Posts Tagged: Social Media

Nick
Original post
Marketing / Social Networks — 16 Comments
4
May 11

Is Engagement the Answer or the Question?

As Student Affairs (or in my case Student Life) professionals, one of the key metrics by which we measure ourselves is the level of “engagement” with our students – how they engage with our programs, services and campus in general. We’re constantly trying to find ways to involve our students and encourage them to use our services and come to our events – to share knowledge and build community and, well, engage.

We’re constantly asking how we can engage with our students more. In fact, we ask it so routinely that when I hear it, part of me shudders a little.

As I look across the landscape of channels in which we push out to communicate and engage with our students (walk-in appointments, events, individual counseling sessions, workshops, infosessions, posters, TV screens, flyers, postcards, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, Foursquare check-ins, blogs, vlogs, text messages, websites and email – lots and lots of email) I’m often left wondering: in what way are we not engaging with them?

We communicate and engage with them through pretty much every imaginable pathway, yet we still believe we’re not engaging with students and they’re not engaging with us as they should.

This brings up the next question: in what way are we expecting engagement? At what point will we believe students have engaged? Is this possible?

What do you think?

Are we over communicating with our students? Are we asking them to be too engaged? At what point will we feel we have successfully met that engagement threshold or are we truly asking the wrong question?

Nick Simonton manages the marketing and communications for Student Life and the Career Center at the University of Washington.

Eric
Original post
Technology and Programming — 16 Comments
30
Apr 11

Social Media and the SSAO

Social Media and the Senior Student Affairs Officer (SSAO)
Educate, Engage, and Energize Students

With the rapid growth of social media and accompanying surge in online activity, particularly among university and college students, student affairs staff are using the latest technologies to engage students and forge stronger ties to programs, services, and events. Increasingly, senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) are building their own communities and initiating important conversations through a variety of social media sites. This article provides an overview of social media and how it can help student affairs make and keep vital connections.

Facebook, with more than 500 million users, is the most-used social media site. Twitter, the 140-character microblogging site, has become an important communications tool within higher education. Other widely used social media sites and tools include: wikis, LinkedIn, Flickr, Delicious, and YouTube. This article focuses on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, which currently hold the greatest value for SSAOs who are diving into the social media sphere. Successful navigation of social media can take time, patience, and an understanding that in most cases you must “use it” to “get it.” Continue reading →

Ed
Original post
Uncategorized — No Comments
22
Mar 11

Twitter: My Relationship Builder

Picture of the Twitter bird and a birthday cake



This post is part of BSU’s BlogFest during the 2011 BSU Social Media Week festivities.   Today’s writing prompt: “What role does technology play to help or hinder relationships?”

Five years ago, Twitter was born, and I had no idea how much it would change my life, both professionally and personally. If you told me this two years ago when I first joined the Twitter community, I would have said you were crazy.  But as many of you know, Twitter as been a transformative force in my life and helped me build so many meaningful relationships I would have otherwise not been privileged to.

When I read the prompt, my answer depends on how you use “technology.”  It can hinder relationships if there is no balance with it in your life and I have certainly had my share of challenges in this area.  I rarely look at things as an “either / or”, I am more of a “both / and” type of thinker.  For a long time, I saw the use of technology, like Twitter, as either “on it” or “off it”, mainly because I did not fully understand it’s purpose in my life.  This caused a lot of unbalance and unnecessary stress, because like many things I do, I want to be the best at it so I can teach others with confidence (this comes from my parents.)  So I was on Twitter ALL THE TIME, to learn everything I could.  But recently, I have changed a bit, and embraced Twitter with a “both / and” approach.   Like my email and voicemail, I check in on Twitter when I have the chance and mainly to respond to mentions and DM’s, and to RT good content.  I no longer try to keep up with everything (because I simply can’t), knowing that my Twitter community will RT the good stuff anyway.  I have seen myself move further away from Facebook and frankly, would disconnect my account today, if it weren’t for the work I do in Higher Education to try and build learning communities.

As I think about Twitter as a relationship builder, it really matters how you spend your time there.  I love meeting new people, helping out where I can, and connecting them with others I know.  Those are big reason why I am on Twitter.  If you choose to be part of it, you may for a variety of reasons.  If you do, I have a few pieces of advice, especially for our Bridgewater State students:

1.  Have a purpose. Are you looking to network? Meet new people? Grow current relationships?  Whatever it is, understand that Twitter is an INFORMATION NETWORK that can be social at times… it is NOT a social network by definition.  Thus, you must have a clear purpose to joining Twitter or you simply won’t get it.
2.  Fill in all your information, please. I see so many people / brands who don’t fill in their information, including a current/accurate picture, website (use your LinkedIn or Facebook URL if you don’t have your own site), and who they are / what they do.  How can I trust your content when I can’t read ANY info on you.  The first step in getting me to follow you is to have this information complete and accurate.
3. It takes time to build relationships. Be patient as you develop your online identity.  Listen more than you tweet initially, but when you feel comfortable, get to know your community members one tweet a time.

Technology has certainly been a relationship builder and it can be for you if you want it to be.  If your main technology is a mobile phone, laptop, iPad, etc., be mindful of how you use it and know that its OK to unplug once in a while.  I will certainly be doing more that this summer.

Happy fifth birthday Twitter :-)

What technology is your relationship builder or hinderer? What have been your habits and do you need to reevaluate how you use it?

Ed
Original post
Uncategorized — No Comments
18
Mar 11

South by Amazing: My 2011 SXSW Story

Post image for South by Amazing: My 2011 SXSW Story



(Before reading this post, if you want to know more about why I went to this conference and who sent me there, check out my previous SXSW post.  If you want to know more about SXSW’s history, read this.)

There is nothing I can write that will ever describe what I experienced at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) in Austin, TX last week. Many of you have tweeted, emailed, etc. and asked what the experience was like so I hope this helps paint a clear picture of my time in south.

Build Up / Arrival to Austin
Leading up to last weekend, I spent some time reading the blogosphere for advice and an overall sense on what to expect.  This was the first time I would be at a conference outside of Higher Education and I was traveling by myself as well.  To help quell some nerves, I attended a “Boston in Austin” meetup to get to know some of the people who were headed down and to get their sense of what SXSW was all about. Everyone there was so gracious and nice, it gave me a glimpse of what was to come.

Arriving in Austin was a breeze. I was a little concerned because when your event has over 20,000 delegates, you might expect some hiccups, but not at SXSW! I got to my hotel, checked-in there, and was able to register at the Austin Convention Center and get my coveted SXSW badge without any problems.  Now, as many of you who have been to Higher Education conferences know, you typically will take your badge off at the end of the day before going out, but not there! At SXSW, it is common to wear your badge EVERYWHERE at night since it gets you into many of the bars, restaurants, and clubs hosting SXSW related events.  I put the badge on and began my SXSW adventure.

Unbelievable Networking Opportunities
I realized quickly why people paid the money to be here every year: power networking.  Deep down, I just couldn’t believe that everyone was going to be as nice to me as the folks in Boston were… but they were. Every single person I met was unbelievably nice, willing to chat, help, and be a connector.  It made perfect sense… you just never knew who you were talking to so you always had to have your best foot forward.  Everyone I talked to had an interest in Higher Education and were willing to listen, lend ideas, and connect me with those that could help and amplify our stories.  Where else could I have had one on one conversations with Meredith Artley, Managing Editor of CNN.com; Baratunde Thurston, Director of Digital at TheOnion.com; Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable.com; and Sean Ammirati, Chief Operating Officer of Read Write Web?  Oh, and for fun, I got to hang out with Romany Malco, and be in the same spaces with other stars like Rainn Wilson, Dane Cook, and Conan O’Brian just to name a few!

I also connected with some fantastic folks who work in Higher Education at an “EDU” meetup, at educational sessions, and at night while out and about.  Key folks I met were Cynde Fleagle from Penn State University; Sue Beckingham from the UK ; Ellie Lovell from University of Warwick, UK; Lori Packer from the University of Rochester; and John Hill and Leigh Graves Wolf from Michigan State University.  All were extremely insightful and gave me key insights that will help move some of my technology ideas forward in Student Affairs.

Of course, getting the Student Affairs community together at SXSW was amazing.  Meeting folks in person for the first time like Marlena Ballard, Pete Pereira, Lynne Ellison, Laura Lambeth, Laura Pasquini, Julie Larsen, and Brad Popiolek was not only fantastic, but also would have made Tom Krieglstein and Debra Sanborn proud knowing what they created in the Student Affairs Collaborative still growing strong at events outside of higher education!

Finally, spending some serious time with Rey Junco and Liz Gross was a major highlight. We shared perspectives on many things in Higher Education, technology, etc. I was inspired to hear about Liz’s research interests and know she has a great mentor in Rey as she goes through her doctoral journey.  It was a real treat to see Rey impress A LOT of people while he presented his research and findings. His work is instrumental in my work as a Higher Education administrator and practitioner.  As we continue to see shifts in communication with our students at the University level, we all need to be tuned in to Rey’s work.  If you haven’t read his stuff yet, you really should.

Educational Sessions
Here are a list of sessions that I was present at or listened-in on/followed up with the speakers on (with a future post dedicated to what I got out of each of these sessions)

- “No Child Left Behind – Mobile Tech Meets Education” – #MobNCLI
- “The Potential For Augmented Reality for Education” - #EduAR
- “Offline America, Why We Have A Digital Divide” – #digdiv
- “Demystifying Online Privacy and Empowering the Digital Self” – #digitalself
- “Using Twitter to Improve Student Engagement” – #twesearch
- “Tech Power to the People: Digital Community Engagement”
-  “Keynote: Seth Priebatsch” – #gamelayer
- “Measuring Social Media – Let’s Get Serious” – #smAroi
- “The Science of Influence” – (Ogilvy Note)
- “The Art of Enchantment” – #enchantment
-  ”Method Tweeting (for Non-Profits and other Players)” – #methodtweet
-  ”Online Reputation, in and around Contexts” – #repinctx

Finally, one of the coolest things I saw as part of the educational process was the staff from Ogilvy and other conference attendees who createed beautiful “notes”, by way of creative images, of many of the talks given.  Here is just one amazing example from the sesson: “Tweeting on Weekends: Are we becoming socially anti-social?” – #overtweeting:

Imagine having some of our association talks presented to us in this timeless format?  Unbelievably stunning, creative and thought-provoking, even if you weren’t in the session.  To view more of these amazing images, visit http://ogilvynotes.com/ and prepare to be astonished.  The RSA Organization in the UK does this also and has some YouTube clips out there as well.

Services To Know About (again, with a future post going through in more detail what I think about all of these!)
Leximancer - (Mentioned during Rey Junco’s talk, it is a tweet content analyzer!)
Radian 6, ViralHeat, Swix (Paid Social Media Analytics Services)
SlideRocket (Awesome presentation software. Closest thing to Keynote that I’ve seen online!)
TechSmith Corporation (makers of Jing and Camtasia) (Fantastic screen capture software)
Min.us (A sharing aggregator that I really liked and will start using)
Animoto (While I’ve been using them for a while, they are a great/easy way to make short films using current photos and video clips!)

Gadgets
If you are into gadgets like me, the only things that caught my eye were the iPad 2 and the Asus EEE Slate. If you already have the iPad, I don’t think it is worth upgrading, unless you have a need for video chatting regularly.  Yes, its thinner, slightly faster, and extremely light, however, it is not yet worth upgrading.  If you don’t have an iPad yet, and want one for casual productivity, then go for it :-)

As for the Asus EEE Slate, take a look at my quick video review:

 

Wrap Up
Overall, it was one of the best professional / personal development opportunities I have had in recent memory.  It is a no-brainer why due to my passion and interest in technology and since Higher Education conferences aren’t known for their innovative education in this area, I was able to go to a place where I was not the one teaching, but learning.  In hindsight, the best thing I did was travel by myself to experience as much as I could, but still have familiar faces like Rey and Liz to share in the experience with me.  The pictures, videos, and tweets just don’t do it justice!

If you have the same passion and interest in technology that I have, I invite you to join me next year (assuming that it isn’t the same time as the ACUI 2012 Conference in Boston) at SXSW Interactive 2012!

You have to see it to believe it :-)

What questions do you have about my South by Southwest Interactive experiences? If you went to SXSW this year, was your experience as good as mine?

Eric
Original post
Uncategorized — No Comments
20
Feb 11

3 social media apps for listening / engaging

I’ve been testing out 3 web-based social media apps. Built to leverage the API’s of sites like Twitter and Facebook, these apps are web-based and can be accessed from any net enabled computer. TweetDeck (Chrome only), HootSuite, and Seesmic are all amazing in terms of functionality. I tested them all out using Google’s Chrome browser. This was mostly due to the fact that TweetDeck is only available as a web app via Chrome.

Aesthetically speaking, I really like the look and feel of Seesmic. It’s been my favorite Twitter app on Android and the web-based version doesn’t disappoint. It’s feature-rich and integrates the following social media services: Twitter, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Facebook, and LinkedIn. TweetDeck works almost as well as the desktop version. HootSuite has long been a popular alternative to TweetDeck. However, I find it’s interface to be less intuitive and quite a bit more “clunky” than Seesmic or TweetDeck. The API connection that TweetDeck leverages in Chrome is impressive. Tweets stream into your web browser almost as fast as they are posted. This makes it very easy to participate in Twitter-based chats using “ChromeDeck.”

In terms of social media listening / engaging, I would recommend that you try out all 3 apps to determine which one works best for you. I’ve been using TweetDeck in Chrome for fast-paced Twitter chats and Seesmic works really well in Firefox. HootSuite offers up a paid, Pro service for folks who want access to a larger feature set. It will be interesting to see how these app providers can continue to provide such amazing apps while at the same time covering their operating costs. While these apps are certainly not as powerful as the social media listening stations that Gatorade and Dell launched last year, I’m certain that you can do quite a bit with a browser, a connection to the Internet, and one of these web-based social media apps.

Which of these 3 apps do you use? Do you use something else?

Hootsuite – (Works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome)
HootSuite on Chrome

Seesmic – (Works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome)
Seesmic on Chrome

TweetDeck – (Chrome browser)
TweetDeck on Chrome

Scott
Original post
Books / Marketing / Online Tools / Social Networks — 9 Comments
5
Jan 11

Content Rules (Social Media Book Review)

As a serial stalker of the “new books” section of my local library, I came across a newly published (2011) gem titled Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) and C. C. Chapman (@cc_chapman). Although the book is primarily written for entrepeneurs, the 282 page book would definitely benefit student affairs professionals and student leaders alike who are looking to develop and market educational and social program initiatives on campus.

The book is divided into four sections with 29 chapters:

  • Part One: The Content Rules – This part educates on how good online content appeals to would-be constituents as well as how to give potential readers something they find value in and keep them returning.
  • Part Two: The How-To Section – This section of the book illustrates specifics on how to develop blogs, webinars, Ebooks, videos, Podcasts, and other informational and media vehicles online.
  • Part Three: Content That Converts: Success Stories (With Ideas You Can Steal!) – There are 10 case studies of various companies that have been extremely successful at developing remarkable content for their customers, which include Hubspot, Kodak, and Boeing just to name a few.
  • Part Four: This Isn’t Goodbye – The final section (and chapter) of the book lists a 12-point checklist for how to develop remarkable content.

As the online, content marketing paradigm seems to be the hottest business model for success, I highly recommend this book to you as there are many lessons that you can utilize for success on your campus. I’ve found it to be an excellence resource that is not overly technical and is actually a fun read.

Scott M. Helfrich (@studentlifeguru) is the director of upper campus housing at California University of Pennsylvania, co-owner of Student Life Consultants, and the creator of http://www.studentlifeguru.com.

SA Team
Original post
Poll — 2 Comments
20
Sep 10

Top Ten Countdown: The Most Popular SA Collaborative Polls

From web tools to lunch breaks (or lack thereof), here are the most popular SA Collaborative polls:











Ed
Original post
Technology and Programming — 46 Comments
3
Aug 10

An Open Letter to Student Affairs Graduate Students

Graphic of the words "Learn" and "Lead" on a keyboard

August 2010

Dear “SA Grad”:

Greetings!  As many of you begin (or return) to your graduate experiences, I’ve been meaning to share something that I’ve talked about on Twitter before, but never really had a chance to flush out.  I figured, why not do it today?

As you embark on this new academic year, I believe that your graduate training in technology will be inadequate.  For most of us in Higher Ed, we’ve been playing catchup for years, and frankly, I don’t know how much longer we can do it. (Higher education, generally is the slowest to adapt to rapid change.)  We need to shift this paradigm and move in a new direction, and it starts with you, our graduate students.

You need to find time to build your skill bases in emerging educational technology and social media integration into your Student Affairs work.  It is imperative that our Student Affairs Graduate Programs begin to infuse this important pedagogy into its curriculum to keep you up to date and competitive with other job seekers out there.  How can we, in good conscience, send you out into the workforce without these skills?

If I were a Student Affairs graduate student today (or frankly any type of Student Affairs professional), here are two things I would do to build my technology knowledge base:

1.  Sign up for a Twitter account and attend the weekly #sachat each Thursday at 1pm or 7pm EST this fall.
If you still are not on Twitter, now is the time to sign up and use it.  Not only is it the best free professional development tool out there, but if used properly, it can help land you a job!  Read my “Teaching Twitter to Colleagues” post for a step-by-step guide on getting set up and using it for the first week.  Put the #sachat in your calendar as a recurring appointment and join us for our weekly online student affairs conversation!

2.  Blogs: Read Them and Start Your Own
There are so many great blogs out there, rich with information and perspective.  Besides this SA Blog, some of the best technology information I have gotten has been from the following:
- Eric Stoller – Professional/Personal Blog | Inside Higher Ed Blog: Eric is one of the best Student Affairs & Technology bloggers out there. He’s been doing this since the mid 2000′s and is simply a great resource. (@EricStoller on Twitter)
- Dr. Rey Junco: Rey is a college professor (Lock Haven University, PA) and researcher who studies how social media use affects college students. (@ReyJunco on Twitter)
- General Technology and Social Media Blogs: Read Write Web | Mashable | EDUguru Add these to your RSS Readers if you haven’t already! (@rww @mashable @eduguru on Twitter)
- BreakDrink by Jeff Jackson: Jeff does some great work centralizing all the most current news and trends in student affairs! (@breakdrink on Twitter) He also does some great podcasting work!
- Kristendom Talks Tech: Thanks to a recommendation from Brenda Bethman, I’m a fan of Kristen Abell’s stuff as well.
- My blog is OK too :-) “On the Go With Ed Cabellon” (@EdCabellon on Twitter)

I also would recommend starting your own blog, not only as a tool to share, but as a great way to reflect on your experiences!  Once you create your blog, add it our growing directory of Student Affairs blogs!

I wish you all the best as you start the new academic year.  I hope you will join our online community and be active and engaged with us!  We are here to help in anyway we can.

Sincerely,

Ed Cabellon
Director, Rondileau Campus Center
Bridgwater State University (MA)

What advice would you give new and returning Student Affairs graduate students regarding their technology training? What sources of online information would you recommend? Any other tech blogs by women you would like to recommend?

Eric
Original post
#sachat — 4 Comments
28
Jul 10

Student Affairs + Technology: IHE Recap

Career Services and Social Media: Todd really says it best ;-)

@EricStoller If there is a single Student Affairs dept that could *pwn* social media it is career services.less than a minute ago via webTodd Sanders
tsand

Let’s shift some paradigms: Introducing my new blog at Inside Higher Ed.

Challenge and Tech Support: Student Affairs practitioners and Tech Support departments…please let us be admins.

Do you YouTube? Don’t forget to add captions: Would you build a new building without an elevator? Nope… Then why would you ever create videos without captions?

George Orwell, Web Stats, and Your Site Visitors: Student Affairs + Web Stats….Nerdvana :-)

Eric
Original post
Marketing — No Comments
10
Jul 10

Blogging Student Affairs and Technology

Inside Higher Ed - blogging about student affairs and technology - Eric Stoller

I am thrilled to announce that I’m going to be blogging about Student Affairs and Technology for Inside Higher Ed (IHE). As an avid reader of IHE, I am very excited to join the IHE blogging team. I think that my posts on student affairs + technology will complement Joshua Kim’s blog on Technology and Learning.

Recently, I held a contest via Twitter to name my new blog. The incentive — a $100 Amazon gift card — courtesy of Inside Higher Ed. Several folks came up with interesting/creative blog names. I think the #SAChat Community provided the majority of ideas. Student Affairs folks are uber creative.

Here are my 3 favorite submissions:

  • Jeff Jackson: The Stoller Strikes Back, Return of the Blogosphere, Student Affairs….I am Your Blogger
  • Zack Ford: Challenge and Tech Support
  • ACUHO-I (sent via DM): Binary Code of Conduct

Choosing a winner from these 3 has been extremely challenging. Star Wars references, Sanford, and an entire Association…how cool is that?!! After more than a week of deliberate (intentional ;-) ) deliberating I have decided that the winner of the gift card is:

eric-stoller-challenge-and-tech-support

Zack Ford’s submission made me laugh. It’s subtle….and I love subtlety. The obvious nod / homage to Nevitt Sanford warms the heart. Challenge and Support is one of my all-time favorite, and oft-used, student development theories.

It should be noted that Julie Larsen was correct…the official name of my new blog is going to be: Student Affairs and Technology. The name needed to be something that would be simple enough that any IHE reader would know exactly what it was about. The blog also needed to be search engine friendly…”Students Affairs + Technology” is simple and searchable.

Stay tuned for my first official post on Inside Higher Ed!

Honorable mention:

Julie P-Kirchmeier: Stoller: Resistance is Futile

Niki Rudolph: Epic Stoller

Justine Carpenter: Tech Tips for SAPs

Christopher Conzen: The Stoller Coaster

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