Web Crossing on Wednesday introduced WebCrossing Neighbors 2 , a new version of its private-label social networking software. via Macworld
"If we find the idea is strong, we'll keep it going"
July 25, 2007 By Brian Morrissey, Adweek NEW YORK -- Hewlett-Packard is launching a back-to-school campaign with a twist: 70% of the spending will support online efforts. via Technology Marketing
The adoption of social media is a phenomenon that characterizes many professional and non professional environments and brings new opportunities by introducing new ways to interact and communicate.
Photo credit: James Steidl
Many commercial companies have started integrating social media in their communication strategies to strengthen and augment the quality of their interactions with their own customers. But what about universities? Are they taking advantage of the same opportunities?
In the following report edited by Nora Barnes and Eric Mattson, researchers at the Center for Marketing Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, you will be able to take a look at the outcome of research work which has been carried out within the admission departments of some of the most important American universities.
This research explores the adoption of social media within such environments and the immediate consequences of such phenomenon.
Read on to know more:
By Nora Barnes, Ph.D. and Eric Mattson
Introduction
Universities are a mixture of powerful and often contradictory forces. The unlimited potential of young people, ever-increasing budget pressures, academia’s love of new ideas, and strong traditions combine to create a culture that is simultaneously incredibly innovative and slow to change. How then, are colleges and universities responding to the new wave of social media?
This study seeks to answer that question in a definitive manner by following up on our previous research into social media adoption. Recently, we revealed how fast-growing companies of Inc. 500 were embracing social media. Using a similar methodology, this research reached out to the "marketing teams" (i.e., the admission departments) of over 2,000 accredited four-year colleges and universities nationwide to learn how they were using these exciting new technologies. Their answers are fascinating and prove (in a statistically significant way) that the use of social media in the "ivory tower" is outpacing even the business world.
The analysis that follows is based on detailed interviews with 453 admissions departments. The responding institutions are diverse in student size (from under 50 students to over 50,000), annual tuition (from less than $1,000 to over $40,000), funding (69% private, 31% public) and location (49 states are represented). The sample includes well-known private schools like Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Vassar and Wesleyan as well as many large public universities from states like Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
In order to enable a valid comparison this study followed a similar pattern to our corporate social media research and asked detailed questions about the organizations’ familiarity with, usage of, monitoring of and attitude towards six common forms of social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, online video, message boards and social networking). Given the frequently uncertain definitions of these media, common understanding was sought by providing definitions from Wikipedia at the time of the survey.
The results are very interesting and in some ways more surprising than the previous Inc. 500 adoption data. The new data indicates that college admissions’ social media usage is racing far ahead of predictions and even ahead of corporate usage. The research results that follow are statistically valid at +/- 4%.
To begin, respondents were asked to rank their familiarity with each technology from “very familiar” to “very unfamiliar”. The social media that was most familiar to college admissions departments is social networking with 55% of respondents claiming to be “very familiar with it”.
However, as the graph below shows, a significant percentage of admissions departments are “very familiar” with all the technologies. In addition, for almost every technology the admissions departments are equally or significantly more familiar with the technologies than the corporations of the Inc. 500. This is the highest familiarity rate documented for a group with respect to blogging. (See Figure 1)
Image description: Figure 1
From familiarity the survey moved into examining actual usage of social media by the admissions departments. Sixty-one percent of the respondents use at least one form of social media. Blogging is the most common form with 33% of admissions departments using it. Notably, this usage rate is 14% higher than that of the Inc. 500 respondents.
Four of the other six social media also have strong adoption rates that are similar to those of corporations. The only exception is the adoption of wikis which are used by only 3% of admissions departments compared with 17% of responding businesses in the Inc. 500. (See Figure 2)
Image description: Figure 2
The adoption of social media by admissions departments is being driven by familiarity and their recognition of the increasing role of social media in today’s world. Interestingly, admissions departments feel that social media is “very important” to their future strategy in almost a 2:1 ratio to Inc. 500 businesses that feel the same way (51% compared to 26%). (See Figure 3)
Image description: Figure 3
A significant proportion of schools are beginning to research students via search engines (26%) and social networks (21%). While certainly the traditional factors will still play dominant roles in admissions decisions, no longer can students place damaging material online without potential consequences. (See Figure 4)
Image description: Figure 4
The results are conclusive. Social media has arrived in college admissions. The ivory tower is innovating even faster than the elite Inc. 500. And the game has changed forever.
Note from the editors:
A more thorough write-up of our research into social media adoption by university and college admissions departments will be published in several journals in the second half of 2007. To be added to the editors email distribution list so that you can stay abreast of their research and writings, please email eric [at] ericmattson.com or nbarnes [at] umassd.edu.
Originally published as "The Game Has Changed: College Admissions Outpace Corporations in Embracing Social Media" by Nora Ganim Barnes on the website of the Center for Marketing Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
About the author
Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes earned a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior from the University of Connecticut and is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. As Director of the Center for Marketing Research, she has provided services in brand and product development, research, promotion, and commercial television production to hundreds of clients.
"I don't expect anything to happen here"
A college fraternity president and aspiring rapper who had a history of trying to buy and sell guns online pleaded not guilty Wednesday to making a terrorist threat after a note found in his car threatened a ... via MyFox St. Louis
"This move gives us an advertising partner with a larger organization and a more scalable technology platform to keep pace with Digg's growth."
On the eve of Microsoft's annual confab with financial analysts in Redmond, the company is looking to make a splash in one of the areas likely to be a big focus of the meeting -- online advertising. via Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog
"We're not sure at this point (if there will be more arrests)"
Police have arrested a second man in connection with the brutal July 2 assault of a Foothill High School student, and have issued an arrest warrant for a third man. via Contra Costa Times
Although some are skeptical about the prospects of Foleo in the smartphone marketplace, the device Palm defines as a Mobile Companion, has had no problem garnering support from third-party developers. via Psion Place
Professional blogging is a huge growth area, and there are few people who wouldn't relish ditching the nine-to-five for a life writing about the things they love best. That's exactly what I did one year ago, when I joined Robin Good's Media Network. I haven't looked back since.
A little less than a year ago I hadn't even considered the idea that I would be making my living by writing blog posts and making videos for the web. I was an active blogger, putting together various projects and writing about what inspired me, but I had no inclination that blogging would change my life in so many ways.
I had worked all kinds of jobs, from HR recruitment to lecturing in film at university and was all set to enter the world of academia, lining myself up for three years of financial hardship and some serious study for a PhD after a spell teaching English in Japan. I had my doubts though - surely there were better and more efficient ways to reach people than lecture theaters and seminar rooms.
Then I met Robin Good, and in a few breakneck months had made the complete transition from blogging as an interesting sideline, to blogging enough to earn a decent living, live in four different countries, and forget about ever having to set foot in an office again. It's been one hell of a year.
As I get ready to set learn more and start some new responsibilities here with Robin, I thought it might be a good idea to share what I've been doing this last year - what I've learned from my time with Robin Good, where it has taken me, and what I think it takes to get on as a professional freelance tech blogger.
If you're interested in making that transition yourself there is every possibility that it could be you next.
Read on to find out how:
A year ago, I was invited by Robin to collaborate on some initial content proeduction work together. Over time, as we both realized that we enjoyed working together, and I had managed to prove myself as someone interested in taking things further, I moved from an initial part-time engagement to a full-time writing, video-making and editorial position.
In the space of a few short months I went from researching content for Robin's network, to writing my first post under his direct voice and screen-sharing guidance, to eventually taking on a daily schedule of researching, writing and publishing content for two of the three main websites in the network.
Every step of the way Robin was there with guidance and new challenges. While I was rapidly taking on new tasks within the network, Robin was carefully staggering my learning, which all took place in a very trusting, hands-on and informal way.
Robin doesn't teach you. Robin guides you into making your own conclusions, and asks subtle questions rather than telling you what to do.
Over time, through effective modeling and continuous dialogue, I started to pick up the key skills needed to write, edit and research work for the network.
Six months in and I was:
It has been a breakneck journey, and sometimes it all seems like a blur. At times it has been a very challenging journey, as the need to manage both new work stuff and my own personal time have tkane me more than once to stretch in significant ways my notion of work and of being a good manager of one's own time.
...and by the way... Robin will settle for nothing less than your very best - and so, there is no way to fake an article written with too little time available or rushed through the door to make the deadline... Robin will "see it through" the moment he reads it. I don't know how he does it, but I can tell you that he is better than an airport sniffing dog when it comes to evaluating the quality of writing, its layout and formatting, the selection of images and more.
In the space of months I have gone from blogging as a hobby, to making my full income from the blogosphere, supporting myself and my wife in our global travels while picking up an innumerable amount of skills I will find myself using for the rest of my life.
Wow, I said to myself after a while... that is the kind of opportunity I always wanted to have. No office, no hours, no dress code plus the opportunity to do what I like best, to do it at the time I want, to get tremendous feedback and advice and to work and learn from great colleagues and teammates.
Photo credit: Stephen Coburn
Bloggers blog, and if you aren't already out there on the web writing about what excites and inspires you, you need to be. But blogging is a lot more than the writing and publishing. Unlike print, what defines blogs as a new medium is their strong roots in striking up a conversation.
Having a great blog might just get you hired, or even earn you enough money in ad revenues to support yourself given time and patience. But if you want to thrive, your blog is going to be the launch pad from which you begin a thousand conversations.
Blogs might get you noticed, but it is people that get you jobs.
I met Robin Good through a blog project I was putting out a little over a year ago, and made a point of asking some of the key bloggers I read daily to contribute their thoughts. Robin was at the top of my list. It felt like a shot in the dark, and I never expected anything to come of it, but it was from this conversation that everything that has happened to me ever since, grew to what I have in my hands today.
I'm not suggesting that you should coldly and ruthlessly cook up reasons to talk to people in the interests of advancing your career - people will see through you if you aren't speaking straight from the heart.
But if you are passionate enough to reach out and strike up conversations about the things that really matter to you, it can be surprising how readily people will respond.
The friendship and subsequent business relationship that developed between myself and Robin did so through our mutual passions for online collaboration, open-source culture and the emerging technologies that are changing everything around us.
And at that point I had not even the faintest idea of just how much this learning experience with Robin Good was going to affect and transform my whole life in the following 12 months.
Photo credit: John Tomaselli
So what do you need to get by in a professional blogging job while making the best of it?
I think there are definitely some key skills, which I will list below, but far more importantly there are some essential character traits.
Skills can be learned, and in my humble opinion Robin Good is a true master at this, but if you don't have some key strengths of your own to bring to the table, you are more than likely not to be able to go much further on this path.
Character Traits
In my humble opinion you have a much better chance of success if you are passionate about your subject.
For me, that's Web 2.0, disruptive technologies and social media. For you that might be knitting, dog training or origami. It might sound like a cliché, but if you don't have the passion to drive yourself, you are unlikely to make it through the tough times, the hard work and the sometimes long hours spent researching, networking and writing your posts.
You need also to be a self-starter, as while you will have regular, daily contact with your network of colleagues,when push comes to shove you are going to be working alone. If you get lonesome after an hour away from the office, or need a manager to be checking in on you every fifteen minutes, you might find the self-organization needed in this job to be a tough nut to crack.
Does it go without saying that sociability is also right up there on the list? If you're the nervous type, don't like meeting people or making connections, and shy away from having to communicate in all but the most minimal of ways, you surely came to the wrong place to work at.
Blogging is one part writing to three parts conversation.
Finally, stamina is key. There are going to be some long days or tough assignments that really take it out of you, and sometimes you are going to need to be doggedly persistent to get yourself an exclusive scoop review, or dig up some hot information nobody has yet. Without staying power, it would be easy to throw in the towel at the first sign of trouble.
Key Skills
On top of these character traits, you will need - and can readily pick up - the following key skills if you are going to work as a professional blogger:
These are the basics, but beyond this short list of key skills, there are certainly many more valuable ones, as I have come to discover after this first year of great learning with Robin Good.
Photo credit: Andres Rodriguez
Listing what I have learned from Robin in the space of a year is a tough challenge, and I am only going to be able to touch on the very tip of the iceberg here.
But among the profoundly useful skills I have picked up under Robin's direct supervision, I would highlight the most important as being:
Robin lives, sleeps, eats and breathes RSS, and if you want to learn how to effectively put it use as a professional blogger I can think of nobody who could better teach you.
Photo credit: PNR Photo
Professional blogging can have a huge impact on the way you live your life. If you want to sit and write your posts in your pajamas over a big cup of coffee, or by the pool in Thailand with a cocktail within arms reach, these are both options available to you.
Being able to collaborate online using the latest disruptive technologies means that you aren't bound to any office, city or even country - this is the kind of flexibility that doesn't grow on trees.
Then there's the way you choose to carve up your day. No more do you need to force yourself out of bed to the sound of an alarm and spend the first two hours of the day wanting to crawl back to bed - unless of course you are a morning person (I'm not). If you want to write in the evening after a day at the park, or get your work done in the morning and spend your afternoons doing whatever you like, you get to choose.
However, I'm not going to pretend that you are suddenly going to be doing nothing all day - professional blogging can be very hard work, and you might end up some weeks putting in longer hours than you ever did at the office.
Flexibility is a two-way street, and when the latest scoop comes in or a score of exciting leads land in your lap, time can be of the essence.
For me that is a very fair trade to make, and while I would say that stamina and the ability to put in some serious hours are important if you want to succeed in pro-blogging, I believe that this is more than made up for by the ability to arrange your own day and choose to live and work wherever takes your fancy.
In the last year I have lived in the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, the tiny relaxed island of Malta, by the seaside in my homeland Britain, and in the thriving cultural scene of Berlin. This never would have been possible if it wasn't for my work with Robin, and while you might be just as happy settled in your home town, there are still some pretty obvious benefits to being master of your own days.
Photo credit: liv friis-larsen
In my opinion the following key points will be of most use if you decide to follow the road to becoming a professional freelance blogger:
I have just lived through one of the most exciting and life-changing years of my life, and wouldn't change a thing about it. It's been hard work, and stretched me in so many ways, but every second of it has been worth it.
I have switched to working completely from home, or wherever else my wireless connection takes me; lived in four different countries; met and made connections with some of the most passionate and interesting people in the world and learned more than I ever did in a lecture theater or seminar room.
In my first year with Robin Good, I have come to appreciate that blogging is an open, ongoing conversation that can open all kinds of doors, and provide a sustainable, hyper-engaged lifestyle where passion is a premium, learning is informal and constant, and self development is par for the course.
If you haven't already taken the plunge, and have the deep down urge to do so, I suggest you shoot out an email to this crazy man that is a concentrate of creative plutonium... as Robin is always on the lookout for some great new talent who wants to be challenged they way I did.
...and soon enough I am going to have to tell him that I am off to the Caribbean for a month of white sand beaches for me and my beautiful girlfriend. Are you the one up next to replace me?
If you would like to learn more about becoming a professional blogger, you might want to check out the following links:
Originally written by Michael Pick for Master New Media and originally published as: "Professional Blogging - How To Become A Freelance Tech Editor
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