For some 36 years, the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In has run on aviation fuel, enthusiasm and wings — but another mode of operation played a stronger role than ever this year: Social media…
The face of aviation has changed with social media overall, said Rod Rakic, whose company, mytransponder.com, connects aviation buffs with various tools. Rakic said the storm was terrifying, and social media helped many share information and get through it the best they could.
“Aviation has always been a very connected community, and social media has really enhanced that,” Rakic said. “Networking has always happened in aviation. Folks have always wanted to talk about what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with. Aviators like to share.”
The Ledger.com: Sun ‘n Fun Made Use of Social Media This Year
Trending on Twitter after the storm.
:: Since we launched myTransponder in 2007, we’ve had a blast bringing social media, and social technologies to the aviation community. Some air show organizers have been on the leading edge of using these technologies to promote their shows and enhance the experience. …and some aren’t.
We connected to the Ledger’s Mary Toothman [@MaryToothman on twitter, MaryToothman on #myT] via Twitter during the show. It was great to be included in the newspaper piece today.
The one constant I’ve seen is the community of aviation social media is always on. This year at #SnF11, the community operated pretty much independently of the social media team that SUN ‘n FUN organizers had hired to promote / cover the event. It was cool to briefly meet their team leader at Saturday’s dawn balloon launch. But this was by chance. I wish would have done more to coordinate. We always try to reach out. We’re not always successful.
Whether it was in the aftermath of Thursday’s storm, or during the fabulous few days of spectacular weather that followed, folks following along via social media channels definitely got the most out of this year’s show.
