Up and Running at Koloa Substation - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

Social Media
Reaching More Members More Often
The term social media refers to the use of web-based and
mobile technologies to increase the effectiveness of
communicating—media for social interaction. KIUC’s
goal is to do whatever it takes to reach more members
more often. So in addition to traditional tools such as
Currents magazine, inserts, quarterly updates and such,
we have begun supplementing them with social media
platforms.
We are encouraged by early participation and would like
to keep our momentum going. You can begin by “liking”
us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KauaiCoop, or
“follow” us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/KIUC, to stay
informed of news, events, energy-efficiency opportunities
and more.
We hope you will embrace these new platforms and join
us in our journey to more interactive communications.
Common Terms in Social Media
Facebook: A network of personal and professional
connections, known as “friends.” Users share general
comments, pictures, website links and videos. Profiles
can be open to the public or permission-based.
Wall: A list of personal updates and direct posts from
friends.
News feed: A real-time list of updates from friends and
businesses.
Fan: Facebook users may become fans of groups or
businesses. Updates from businesses appear in a fan’s
news feed.
Twitter: A microblogging network limiting comments to
140 characters. Users share news, website links and
images with other users who subscribe, or “follow,” an
account. Comments can be open to the public or
permission-based.
Tweet: To post a comment on Twitter.
Mention: Include the “@” sign followed by the name of
the user or business in a tweet.
Direct message: Allows two Twitter users to
communicate privately.
Retweet: To forward a tweet, users add “RT @” followed
by the originating Twitter account name and the
original tweet.
Hashtag: Twitter users group topics by adding the
character “#” before words others might want to search
for.
LinkedIn: A professional network of connections, known
as “links.” Serves as an online resume and referral
service, and allows users to share presentations and
documents with peers.
YouTube, Vimeo: Video hosting and streaming services
offering branded “channels” or pages for collections of
videos. Users may embed videos from both services
onto other websites.
Flickr, Photobucket, Smugmug: Multimedia hosting and
sharing services for pictures.
—Source: NRECA’s Megan McKoy-Noe
Cracking QR Codes
QR codes are not new. What is relatively new is the use of
QR codes in public relations, marketing and
communications. KIUC has begun adding these codes to
our communications efforts. These two-dimensional
barcodes are designed to have their contents decoded at a
high speed. To take advantage, you will need:
1. A mobile phone with a camera
2. A mobile phone with Internet access if you want to
go straight online
3. A QR code reader installed on the phone.
In today’s world, nearly every mobile phone has a digital
camera. The camera, along with decoding software, can
be used to capture a picture of the QR code. Many free
downloads are available for decoding software, which will
transform the data held in the code into an action for your
mobile phone in a matter of milliseconds.
Download, point, click … and join us!
2012 NEW MEMBER GUIDE 21