Time after time, I hear that we should take advantage of all that the new social media platforms have to offer. Ok, I jumped on the Facebook wagon some time ago and you can find us there at Heritage Farms Northwest or use the link to the side of this blog. However, as often as I hear about it, I have been avoiding Twitter. Why would I do such a thing? Well, everytime I have cautiously visited the site and looked at some other Twitter users Tweets, I get a bit confused by it all. It seems that everyone speaks in text code, slang, and shorthand and many tweets consist of not much more then odd urls and even odder links that I guess are things called “has tags”. (hash tags? I had to go look that one up today. but finally I am starting to get tweet speak a bit more) .
Yesterday Jim and I attended the Local Food Connection day down in Eugene, Oregon and I spent 90 minutes listening to 4 very different local food folks (2 farmers, a chef-restaurant owner, and a marketing guru for a grocery store) tell about how and why to use platforms such as Twitter…… Sigh……. There it was again. Twitter.
Now admittedly I am often out in the field with the animals and I think about how cool it would be to post a short blurb and a picture for the world. Just a glimps into our life on the farm. Evidently Twitter is the way to do those glimpses. Fine. I am sold, I’ll try Twitter. We just signed up on Twitter, our username is “redwattlepork” . Please join up to follow along, because I hope to tweet up a storm.
Now my next challange is a way to get those posts onto the web from the field. We do not have smart phones or data plans (yet, perhaps later this summer). But my Christmas present from Jim was an iPod Touch. Those have wi-fi if you have a hot spot to link from. I went out in the field and tracked how far my wireless signal would go from the modem. I could get all the way out to the end of “The Sow Aisle”, which is really cool because right now, that sow aisle is packed with new piglets; about 70 of them. FUN! So I can do tweets from the sow aisle and once Jim gets a booster antenea up on the rooftop I should be able to post from most anywhere on the farm.
See you soon!!
Wendy
Excited to see you announced as a new producer available through Know Thy food in Portland! We have really been enjoying our order from last fall and so I left a comment about our experience with Rebecca there. We just recently joined and it seems like such a wonderful way to connect farmers and us urban folks. Would love to see you do a farm to table dinner with her at some point and meet you in person! FYI she is a good example of how FB and Twiitter have helped her with word of mouth! Best to you. Stacey
Good Morning Stacy.
Great to hear from you! One of the many things on my “To Do” list is to start a farm newsletter to help us stay in touch with customers. I am glad that you and Delsin are enjoying the Hazelnut Red Wattle. It really is special pork. Though I am currently enamored with this spring’s grass pastured Red Wattle. It is a different taste the the hazelnut, but awesome just the same.
We are so thrilled to be selling through Know Thy Food in Portland. It is a great service that Rebecca does for the community. We talked to her way back when she first started it but at the time we didn’t have enough animals to make it feasible. Now we have a steady stream of Red Wattles finishing, so it seemed a good time to contact her again.
Where did you see the post from Rebecca and Know Thy Food? I am trying to connect with all the resources out there and I would love to leave a comment on her site as well. I can’t seem to find the right area on her website, or facebook page or any of it. LOL I am still a social media newbie! There is never enough time in the day. We are outside all day and then come inside and try to do the computer work. Some days it just does not all get done. (But hey, I did get all of our 100+ weaner pigs and grower pigs weighed yesterday and Sunday. That is something!)
By the way, Jim will be attending the June 5th Market Day that KTF is holding in their parking lot. I will be up in Washington at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup. I’ll have to look into Rebecca’s Farm to Table dinners. Sounds interesting.
Wendy P