Twitter Doesn’t Always Reflect Views of General Public

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Chuck

I love Twitter but have wondered for some time how the “voice” you hear compares to the general public, most of whom are not using Twitter. I am no fan of The Pew Research Center but they just came out with some interesting results from a project on just this subject.

The reaction on Twitter to major political events and policy decisions often differs a great deal from public opinion as measured by surveys. This is the conclusion of a year-long Pew Research Center study that compared the results of national polls to the tone of tweets in response to eight major news events, including the outcome of the presidential election, the first presidential debate and major speeches by Barack Obama.

At times the Twitter conversation is more liberal than survey responses, while at other times it is more conservative. Often it is the overall negativity that stands out. Much of the difference may have to do with both the narrow sliver of the public represented on Twitter as well as who among that slice chose to take part in any one conversation.

It’s also interesting to keep in mind that only 13% of adults say they use Twitter. And you might be interested to know who is using Twitter.

Twitter users are not representative of the public. Most notably, Twitter users are considerably younger than the general public and more likely to be Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party. In the 2012 news consumption survey, half (50%) of adults who said they posted news on Twitter were younger than 30, compared with 23% of all adults. And 57% of those who posted news on Twitter were either Democrats or leaned Democratic, compared with 46% of the general public. (Another recent Pew Research Center survey provides even more detail on who uses Twitter and other social media.)

I believe that Twitter should still be considered a useful agvocating tool. In fact, when you look at who uses Twitter I think this study shows that it is a very good audience to reach out to and engage with. Keep in mind how often the mainstream media is publishing tweets in their newscasts and stories. What do you think?

Go Social with FarmTime Nework

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Chuck

I learned about a new social network for agriculture during the 2013 AG CONNECT Expo. It’s the FarmTime Network.

FarmTime Network was started by Angie Bergmeier. She and her husband operate Shield Agricultural Equipment in Hutchinson, KS. Here is some information about FarmTime Network.

While less time seems available for face-to-face farm talk, the new website offers a chance to keep the heritage of the discussion at the convenience of the busy farmer. As the site describes itself, it’s “The All Farm, All the Time Social Network”.

FarmTime was started by Angie Bergmeier. Living near Haven, Kansas, a farming community, and through involvement in an ag-related business, Angie has gathered information from farmers over the last 10-years as the internet has become a more valuable tool. What she had noticed over time was that farmers have started to use the internet, email, Facebook and Twitter, but do not have access to a good “clearinghouse” for information and advice. Farmers, overall, are a small subset of consumers. So there has been no reason to focus on their real needs for information- gathering, sharing advice and really learning how to use the electronic communication tools to their advantage. Angie brought together focus groups of farmers and asked them questions about what they want in a “clearinghouse” web site, and www.farmtime.com has been developed to not only accommodate those needs, but to change and update to provide an improved platform as the technology changes.

Designed by farmers for farmers, www.farmtime.com features discussion forums to foster communication and share ideas. The site organizes groups to narrow farming interests including Dry Land No-Till, Row Crop Convention Tillage, Cow/Calf Producers, to name a few.

A market to buy or sell farm essentials or advertize products can be utilized on FARMTIME as well as quick access to local weather and electronic trade markets. Resources available include FarmBlogs, FarmTips, and FarmFamily to include the entire spectrum of farming – family included.

Learn more about Farmtime Network in this week’s ZimmCast here: Going Social with FarmTime Network

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

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