#GIS14

It’s a fad! 

It will never catch on! 

Who wants to know what Starbucks Ashton Kutcher is at? 

These are all things I heard in 2009 about social media. Well, social media has become part of our lives.  Love it or hate it, it is here to stay.  As we approach the year's biggest networking and educational event for the golf turf industry, The Golf Industry Show (#GIS14), I want to pass on some social media hotspots and happenings at this year’s show.

Not attending GIS this year?  No problem.  If you won’t be in Orlando this year, social media will give you a front row seat. Now as you read on, if your not a social media user, you may think parts of this article are in another language, or that I have officially fallen off my technology wagon. 

It's neither. 

To get us all primed for the Golf Industry Show and the social media experience awaiting you this column will include LOTS of hashtags and handles.

Looking back to the #GIS10 Show, a small group of early social media adopters, lead by the Godfather of turfgrass social media, Dr. John Kaminski (@itweetturf) decided we wanted to get together and finally meet in person.  I remember about ten of us getting together around the @Aquatrols booth.  What was most amusing was that most of us didn’t know what we looked like or knew our actual names.  We only knew each other by our @Twitter handles.  Thankfully many of us put our Twitter handles on our badges.  I know many of us look at this as the unofficial birth of social media in the golf turf industry.  Thankfully the torch has been carried.  More on that in a moment.

If you attend a Golf Industry Show #GIS14, it is a week of great education from the @GCSAA and @NGCOA.  The trade show provides opportunities for continued education, purchasing and networking.  This year will feature some social media How To’s during Answers on the Hour.  The latest and greatest technology and apps along with demonstrations will be held at the Test Drive Technology Center, @TestDriveTech. 

There are opportunities for just about everyone’s educational and networking appetite, but since 2010, many of us look forward to the yearly @GCIMagzine Tweetup.  This year appropriately tagged #GCITweetup14.  Thankfully since 2010 @GCIMagazine led by Pat Jones and his team and @Aquatrols have continued to carry the tweetup torch.  This is a great networking event for the hardcore adopters to the average tweeter to meet up and socialize in person.  To put that Twitter handle to a face and a real name.  The 2012 Tweetup, #GCITweetup12 began the Super Social Media Awards which is a highlight of the @GCIMagzine Tweetup.  This year the talent pool is deep which promises some great award winners.  Be sure to stop by the @Aquatrols booth (#1013) on Wednesday, Feb. 5th at 3 p.m. for the 2014 @GCIMagazine Tweetup.  You can follow all the happenings of the tweet up with the hashtag #GCITweetup14.

There is no doubt social media can become overwhelming, but only if you let it.  The trend towards engagement, communication and introducing brand awareness has changed at the Golf Industry Show.  Industry has turned to social media to communicate their happenings at show.  Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are being used to engage attendees to visit booths to see what will be hot in 2014.  Turf industry media provides you near realtime happenings at show with photos and videos through services like Instagram and Vine.  Attendees have somewhat abandon text messaging and have turned to Twitter to communicate with each other on education and entertainment during the Golf Industry Show with the hashtag #GIS14. 

With so much great communication and engagement happening during this week, we at Turf Republic wanted to make things seem a little less overwhelming.  We will be launching the Golf Industry Show Social Media Experience sponsored by Jacobsen (@JacobsenTurf) for this year’s #GIS14.  For those attending the show, this will provide you a hub for everything from #GIS14 happenings to great restaurants and entertainment to all the great industry events that occur throughout the week.  Keeping up with all the engagement and communication will be made simpler.  We will include some focused social media feeds to allow you to communicate and engage with your piers that are attending.  If you are not attending #GIS14 this year, the Golf Industry Show Social Media Experience sponsored by Jacobsen will give you a peak into what you are missing.  But we don’t want you to feel left out.  Our goal is to provide you the best possible #GIS14 experience and the ability to engage with those that are attending all from one location.  Keep an eye on TurfRepublic.com for a link to the event page!

Are you bringing your spouse to this years show?  The @WivesofTurf a member of the Turf Republic community and Jacobsen (@JacobsenTurf) will be hosting a Wives of Turf meetup.  As social media hasn’t just become a support for those working in the turf industry, many of our dedicated spouses have turned to social media and the @WivesofTurf for a place of community and camaraderie.  The Jacobsen family and the @WivesofTurf would like to welcome all spouses of those in the industry an opportunity to meet and network in Get Juiced lounge located in the Jacobsen booth at 1:30 pm on Wed. Feb. 5th.  This will truly be an event you will NOT want to miss.  There may even be a little gift for all the spouses who attend.