Join Extension's Growing Online Communities

The Oregon State University Extension Service in Lane County is continually searching for ways to expand its reach and impact in Lane County. The growing use of social media is one opportunity that can help us share information about our educational offerings, engage people who are not familiar with Extension, and provide a platform for Extension users to meet and communicate with people from across our program areas.

Steve Dodrill, director of the OSU Extension Service in Lane County, has a blog called Extension Connections. Dodrill encourages people to subscribe to his blog so they receive automatic notifications whenever he posts new content.

The OSU Extension Service in Lane County also has a “fan page” on Facebook. While Extension posts information on this site, we encourage our supporters to make it your online community. You can get involved by posting information about upcoming events that relate to Extension's mission, sharing stories, photos, and videos about Extension events, or commenting (nicely) about postings you see from other Extension supporters.

For those of you who "tweet" on Twitter, Drew Arneson and Noy Rathakette are contributing "tweets" about nutrition and Steve Dodrill is "tweeting" about the latest news and events in Extension. If you use Twitter and want to connect with Extension via this form of social media, search for Drew, Noy, and Steve and sign up to be one of their "followers."

While all of this newfangled technology can seem a little intimidating at first, growing numbers of Extension supporters are telling us that they are finding it to be a lot of fun. Some people  compare it to riding a bike. There's a learning curve in the beginning, but a whole new world to explore, once you get the hang of it.

For those of you who would like a "jumpstart" with social media, Extension will be holding several free "Introduction to Social Media" workshops this fall. Subscribe to Extension Connections and we will let you know as soon as they are scheduled!