Now that you have your bees all tucked in for the long Michigan winter, it’s time to get online and broaden your beekeeping horizons by learning from others, and also sharing what you’ve learned during the past season. In this talk we will survey some of the top beekeeping related destinations online, including the MBA’s brand new website! We will also provide a short tutorial on how you can easily create a professional beekeeping website to promote your own beekeeping hobby or business and grow your online beekeeping network via social media integration.

1. Beekeeping
Online!
Jonathan R. Engelsma, Ph.D.

2. Today’s Agenda
Ten helpful online beekeeping resources.
Establishing your own online digital
beekeeping outpost!

3. About Me ...
First started keeping bees
in 1984 as a high school
student (the pre-mite era!)
Currently an Associate
Prof of Computer Science
@ GVSU (and a hobby
beekeeper.)

4. Spring is almost here!
Congratulations: Your bees
successfully wintered. You’re
thinking about feeding bees...
What to do while waiting for
that bee candy to finish
cooking?
Grab some coffee &
snuggle up with your
computer!

5. 10 Online Beekeeping
Resources
Some things to note:
There are many good online
resources for beekeeping!
I may have missed some
really good ones ...
Don’t leave your own
intuition/experience at the
door!

6. #10: honey.com
National Honey Board’s
website:
Great source of
technical info on
honey and its benefits.
Honey related recipes.
Applicability: Good place to glean info that
is helpful when marketing your honey crop!
Site: http://www.honey.com

7. #9: Year in the Life of
an Apiary (videos)
Videos tutorials featuring
Dr. Keith Delaplane:
Excellent introduction to
all aspects of beekeeping.
A bit dated (1993!) when
it comes to treatment.
Applicability: Excellent and enjoyable source
of info if you are new to beekeeping.
Site: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLED6CFDDDE817B963

8. #8: Supplier E-Newsletters
A number of beekeeping
equipment suppliers have
started excellent e-newsletters:
Seasonable how-to info.
Learn about good deals!
Subscribe and it lands in
your mailbox automatically!
Site: (Google is your friend)

9. #7: bushfarms.com
Michael Bush’s Website
A leading proponent of
treatment free
beekeeping.
Lot’s of good practical
beekeeping info, though
unconventional at times.
Applicability: If you are interested in treatment-
free beekeeping read Michael Bush’s articles.
Site: http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

10. #6: Local Bee Club Sites
Visit your local beekeeping
club’s website:
Find a complete list of
these sites on the new
MBA site! (link below).
Applicability: Find out and get involved in
beekeeping happenings in your neck of the woods.
Site: http://www.michiganbees.org/about/clubs/

11. #5: Amazon Kindle Store
Go digital with your
beekeeping reads:
E-books are slightly
cheaper then print
editions.
Save the trees.
Instant gratification.
Kindle reader device recommended but not
required!
Site: http://www.kindle.com

12. #4: Cornell Beekeeping
Collection
Dusty Old Beekeeping
Books & Journals Online
First 40 years of the
American Bee Journal.
30+ out of copyright
beekeeping tomes.
Full text searching!
Applicability: Treasure trove of free historical
beekeeping lore for the serious beekeeper.
Site: http://bees.library.cornell.edu

13. #3: scientificbeekeeping.com
Randy Oliver’s Website
Many scientific articles
on bees.
Mostly articles readable
by the average lay
person.
Applicability: Especially useful if you are trying
to get your mind around treatment & sick bees!
Site: http://scientificbeekeeping.com/

14. #2: beesource.com
Bee Source Forums
Largest most active online
beekeeping community.
Hobby & commercial
beekeepers.
Search before posting!
Applicability: Useful site to research specific questions,
help others, or just connect with other beekeepers.
Site: http://www.beesource.com

15. #1: michiganbees.org
MBA’s New Website!
The online “hub” for all
Michigan Beekeepers.
Links to local bee clubs and
more!
Up-to-date news postings.
Applicability: Important resource for Michigan
beekeepers and beyond!
Site: http://www.michiganbees.org

16. Establishing
your own
online digital
beekeeping
outpost!

17. Why create a
beekeeping website?
Share your beekeeping
experiences with other
beekeepers.
Raise visibility about the plight
of the honeybee.
Be a beekeeping evangelist (e.g.
introduce others to beekeeping.)
Promotional purposes.

18. Creating your
beekeeping website
Your options are:
Hire somebody to
do it for you.
DIY - (the
beekeeper’s way of
life!)

19. Do it right!!
Use a modern Content
Management System (CMS):
Software that makes it easy
to create/maintain a
website.
Let’s you (or even your
chimp) get the job done
without having to be a web
designer or programming
genius!

20. WordPress is highly recommended as a CMS.
A free open source publishing platform.
Started as a blogging tool, but now is the
most popular CMS on the Internet today.
Separates stylistic elements (look & feel)
from site content: makes it easy to refresh
your site (WordPress themes).
Widgets/Plugins: makes it easy to
customize.

21. Setting up your website
A simple three step roadmap to follow:
1. Sign up for a web hosting solution that fits your budget.
2. Select/configure a WordPress theme that suits your
tastes.
3. Enter/maintain your website content.

22. WordPress Hosting
Get started free at
wordpress.com.
Premium accounts:
get extra storage
use your own domain
ad free!

23. WordPress Hosting
There are many
inexpensive WordPress
hosting providers:
hostmonster.com
bluehost.com
dreamhost.com
hostgator.com

24. WordPress Themes
Think of the WordPress theme
as your website’s “skin”.
Lot’s of free and inexpensive
themes.
Easy to switch to a new theme
in the future.

25. WordPress Themes

26. Be sure to
setup a nice
mobile theme!

27. Creating Web Content
WYSIWYG
content
editing

28. Creating Web Content
Pages = static content

29. Creating Web Content
Posts = periodic updates

30. Creating Web Content
Social Media
integration is a
great way to
drive traffic to
your new
website!

31. Free Online Tutorial!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL97F549AEC78F2EEB

32. Summary
Don’t get bored during the
beekeeping off season!
Grab a cup of coffee and
join beekeepers from
around the world online!
Take some time to
establish your own online
beekeeping outpost!

33. Any Questions?
Jonathan Engelsma’s Contact Info:
email: jengelsma@gmail.com
web: http://hudsonvillehoney.com
twitter.com/honeyandcandles
Like us! /hudsonvillehoney