What we can do about living in the Mega-Fire generation of wildland disasters and how we got there.
by Del Albright
Go here to learn more and buy the book on Amazon: Mega-Fire Book
Career photojournalist, adventurer, outdoorsman, four-wheeler, author, and defender of outdoor recreational access. BFGoodrich Tires Ambassador. IG:jeepndel; FB:LanduseDel; MENU and SEARCH below. 👀
What we can do about living in the Mega-Fire generation of wildland disasters and how we got there.
by Del Albright
Go here to learn more and buy the book on Amazon: Mega-Fire Book
By Del Albright
LANDUSE: Between now and the upcoming elections, our trails, forests, dunes, and dirt roads will be under attack. This is not unusual for possible Administration change time-frames. There are some positive things we can do to protect our access.
If you want a
one-stop, comprehensive guidebook on how to keep trails open and prevent access
restrictions, I offer an answer based on my 40 years of landuse advocacy. Our motorized
recreation groups, clubs, and associations suffer from a lack of involved
memberships, which makes it hard for them to fight back effectively. We need to
act!
My newly
released book offers answers, tips, and solutions to all of the above. Check
out “Shortcuts to Landuse & Volunteerism, Creating a Sustainable Future for
Motorized Recreation here: https://bit.ly/delalbrightBook
BY DEL ALBRIGHT
Touring Death Valley and vicinith with Metalcloak friends and my build partner Cloakworks4x4. Overlanding the backcountry and getting our tires dirty in canyons galore.
By Del Albright
In
today's world, communication skills mean you also have some social networking
skills – the Internet – like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
The world is on the "socials." So, learn to tweet, post, share a pic,
tag, hashtag, and comment! At least learn to understand these tools and be able
to talk about them. And if you want to support and thank your
partners/sponsors, social networks are crucial. Social media is essential if
you want to expand your reach or grow your cause. It is never too late to jump in.
Events
can benefit from setting up a Twitter feed advertised in event literature or
entrance gates. Participants sign up to get the tweets and updates on their
phones as they enjoy the event. In addition, you can keep folks posted on
changes in the schedule of new times for special activities and hold fun
contests with tweets (for example, "Find Del before 3 pm and win a free
t-shirt").
You
can tweet parking and camping information. You can tweet announcements
affecting the participants. And most importantly, before the event, you can
tweet all your sponsors and raffle donors to give them lots of "love"
in return. Make sure you have "followed" and liked all your sponsors
first. Then, you can "mention" them with the "@" symbol
(see below).
You
can buy Facebook (and Twitter) books (like the ones "for Dummies")
and get a crash course in how to make these socials work for you, spread your
cause, and help keep outdoor activities alive and well.
You
can set up a specific event or club's Facebook pages, manage the message, and
grow many interested parties that share it in their networks. The cumulative impact is far-reaching and thrives
on its own, creating what is called a "social network."
I
highly recommend using Facebook "Events" to promote your club, raffle,
event, whatever. From your page, set up a sub-page under the Events tag. First, invite people to join your event. Once they do, they
automatically get your updates and posts to the event page. This saves you a
lot of work in promoting and building your event.
FB Groups: this is one of the most powerful tools FB offers. Private
or public, you can have a group dedicated to your cause, event, family, or
whatever. In addition, you can search a group for specific subjects or posts.
It is a great way to coordinate and share on specific topics.
Hashtags
are great for anyone wishing to know how much exposure you are getting. Hashtags
are powerful search tools on social networks. Anyone can follow anything with a
hashtag and sort out other superfluous data.
Sponsors,
partners, supporters, and vendors all love hashtags and follow many. Take a
business, let's say JeepBusiness.com. Usually, they follow their hashtag,
especially on Instagram (see below). #jeepbusiness will bring up all posts
about them. So, if you hashtag an entity you want to promote, they will see it
every time you mention it (as promised).
When a friend tags you in a
post, your name appears as a link in their profile. A tag is a link you can
see and click on (follow).
Tags
are a great way to show sponsors that you are promoting them. Your tag/post
goes to their page/profile immediately.
A
tag looks like this @DelAlbright and ensures Del Albright will see what you
posted on his feed. Tags are vital in
promoting businesses that help you promote and grow your cause or market your
product. Tag your partners every chance
you get.
Remember,
a hashtag is a searchable phrase or word someone can follow. A "tag" actually puts your post on
their feed/page without them having to follow anything.
For
example, at an event, with Instagram, you use your phone to take an event
picture of your vendor show line-up. Then, you post the pic and promote your
sponsors by showing their flags, banners, booths, etc., in your Instagram app
to your feed. People "like" or
"heart" the pic and share it with others. Immediately, you have happy
sponsors who know you are promoting them.
And
let's talk about "stories" and "reels." TikTok's copycat,
as some call it, is a powerful way to engage followers and promote the reach of
your posts. Reels allow users to create and watch engaging short videos on the
platform.
Reel
is a feature of Instagram that allows users to create short videos between 15
and 30 seconds in length. In addition to recording short clips, Instagram
Reels also lets users edit, remix, and add effects and audio to their reels.
With
Instagram Reels, you can create and watch short, entertaining videos anytime.
In addition to these features, Instagram also provides several options for
making reels more exciting and engaging. Add an extra dash to your reels
through options such as multi-clip videos, easy-to-use text, AI filters,
and audio.
Use
hashtags (#) to showcase other causes, vendors, and sponsors. They will see you
promoting their support and help you even more next time! We all benefit from
the never-ending circle of networking that comes from social networks.
Social
networks are a substantial part of our world today, and to be an effective
leader in your field, you should find a way to be in the game.
##
Del
By Del Albright, Sustainable Motorized
Recreation Advocate
Is your club ticked off at a neighboring club? Are you
drifting away from your club because of the behavior of a few folks? Do
you find yourself attending fewer club/group meetings these days? Do you
feel like your opinion does not count? Are you ready to just say heck with it
and walk away as a volunteer? Are you tired of the politics and clicks in your
club? In other words, do egos and personalities rule your recreation?
In my travels around the country helping folks get organized
and keep trails open, I have seen too many of the above problems. Don't get me
wrong, there are tons of great clubs that are doing just fine. But I've
seen my share of personalities driving folks away from organized
recreation. There are ways to fix that.
In my opinion, our future lies in folks joining and staying active in organized
recreation. The more we band together and stay tuned into what's
happening with our trails, the better our chances of having a sport in the
future. The more we separate or alienate from each other, the less chance
we have of surviving as a recreational pursuit. We must be together at
every opportunity.
This means that our local clubs/groups must be viable and
effective. I am constantly reminded of the anti-access (radical
environmental groups) slogan "think globally; act locally." They
have got it figured out. They preach keeping the big picture in mind
while taking baby steps locally towards achieving the big picture. It
works!
Making Swiss Cheese
In large business corporations and management, there's a concept called the "Swiss
Cheese" approach. Swiss cheese has a lot of holes in it to make the
cheese what it is. When a manager faces a tremendously complex task, the
Swiss cheese approach is to make one hole at a time until you have your block
of cheese done. In other words, like a long hike in the backcountry,
it's just one step at a time until you reach your destination.
This is where the local level involvement is so significant. If we're all
taking baby steps, punching holes in the big block of Swiss cheese, eventually,
we'll achieve the big picture – responsible and sustainable motorized access
for all!
It starts with your local club or group. It begins with a few folks
deciding to get past personalities and get something done for the greater
good. It starts with not letting someone else control your feelings about
your sport or club.