Why Academics Must Use Social Media

Closing out the year with a clip of an interview that I did with David Webster at the University of Gloucestershire. After giving a keynote lecture at their annual Faculty Learning & Teaching Symposium, David and I sat down for a chat about higher education, teaching, learning, and social media.

A bit of an exaggerated title on this deck, but the content/context is what matters. Presented at the University of Gloucestershire’s Faculty Learning & Teaching Symposium.

Continue reading Why Academics Must Use Social Media

Crafting a consultancy

What I’ve been up to…

Blogging, tweeting, learning, running, writing, reading, listening, cooking, speaking, volunteering, traveling, consulting, and sleeping.

It’s been 8’ish months since I last gave an update on the blog. Once again, I’ve been quite busy (in a good way). In fact, being busy as a consultant is always a good thing. I’ve spoken at events all over the UK, gave a keynote to an international audience in Mallorca, Spain, and traveled back to the United States to consult with two of my favorite higher education clients.

By the way, as I am constantly crafting my consultancy, here’s my latest description on what I do for a living:

I teach individuals and organizations (usually universities and colleges, but sometimes businesses too) how to communicate more effectively using digital channels. Effective communication via social media includes all things related to marketing, recruitment, student engagement/experience, career development, alumni relations, identity development, “customer” service, teaching/learning, and organizational change.

[Complete list of consulting/speaking engagements thus far for 2016]

Lastly, I have to give a huge shout-out to Jisc for inviting me to speak at their annual DigiFest conference in Birmingham. Definitely one of the neatest events that I’ve ever been to…so much technology!

Catching Up on Inside Higher Ed

Student Affairs and Technology at Inside Higher Ed

Being a blogger for Inside Higher Ed (IHE) has been one of the greatest opportunities in my professional career. Thus far, as the Student Affairs and Technology blogger, I’ve written 346 blog posts in 5 years. The site and its team of reporters, bloggers, and editors is a constant source of camaraderie and support…and when you’re an independent consultant, it’s nice to have at least some connections to a regular business/journalistic operation.

As previously mentioned, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on this blog (today being the exception as I’ve been cranking out post after post after…you get the idea), I wanted to share several of my most recent IHE posts on this blog because I think it’s always a good idea to let one blog know what the other blog is doing…especially when you’re the author. So, get ready, because this is going to be a long post…seriously, this a good one:

Social Media Questions and Answers
Social Media Questions and Answers

CSSA 599 sounds like the name of a new droid for the new Star Wars movie. However, CSSA 599 is a special topics class at Oregon State University. Recently, students from the class tweeted a series of questions about social media/technology and invited me to respond. Giving answers in 140 character bursts makes you be extremely concise with your responses. After ruminating on their tweets/questions, I decided to write up some longer responses.

Pass the cast with Periscope
Pass the Cast Using Periscope

When Periscope came on the social media scene a mere 7 months ago, they made quite a splash. Acquired by Twitter before their official launch, Periscope (a direct competitor with Meerkat) is all about live-streaming mobile video with a social media twist.

Hello is a reintroduction
Hello is a Reintroduction

Sometimes you just need to say “hello.” From Apple to Adele, hello is oftentimes a reintroduction. Lately, it’s been an interesting professional exercise. When work takes you to multiple countries, colleges, universities, departments, disciplines, topics, etc., the act of saying “hello” and filling in the blanks of “what is it that you do?” takes a bit more time/effort than it did when titles were familiar and employment wasn’t the “self.”

Observations From the Frat Subreddit
Observations From the Frat Subreddit

Recently, I’ve been observing the r/Frat subreddit. It’s a fascinating space on reddit. If you work in student affairs, especially Greek Life / Fraternity Sorority Life (FSL), I would suggest that you take a look. The comments/posts are a melange of good, bad, and ugly.

Digital Identity Dev is a Process
Digital Identity Dev is a Process

Our digital identities matter. What we post, share, say, upload, snap, and tweet represents our digital identity. It’s our online presence.

Getting Digital is Required
Getting Digital is Required

When every individual in an organization gets digital, the entire organization benefits. In higher education, being digitally capable has to be required. Most students are paying a lot of money for their higher education. They deserve a tremendous experience. It’s unacceptable for anyone who works in higher education to be anti-technology or digitally underdeveloped. Get digital or get out of the way.

7 Months is a Good Thing

It’s been 7 months since my last post on this blog. Of course, this is a good thing. Why? Well, it means that life has been quite busy with all sorts of things. Working in the US and the UK has kept me quite busy. When all is said and done for the year, I will have taken 3 epic consulting trips to the US and managed to establish/grow a consulting/speaking presence in the UK. And, I’ve been writing a lot for Inside Higher Ed.

Thankfully, virtual content delivery has been an effective way for me to “present” at US-based events as well as take on work with US clients in a way that doesn’t have me taking too many flights.

The past 7 months has been filled with learning as much as possible about UK higher education via in-person conversations, social media engagement, and reading everything in sight. Of course, I’m also still continuously plugged-in to everything that’s happening in US higher education.

Eric and Gillian

Additionally, Gillian and I have had several opportunities to travel in Europe (Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and France) and we even ran our first half-marathon in October…In case you’re wondering, the Cardiff Half Marathon is a wonderful event. So, apologies for being a bit less active on this blog.

My bio page as well as my speaking/consulting page are always up-to-date.

Getting Connected to UK Higher Education

Eric Stoller is learning about UK higher education using social media

My latest post for Inside Higher Ed tells the story about how I’ve been using social media to learn about UK higher education.

Consulting, Speaking, and Writing in the United Kingdom

Eric Stoller speaking to 1200 people at the NODA Annual Conference

Thrilled to be able to announce that I am now able to work in the United Kingdom as a higher education consultant. My wife and I relocated to London and are loving life in a new country/city. Looking forward to continuing to work with clients in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Higher education in the United Kingdom is in an interesting place when it comes to social media / digital identity and I hope to continue building upon the work that I’ve been doing in North America for the past decade.

Family Weekend at the University of Miami

Eric Stoller speaking at the University of Miami

People often ask me what I do for a living. Realizing that I probably don’t tell that part of my story very well, I’ve decided to post every now and then about what I’m up to as it relates to my work. Most of my speaking and consulting endeavors are the result of grass roots “promotion.” Whenever I speak in front of a large group of students, staff, faculty, family members (not my family, however, that would be pretty interesting), and/or industry leaders, I’m effectively showcasing my ability to educate and inform. This usually leads to future invitations to speak at events/schools/businesses.

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at Family Weekend at the University of Miami as their keynote speaker. With a room full of parents and family members (and a few students), I gave a talk on social media, digital identity, career development, and thinking before you post/share/tweet/snap/etc.

My talk at the University of Miami included references to / examples of items from Twitter, reddit, Snapchat, Yik Yak, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

My next gigs include consulting visits to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and a keynote address at the NODA Annual Conference.

Webinar: Yik Yak on Campus – What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene

Yik Yak on Campus: What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene

Update: I’m giving a webinar on Wednesday, February 18th, at 2PM Eastern Time on Yik Yak on Campus: What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene.

I’ll show you how Yik Yak works, provide examples of cyber-bullying AND positivity in actual mobile posts, and outline a strategy for anonymous-mobile discourse at your campus.

Students are quickly flocking to this application, posting anonymous “yaks” and engaging in good, bad, and ugly communication. A number of institutions have seen high-profile incidents involving the app in recent weeks including sharing of sex tapes, hate speech and harassment and threatening to commit a violent crime on campus.

Colleges and universities from across the United States are struggling with how to respond and whether or not there is value in being present on the platform.

What you will learn:

  • The history of Yik Yak and why it was geo-fenced at high schools.
  • Strategies for engaging your students via Yik Yak in a positive way to encourage positive change on campus.
  • Examples of troubling, real campus crises triggered by “Yaks” across North America and discover the practical ways to respond if similar “Yaks” appear on your campus.
  • Social media guidelines — for applications even beyond Yik Yak — that you can successfully adapt, construct and engage the campus community through your own social media standards.
  • How you can use Yik Yak as a social listening channel to explore your own campus themes and learning opportunities.

Once again, I’ll be partnering with PaperClip Communications for this webinar. Check out their site for more information and to register.

More info about Yik Yak: A recent post that I wrote about Yik Yak and why it is causing so many issues at campuses in the United States.

8 Speaking/Consulting Engagements in February

This month has been jam-packed with speaking and consulting engagements. One of my favorite moments on this month-long set of trips was when the Chancellor of Indiana University Southeast took a picture of one of my slides during my social media / digital identity presentation.

Chancellor taking a photograph of my slide