I have been away from my hometown, Batesville (AR), for about ten years, fifteen really.  I haven’t been around to keep up with the football team as such.  While I was a way, they hired a coach who has completely turned our program around that lead, ultimately, to a state championship just a few years ago.

So, as you can image, football has become a really big deal in Batesville.  Their stadium has artificial turf, renovated bleachers and a cool new scoreboard.  Nice!

Now that I am living closer, but still not in Batesville, I can see a little more about how Pioneer football is doing.  I have friends on Facebook than keep me up-to-date.

Our hometown newspaper, the Batesville Daily Guard, has created web telecasts that allow us Pioneer alum from far, or not so far, away to watch our beloved Pioneers.

Here is how they did it in three steps.

First, set up a Ustream account.

The fine folks at the Batesville Guard set up a Ustream account to stream the action live at their website.

Two, Find willing participants.

Enter two former Pioneer football players who are also fathers of players, mix a little passion, and stir with some enthusiasm and you get a laid back, no ESPN-expectation-approach that is great for this kind of webcast.  Former classmates of mine, Ronald Richardson and Jasson Sturgeon call the action.  Further, they follow up on with Facebook and text message to include viewer participation.  It is totally a social media networking effort!

Three, find someone willing to sponsor to pay for equipment and fees.

As I said, the platform is handled by the Batesville Daily Guard, but a few key players have stepped in to help sponsor the telecast.  What a great way to serve the community and get your message out there.  In fact, they actually show commercials at strategic moments during the game, however, the commercials do not come to often.

So, I salute the Batesville Daily Guard, my friends Ronald Richardson and Jasson Sturgeon and the community of Batesville for bring Pioneer football to those not able to attend!

I was searching on facebook tonight, for nothing in particular, and I found this unique tidbit from the Conway Police Department (AR).  I am a fan of theirs at facebook, and they had this public service announcement.

You can view it here.
Public Service Announcement

Talk about taking advantage of social media channels!  The forum was awesome too since it referred to keeping children safe online.

Kudos to the Conway Police Department and the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department.  They made a very simple, yet effective video, and they shared it online.  The police department has 755 fans so you know the video will be viewed by hundreds of people.  This is an organization that is taking seriously the power and impact of social media.

The department is doing a great job with their facebook page.  The only feedback I would offer is to respond to fan comments in some way.  Engaging a fans is a vital element of using social media successfully.  Otherwise, they are doing an awesome job.  Their competency in social media makes me feel more comfortable with their work in public safety.