About media

Taking Online Dairy Advocacy to the Next Level

Truffle Media Networks — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:25:08 +0000

How can you utilize social media in agriculture? What steps should you take when general media portrays farming operations in a negative light? This webinar offers some guidance, tools, and resources to help. Webinar from Dairy Management Inc. and myDairyToolkit.com, December 14, 2011.

For full screen, click on player below. Click to share video with others.

Truffle Media's 3 Words for 2012

Truffle Media Networks — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:36:31 +0000

I was recently reminded of Chris Brogan's "My 3 Words for 2011" (plus 2010, 2009, and 2008) and thought how I would apply this to Truffle Media Networks.

One of the recommended approaches is to

"think long and hard about what these words will mean for you, how you can sum up an entire PERSPECTIVE into these words, and how you can use them as guideposts for your actions in the coming year."

So in this spirit I take a jab at creating the three words and share the deeper why.

Delegate. Great companies can't do it all. There are some tasks that just are not a good fit for a company to take on. Yet they have to have the task completed. They find someone to take on the work and get it done. Delegate, outsource, assign, whatever the word, they found the balance of getting tasks done.

Delegate. My grandmother was a great delegator. She was able to accomplish many great things in her community because she was able to discover the talents of her friends, family, colleagues, and associates, and, when the time came, make the ask. Part of delegation is learning to let go of the task and accept the outcome of the completed task. My grandmother was good at that. Yes, she had a set of standards. But she incorporated those standards into her talent identification process.

Delegate. Truffle Media Networks is a small organization with lots of ideas. We have to prune the ideas to a manageable level but still there are tasks we just don't have the internal resources to do. Historically we have killed ideas because we didn't have the people power. But that also meant we killed off possible products, maybe for the wrong reason. We need to look at what we truly want to do and figure out how to get it done. Delegate.

Deliver. That is what you expect from your local pizza place. If they don't deliver you stop ordering from them.

Deliver. You expect delivery from your home town newspaper. However, delivery gets a bit more complicated with a newspaper. The first part of deliver is "Did the paper get delivered this morning?", an easy thing to confirm. But newspapers must also deliver on the stories, and this gets very subjective in the news media business. Is the paper delivering on my expectations as a news channel for me? Is the newspaper delivering in its mission to be the neighborhood information and editorial source?

Deliver. The Truffle Media Networks team has been in the digital agriculture media world since late 2004. The aim originally was to leverage these things called iPods to bring relevant ag information and updates to top tier agri-producers, with the tag line "Podcasting With A Purpose". In late 2009 we changed the tag line to "Ag Media You Can Use" because we believed ag information for information's sake was not helpful, but ag media that you could actually use was definitely needed. However, in 2011 we don't believe we have really lived up to that tag line. So we either de(live)er on that or move on. Deliver.

Visible. I see my US mail delivery people certainly weekly. I know when they (there are two, sharing the route) will arrive. I know what to expect and they know who I am. They are visible.

Visible. I don't see my congressperson very much. I sometime forget who it is, except when they want to get (re)elected. Even then they are not visible in my part of the world. They are selectively visible whenever they want something.

Visible. Truffle Media Networks is visible in a variety of ways but are we visible and remembered? We attend ag focused events. We share an email update with our audience in a regular basis. We participate in ag related social media communities. But are we selectively visible, only showing up when we want something? We believe to be truly helpful we need to be visible when we don't need something. We need to be visible to help agri-professionals do their job better. Visible.

Delegate, Deliver, Visible. These are the three words Truffle Media Networks will use as guideposts for 2012. What are your three words?

Happy New Year,
John Blue

Missing in Agricultural Media?

Truffle Media Networks — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:04:07 +0000

via Truffle Media

Amongst agriculture communicators, many are familiar with webinars, online media consumption, and using a smart phone. However 62% feel they are beginners or have no expertise in search engine optimization (SEO). Additionally, 64% believe social media will be more important than email in the next several years, as a way to communicate with those in agriculture. This information is from a survey Truffle Media conducted in August 2011 (PDF).

What are believed to to be most valuable communications tools in the next several years: Social media and smart phones top the list.

Ag communicators level of expertise with the following (1 = No expertise, 5 = High expertise): Many people feel comfortable with Facebook and YouTube but they do not believe they have expertise in search engine optimization (SEO) or location based apps.

Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, and Religion?

Truffle Media Networks — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:48:35 +0000

via meatingplace.com

Sarah Hubbart, Animal Agriculture Alliance, comments on the trend of animal-focused ministries and how they might be used by organizations like the Humane Society of the United States to create animal rights as a social or religious movement.

As a pet lover, I understand the draw of these sorts of events. Animals play a very special role in our lives and we owe it to them to be good caretakers. But are there more far-reaching implications to this trend than just celebrating the special bond that many of us have with our furry friends?

Sarah suggests that "this does seem to illustrate yet another way that negative perceptions about agriculture can make their way into society."

Talent Shows In Impromptu Performance

Truffle Media Networks — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:37:34 +0000

Madison FFA chapter members setup an impromptu performance. Mayson Briggs, Jackson Adams, Sam Adams, Jr., Sam Adams, Sr., and Matthew Ray, from the Madison FFA chapter, Madison County North Carolina - Westin Hotel lobby, National FFA Convention, Oct 20, 2011, Indianapolis, IN, USA
For full screen, click on player below. Click to share video with others.

Farmers, Ranchers, and Marketers Digital Expectations?

Truffle Media Networks — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:07:36 +0000

via TruffleMedia.com

With respect to new and social media, across beef, dairy, poultry, swine, and crop farmers, 30% of the people spent at least 10% of their week reading watching, or listening to industry information. 50% of the people spent 20% or more of their week reading, watching, or listening to industry information. This is from a survey series conducted Q1 2010. In a survey conducted Q2 2011, 87% of swine producers listed email as their most valuable communications tool today, with newsletters and magazine at 39% and 25%.

What Is The National eXtension Virtual Conference?

Truffle Media Networks — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:10:11 +0000

via eXtension.org

The 2011 National eXtension Virtual Conference brought together an outstanding lineup of speakers for More Mind Reach, held October 17, 18, & 19, 2011: Robin Good “How Social Media, Curation and Infotention Will Transform Your Future”; Howard Rheingold “Using Social Media in Learning and Co-learning”; Paulette Robinson "Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds"; and Clay Shirky author of Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age.

Each NeVC2011 keynote presenter spoke for 45-minutes with a 45 to 90 minute question and answer afterward

Howard Rheingold: Using Social Media in Learning and Co-learning. Q & A.
Robin Good: How to Achieve More Mind Reach while increasing your reputation and creating something of value". Q & A.
Paulette Robinson: Out of this World: Virtual Worlds in Government. Q & A.
Clay Shirky: Social Media, Curating, and Convening: Getting Value from Group Interaction. Q & A.
Steven Rosenbaum: Curate The Cloud. How Too Much Information Puts Humans Back In Charge. Q & A.

Survey of Agriculture Company and Organization Social Media Bases

Truffle Media Networks — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:51:52 +0000

In a survey of 526 agribusiness and organizations, 215 had a LinkedIn page, 146 had an organization focused Twitter account, and 252 had a Facebook page.

Public link to Google Spreadsheet

AgChat on Agvocacy

Truffle Media Networks — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:30:21 +0000

What is AgVocacy? How can people broaden agvocacy beyond the ag 'choir'? What do you feel are some of the best ways for youth (FFA, 4H) to partake in agvocacy? AgVocacy was the topic of AgChat right on the close of the Agvocacy 2.0 conference in Nashville, TN.

Advanced Twitter

Truffle Media Networks — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 03:50:57 +0000

The links mentioned in this presentation are also listed in Truffle Media's Delicious stream.

Jeff Fowle's #ACFC11 Advanced Twitter session material can be found on Farm Bloggers.