I’ve been working on this new webinar series for some time now.
That’s why I’m very pleased today to announce that registration is now opened for “Stop the Presses: Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter” at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses
This series taking place on June 24, 25 and 26 has a great speaker line-up composed of 3 online magazine editors (all with a background in print) from the University of Michigan, Ithaca College and Duke University.
This 3-webinar series will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications.
It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.
Stop the Presses: Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter
June 24, 25 & 26, 2008
Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital
June 24, 2008 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 1st, 2008 1PM-2PM ET
John Lofy, Editor of Michigan Today, will explain why and how his 40-year old alum magazine took the paperless route by switching to a web magazine combined with an email newsletter. He will share lessons learned, practical tips and advice to prepare and survive this major change.
Paper and Pixels 101
June 25, 2008 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 2, 2008 1PM-2PM ET
Bonny Griffith, Editor of Fuse at Ithaca College, will tell you why and how her 1-year old hybrid print and digital magazine helped her institution reach prospective students. She will also share some winning strategies to integrate and optimize efforts using both media.
The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine
June 26, 2008 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: July 3, 2008 1PM-2PM ET
Karl L. Bates, Manager of Research Communications and Editor of Duke Research will explain what it means to go from print to digital for writers and editors. He will share practical tips, winning strategies and useful pointers to write and edit a multimedia, digital and paperless magazine.
Places are limited, so don’t delay too much if you are interested in this series. You can register online at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses
And, if you have any questions, just email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com.
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Posted in Blogs & Wikis, Higher Ed Experts, Publications, Video, Web 2.0 Best Practices | No Comments »
As you probably know if you’ve been reading this blog for some time, Facebook pages have been a late addition to the feature list of the social networking website.
Last November, Facebook pages were launched as a way to provide businesses, brands, organizations and higher ed institutions with a way to set their own profile on the network.
On Facebook, profiles have always been reserved to individuals. Some institutions learned it the hard way by having their institutional profiles taken down. Before Facebook Pages were launched, groups were the way to go for colleges and universities willing to engage their students in this space.
That’s why today your institution might have an official group on Facebook as well as a page.
Well, the good news is that you don’t have to live with this split situation any longer and you can have your group members automatically become fans of your Facebook page.
I tested the process with the Higher Ed Experts group and page, and it was really a breeze (Facebook does the work for you). The transfer was completed in about 8 hours.
Here’s what you need to do:
- You need to prove that your group and your page have the same creator/admin. Basically, Facebook will only perform the transfer if you can show that the group and the page are legit and related as explained in Facebook FAQ’s about Pages:
If you have a group that fits into one of the categories offered for Pages and you are the official representative of that artist, business, or brand, we can help you convert your group into a Page. Please fill out your request here by providing us with the URL to your current group and the URL to the Page you have created that you would like your group members and group content transferred to.
- Submit a request via this online form. Select “Pages” in the “Issue” pull-down menu on this form and include in your request the web addresses of the group and the page.
- You will receive an automated email reply acknowledging your request
- Facebook support team will then notify you by email when the process is completed
I’ve also noticed a few important things to take into consideration:
- Facebook group members (at least in my test with HEE group/page) are not removed from your group, but also become “fans” of your page - without knowing it, so you will have to notify them yourself
- While you can remove a Facebook member from your group, you can’t do the same with a Fan. So, if you want to have a tight control over the “membership” of your presence on Facebook. It might actually make more sense to stick with your group.
- In my test, the wall posts I made as the group creator/admin were transferred as well to the wall of my Page, but my icon and name were switched to the icon and name of the Page.
Anybody went through this process? Please share your experience with the rest of us by posting a comment.
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Posted in Facebook, Good Tips, Higher Ed Experts, Smart Tools, Social Networking | 3 Comments »
Yes, you’ve read my headline correctly: bloggers editing and fact checking the main media outlet covering higher education in the US.
So, what do I mean exactly?
In the past weeks, two posts from two different higher ed bloggers have questioned some of the facts reported in two different articles published by the Chronicle.
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Andy Shaindlin from Alumni Futures explained in his post “Should Universities Create Facebook-Style Social Networks?” he was interviewed and (mis)quoted for a piece published in the April 25 issue of the Chronicle and titled “Colleges Create Facebook-Style Social Networks to Reach Alumni” (subscription required):
Despite what the article claims, I swear I did not tell the reporter that “social networking is definitely hot.”
What’s kind of funny about it is that I was also contacted by the reporter who wrote this piece. He had found information about Elon University’s DIY social networking website (mentioned in the article) on my blog. Nothing funny here, you’re thinking. Actually, what’s funny about it is that I remember saying what was attributed to Andy a bit before tipping the reporter about what Carleton College (mentioned in the article) was doing.
- Then, Monday, Brian Niles from The Recruiting Revolution pointed out something a bit more troubling in his post “Chronicle Survey Summary Misleading”.
Last Friday, in a post on this blog, I shared with you my surprise and doubts about the fact that podcasts were used 3 more times than email in admissions offices as a recruiting method according to The Chronicle Survey of Undergraduate Admissions Officers (subscription required). Well, Brian went a step further and contacted the Maguire Associates, the firm that conducted the survey on the behalf of the Chronicle and here’s what he found out as explained in his blog post:
On May 2nd the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) published a summary of research done by the Maguire Associates that gave the impression that only 5% of colleges in the study utilized email as a recruiting and communication tool.
Unfortunately, this information is very misleading - in fact, grossly inaccurate.
In an email exchange with the two researchers who did the study, I was told today that the Chronicle summarized the answers provided in an open-ended “Other” option, in which some participants listed “Email” as an answer. Email was not one of the options to choose from.
I get edited and fact checked all the time by my readers (which is very good as I don’t have an editor to do that job on this blog - wait a minute, it’s because I’m the editor here ;-), and I really appreciate it.
What’s really interesting about these 2 small incidents is that they are indicative of a bigger trend.
Today, nobody (including your college, university or even you president) can expect mishaps, mistakes or even major crises to stay hidden or unnoticed for long, because millions of eye balls (or a dozen of keen observers) are “monitoring” your institution and can share what they uncover with the world on their blogs, via facebook, myspace, twitter, etc.
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Posted in Admission Office, Alum Association, Blogs & Wikis, Higher Ed Media, Media, PR & buzz, President and VPs | 4 Comments »
I don’t know about you, but there is so much going on lately that it’s really difficult to keep track of everything. So, here’s a quick update of what you need to keep in mind if you’re thinking about attending a conference or another professional development event.
- Portal 2008 at Gettysburg College, PA - June 3-6, 2008
The conference that will tell you all you ever wanted to know about portals and for a conference fee of just $100 (well, with this kind of topic, it’s not surprising that vendors are rushing to pick up most of the tab ;-)
The conference program is available online and you can also register on the Web as well. Moreover, if you’re willing to guest blog the conference for this blog, you can even get your conference registration for free. Anybody out there interested in saving $100? Email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com.
- EduComm 2008 in Las Vegas, NV - June 18-20 2008
This conference is organized by University Business. The conference program is available online and the early-bird pricing of $495 is available until this Friday - May 9.
- EduWeb in Atlantic City, NJ - July 21-23, 2008
Regular readers know that I’ll be presenting at this one (but you’ll have to stay up to the end to listen to my closing keynote speech “It’s the Community, Stupid… 7-Step Plan to Raise and Nurture any Community Online” - note to self, remember to have this presentation available as a recording ;-). Mark Greenfield from the University at Buffalo will kick off the conference with a keynote titled “It’s the End of the Web as We Know It Redux.”
You can find the conference program online and register on the Web as well. The early-bird price of $495 is available until June 1st.
- HighEdWeb 2008 in Springfield, MO - October 5-8, 2008
While it’s too early to register for this conference - registration will open June 1st, 2008. There are just ten days left to submit a presentation proposal. The deadline is May 15 and you can submit your proposal on the Web.
No travel budget this year? Don’t worry, I’ll soon announce a few webinar series I’ve been working on for Higher Ed Experts. And, if you want to stay updated about interesting events, just check out the Higher Ed Event Calendar on a regular basis.
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Posted in Conferences, EduWeb 2008, HighEdWeb, HighEdWebDev 08, Higher Ed Experts, Portal 2008 | 4 Comments »
Exactly 10.6% on Web site and other electronic formats (e.g., e-mail, text messaging) and 24.1% on printed materials (e.g., viewbooks, brochures, letters) according to The Chronicle Survey of Undergraduate Admissions Officers published in its May 2 issue.
The survey results which are only available to subscribers of the print or digital versions (but if you really want to pick and can’t find the issue on campus, you can always get a Web pass for less than $7) give a good snapshot of the state of Admissions offices in the US (.
It was completed online by 461 admissions officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia between February 26 and March 10, 2008.
Out of the 30 or so questions asked as part of this survey, I found the following one really interesting (and I’m sure you won’t be surprised by my choice).
Which of the following electronic or Web-based tools does your office actively employ in recruitment and communications?
- Admissions-office Web site 98.0%
- Virtual campus tour 56.2%
- Blogs by current students 43.6%
- Online chats 36.7%
- Instant messaging 35.8%
- Personalization of the college’s Web site according to prospect’s preferences 23.0%
- Text messaging 18.7%
- Live Webcam from one or more campus sites 17.1%
- Podcasts 15.4%
- Blogs by faculty members 6.5%
- E-mail 5.0%
- Social networking 3.9%
- Interactive features on Web site 3.5%
- Other 6.9%
- Not reported 1.5%
I was actually surprised to see that student blogs made it to the top 3 most used electronic tools. But, this is coherent with the results of another survey about social media use in Admissions conducted last year by Dr. Barnes from the Center for Marketing Research of the University of Massachussets at Dartmouth (if you want to find out more about the results of this previous survey, you can check out the recording of the free 30-minute webinar Dr. Barnes presented for Higher Ed Experts.)
And, I find hard to believe that podcasting is used 3 times more than email as a digital recruiting method. Have admissions offices just tossed email?
Can my dear readers working in Admissions offices weight in on this one?
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Posted in Admission Office, Blogs & Wikis, Marketing Strategy, Prospective Students, Research, Social Networking, Surveys & Metrics | 11 Comments »
This morning, I received two emails asking if it was still possible to register for the May 7 webinar about crisis/emergency websites presented by Mike Dame from Virginia Tech (the initial registration deadline was yesterday).
As a result, I decided to postpone the registration deadline until this Friday (May 2) at 9PM ET. If you want to learn more on why and how to design a crisis/emergency web template for your institution, this webinar will help.
Institutions registered for this series include:
- Alfred University
- Appalachian State University
- Augusta State University
- Cape Fear Community College
- Christopher Newport University
- Colorado State University
- Grant MacEwan College
- Hiram College
- Kettering University
- Lesley University
- Lynn University
- Michigan State University
- Plymouth State University
- St Norbert College
- State University of NY at New Paltz
- Texas Christian University
- Texas Tech University
- The University of Melbourne
- Univ of Tennessee Health Science Center
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- Upper Iowa University
- West Chester University
For more information and to register online, just go to www.higheredexperts.com/911website
And, if you have any problems or issues, just send me an email at karine@collegewebeditor.com
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Posted in Crisis Communication, Higher Ed Experts, PR & buzz, President and VPs, Virginia Tech Tragedy, Web 2.0 Best Practices, Web Team | No Comments »
I’ve put together a short online survey to find out if and how paid advertising and sponsorship are used in magazines and newsletters published by universities and colleges.
The results of this survey will be used for a study I’m conducting on this topic and a future article.
This online survey should take you 3 to 4 minutes. The data you provide will only be used for its statistical interest.
If you include your name and email address at the end of the survey (although this isn’t mandatory), you’ll receive an executive summary of the results highlighting some best practices, a way for me to thank you for your participation.
So, please take 3 minutes now to do this survey! I would really appreciate your help.
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Posted in Alum Association, Blogs & Wikis, Higher Ed Experts, Marketing Strategy, President and VPs, Publications, Research, Surveys & Metrics, Web advertising | No Comments »
Quick post with some “breaking news.”
The US News & World Report has just launched its Facebook application — as announced 2 months ago on this blog.
Go have a look and let us know what you think.
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Posted in Admission Office | 2 Comments »
At Virginia Tech, Mike Dame and his team have been working on this day of remembrance on the Web for a while and the result is another beautiful piece of Web design on the homepage:
A dedicated website has also been created for the event at www.remembrance.vt.edu:
.
This is how Virginia Tech remembers, how do you? Share with the rest of us by posting a comment.
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Posted in One year later, Virginia Tech Tragedy, Web 2.0 Best Practices, Web Team | 2 Comments »
Sorry for my light blogging, but I have been working on a few projects lately… and something had to give.
One of these projects is a feature-long article for the August issue of University Business (it’s due June 1st - it’s a magazine, not a blog ;-) about email outsourcing in higher education.
If you don’t have a clue about what I’m talking about you can read a previous post, From outsourcing email to outsourcing IT, I wrote after reading a very good piece about the topic written by Andy Guess from Inside Higher Ed last November.
Anyway, I’m going to interview folks from Google Apps and Live@edu (the solution offered by Microsoft) for my article, and thought you might like me to ask a couple of your questions, my dear readers.
So, if you’ve been burning to find out more about these free are-they-too-good-to-be-true email outsourcing solutions, post your questions now in the comment section or email karine@collegewebeditor.com if you prefer.
And, while we are talking about this, if your institution has implemented either (or both) solutions, please share your experience with the rest of us via a comment as well.
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Posted in Email, Higher Ed Vendors, Information Technology, President and VPs, Technology, University Business - Special | 1 Comment »
