May 21, 2001

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube are being used increasingly to develop agricultural awareness and promote educational events. This year, UNL Extension specialists and educators will be using these tools via CropWatch to share timely information on crop conditions, pest outbreaks, and upcoming events.

You’ve probably noticed that we’ve added some buttons at the top right of each CropWatch article to make it easier to include CropWatch in your social media. Here’s a little information on how to use them.

Twitter

Get CropWatch story announcements, alerts, or updates throughout the week via Twitter™.

Twitter allows you to communicate in 140-character messages called "tweets."   You can send and receive tweets via the Internet or your mobile phone (if you have texting). Many agricultural groups use Twitter to provide information to clientele, share what's going on in the ag industry, or inform producers about what's going in crop and livestock production.  Often a link to a Web page is provided within the tweet.  

It's easy to open a Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com  Follow CropWatch on Twitter at http://twitter.com/UNL_CropWatch. Search for related tweets by searching for #cropwatch. You also might want to search and find other Nebraska ag groups you'd like to follow. The right column on the CropWatch home page also features the three most recent tweets so even if you’re not on Twitter, you can see the updates throughout the week. 

Facebook & Sharing Options

Facebook is another tool that allows you to share photos and keep up with friends and family or reconnect with old friends.  It's also being used by the agricultural industry and producer groups to share information.  Facebook is now the #2 search engine behind Google.  You can sign up for a Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com using a valid email address. 

The buttons at the top right of each CropWatch article make it easy to share an article with someone via Facebook or other means. You can share a link to the story or the actual story on your Facebook page, email the story to a friend, or access a printer friendly version and give them a copy.

• Facebook. Each article includes two tools for sharing CropWatch on your Facebook page. In the group of buttons on the upper right of the page, there is a “Like” button. This sends a link to your Facebook page where you can indicate that you “liked” the article, thus recommending it to a friend. In the group of sharing buttons on the bottom right of each page, there’s also a button to share the article on your Facebook wall.
• Email this page. This option allows you to send a note to up to 10 recipients and includes a link to the article.
• Subscribe. Sign up to receive emails when new issues or alerts are posted to the Web site. Notices are usually sent weekly during the crop production season.
• Print. CropWatch stories and photos may appear differently on different browsers. Use this button to capture the story without the added Web site columns.

We encourage you to try these features to stay informed throughout the week and to share the CropWatch articles you use with others. Follow CropWatch on Twitter http://twitter.com/UNL_CropWatch or check out the twitter feed in the right-hand corner of the Crop Watch home page.

Feedback

Incorporating CropWatch into your social media network can help keep you and others informed throughout the crop production season. Let us know how you’re using these CropWatch features and what we can do to improve them. Contact Lisa Jasa at (402)472-7981 or Jenny Rees at (402)762-3644.

Jennifer Rees
Extension Educator in Clay County
Lisa Jasa
CropWatch Editor