By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — In an effort to further strengthen the lines of communication with Ohioans, the Ohio Department of Agriculture made its debut on two popular social media sites, Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send and read each others’ updates (known as “tweets”) in real time. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, which are then displayed on the author’s profile page as well as delivered to other users (called “followers”) who subscribe to them – either by Web, text message or other external applications. Since its creation in 2006, it has rapidly grown to the third most popular social network.

Facebook is a privately owned and operated social networking website where users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school or region to connect and interact with other people. Users can add friends, send them messages, share personal profile information, join groups and become fans of products or people. It has overtaken MySpace as the largest social networking site and boasts more than 200 million active users worldwide.

“These social networking sites give us the opportunity to reach Ohioans directly with news and information,” said Kaleigh Frazier, ODA public information officer. “We hope to reach members of the public who look to the Internet as their primary source for up-to-the-minute news and information. We also hope to reach members of the media who can further spread our information to the public.”
Ohioans can follow concise, up-to-the-minute news and events on the department’s Twitter page at www.twitter.com/OhioDeptofAg
Updates include everything from pictures and updates on special events, like Ohio Proud night with the Columbus Clippers, to invitations to events and even reminders for the weekend to purchase local firewood when camping to help prevent the spread of emerald ash borer.

“Twitter gives us the opportunity to provide concise, immediate information on a variety of topics, while Facebook allows us to expand on that information,” Frazier said. “From breaking news to special events, the public gets a front-row seat to the happenings at the department.

For instance, throughout the summer, our Twitter followers will be able to follow Director Boggs on his 25-county fair tour.”
For those interested in a more specialized area, three popular programs within the department also have Twitter pages. The Ohio Proud page is available at www.twitter.com/OhioProud

There, followers can get updates on local farmer’s markets, new Ohio Proud partners and special events along with much more news on Ohio’s food products.

The Ohio Food Policy Council can also be followed at www.twitter.com/

OhioFood where you can keep up with the happenings and meetings of the council as well as other information about local food options and more here in Ohio.

The Ohio Grape Industries Coalition at www.twitter.com/OhioWines is also tweeting information about wine tasting events, wine festivals and more—everything Ohio wine fans need to know about the latest Ohio wine events and news.

More thorough news and information is available on the department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com On the site, visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the posted information and provide feedback and questions. Each of the department’s divisions is also defined on the page, available for quick reference by citizens.