National eXtension Initiative

The eXtension Foundation has been selected to participate in the Google for Nonprofits program. The program gives eXtension access to exclusive products and resources to help expand our impact. eXtension will have access to a free or discounted version of Google Applications. Through the Google grants program eXtension will get free Adwords advertising and appear as an advertiser on Google search results pages.

The initial communities involved in the Google grants program will be DAIReXNET; Families, Food, and Fitness; and Just In Time Parenting. eXtension will expand to other communities of practice as we gain experience and knowledge of the program. Additionally, eXtension will have premium branding and increased uploads on YouTube as well as access to other applications that will allow us to reach more potential donors or partners, raise awareness, and improve our business operations.

One of the strategic intents of the 2011-2014 eXtension Strategic Roadmap is to reach more customers. Social media makes Cooperative Extension more visible. It invites learner collaboration via reactions, comments, reviews and rankings.

Sixteen communities of practice and the Military Families Learning Network have Twitter accounts. Check out the Twitter screen names and tips for using Twitter hash tags at http://create.extension.org/node/79034. Start following these excellent content providers!

News consistently draws 10 to 11 percent of the pageviews on www.extension.org.

Top 10 releases during September were originally posted between Oct. 2007 and Sept. 2009.

Notice the key words loaded at the beginning of these headlines.

Source: Google Analytics
These were the top news stories ranked by number of pageviews for Sept. 1-Oct. 1, 2009
709–Aronia Berries Easy to Grow Organically, Have High Levels of Antioxidants (Aug. 26, 2009; Iowa State University)
693–Wooly Worms and the Weather (Aug. 26, 2008; University of Illinois)
443–Deer Overpopulation Causes Problems (Oct. 31, 2007; University of Kentucky)
381–Overseeding in Fall Can Repair, Improve Lawn (Sept. 3, 2009; Kansas State University)
351–Tax Credit Available for First-time Homebuyers (April 13, 2009; Oklahoma State University)
277–‘In Over Your Head’ Bulletin Offers Strategies for Financial Crisis (Aug. 14, 2009; Ohio State University)
234–Urinary Tract Infection Can Lead to Serious Problems in the Elderly (July 30, 2008; Texas Cooperative Extension)
205–The Pros and Cons of Television Viewing for Children (April 8, 2009; University of Missouri)
197–Late Blight Identified in Wisconsin; Gardeners and Growers Need to be Alert (Aug. 7, 2009: University of Wisconsin)
149–How to Talk to Your Creditors When You Can’t Pay Your Bills (Jan. 22, 2009; University of Illinois)

The Webinar is Oct. 8 from Entrepreneurs and Their Communities. Topic is lessons from Littleton, Colo. using economic ‘gardening.’

Use the release, customize it for your own state Extension news. It’s at Oct. 8 Free Webinar Features Economic ‘Gardening’ to Grow Healthy Community

If you want a local (your state) angle in the article, try searching in People for Extension specialists from your state who are active in the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities community of practice.

I’ll be watching for your news releases coming into my feed!

This week, eXtension added many news releases and all kinds of resources such as experts lists for media folks, special pages and sites extension units across the country have posted.

We’ve got many angles, as you’d expect from land-grant universities. How to ease children’s concerns, how personal sanitation is a top priority, how the swine industry is suffering from misinformation…..and much more.

News and updates will keep going up as long as the virus has repercussions in this country. Send anything additional you have that eXtension folks have not posted.

http://www.extension.org/pages/Cooperative_Extension_Resources_for_Swine_Flu

–Lynette Spicer, news room manager

If you listened to last week’s eXtension national conference, you know the staff is compiling reports for states and institutions.

Terry Meisenbach, communications and marketing leader, asked how many feeds I receive to find news for eXtension. My answer was 44 feeds, although perhaps half that number provide the bulk of the news posted on eXtension. I receive two and three feeds from several states—might be a special Web site or blog in addition to the extension news feed.

News feeds come from these states
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin

If you’ve added a news feed or want to make sure I’m getting a specific feed from your institution, please post a question comment or contact me.

Lynette Spicer, Virtual News Room

Source of news releases–sorted in descending order

U of Illinois    27
North Dakota State    26
U of Arkansas    24
U of Minnesota    16
Iowa State    16
Ohio State    13
Alabama Cooperative Extension    13
U of Kentucky    12
Purdue    12
Oklahoma State and Langston University    12
Kansas State    11
South Dakota State    10
U of Nebraska    8
U of Georgia    8
Texas Cooperative Extension     8
Oregon State    7
Penn State    6
New Mexico State    6
Utah State     5
Montana State    5
U of Missouri    4
Mississippi State    4
Clemson    4
U of California    3
Louisiana State    3
Florida Cooperative Extension     3
Virginia Cooperative Extension     2
Michigan State    2
Washington State    1
U of Rhode Island    1
U of Nevada    1
Alaska Sea Grant    1
other sources    5
original releases    1
Total     280

Sorted by resource area (community of practice)
Horticulture    41
Personal Finance    39
Corn, soybeans    25
Disasters    21
Beef Cattle    20
Entrepreneurship    19
Parenting     19
Horses    16
Dairy Cattle    14
Family Caregiving     12
Fitness    12
Ag energy    9
Science    6
Cotton Industry    5
Animal Manure Management    4
Wildfires    4
Organic production    3
Wildlife Damage M    2
Diversity    2
Geospatial    2
Fire Ants    1
Goats    1
Drinking water    1
Land use planning    1
Financial crisis 1 (typically these are counted in another category but this one didn’t get tagged for any other CoP—just in case that helps explain the lonely number.)

Use this release as is. Modify it by quoting an expert from your institution. The release is at the top of news releases in the animal manure management resource area.
The headline is ‘Nitrogen Conservation in Animal Housing is Free Webcast Topic Feb. 20‘