Social media is new “party line” (continued)

The Des Moines Register, caucuses.desmoinesregister.com

The Role of Social Media in Iowa became the topic of the early morning #iacaucus coverage. 

During a live broadcast this week, the following question was posed to Franklin County farmer Larry Sailer:  How are you using social media to assist with farming?  Facebook, Twitter and blogs have become virtual coffee shops.

Common uses of social media within the agricultural community include:

• Advocacy – helping others understand farming practices and educates the masses about important issues impacting agriculture and farmers.
• Community Building – connects consumers with producers; helps farmers connect with the people their feeding; and connects people who have similar interests.
• Relationship building – getting better acquainted with people you already know and meeting others with whom you can network and work together for a common cause.

Farmers Do Text.  (In fact, I set up all of the farm stops for the WHO Radio 2011 Crop Tour through texting!)  They also tweet and post status updates on Facebook, too.

“Twitter and Facebook are popular,” agrees Deb Brown of Debworks, a marketing organization based in Hampton, Iowa, that uses traditional and new media to help businesses get noticed.  “Fifty-seven percent of Franklin County residents are on Facebook; it’s the new ‘party line’.”

I just love Deb’s sound bite but can’t help but wonder how many politicos connected “party line” to Democrats v. Republicans rather than the shared telephone lines that were common in rural areas when I was a kid.

Aren’t double entredrés great?  The more I think about it, the more fitting I find it that social media has become the new party line.  Rather than “drawing a line in the sand,” we can use social media to connect “two or more users in an exchange” of ideas.  Regardless of whether people or Democrats or Republican, we can unite around common interests including family and community, food and fun!