Cory Churches is a Communications Specialist with the Office of Public Affairs at the International Trade Administration
Social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and this blog you’re reading now have become as ubiquitous as email, the Internet, and mobile devices. And these channels collectively connect us to all of you and you to one another.
Nearly three years ago, we launched this blog (April 23, 2009 to be exact) and our Twitter feed @TradeGov followed soon after. Our Facebook page http://facebook.com/tradegov took a bit more time to launch but now has 3,000 fans. 
This week we achieved some milestones in our social media networks, reaching 5,000 followers and 1,000 tweets on Twitter, and nearly 300 entries on our blog with more than 1,200 comments. And just today we converted our Facebook page to timeline. Check it out!
Much of the information contained within our blog Tradeology comes from around the globe, written by Commercial Service officers serving in Manila, Philippines or in Fargo, North Dakota. We’ve covered major events such as the U.S. hosting of APEC in 2011 and the launch of the National Export Initiative as well as the Paris Air Show, and Pow Wow, travel and tourism’s largest global trade event.
Some of our best stories have been about clients and the success stories they’ve shared with us. These first person accounts of small and large businesses finding success in exporting show both the breadth of businesses going abroad and the depth of government services that support them in their endeavors.
Moving forward you will see more interaction from our office as well as from our Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez who recently launched his own Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/TradeUnderSecretary.
We are looking forward to continuing the conversation we’ve started with you and enjoy your comments and feedback on our efforts to expand exporting to more businesses.
