eXtension National Conference 2010: Social Media

The 2010 eXtension National Conference: Symposium On Workjng Differently was held October 18-21. Video recordings of the presentations are now available at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/broadcasts/nevc/.

The overwhelming majority of these presentations concern the use of social media and networking sites to engage communities, and are being moderated by Extension professionals who are successfully using these tools for outreach.

If you are interested in using social media for the dissemination of Extension programming, I highly recommend these recordings.

Among the many topics discussed:

• Becoming Visible in the New Media Ecology
• Educating Others about Social Networking
• Engaging Learners Through Social Media Outreach: Working Smarter, Not Harder
• Assessing Impact of eXtension or Social Media Programming
• Using a Blog to Reach Master Gardeners
• 3D Immersive Educational Opportunities in Second Life

Facebook Privacy Settings

Facebook is notorious about relaxing your privacy settings to allow more people to visit your comments, photos, and personal information.

You can, of course, go into your privacy settings and manually change them. And you should. But there is a new, free tool called SaveFace (http://www3.untangle.com/saveface), by Untangle, that allows you to set all your privacy setting to "Friends Only" with a few clicks (for those unfamiliar with Facebook, a "friend" is essentially someone on your Facebook contact list).

Go to the SaveFace website and drag the icon provided into your Bookmarks. Go to Facebook. Go to your bookmarks and click the SaveFace Bookmark. It will automatically change all your settings to only let people to whom you've allowed access (i.e. "friends") to see your information. It takes less than a minute, and they keep no personal information about you.

Another open source app that does essentially the same thing is available at: http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/

CSU Social Media Policies

CSU is currently in the process of finalizing their official Social Media policies (expected to be approved by the end of the semester), but there is plenty of information already available at the CSU Social Media Policy page, at http://socialmedia.colostate.edu/page/Social-Media-Policy.aspx.

Overviews and best practices while working with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube are available there. Also listed are links to sites discussing graphic standards, copyright information, website requirements and guidelines, and other applicable CSU policies.

In addition, you can find Twitter backgrounds, tips for creating profile images, a communicators toolbox, and all sorts of social media resources.

Also, a VOLUNTARY social media account application is available, so you can apply to have your social media accounts recognized by CSU.

Finally, if you'd like to weigh in on CSU Social Media policies before they become finalized, there is a link at the bottom of of the Social Media Policy page that allows you to contact them.

Online IT Training on Facebook

eXtension now has a presence on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/). Facebook is a social networking site that provides a "feed" from other people's Facebook pages. You essentially subscribe to another person's feed by becoming their "friend." Think "contact" whenever you see the word "friend" on Facebook and the whole thing will make more sense.

You can network with other Extension professionals there, share ideas, provide feedback and much more. Sign-up is easy; all you need to provide is an email address and a password. Other profile details are optional.

If you do a search for "Extension Online IT Training" (use the Search box in the upper right corner) you can join the Extension Online IT Training Group. Their next training is "The Basics of Working With Images" on Wednesday, August 19, from 12-2. Go to
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1247246047004 at the appointed time to attend the session.

Future IT trainings posted on Facebook include discussions of Twitter and Facebook. The more general eXtension Group on Facebook offers a calender of Connect sessions on working with keywords, the Ask an Expert widget, and much more. Become a Extension Online IT Training member on Facebook to learn more.