We attend so many of the same meetings as our good friends with AgriTalk that we often joke that we are stalking each other! Here is what we like to call “the obligatory AgriTalk photo” from the 23rd annual Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Kansas City yesterday, where AgriTalk host, the perpetually youthful Mike Adams (a granddaddy for the …
Media Frenzy Over USDA Blunder
I had to wonder while watching the live press conference of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s apology for firing an employee over apparently unfounded accusations of racism – how many of those mainstream media journalists had ever been inside the USDA? Were they just bored because the oil stopped gushing in the Gulf and Lindsay Lohan is in jail? …
Agriculture.com Turns 15
Yesterday was the anniversary of Agriculture.com. I did not know that until Curt Blades sent along this image of the site from way back then. I can remember the Netscape browser. It’s hard to believe the #1 community for farmers launched a decade and a half ago. When we went live, only 46% of farms had computers. Our first measurement …
Mitch Rouda Revamping Farm Journal Online
At the recent NAMA Convention I met Mitch Rouda who has just moved up at Farm Journal to President of their e-Media division. He has responsibility for all e-Media activity, including growth of the company’s 20 current e-titles and all online development, merger and acquisition activity. Mitch is a long time web guy who had his own business before joining …
Get Over Your Fear of Social Media
Are you afraid of social media? Is the leadership in your company afraid of it? Then you need to visit with David Meerman Scott. He’s a recovering VP of Marketing and author of the book World Wide Rave. He is conducting the NAMA Pre-Conference Workshop, “Conquering the Fear of Social Media.” David will also be the keynote speaker at tomorrow’s …
Do You Know What Successful Farming Knows
Enter to win a free iPad. I thought that would get your attention. You can enter to win if you stop by the Successful Farming booth at the NAMA Connection Point during the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference. Successful Farming is once again sponsoring AgWired coverage of the conference and we’re glad to see them helping boost Apple profits! By the way, …
Passionate Pressure At IFAJ Congress
The Chair for this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists 2010 Confress is Jef Verhaeren. I spoke with him via Skype to get a preview of the conference before I get there later this week. I’ll be rolling in to Ostend, Belgium on the weekend. I first met Jef years ago at the Green Week event in Berlin and we’ve …
Ag Media Convergence
Media convergence is defined as: “phenomenon involving the interlocking of computing and information technology companies, telecommunications networks, and content providers from the publishing worlds of newspapers, magazines, music, radio, television, films, and entertainment software. Media convergence brings together the “three Cs”—computing, communications, and content.” Source: Encyclopedia Britannica We’re really seeing this in agricultural communications today. New media is not just …
ABM Agri Council/Readex Research Farmer Media Study
It looks like we’ll have another study out next month on how farmers use media, especially “digital.” The American Business Media’s (ABM) Agricultural Council and Readex Research will conduct a major agricultural research study that will explore the use of digital, mobile and social media channels by farmers and ranchers. I hope they survey some AgChatters! There has been a …
ACAJ Announces First Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting Winners
The Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists has announced their Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting Awards. Yours truly was happy to be one of the judges for this first ever award program. You can see the entries on their website. If Sarina Locke thanks her Mum when she accepts the inaugural Australian Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting today, it will be …