Social Media in Idaho County is ALIVE and WELL and its regulars are keeping the drive moving ahead like a Queensland Heeler working the back of a cattle drive, getting the livestock from point A to point B, and innovating the tools of communication that are helping us all to stay connected like never before!
As one of the largest counties in the US, with close to the smallest population per capita, Idaho County folks tend to either prefer the isolation of wide open spaces, and move to the area for that reason, or they’ve grown up as a part of the rural Idaho County community and enjoy the simple life it offers. Sometimes the younger folks escape to learn the ways of the world, and often they come back, understanding the beauty of this western region, rich in culture and the niceties of its predominantly Caucasian existence. No crowds or traffic jams to speak of, only one stop light in the entire county, and the foothills of the Bitterroot Rocky Mountain range always present as a beautiful backdrop in the center of it all.
You may ask, aren’t people lonely in Idaho County? Well, I’m sure if you started asking around, you could find loneliness, as it exists in every nook and cranny as a matter of human psychology, not just in widespread spaces such as what Idaho County represents. Several years back, I remember the State of Idaho Travel Association communicating to all Chambers of Commerce and Tourism Bureaus the need to post and publish photos of “PEOPLE” having fun in Idaho. Idaho marketing experts had apparently reviewed some disturbing surveys that suggested travelers were not coming to Idaho because they never saw “people” in the photos of Idaho and felt they might be lonely and left to fend for themselves with all the wildness and primitive isolation they’d be dealing with on vacation. So, we started to focus on printing ads and posting websites with “People Having Fun In Idaho”. It worked, or else, we were simply “discovered”. Tourism is a huge part of the economic staple of Idaho County, especially with the political issues surrounding logging and the environment, all of which has left us with unhealthy forests and diminishing funds that use to employ so many hard working folks in the logging and trucking industry. Social media is empowering tourism in Idaho County and is helping small businesses to be found through a bit of effort and lots of “FANS”.
Back 10 years ago, we were just chipping away at the surface of posting websites on the internet to represent Idaho County, let alone having ANY CLUE about the future of Social Media. Today, one seasoned jewelry maker is using a combination of Etsy.com for an easy web platform, social media tools such a FACEBOOK, and great photos to sell her custom jewelry pieces in RECORD seconds. Time and time again, I see her postings on my Facebook wall (since I’m a fan and “LIKED” her Fan Page) where her new jewelry photo inspires a shopper, producing almost an instant onslaught of admiring comments, and the first person who takes dibs, becoming the purchaser of record. To me, this is a phenomenal turn in the way people are conducting business, even in Idaho County. Its connecting people who are sitting in their homes or offices, with others who may be towns apart, or even thousands of miles apart. I could go on and on with personal observations of how Social Media such as Facebook have changed the face of Human Communication. But I will save that for another day.
The point of this article is to highlight the advantages of social media and to start a growing list of popular Facebook Fan Pages representing organizations and small businesses that exist in the area of Idaho County. Each Facebook Fan Page is selected on the basis of popularity among local residents as well as internet users around the world!
Please email me@marymangold.com if you’d like to suggest a popular Idaho County Facebook Fan Page that I may not have listed here. Send the link and I’ll review and possibly add it to our list.
Check the right sidebar on this page for our new FACEBOOK FAN PAGE links. Celebrate the wonders of Facebook and learn about the vast human connectivity that is changing our social networking and morphing into – well, what I would call a true paradigm shift.
….. and looking back at 10 years ago, Idaho County can definitely say “My my, what a change one decade can make”.
