsanto, IBM, Boone Pickens and numerous other individuals and companies are using these new tools to help expand their business and contact a new target audience - virtually for free! Yes, these companies must hire someone to use the tools, but the tools are free.

I'm glad more people are beginning to embrace all this new, fun stuff. Maybe they can include some parts in the classes they teach. Wouldn't it be interesting to require a hotel and restaurant administration major to have a blog about what they're learning in class? Or for a child and family services major to write about problems they'd like to change once they have a job? Anything would be interesting to me!

I've shared Twitter with a lot of people recently, but none of them have created an account. I must revamp my elevator pitch of this cool toy! Perhaps I should become more Twitter-savvy myself.

Now, if only I could get my dad to learn how to turn on a computer and check his e-mail ...

Creativity Retreat

I am serving on the Oklahoma State University Creativity Initiative steering committee. This committee is committed to making OSU an international leader in creativity and innovation. I became a part of this process in late September or early October, and last night it really began as we had a cocktail party, dinner and speaker at the beginning our our creativity retreat. Our speaker was Lloyd Armstrong for USC. He talked about what makes a multi-faceted university, and today the steering committee will begin the task of making OSU a leader. An all-day retreat here in Stillwater will hopefully lead us to some answers and a plan of action. It's been set up like this: It's the year 2010, and OSU is an international leader in creativity and innovation. What did we do to get to that point? I am the undergraduate representative on this committee, so I hope I can represent the student body and make sure our steps will help from a student perspective. After the meeting last night, I had a lot of thoughts/ideas, so today will be exciting!

Planning can be tough!

Oklahoma State's Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow is hosting the 2009 National ACT Professional Development Conference in February. Initially, I didn't have a large role in the planning process, but now I am in up to my knees! I spent all day today on the phones, calling speakers and reserving rooms. Things are beginning to fall in to place, but I didn't realize how much work goes into it. This conference isn't even that large - we're planning for a max of 120 people. This is a wonderful experience for me. I am so glad I have the chance to help with it. A lot of careers in communications could involve conferences like this, so getting all the experience I can is necessary. If you are an ACT member, or would just like to learn more information about the conference, check out ACT's national Web site.

If you have any tips on conference planning, I'd love to hear them!

Monsanto makes for a gracious host

This past weekend, I met with the other National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow officers in St. Louis, Mo., for our fall board meeting. We come from across the nation - California, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma. Monsanto allowed us to visit their world headquarters and provided a conference room for our business meeting.

It was the perfect atmosphere for us to cover what we needed - from the Critique and Contest to the new Web site, and we even discussed podcasts and fundraising. I'd like to offer a giant "THANK YOU" to Monsanto for their hospitality. We received breakfast, a mid-morning snack and lunch. Yum!

Lunch is what I'd like to discuss as related to social media. Monsanto created a new social media team within their public affairs department, and we talked a lot about this during lunch. This is a fairly new team - I believe one gentleman started working strictly on social media in July, and now it's a team of three. They have a Twitter page and are out in the blogosphere. Obviously, this is the direction media is going. All of this Web 2.0 stuff is being noticed by top companies. Don't you think companies like Monsanto, IBM or the National Pork Board would simply ignore this if it didn't matter?

I learned a lot about Monsanto during our visit, and it's definitely a company for which you should want to work. I could tell the employees loved what they did and believed in what they were working to accomplish. Their passion was contagious! All of the officers agreed visiting with them made us excited to graduate and pursue our careers.

Thank you to Megan, Katie, Kathleen and Ben! I enjoyed every second!

Veteran's Day

Thank you to all the men and women who have served our great country in the armed forces. I appreciate your sacrifices to keep me safe and free. Thanks to your families for enduring loss and lonliness while you followed orders. Your dedication to freedom has not been in vain.

Please, if you see a veteran or someone who is still serving our country today, say thank you. And keep saying thank you every day. What they do for us is special.

Want some Veteran's Day history? Visit this military Web site for all things Veteran's Day.

Proposition 2.

Prop 2 in California passed in the elections Nov. 4. This is a huge victory for HSUS's Wayne Pacelle. Who knows what HSUS will try to "fix" next on their quest to "save" animals from cruel treatment.

Please, if you are a part of animal agriculture at any level, stand up and help explain why we do what we do. Pork, Beef, Poultry ... no matter which sector, band together and stay strong. We have to fight this, not only for our own livlihoods but for the safety of the food supply in the U.S.

Perfection

Waking up this morning was kind of glorious, considering it is a Monday and I was headed to work. Since Daylight Savings Time ended early Sunday morning, the sun pops up an hour earlier now. This makes my day a little better. Who wants to get out of bed when it's still dark? Walking to work this morning in the sunshine was wonderful. Add in the strange (but amazing) warm weather we're having and it's a perfect day!

(It is quite windy, but we do live in Oklahoma ...)

November?

Whew! I can't believe it's already November! Things are certainly looking like fall here in Stillwater. I don't think I noticed all the pretty colors in past years. I truly enjoy seeing the beautiful leaves tumbling to the ground and hearing the crisp crunch underfoot as I walk to work. This is probably due to my parents taking me to see the leaves in Arkansas when I was only 6 months old. They didn't want me to miss out on any experience.

Watching the leaves change reminds me of the changing world. I try to do all of this social networking stuff, but I am not even very good at maintaining relationships with my friends who are here in the flesh and blood. Sure, we use some of the tools to stay connected like Facebook, but I fail to nurture and build that relationship in person.

Don't do that! Take time to have fun with your friends and family. Enjoy the moments spent with them. Sometimes the best memories come from the simplest times.

Thanks to my boyfriend for enjoying the simple times we spend in my hometown, or while riding in a car or doing the dishes.