Using Social Media with Adam Bednar

Adam Bednar has been a journalist for eight years – four of them here in Baltimore. As Editor of the North Baltimore Patch, Adam uses social media to connect with sources, readers, and the neighborhoods he covers. At this year’s 5th Annual Neighborhood Institute: Love Where You Live, Adam’s workshop, Using Social Media, will educate participants on how to use social media and other Internet resources to raise awareness of community issues and events.

How can residents use social media to build and strengthen their own neighborhoods?

The methods that we use to communicate are rapidly changing. More and more residents are using social media to receive and share information quickly. Social media is also a great way to monitor what people are saying about your communities.

By learning how to use social media you can more effectively circulate important information, connect with neighbors and alert residents from surrounding communities about things your community is doing.

It also allows you to stay in touch with city agencies such as the Baltimore police and the Department of Public Works that are now using resources such as Facebook and Twitter to get information out to residents.

Why did you choose to participate as a workshop leader in this year’s Neighborhood Institute?

I want to participate because I’m part of the communities served by Greater Homewood. I care about Baltimore and its neighborhoods, and I think teaching communities about social media will help them communicate better with residents and each other.

What are you hoping that your workshop participants will take away with them?

Ideally I would just like to introduce readers to some various social media platforms, explain briefly the benefits of using these platforms and the basics of how to use these tools.