As new president of the Sumter Landing Republican Club, Villager and Community Development District 8 supervisor Joe Elliot wasted no time introducing the club to some new and exciting concepts.
Elliott, who had been serving as the group’s vice president, ascended to the presidency following the resignation of Ron McMahon and addressed the Sumter Landing Republican Club and the Villages Republican Club of Sumter County Thursday night with a special presentation on social media.
Elliot, along with co-presenters Gary Davis and Paul Rabenold, introduced club members to popular social media juggernauts Facebook and Twitter. The group informed members of the basics of using the programs, and addressed security concerns that many unfamiliar with the websites tend to gravitate towards. In particular, multiple members voiced concerns over privacy and what would and would not be seen by the public.
Rabenold, who has decades of experience in computing and software, assured members that there are countless settings that enable users to set their preferred privacy settings. These settings limit or eliminate the ability of others who are not “friends” to see a user’s information, pictures, and posts.
Davis gave a demonstration of Twitter and the effectiveness of following different political figures and organizations. He suggested that Twitter is a great way to keep track of current events and political happenings.
The group urged members to sign up for profiles on both services and indicated that there would be an additional class on April 13 at Laurel Manor to introduce members to some of the features of both websites.