Extension experiments with latest technology, adds Twitter

University of Missouri Extension is always on the lookout for new ways to get the message out about who we are, what we do, and what kinds of services that we offer to Missouri citizens. This often involves new technology, and MU Extension has been a leader in technology among state Extension Services for many years. University of Missouri Extension was one of the first universities to put our guide sheets on the web, for example. I can remember doing web searches in the early days of the web and there we were, with many, if not most, of our guide sheets on line.

That early-adoption tradition has continued with MU Extension’s encouragement of the use of social networking software, such as Facebook and Twitter. Right now, that seems to be a hot topic in several Extension services around the country. Last fall, I heard a talk at the National Association of County Agricultural Agents meeting on using social networking in your Extension programming.

So, I decided to give it a try. I had already set up a web page for Northwest Missouri Horticulture (http://extension.missouri.edu/nwregion/hort/index.html) several years ago, and adding something like Twitter made sense.

Just what is Twitter? Twitter is a social networking service that has been around since 2006. It is a short messaging service which can be accessed by web page, or even text messages on your cell phone.

Twitter asks you a simple question: "What’s happening?" Your answer, limited to 140 characters, is posted to your Twitter account and web page.

If you set up your own Twitter account, you may follow other Twitter accounts, receiving their messages, if desired.

If you would like to visit the Northwest Missouri Extension Horticulture Twitter page, here is the address: http://twitter.com/MUNWHort.

So how will this be used? So far, I have mainly been announcing newspaper and radio releases. But I envision using it for more critical needs. A recent example was for the Great Plains Vegetable Conference. We had some really bad weather preceding the conference, and there were many people wondering if it would still be held. The conference status was being updated on the Buchanan County Extension web page on a regular basis.

So I sent out a short "Tweet," as Twitter posts are called, calling attention to the situation for those following my messages and pointing them to the Buchanan County web page for the latest information.

My colleague, Tom Fowler, in our Buchanan County office, will also be able to post messages to this site. If one of us spots a serious disease issue in a crop, for example, we can put a notice on our Twitter account, and the message will immediately be given to whoever might be following our posts.

What is next for us? Facebook? A blog of some sort? Time will tell. For now, we will experiment with Twitter and see what the level of interest is.