Journal of NACAA

Six Months in Social Media: the Life History of a Natural Resources Blog in New Jersey

ISSN 2158-9429

Volume 5, Issue 2 - December 2012

Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott

Abstract

There is interest in using blogs and social media in Extension education to reach diverse clientele cost-effectively.  A blog was created in New Jersey to reach clientele with interest in natural resources management.  Services used to promote and assess the blog included Tumblr, RSS feeds, Google Analytics, FeedBurner, Twitter, AddThis, and Google AdWords.  Over a six-month period, the blog was reasonably successful at attracting visitors and views of blog posts.  Google Analytics and FeedBurner were invaluable for assessing the use of the blog, while RSS feeds, Twitter, AddThis, and Google AdWords increased to a greater-or-lesser extent blog use and social media interaction.

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