#AgChat & #FoodChat Conversation Guide
Who’s invited?
Anyone with an interest in the business of growing food, fuel, feed and fiber that is on Twitter. We welcome diverse viewpoints, contrary to what some pundits claim. We simply ask that you act in a professional manner by following the course of conversation without grandstanding or antagonizing. We also ask you introduce yourself in order to participate in the conversation or post replies. For example, “Hi #AgChat, I’m Jane Doe in Hawaii and love to eat food, so want to learn more about #farms.” If you haven’t seen someone’s intro, don’t be afraid to ask them for it. We do suggest you only respond to people who are following the guidelines.
What’s the most important thing to do as a participant of #AgChat?
Be yourself and respect others. It’s a professional conversation. Just as you wouldn’t come into a meeting or a party shouting (or at least we hope you wouldn’t), these chats work best by those engaging in dialogue. That doesn’t mean we expect everyone to agree, but simply engage in productive conversation.
How do I watch the conversation (AKA “lurk”) or participate?
Go to http://www.tweetchat.com and enter in #agchat or #foodchat as the ‘room.’ More advanced or regular attendees should join http://twubs.com/agchat and use that to tweet from during the chat. Both will automatically enter in the hashtag (#) for you. More importantly, it allows you to see the very fast-paced conversation happening in real time. It is a streaming conversation, which means it’s like a coffee shop where everyone focuses on discussing one subject – only it’s virtual.
What is the moderator? Is that someone with a huge ego trying to force rules down our throat?
The moderator’s role is to facilitate the conversation, much as a professional facilitator guides conversation to a specific point at a meeting. The moderator posts guidelines at the beginning of the chat, announces the topic, poses the questions and sometimes asks for clarification. Both the topic and the questions are submitted by the community. @mpaynknoper moderates the majority of our chats (and is a trained facilitator), but guest moderators are usually on at least once/month. Moderating is not about ego; it is about organizing a productive chat that creates new ideas, shares best practices, promotes collaboration and highlights opportunities.
What’s the best way to participate?
First introduce yourself, even if you come in late. Secondly, always use the #agchat tag. Thirdly, stay on topic or ‘respect the chat’ as some like to say. Fourth, watch for questions to be posed (moderator will typically announce question is closing & next question is on the way). Use Q# in advance of your response so that the people trying to following the conversation later can identify what you’re responding to. e.g. “Q4 My farm uses environmental practices that have decreased our carbon footprint 5x in 25 years. #agchat” Aside from those tips, your best bet is to follow the rules of conversation. Engage, listen, talk (tweet, in this case). If you really like what someone else says, RT their info so your community can see it. If you need clarification, ask for it, as long as a ‘side conversation’ isn’t distracting to others using the tag.
What’s appropriate to say (tweet)?
State your opinion, share a resource or simply say you don’t know, but would like to learn. Just as you wouldn’t toss your coffee and scream at another person in a coffee shop (we hope), we’re not asking you to agree with everyone in the chat. As long as you respond to the questions in a professional manner and stay on topic with your tweets, you’ll be in good shape. Please don’t be frustrated if you’re not immediately acknowledged; the pace of the conversation is so fast that it’s easy to have introductions overlooked. Just keep chatting & others will engage with you. We’re a friendly group, but are sometimes on such a mission to keep up that we miss tweets! We do ask that you hold off on promoting your work, suggesting your own site or asking for specific feedback until pitch time, which happens at 9:55 p.m.
Wait, I have more questions!
See our FAQs and feel free to reach out to any of the AgChat Foundation Board of Directors with your questions. The best way to understand is to participate on Tuesday nights, 8-10 p.m. Eastern. #AgChat happens every Tuesday, with the exception of the third Tuesday of each month when it’s time for #FoodChat.
