Social Media in the 1800's

Twitter, Facebook, email, mobile computing - These technologies are completely incompatible with the mission of Living History, right? Well, yes and no. When I'm dressed in my hoop skirt, you won't find me reading Twitter messages or updating my Facebook status from my "talking pocket watch." But living history is pretty useless if no one knows it's happening. How can we promote awareness and get people to visit and engage in the history without diluting the history itself?
Some businesses have dedicated social media people, who spread the word while the rest of the company carries on the action. That means the "we" they speak of in their updates is really "they." All "we" are doing is updating! Of course the advantage of this model is that the social media is constantly monitored and updated, which makes the business very engaging and responsive - if not very real.
Here at the Philip Foster Farm, we don't have the budget for a fulltime media specialist, and probably wouldn't want one. Philip Foster himself was an "early adopter," heading for Oregon a full year ahead of everyone else, building roads and stores and mills ahead of the crowd. We think he'd be proud of the way we're forging ahead to share his life with the pioneers of a whole new "land rush."
Please leave a comment or contact us if you'd like to get timely information about our events, summer camps or tours, or if you have a suggestion about more ways to get the word out to the people who want to experience living history.