eXtension to Study Social Media Tool Use in CES
Coming this month from eXtension is a new study designed to examine the emergent use of social media tools in Cooperative Extension. We will be asking all 15,000 Cooperative Extension System employees to share their successes and failures in working with these new tools. Please be thinking about your uses of social networking tools, and be prepared to tell your stories when you receive the questionnaire.
This will be a longitudinal study so data will be gathered continuously over time. The goals of the study are to:
* Discover emergent practices — who is doing what with clientele/colleagues using social media?
* Determine the perceived personal and organizational barriers to the use of these tools.
* Determine the perceived personal and organizational advantages to working using these tools.
* Identify common characteristics of early adopters.
* Discover how organizational policies concerning social networking promote or hinder the use of these tools in people’s work.
If you have any questions about the study please contact Kevin Gamble (kevin.gamble@extension.org).
We look forward to your participation!
I would love to use these tools more. My hesitation now comes in the fact I feel like I am being left in the dust or is everybody just chatting and blogging and nothing new being stated. ??? I received a new flip video for Xmas and would love to use it but don’t want the content to be about food because everyone seems to be an expert about that topic but how do you use it so it is not childish or redundant.
That is what is on my mind about the topic
We are using social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr) to build awareness of the MathSnacks animations, mini-games and iPhone/iPad apps developed here in our department. It has been my experience as a social media marketer and communicator that the coordinated leverage of social media utilities to connect is extremely effective (and cost efficient since it is free!).
Using one social media utility as a tool to meet business objectives works great. Using multiple social media utilities as a team can produce wonders!
The one thing that interests me is the integration of the iPad and iPhone into the classroom….we shall see…
These are two perfect examples of the types of narratives we’re wanting to collect and then signify. It’s a really fun research technique, and i think you’ll enjoy the process. Thanks for sharing already– this is great!
As a CE communications staff person, I’ve used social media for years, primarily for learning how other people use these tools and how to use them myself. I still consider myself a rank beginner.
Among my many incredible discoveries: Robust and vibrant self-organizing communities of place have sprung up all around me. They typically include a broad diversity of individuals, businesses, and nonprofit enterprises who cross-communicate by linking to one another via Twitter, blog posts/comments, Facebook, YouTube, and other free online media.
I’ve watched these communities organize educational events and festivals, share information, secure grants to produce educational materials, promote individual/ family/environmental/economic well-being. All without centralized leadership, designated experts, plans of work, etc.
For people interested in needs assessments, these networked communities make great listening posts. In the course of their online conversations, folks ask and answer questions, express community needs, take stock of available resources, and organize to solve problems (both ad hoc and long-term).
While I know my Cooperative Extension colleagues offer some of the educational activities these communities promote, our staff haven’t yet joined the conversations. From the perspective of the online community members, Cooperative Extension is invisible. From many perspectives, that’s sad.
Our invisibility deprives the communities of scope, depth and broader information-distribution we could bring to the conversations. It deprives our organization of the big & cost-effective display of public value we could derive from simply showing up and joining in.
We are actively using social media to connect and introduce the community to our programs and workshops through WV State University Extension Service. We utilize Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. to stay in contact with the public and enables us to give up to the minute updates and share news.
Looking forward to learning more of the study!
Social Media? It is simply part of doing business for us. New for us is a trivia game we are launching in print that directs people to Facebook for the answers. At this point not marketing information leaves the Extension office without our website and referrals to us in social media.
Celeste,
I think that is one element, but it’s also more involved. We’re hoping the study will reveal many of these things for us. At its center social media is about conversations. We’re interested in how those conversations are shaping the way we’re doing Extension education.
Kevin