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Michigan consumers, farmers connecting on social websites

By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Internet is all a-“Twitter” these days with daily, hourly and, often, minute-by-minute updates as the social networking craze continues to take the world by storm.

In the age of being able to find anything on the information superhighway at the click of the computer mouse, Michigan Farm Bureau devoted several sessions to training its members about social networking during the organization’s 90th annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Dec. 1-4.

Roxi Beck of the Center for Food Integrity introduced Farm Bureau members to social networking during sessions aimed at giving participants a simplified look at the phenomenon that is quickly taking over the information industry.

“Social media gives you an opportunity to connect with consumers on a daily basis,” Beck said. “As we’re seeing social media rise, we’re seeing traditional mediums decrease.”

Beck talked about the shift occurring in the newspaper industry and how social media is helping to fill the void. Since its peak circulation in 1987, newspapers have seen declines in circulation of more than 53 million subscribers. She said that recent research indicated that people first seek information from the Internet, second from family and friends and third from television.

“People who rely on newspapers are becoming less reliant on them,” Beck said. “They’re finding different ways to fill the void.”
During this same time, Internet advertising spending is on the rise and is expected to surpass newspaper advertising by 2010. Today, more than two-thirds of the population is using the Internet and three-fourths of Americans between ages 13 and 24 have a social networking site profile. In addition, the use of social networking sites by consumers over age 55 has more than doubled since 2006.

The social networking site Facebook is so popular that if it were a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world. With more than 350 million users, it is the fastest growing social network site, and the 35 and older crowd is the fastest growing user segment.
FarmVille, a game on Facebook that engages its players in the virtual world of production agriculture, has racked up more than 70 million players in just six months.

So, what does this mean for farmers?

“Since their first source of information is the web, we are missing a huge opportunity here,” Beck said. “If we aren’t telling our story, someone else is going to.”

The FarmVille game, Beck said, “is showing that people are interested in agriculture. They are making a connection here.”
A little over a year ago, Jennifer Lewis, a Hillsdale County dairy farmer, knew she wanted to delve into the world of social networking, but she wasn’t sure where to start.

“I kept thinking that there has to be a way to connect with people in the Internet,” Lewis said. “So, I started searching online and found out about blogs.”

Lewis said she followed some bloggers for about six months “to find out what they were writing about” before she started her own blog, “The Milk Can.” She also established a Twitter account, which she updates several times per week.

“I have a list of people who follow me and a list of people whom I follow,” she said. “Within two weeks, I had triple the number of people that I had on my blog.”

Lewis said that through Twitter, she has connected with people all over the country. Her goal is to tell agriculture’s story to anyone who is interested in learning about the state’s second largest industry.
“It’s very informative to learn what is going on in agriculture in other parts of the country,” she said. “And, I have an opportunity to share what is going on around our farm and in Michigan’s agricultural industry.

“I’m doing this because I believe in the future of agriculture in Michigan,” Lewis said. “There’s such a distance between the consumer and the farmer. They need to know who we are and what we do.”

12/16/2009