DEATH VALLEY AREA AND PARK NEVER DISAPPOINT
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.
Career photojournalist, adventurer, outdoorsman, four-wheeler, author, and defender of outdoor recreational access. BFGoodrich Tires Ambassador. IG:jeepndel; FB:LanduseDel; MENU and SEARCH below. 👀
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.
2023 LANDUSE AND ACCESS OUTLOOK
By Del Albright, ASA Social Media Manager, Supporter
Where will we be riding and exploring this new year? What
effect will our recent political history have on our access to public lands and
dunes? Are we going to see changes in our favorite duning areas? Allow me to
give you some insight.
The mess we call 2020 is now mostly hindsight, with 2021
and 2022 rough but better years. But our riding, exploring, and adventures for 2023
are not by any means guaranteed.
The Administration’s policy changes, as is usual in a
democracy, have flooded the world we live in. However, federal and state
agencies are adapting to the “new” normal just like they did a few years ago
with other agency/administration changes. Still, access to our public lands and
dunes is tenuous at best.
Land closures and restrictions will get headlines in almost
all states, especially in the west. New Monuments, new Wilderness, new Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), new this and new that. I predict we will
not be able to keep up with the pages of reading to review and comment.
In 2022 the environmental movement worked with the
Administration to orchestrate the 30 x 30 America the Beautiful initiative –
proposing to conserve (some say lock up) 30% of America by 2030. Right now,
about 12% of our American lands and waterways are “conserved” or protected
(locked up). ASA is watching this one closely!
Then we can throw in the many things that distract us
daily. Gun rights will be highlighted and in the news a lot. How our kids are
taught in school (or should I say brainwashed) will bug parents daily. The war
over “American-made” or foreign-made will hit the top of the charts. Insurance,
bills, trying to recover from the pandemic, and many other financial bites will
nibble at us all year.
So what?
So, what does this mean? Does it mean you probably aren’t
thinking much about keeping dunes open or saving our sports? And does it
suggest that this trend of not joining clubs and associations is the
easier way to do things – virtually, if at all?
WRONG! I can’t say that strongly enough. If we do not
unite, speak up, stay engaged, stay tuned into what is happening with our
trails, and FIGHT BACK, we will end up parking our rigs in the garage to look
at a few times a year. We cannot just be virtual, and we cannot let daily
distractions numb us into apathy.
Exactly what do we do?
JOIN: Get your joining back on! Join
ASA and your state and regional associations/organizations. They need our
membership dues to make a difference and do what dedicated, knowledgeable riders
MUST do.
Sure, if you want to stay with your virtual group, ok.
But do not make that your go-to. Virtual groups do not go to state capitals or
Washington, DC, to fight for us (unless I missed something). But, on the other
hand, brick-and-mortar groups do show up where it counts – in person, face to
face.
DONATE: Send somebody some
gas money! Donate to a group so they can send someone to those meetings where
decisions are made about YOUR trails. Buy raffle tickets to organization raffle
vehicles. If we are not at the tables, ALL of them, the head of the table will
make decisions without us and not necessarily in our favor.
VOLUNTEER: Put a trash bag to
work in your favorite duning area! Donate your time and volunteer to help keep dunes
open. Help your association/groups on a project that needs time and effort
(strong backs). Show up! Yes, I’ll be trite – the world is run by those who
show up.
BUY SMART: Support businesses
that support our sport. Buy from those outfits who do something for land use,
such as donating to raffles, joining associations as a business, and
contributing in some way to keep dunes open or helping a club doing just that.
Join, donate, volunteer, and buy smart. If
you start doing those things with all your heart and ability, we can turn the
tide in 2023 into a year we can be proud of and keep our right to ride alive
and well.
START by joining (or renewing your membership in) the American
Sand Association here: https://americansandassociation.org