The answer to that question is one, that I know of, and it’s right here in Farmington:
http://www.farmingtonstreetscape.org
Yes, the Downtown Farmington streetscape has its own Web site, with a list of upcoming events, information about the project, a list of businesses with links to their Web sites, a project schedule, parking and traffic information, status updates and a blog.
The DDA has begun to push forward with social media. In addition to the streetscape blog, there’s one under development by the Main Street Promotions committee (disclaimer: I helped with that one) that aims to eventually have a group of connected blogs that keep the public up-to-date on Main Street committee projects and minutes. You can even “friend” Downtown Farmington on Facebook, if you are so inclined.
I am a staunch advocate of social media, and I believe that we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. The more times the words “Downtown Farmington” appear on-line, the more links that fly back and forth, the higher we climb in search results. People need to have information available to them through a wide range of venues. Especially now that news space in local papers is at a premium and fewer reporters have less time to cover our community, the Internet provides a virtually bottomless pit of space into which we can load information.
I am cautiously optimistic about this move in the direction of greater transparency. Cautious, because this kind of effort takes a great deal of time and attention to detail. The DDA already has a full plate and volunteers go just so far. Marketing through social media can become burdensome and expensive.
Optimistic because I’ve seen the unexpected benefits generated by this kind of outreach. The World Wide Web is also a world of possibilities.
Quick survey:
Do/will you go to the Web to get information about the Streetscape, Main Street program and Downtown Farmington activities?
–Joni Hubred-Golden
Publisher, The Enterprise
