Warning:  AgNerd post alert … no turkey recipe, no cute pug picture. Just me, getting all AgNerdy on you. Can you handle it?

Whenever I sit in on AgChat Foundation’s weekly Tweetchat (most Tuesday nights at 7 pm central time; follow #agchat on Twitter), I always get energized. There is something about this community of people that makes me happy and proud to be a part of it. I know – cheesy, right? But it’s so much fun getting to know these social media friends of mine. That’s the AgNerd in me for sure.

This week, the AgChat Foundation celebrates its 3rd birthday. I look back on the past 8 months or so since I have really become active on social media and I know, without a doubt, that I can thank AgChat for giving me the tools,  the know-how and the inspiration to get me where I am today. (Which is writing a blog post, right? Well, and all the Tweeting and Facebook posting and …)

How has AgChat made a difference in my life? Here are 5 ways:

  • I finally understand how Twitter is supposed to be work. Seriously. I had a crazy light bulb moment about this at AgChat’s 2.0 Agvocacy Conference last August in Kansas City. I know I’m certainly no Twitter rock star. But I can say that I get the basic grasp of it. I really do get it.
  • I am connecting my personal and professional lives on social media and that’s okay. Guess what – I drink wine and have a bit of a dress obsession (you don’t want to see my closet). But I also talk turkey with the best of them and I realize it’s okay to be all those things and more – as long as I’m authentically me.
  • I finally have my own blog and I love it. I mean I really love it – in this geeky, no-holds-barred way. In fact, when I don’t blog, I wish I was blogging.
  • I hate public speaking. (I’m a writer first, speaker last.) But for some reason, I get so jazzed up about social media and what I am learning about it every day, that I find myself agreeing to talk to groups of people and generally I’m pretty happy to speak. In front of groups, with everyone watching me. Weird, but true.
  • I can still dream big and aspire to be better. After almost 18 years working for the same organization, some might wonder how I could possibly be excited to go to work. But I am – well, almost every day – and AgChat gave me a whole new litany of reasons why. I think I still have much to offer the poultry farmers I work for, and in turn, I learn so much from them. Come to think of it, that’s another reason I’m totally geeky – I love to learn and I really dislike boredom. I’m a perfect match for my poultry peeps. (I wrote poultry peeps again, didn’t I? I can’t help myself sometimes. It’s becoming a bit of a problem.)

Okay, okay … enough with the AgChat love for tonight. 🙂 I’ll just say Happy Birthday and look forward to what’s next!

I’m curious … what or who makes a difference in your life?

Weird fun fact about me: Sometimes on a rare Sunday night, I will have one giant piece of cake and a Diet Coke for dinner. And maybe some ice cream too. But only if the cake is as good as this one - which has lemon filling and cream cheese frosting and was made by my mother for Easter. Yummy!
Completely random fun fact about me: Sometimes on a rare Sunday night, I will have one giant piece of cake and a Diet Coke for dinner. That’s it. Well, and maybe some ice cream too. But only if the cake is as good as this one – which has lemon filling and cream cheese frosting and was made by my mother for Easter. Yummy!
Okay, so I sort of liked. It's not a cute pug picture. But it is a cute English Bulldog - my brother's dog, named Louie, who is o obviously getting to be too big to be carried by Joe! (But Joe is unaware of this.)
Okay, so I sort of lied at the top of my blog post. It’s not a cute pug picture, but it is a cute English Bulldog – my brother’s dog, named Louie, who is obviously getting  too big to be carried by Joe. (But Joe chooses to ignore this little factoid because  he has a thing about picking up dogs and carrying them around. Just ask Earl the Pug.)
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0 comments on Getting All AgNerdy On You.

  1. I love these 5 ways, and I love the bulldog picture! Farming has definitely influenced my whole life, including growing up years, college, and ultimately my career. I too am proud to be an “agnerd.” 🙂

    Reply

  2. Nice blog post, Lara! One of these days I will consistently tweet. 🙂 I’ve been busy Tuesday nights. When I am free of that commitment, I’d like to join AgChat. Sounds like fun!

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    • Thanks, Paula! Eventually when it works, you should check out AgChat’s Twitter chats on Tuesday – lots of face-paced fun and I always learn new things! 🙂

      Reply

    • Thanks, Jenny! That was always one of those questions I struggled with before my AgChat training/network … it seemed like I should be personal or professional. It was such a relief to know I can be both – and that it actually makes sense (at least sometimes) to meld the two together. Probably doesn’t work for someone in the corporate business world, but our worlds of agriculture and commodity organizations are different … we blend family, friends, work and farm together all the time. 🙂

      Reply

    • Thanks so much, Dave – that means a lot coming from you! I truly feel part of the poultry world after all these years and I feel like so many of you are family! 🙂 You would enjoy the AgChat Twitter chat, I think … it’s a very enthusiastic, smart group of people and I always have fun and learn something new!

      Reply

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