andrewcareaga

It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to get to a conference, so when I heard that the web communications folks at my alma mater were sponsoring a half-day Social Media Summit, and bringing in two powerhouse presenters within driving distance, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Adding to the allure: finally, I would get to meet Brad J. Ward, whom I’ve known for years via his blog and Twitter, and the legendary Michael Stoner (@mStonerblog), whom I’ve followed (via his blog, print articles and consulting work) even longer. Plus, I’d get to reconnect with Elizabeth Allen (@lizallen) of Caltech (one word, little “t”), whom I haven’t seen since an April 2008 CASE conference where we both presented, and of course, Lori Croy of MU’s Web Communications (@croyl) and many other wonderful communications pros from Mizzou and elsewhere.

So, I went. And I was not disappointed. While both Brad and Liz did a nice job outlining the basics of social media to a mixed audience of newbies and those further along the social media journey, they managed to keep it lively and engaging enough for us old-timers. (For those who couldn’t attend, check out the hashtag #musms09 for the Twitter back-channel comments that ran throughout the event. Also, presentations should be posted soon at the Social Media Summit webpage.)

Friday Five observations from the event:

It was cool to learn about how Abilene Christian University used the free video service Ustream to live-stream (broadcast) the university’s opening chapel service via ACU’s Facebook fan page. The campus only promoted the event over Facebook and drew a hearty following. (I was too busy tweeting to write down numbers but I recall Brad mentioning a significant increase in new fans to that page.) The live-streaming also generated a lot of interaction and comments. I’m thinking this would be a cool thing to do for some of our own campus traditions, such as our annual St. Pat’s Week festivities. What traditions from your campus could tie alumni and others back to your school via a live-stream?
Liz showcased Oregon State University‘s Powered By Orange campaign as a stellar example of one university leveraging social media and bringing it all together into a nice package, and consistent with the university’s online look and brand identity. If you haven’t explored this site, you should.
Based on the questions and comments following Liz’s presentation, it’s apparent that university communications people are still struggling with the issues of control in the realm of social media. There were many questions about how to deal with inappropriate comments on Facebook fan pages, etc. It’s tough on Facebook, where fans can post without moderation. (With a blog platform, comments can be screened and approved before they show up live on the forum. But it doesn’t work that way with Facebook.) This is an issue that colleges and universities will have to contend with for some time, but the idea that transparency and openness should prevail seemed to carry the day. The audience and speakers agreed that it’s worse to censor than to allow for open expression, even when comments are inappropriate. Better to contact the individual directly, explain why such a comment was removed, and then move on than to expunge it from the site with no communication.
It was the first time I’d seen anyone use Prezi in a conference presentation. (But as I said earlier, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to a conference, so Prezi may be all the rage these days.) Brad Ward seemed to handle it well. I may have to play around with it sometime.
Liz Allen seems to be a big fan of Hootsuite for measuring and analyzing Twitter activity. So am I. But Brad seems to think CoTweet is a little simpler. I need to check it out.

And two bonus observations:

It’s apparent that walls and silos still abound in higher ed communications and marketing — even though social media could facilitate the dismantling of those walls. This, too, is about control and turf protection. This seems to be a way of life among universities, but campus offices and departments are going to have to learn to work together to be more effective in the realm of social media and to ensure consistency of a campus’s brand identity.
Don’t ever try to be a social media soothsayer. Brad Ward will call you out on it.

Note: I’m a few hours early with my Blog Action Day post, because I’ll be on the road tomorrow. Ironic, isn’t it, that I’ll be traveling, emitting carbon, on a day when so many of my blogging colleagues will be promoting awareness of climate change. But at least I’ll be off the grid, which may help offset my emissions for the day. And maybe posting this early will earn me some brownie points in the metaphysical realm. Whatever. Happy BAD.

I’m no expert on climate change, but today (Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009) is Blog Action Day, and bloggers all over the world are devoting time and bandwidth to this year’s topic, which is global warming. That’s a huge issue, and it’s going to affect me whether I’m an expert on it or not. Given this fact, it would be rather picayune to post my usual fare about some new trend in social media or how to fine-tune your marketing strategy or how I still don’t have a Google Wave invite.

So. Climate change.

What a huge issue. Where to begin?

OK, let’s start locally, and with something I know a little bit about.

I work at a university that has signed on to the Presidents Climate Commitment. That’s a pledge — signed by presidents or chancellors of more than 650 colleges and universities — to take meaningful steps toward a carbon-neutral existence. I’m glad our institution is part of this collective effort, because colleges and universities should be among the leaders on issues of social responsibility — not just climate change, but that’s a start.

But as many institutions have discovered during this economic downturn, it’s one thing to make a pledge and quite another to carry out the work. As The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last spring (subscription required), many of the signatories to the Presidents Climate Commitment have yet to follow through on their pledge. Most campus leaders blame the economy for scaling back on their plans to attain carbon neutrality. As for our campus, we’re still putting together our initial plan. In the meantime, though, we’re working on trying to reduce our carbon footprint. We have what we consider some pretty ambitious goals for the current fiscal year — to reduce fossil fuel consumption of university-owned vehicles by 10 percent this year, and to reduce energy consumption by 3 percent per square foot of our physical plant. But we know that that is only a start.

Our campus’s green committee, which I serve on, has a lot of great ideas on how individuals can help our campus meet our goals for this year. Many of these ideas translate to personal steps each individual can take — at home, on campus, wherever you work. They include:

Cut back on business travel; opt for teleconferences whenever possible.
Turn off lights in unoccupied offices, classrooms and bathrooms.
Turn off computers and printers at the end of each day.
Close shades or blinds during summer and winter months to reduce solar heat from the sun and to keep offices warmer during the winter.
Turn off power to appliances at night to reduce phantom power drainage.

No-brainers, right? Yet, I’m amazed at how many people leave office lights on, keep their computers on overnight, etc.

In its entirety, climate change seems insurmountable. But looking at what each individual can do, it is possible to make a difference. Energy conservation is one area in which we can all make a difference. So, I challenge you, as we go into the late fall and winter months, to do what you can to reduce your energy use. Turn down the thermostat and put on a Snuggie. Carpool as much as possible. Skip that trip to a sister campus and teleconference instead. Turn off your computer when you’re not using it.

Just do your part. If nothing else, inform yourself about climate change.

Author: andrewcareaga

It’s Blog Action Day, so I’m blogging about climate change, along with thousands of others