Knowing the way of snail mail, it’s a safe bet that few family members this week will receive postcards with the Columbus skyline reflected on the Scioto River at dusk.

Instead, those who aren’t able to attend Convention 2009 can refer to the nearly 15 pages of tweets from Mennonite Church USA. Followers can view up-to-the-second news about events and access links to photos and articles. New tweets are added several times an hour.

Tim Blaum, communications intern for Mennonite Church USA, plays a key part in developing new ways to reach a broader convention audience. Twitter and Facebook seemed like an easily accessible way for the public to follow along, he said.

Blaum aims to update Twitter almost hourly with links to photos on Facebook, reminders about big events, videos posted on YouTube and any other special happenings related to the convention, all in 140 words or less.

Different from just posting photos on the Mennonite Church USA Web site, posting photos on Facebook or links on Twitter allows viewers to respond and interact to the content, as well as upload their own photos. Blaum said many people arrive in Columbus as active participants with Facebook and Twitter.

As of Wednesday, there were 202 followers of Mennonite Church USA on Twitter, and 876 fans on Facebook.  Ideally, Blaum said, Twitter will be used even after the convention is over as a way to keep people involved. At the same time, he noted the importance of not being excessive in posting information.

Representatives for The Mennonite are also involved with Twitter. Anna Groff, assistant editor of the magazine, often posts links to articles she is currently working on, and sees Twitter as a way to interact with readers, receive feedback and build a source base.

Groff began using Twitter about two months ago, so she already had a substantial number of followers — 150 — when she arrived at convention. Although she represents the Mennonite publication, her supervisers do not read over anything she posts, and readers know that it is Groff’s voice being presented.

Twitter “meets the readers’ desires to know what’s going on as it’s happening,” said Groff.

The Mennonite also has a Facebook page, with over 200 fans. Groff explained that using these social networking tools shows that the magazine is willing to experiment, and be open to new forms of communication.

There are also a few youth groups at convention who are tweeting and blogging about their convention experiences.

The youth group from Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pa., is trying to post at least two tweets a day, as well as write a blog.

Joe Hackman, the youth pastor at Salford, explained it as a way to make the church back home feel connected to the youth in Columbus.

“The kids’ parents are interested in what the youth are doing,” said Hackman. “This is just another way to communicate with them.”

There are about 20 people following the youth on Twitter. Hackman said he realized that not everyone will want to read about what the youth are up to; he is just making the information available for those who are interested.

The blog offers another way to share what they’re experiencing.

“Writing in a blog is more reflective and intentional than just having a conversation over the phone,” said Hackman. “It sharpens their focus, knowing that people will be reading what they write.”

Contrary to some perceptions that mostly young people are interested in social networking, according to Lonnie Miller, a professor at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, the fastest-growing demographic of Facebook users are those 35 and older. He presented a seminar entitled “A conversation about our tools: A dialogue on our Facebook, YouTube and text messaging world.”

Groff said she would consider the majority of her followers to be around the age of 40, or older.  Hackman also mentioned that some Salford followers (not including parents) are in their 70s.