This video by social media and “Unmarketing” genius Scott Stratten made me so happy. Not just because he’s a funny and a dynamic presenter, but because it gives me hope. We in Extension are obviously not the only ones who may not be using technology correctly. “We need to think before we do. We need to use technology because we should and not because we can.” Oh yeah, and QR codes kill kittens. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukzY4v_aOEE

~Jamie

About a month ago, Greg Martin and John Dorner published a great blog post about why social media matters. Their post was a great one, for many reasons. Of course, we all know (or SHOULD know) by now that social media does indeed matter. It matters a lot. Nearly every conference I’ve attended since I began my career in Extension six years ago has preached the emergence and/or the importance of it. So why do we still feel the need to keep coming back to the topic of it’s importance? Because many are not on board yet, or have just now accepted that the way people receive and learn… even become educated… is changing. But another problem is currently festering in the schism that exists between those who are behind the technological times, and those who are already there, have been there, and are aching to move on. One informal goal of our pilot year for the OSUE Ed Tech project is to try to determine how to best address this growing issue. How do we bring those who are interested in learning more about how to utilize social media as a programming or educational tool up to speed, while encouraging and fostering even more growth in those who are ready to take their tech use to the next level?

I’m in the latter group. I’ve presented at dozens of conferences on the importance of social media and to be very frank, I’m tired of talking about it. I’m ready to move on. I’ve recently shared data from two social media campaign projects I have managed over the past year to present on the importance of having a strategy in mind when it comes to social media use. With the steady stream of Extension professionals coming online more and more, we’ve encountered an issue with Facebook fan pages being created for an entire county office (will someone who follows for Ag program information necessarily want to see community development info?), or blogs or Twitter accounts that simply lay dormant. Educators have created them because they were told it was important to create them, but they are either lost or intimidated when it comes to knowing how to best use these tools. I have recently found however, that many people are much more confident in their social media use if they know how to plan for its use; how to create social media goals and strategies. Because after all, isn’t that we’re all used to in Extension? Logic models, anyone?

So, here are my two-cents (or five-cents) when it comes to social media and where we are finding ourselves in the current online learning climate:

1. Yes, we know social media is important. Now let’s move on. Let’s create goals, strategies, and even resources to make sure we’re using social media the most efficient and effective way possible.

2. Those who want to catch up, will catch up. Yes, there are some who are still behind – should we spend most of our effort coaching those who still need it? (And let’s be honest here, there are some who may always need it.) Or those who want it? I would prefer that we give those who want to learn the resources (read = links) necessary to get them to where they need to be. But we need to begin placing the majority of our time and effort into figuring out which tools are the best fit for our field and audiences. Which leads me into my next point…

3. You do not need to be using every social media tool. Let me type that again – you do not need to be using every social media tool. Part of creating a social media strategy involves deciding who your audience will be, and then determining what tools they’re using. If your audience is not in a certain space, don’t waste your time trying to fill it. Example = if your audience is predominantly male, why the heck are you trying to learn how to use Pinterest?

4. More research, real research, is needed to determine which social media tools and other tech-based teaching methods are worth the effort to use in our field. Our Back to the Kitchen and #SpotTheCow campaigns at OSUE are among the very few to incorporate actual research into social media strategy. And we haven’t begun tracking behavior change data yet (that will come in the second year of the #SpotTheCow campaign), only awareness. This of course will take extra time and effort, but I feel the pay-off will be worth it.

5. Social media is not the end-all-be-all. I know many college students who have shut down their Facebook pages, and are even swearing off Instagram because social media is “in their heads too much”. However, learning how to effectively use current technology tools via strategic thinking and planning will allow us to not continue to feel intimidated or threatened any time a new tool or technology comes around. And may I also add, will keep us from automatically jumping on a new tool bandwagon without knowing its purpose or usefulness.

In Extension, we have prided ourselves in being effective with high-touch programs. We didn’t get this way by preaching to Educators about how important face-to-face programs are without supplying them with a rubric (enter the logic model again, sorry) or strategies to follow to assist them in creating the best curriculum or programs to fit their goals, their audience, and their topic. So why can’t the same logic be applied to social media, or any other tool we’re using? It seems archaic at times, but having a predetermined strategy is the key to being successful in any venture.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment. And as an aside, Paul Hill has begun a brilliant conversation on Twitter based on his “Extension is Broken” blog post. Join the convo by following and Tweeting with the #ExtIsBroken hashtag.

~Jamie