Comments on: Integrated Social Media: Good Enough for President Elect, Good Enough for Your University

By: Ricardo Bueno

Ricardo Bueno — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:03:12 +0000

Hi Jessica,

[Note: we haven't met before...this is my first time here.]

Anyway, I’ve reached out to some Graduate Student Associations at UCLA. Most of them were stand-offish about meeting with me to discuss social media. I think they thought I was selling them something. But two groups gladly met up with me. I agreed to build a blog and integrate various social media tools into it… Overall build a brand and web presence around their organization using a blog.

i have to tell ya, it wasn’t an easy accomplishment. It’s been ten weeks and I’ve been hit with much resistance! Like A Lot! I agreed to do it for free in return for access to all events and free membership. And I still received resistance.

Some people won’t get it as readily as others. It took building the site and launching it and saying: “See! Look. Check it out!” A lot of people liked it, and then the resistance still came up. The site ranks #1 on Google and still, resistance.

I’ll continue to promote the use of blogs and other social media tools to student groups as I think that there’s a major benefit there. But it’s going to be a challenge. I mean, I’m up for it of course! Which is good. But I know I’m going to have my work cut out for me too.

By: mpstaton

mpstaton — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:07:48 +0000

when i talked to the folks at AMA08 over lunch, I kept on hearing “Our University President pulled me aside and said ‘I want you to do what Obama did using the internet for our campus’” So, I think Obama has inspired many organizations to go out and “throw spaghetti against the wall.”

The silly thing is, and always is from my perspective, the amount of consensus and clearance people need to do anything in higher ed. Just give somebody a task and empower them to do it! Asking people in higher ed to get on Facebook gets them excited but sometimes they act as if I’ve asked them the legal equivalent of sponsoring and underage keg party. Luckily, more and more are saying, “let’s get this going as soon as possible.”

By: Paul Redfern

Paul Redfern — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:50:35 +0000

Great post – and you are correct Todd our chancellors/presidents will be demanding this in the future! or at least they should be.

By: flipgonzo

flipgonzo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:50:38 +0000

I am a CIO at a college in MD. I take the ‘al dente spaghetti’ approach. Throw it at the wall and see what sticks. I am an avid user of and an advocate for SM.
There are numerous advantages for universities and colleges to implement and encourage a variety of SM tools for the benefit of the institution and the students. Hey, the students and some progressive faculty will use them regardless. So let’s forge ahead. How to do that?
You need to participate in leadership activities: get promoted into decision making positions, start or join committees (remember higher ed is herding cats), engage the students to start formal user groups to address, establish emerging technology groups among faculty – use the very SM tools you want to promote as a vehicle for these groups to organize, etc. etc. etc. Most of all: be creative and daring.

I recognize I am some colleagues are currently in the minority of SM users in the executive ranks. I want that to change. Even among my fellow VPs there is a lack of understanding and valued use for SM.

There are a few caveats. As an advocate for use I am also an advocate for responsible use. This carries the burden of educator and sometimes ’social’ guardian. Training for all users (students, faculty, staff) in the proper etiquette, laws and school policy must be necessary.

Enjoy the ride.

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:49:42 +0000

The weekly YouTube vid is awesome. Can’t wait until university chancellors/presidents are demanding this stuff now that THE president is doing it!

By: Seth

Seth — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:25:32 +0000

Great post!

I wrote something similar a couple weeks ago about what higher ed can learn from the obama campaign, mostly directed at donor relations and continued communication. (http://sethodell.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-higher-education-can-learn-from.html)

New media played an integral role in the Obama campaign and, in many ways, can be directly linked to the campaign’s success. Efforts by the likes of David Axelrod have shown us that big organizations can, and must, allow our audience to interact with our message and make it their own. Will it mean letting go of some of the control? Sure, but look at the success of the Obama campaign and tell me it’s not worth it.