Last week's episode on the television show Grey's Anatomy highlighted Twitter, the social networking and microblogging website. The characters on the show were using Twitter to showcase procedures being performed to doctors at other hospitals. Chief Webber, who runs the fictional hospital, was appalled that his staff was broadcasting surgeries for the whole world to see. As the episode goes on, Webber finds out that Twitter can be a useful service. When his staff members weren't sure how to deal with a problem in surgery, a suggestion from a Twitter user saved the patient. Webber was also able to reconnect with a former colleague, thanks to tweets and messages.
So what's this have to do with dairy? Last week, the annual Pennsylvania Dairy Summit was happening in Lancaster, while Michigan's Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference was going on in Frankenmuth. Feb. 8 marks the start of the three-day World Ag Expo, with the I-29 Dairy Conference beginning the following day.
Although technology hasn't yet enabled us to physically be in two places at once, we can see what's happening at multiple events, thanks to tweets. Attendees at Pennsylvania Dairy Summit were using the hashtag — or keyword — #PADairySummit. By including that text on their 140-character updates, Summit tweeters were able to announce award winners and presentation topics.
Click here to see #PADairySummit updates . Please note that Twitter clears out old tweets, so if no one has recently posted a tweet with the keyword, this link may no longer work.
One of the main tweeters at Summit was Lisa Perrin of the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association . Perrin also served as a presenter about social media. You can follow her Twitter updates at @lisabeth515 .
Sara Long, who also goes by the Twitter username @rosamyst , was one of the tweeters at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference, dubbed #GLRDC2011. In addition to award updates, Long, who works in ag communications at Michigan State University, also provided snippets of presentations from speakers.
In the example at right, Long tweeted a quote from Vita Plus Corporation's Dairy Development Manager Gary Sipiorski, who was discussing how producers could learn lessons from 2009.
Click here to see additional tweets from #GLRDC2011 . Please note that Twitter clears out old tweets, so if no one has recently posted a tweet with the keyword, this link may no longer work.
Try it for yourself
What's cool about Twitter is that you don't have to have an account — or even understand what tweeting is — to see what's happening.
As long as you know what keyword people are using, you can see the content they're posting.
How do you find the keyword? You can usually find it in a Facebook update or by searching by the event name in the search bar on the Twitter homepage: http://twitter.com/
Give it a go with World Ag Expo. Visit http://twitter.com/ . Type "World Ag Expo" into the search bar. You'll see tweets with the keyword #WAE11 . Click that link, or type #WAE11 in the search bar.
You should see a list, similar to the one at left, of recent tweets posted with the hashtag #WAE11.
Please note that Twitter clears out old tweets, so if no one has recently posted a tweet with the keyword, this link may no longer work.
You can also periodically check out the PDmag Twitter acount at: http://twitter.com/PDmag or Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/progressivedairyman
Our staff may not always be the ones posting the updates, but we do try to get you the information you need to view the tweets.
So take heart, all you Chief Webbers out there. You'll catch on quick! PD
Video clip from Grey's Anatomy
