This presentation has crossed through my Inbox several times - so it's high time I passed it along.

Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project has authored this presentation illustrating dramatic changes in the way people use enhancements now widely available such as broadband and wireless as well as developing technologies such as cloud computing.

She breaks down Internet users into users motivated by mobility and those who are not.

The smaller percentage (39%) is drawn deeper into Internet use by their mobile connections.  Mobility allows more frequent connections – and these users are more interested in online self-expression and networking.

The greater percentage (61%) is tied to stationary media.  Technology is peripheral, may have reached a plateau in their lives, and they are not being drawn more deeply into Internet use.

Within those two broad categories – are the 9 Tribes

Each “tribe” is explained - demographic make-up, motivators, and some fun facts about each.  More importantly, tips on how to reach each of these segments are outlined.  If you understand your client’s use of technology – this can be useful information in making your Web communications more effective with your target audience.

It’s a quick read – and worth a look.

The ANR I knew when I left on vacation at the beginning of September is radically different from the new ANR that is being shaped upon my return.

Our clients and stakeholders have many questions about our future - communicating clearly in times of change is critical.

The most important thing you can do is simple - keep communicating.

Don't shut down.

Now, more than ever, it's important to keep your Web sites current.

• Is your website up-to-date with changes in office hours, closure dates, and personnel changes?
• Use the talking points about the restructuring as a base for content about our new direction and what it might mean to your clients and stakeholders.
• If you're uncertain about the future - it's OK to say so.  Stay positive, but be honest.
• Is there an important meeting, such as a Board of Supervisors meeting, scheduled at which financial decisions about your UCCE office will be made?  List that meeting on your website. Avoid a direct call-to-action, but let people know that decisions will be made that affect the services they receive.

Our future is still in flux - so keep updating information as it is known.  Honesty and clear communication is key.

On a related note:

Many of you know that Thursday, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of the new National Institute of Food and Agriculture.  In Secretary Vilsack's prepared remarks he outlined the priorities for this new institute. 

"I want USDA science to focus most of its resources on accomplishing a few, bold outcomes with great power to improve human health and protect our environment:

• USDA science will support our ability to keep American agriculture competitive while ending world hunger. At a time when disruptive climate change threatens production of some of the world's staple foods, some of the biggest gains we can make in ending world hunger will involve development of stress-resistant crops.
• USDA science will support our ability to improve nutrition and end child obesity. At USDA we want to take the nutrition and food choice insights we have gained from our science to test out some new approaches to school lunches, breakfast and our other nutrition assistance and education programs.
• USDA science will support our efforts to radically improve food safety for all Americans. Each year in the U.S. alone, food-borne pathogens like E. coli kill 5,000 people and sicken 75 million more; the cost to the economy from these infections exceeds $35 billion.
• USDA science will secure America's energy future. President Obama has set ambitious but achievable goals for securing America's energy future from new domestic sources, including 60 billion gallons a year from biofuels by 2030. We plan to focus specifically on rapidly improving the amount and quality of plant-based feedstocks that will be the source of biofuels.
• USDA science will make us better stewards of America's environment and natural resources. We believe that research in this priority area will identify agricultural operations in the United States that, within 10 years, will be net carbon sinks."

ANR's initial strategic initiatives:

Sustainable Food Systems (SFS)
Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD)
Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE)
Water Quality, Quantity and Security (WQQS)
Healthy Families and Communities (HFC)

Pretty darned close if you ask me . . .

Let me collect my thoughts . . .

One of the great ways you can use the blog system is for your newsletter.  If you're writing a newsletter, you're already in the habit of communicating regularly with your clientele.  You can convert that discipline into blogging.

You can write a blog posting more regularly than you might put an entire newsletter together, enabling you to be in contact with your readers on a more regular basis.

Another benefit of using the blog for your newsletter is the Tag List.  If you're not familiar with tags - I think they're one of the most powerful features of the blog system.

You have the option to add tags at the end of each post.  You'll see all of my tags to the left of the blog.

 

Let's say you've developed an interest in Search Engine Optimization.  If you click on that tag in the Tag List you'll see all of my posts with that tag.

It's easy to see how useful this feature can be.

Let's say you're a table grape grower in Fresno County and you receive Steve Vasquez's newsletter.  And let's say that Steve has a blog version of his newsletter that is tagged.  Imagine you've got a mealybug infestation (not so hard to imagine).  If Steve has tagged all of his posts about mealybugs, one click will display the entire archive of his newsletters that discuss mealybugs.

You can still e-mail a newsletter to your clients, but archive the contents in a blog.

But what if you haven't been blogging all along and you want this feature.  It's really easy to convert your newsletter archive to a blog.

Many people have their newsletters archived in PDF format on their Web sites.  Simply copy and paste the content of your newsletter from the PDF into a blog posting.  One post for each issue.  Add the relevant tags.  And here's a little known feature of the blog system - you can change the date of your post.

Your post will have the date it was entered by default.  Go into the Administration section and click on Moderate Posts.

You'll get a list of all of your posts. Click on the date of the post you want to change:

Change the date and save.

Easy!