TY - JOUR T1 - Changing the engines of change: Natural resource conservation in the era of social media JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 129A LP - 131A DO - 10.2489/jswc.64.4.129A VL - 64 IS - 4 AU - Mark Anderson-Wilk Y1 - 2009/07/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/64/4/129A.abstract N2 - Communication has been used throughout human history to impart information, teach skills, influence attitudes and perceptions, moderate debate and disagreement, create connections between individuals and groups, inspire new ideas, and facilitate cultural and behavioral changes. This article reviews the role communication has played in facilitating change in agricultural conservation in the past and suggests how new social media technologies could be used to advance conservation in the future. BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION IN AGRICULTURE Until the mid-19th century, most agricultural information was communicated from farmer to farmer by word of mouth (Paskoff 1990). “[I]ncreased dissemination of knowledge through agricultural literature inclusive of monographs, published works of agricultural societies, and the growing number of periodicals finally culminated in what became known as the first Agricultural Revolution” (Fusonie 1975, quoted in Paskoff 1990, p. 332). By the later half of the 19th century, daily newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and Des Moines Register employed agricultural writers writing for farm audiences. Boone et al. (2000) describe the rise of agricultural journals and magazines, beginning with American Farmer in 1819. By 1920, US farmers subscribed to between two and three farm periodicals on average. By 1970, farms in the United… ER -