Why is #moo trending?

Why is #moo trending?. read about it at Ray Lin Dairy.  You can also see current stats for #moo at http://wthashtag.com/Moo

UPDATE: 8/3/09
The American Farm Bureau blogs The Day Twitter Said #Moo. Will Gilmer who was part of creation of #moo blogs about it here.

UPDATE: 8/2/09 : 4:45 pm EST looks like #moo has peaked at #4 trending topic based on twitter.com web page.  Now trending at #6 position.  It was good run, fun and great to support dairy farmers.

The power of social media is amazing.  In a few short hours what was proposed as an idea for a birthday present has trended to number #4 on twitter trends and still climbing.

The idea came from couple farmers.  A group most think not too bright or knowledgeable about technology -- wrong on both counts!

The #moo trend started as a wish from @farmerhaley for his birthday 8/2/09 @raylindairy & @gilmerdairy thought to use it to help support Americas dairy farmers during their economic crisis so they suggested to farmerhaley he get his followers to tweet with the #moo hashtag.

I started watching about noon.  Originally FarmerHaley wanted to get #moo to hit top 10 twitter trend at 1:00 EST.  I think it finally hit top 10 on twitter at about 1:30 pm but I may be mistaken.  (Please correct in the comments).

The #moo hashtag trend is prime example of viral marketing.  It works for couple reasons.

1. There is active group of people interested in food that talk on twitter and follow/converse with FarmerHaley.  Its funny but I am part of group that is interested in providing consumers with more food choices.  As a group commonly referred to as #profood we have "lively" debates with conventional farmers.  Nevertheless we love FarmerHaley and all farmers.
2. The idea to show support for dairy farmers in their time of crisis made the idea attractive to people interested in food.
3. To see the word #moo trend on twitter brought attention and participation from people that had no idea why they were #mooing.

I think no one is more surprised then @farmerhaley, @raylindairy, @gilmerdairy are in how simple yet powerful viral concept they started on summer Sunday in August.  To me the root of its success is in sharing and love.  Many people understand the crisis that dairy is in and want to show support and appreciation to all dairy farmers.

Last week I saw #chrispirillo trend his name on his birthday as present.  I thought it was cool idea and #moo may owe him thanks for idea (not sure) but #moo is better.

Congrats to Farmerhaley and Ray and Gilmer Dairy on job well done.

And special hello and Happy Birthday to FarmerHaley.

Please add your thoughts, comments and happy birthday wishes to FarmerHaley as well as thoughts of encouragement to all dairy farmers in comments below.

#Moo is holding steady trending at #4 spot.  Lets see if we can get it to #2

It looks like #moo has peaked at #4 trending spot on Twitter at about 4:45 pm EST 8/2/09 Farmer Mike Haley's birthday.

Here are some random tweets that show the power of #moo

SadiqPU i really dont understand y this is a trending topic & i usually dont care but because its fun y not. with that said #moo http://tr.im/vbfn

sparklyy i love how #moo is still trending. lol how did this start?!

itsEMILYJONAS #moo possibly one of my favorite trending topic so far.

Townissnatty oooh this #moo ting is about (@farmerhaleys birthday and second to highlight the economic crisis America’s Dairy Farmers face)

PixieChaser I love the cow picture on the mantle in the Being Human house #moo

2jennyfer2 #moo <---- it's a topic??????

celtsfan25 #moo I LOVE COWS! I've always wanted to go cow tipping and then help them up. :)

watercoolerfilm So it appears that #moo has to do with this: http://bit.ly/Obpp7 It's a shame that I'm somewhat lactose intolerant.

TeamPetabeth #moo ? I know a cat named moo.....Makes calling for it when it escapes a bit odd though

kateafterdark sorry y'all...i'm not usually so excited by trending topics. #moo got me! www.moostudios.com

babycinnamoroll #uknowhtgrindsmygears #uknowhtgrindsmygears #uknowhtgrindsmygears #uknowhtgrindsmygears #uknowhtgrindsmygears #uknowhtgrindsmygears #moo.

Boo1412 #moo?? It's amazing how something can be made out of nothing! But I am amused!!

Well that's it folks.  That was #moo

Comments

[Mark Varner (DairAdviser)]

As a former dairy farmer I'm spending part of my Sunday participating in this very interesting demonstration of viral marketing for a really serious problem.

It's interesting that with the time difference, FarmerHaley may be doing other things while some of this went on.

Hope that helps

DairyAdviser

[jp]

The economics on the farm are incredibly tough, especially for dairy right now. The #moo trending wish was a way to get increased visibility for the dairy farms in the US. Men and women who work hard to produce the milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, etc we all enjoy. I'm glad to have been a part of it.

[Next 2 us]

JP; Thank you for the comment. I agree that we all need to show support for our dairy farmers during this crisis and #moo is one way to do it. Another way would be to have more local milk processors that could turn locally produced milk into value added local products such as cream. cheese, ice cream even chocolate. Until we have a more direct relationship with local dairy its hard to support directly when have middleman to deal with. I would love to be able to buy local raw, unprocessed and lightly processed milk products right from local or regional dairy. Better products for me and more money in farmers pocket(s).

[Next 2 us]

Dairy Advisor. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I also find the #moo trending interesting. When I first saw FarmerHaley's tweet about it I thought "now way" its going to hit top ten. But, then I read all kinds of different people joining in to not only celebrate Mike's Birthday but to participate in small way to show support to dairy farmers and acknowledge dairy crisis they are in?

Now, the questions is, now do farmers take this small representation of interest in their plight and leverage it into meaningful change?

[Mark Varner (DairAdviser)]

Good question HG. A role for me as an adviser to dairy farmers is to help use the notion of viral marketing as another way for them to leverage real change.

Best

DairyAdviser

[Next 2 us]

Dairy Advisor. Are you familiar with #profood hashtag on Twitter. All about applying entrepreneurship to provide better food choices. See Every Kitchen Table at http://everytable.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/pro-food-is-2/

Also may be interested in Woody Tasch's Slow Money. They may be good resource http://www.slowmoneyalliance.org/

[Retro Jordans]

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