While working on my Blog Indiana TweetUp Panel discussion I was reminded of The Great Indiana Initiative
( written by Amy Stark January 27, 2009 | First published on Smaller Indiana dot com | Subsequently included in The Tweeter’s Almanac with an August 2009 update found on page 60 )
I’m spearheading an organized effort to raise twitter awareness in Indiana because I want our state to remain relevant in the 21st century. Participating on the Smaller Indiana platform and attending SI events made me realize just how cool Indiana truly is, and yet NOT ONE Hoosier is listed among the top 100 twitter elite. Shame on us for hiding our light under a bushel!
If all #Indiana tweeters would come together with one voice on this project we could generate some noise and raise #Indiana’s awareness on a global scale. I call it the:
Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine
Participation in the #Indiana Initiative is easy
– just type “#Indiana” in at least one tweet a week.
Perhaps it’s naive to think eight keystrokes typed in a few tweets could make a difference, but it’s free and you only have to donate a few minutes when it is convenient for you. It couldn’t hurt! A thriving Social Media culture may keep Indiana on global radar screens for business expansion and help our state thrive in an information-based (rather than industrial-based) world.
Ideas for using the #Indiana hashtag effectively:
Major sporting events trend heavily on twitter so you can tweet about: the Colts, the #Indiana Pacers, college stats from one of our world-renowned universities, or your kid’s high school basketball team in #Auburn #Indiana. Let’s not forget that #Indiana hosts the largest single day sporting event in the WORLD! This is definitely worth tweeting about when you consider that there are a quarter of a million race car fans and yet no riots – unlike some soccer games.
Examples of the #Indiana hashtag in action:
• From @ctorres4745:: If we get more snow, I plan on taking the kids to the Ft Harrison sled hill this weekend in Lawrence #Indiana
• From @sssemester:: Go #Indiana! RT @TheLuckyGirl: Miss America is Miss Indiana Katie Stam!!
• From @bphuff:: Heading to Bodies exhibit later today. #Indiana
• From @edeckers:: We serve big-assed pork tenderloins here in #Indiana at the #SwissWineFestival – http://twitpic.com/fq12z
August Aught Nine Update
Since its launch in January, The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine produced a thriving tweet stream – from Evansville to South Bend and Richmond to Terre Haute …
To my knowledge there are no other states using a hashtag in this fashion. #Indiana is leading the way in this voluntary Social Media initiative. According to Twitter Grader, Indiana is ranked 20th among the States. A respectable showing but we can do better. Virginia is ranked 13th and Tennessee is 17th for goodness sake, surely we can kick it up a notch. Go get ’em #Indiana!
