Eric Stoller's blog

Social Media and the Senior Student Affairs Officer (SSAO)
Educate, Engage, and Energize Students

With the rapid growth of social media and accompanying surge in online activity, particularly among university and college students, student affairs staff are using the latest technologies to engage students and forge stronger ties to programs, services, and events. Increasingly, senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) are building their own communities and initiating important conversations through a variety of social media sites. This article provides an overview of social media and how it can help student affairs make and keep vital connections. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday’s first episode of Student Affairs Live with Ed Cabellon went amazingly well. Ed, as always, rocked with insightful commentary / answers and the #SAlive backchannel on Twitter was super active. According to the stats, we had 70 viewers of the live broadcast! More than 270 tweets were posted to the backchannel. Overall, an amazing debut for the show. Student Affairs Live is part of the Higher Ed Live network and is sponsored by Inigral.

The next live show will be on Wednesday, March 23rd at 1:00PM PT with Laura Pasquini. Laura will be talking about Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and the End of Silos in Higher Education.

Here are some of the top tweets from yesterday’s show:
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I’m excited to announce that I will be leading two “unsessions” at the 2011 NASPA Conference. I’ll be facilitating two separate conversations. The first unsession will focus primarily on Twitter best-practices for professional development as well as how to use Twitter to connect with students. The second unsession is for folks who are ready to have a conversation about advanced social media tactics, strategies, and implementations. See you in Philly!

Twitter 202: Beyond #hashtags, @lists, and RTweets

Tuesday, March 15
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
115 – B – Convention Center

Although only recently picked up by the general population, Twitter is now commonplace for individuals wanting to get breaking news. But Twitter is more than finding out what people are eating or the latest gossip. Attendees of this unsession should come prepared to share how they utilize Twitter in their professional development, as well as best practices for connecting with students. Please note, attendees of this unsession will benefit most if they already have a basic understanding of Twitter.

Social Media: Advanced uses, tips, and strategies for SA Pros

Tuesday, March 15
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
115 – B – Convention Center

Social Media sessions have been highlights of student affairs conferences for several years. It’s now time to talk about how we have been using the tools in strategic ways to communicate and create connections with our students. This unsession will be a facilitated conversation for members of the community to share their social media best practices and advanced techniques for using social media to enhance their professional “tech-deavors”. Be ready to chat, share, and learn about advanced uses of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube…a.k.a. “The Big 3.”

In addition to the two social media unsessions that I’m leading, there are two other must-attend sessions:

Social Media, Enriched Professional Development and the Future of Student Affairs

Coordinating Presenter: Mamta Accapadi
Monday, March 14
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
115 – B – Convention Center
Social Media is not just a way to reconnect with friends from your past or share what’s going on in your day in less than 140 characters. Social media, especially with regards to professional development, is also a fantastic way to connect with colleagues and delve deeper into conversations. Attend this session, facilitated by author of the Leadership Exchange article Integrating Technology into your Daily Routine, to discuss ways to enhance your professional development capacity here in Philadelphia and beyond.

Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Film (YouTube): Facilitating familiarity through social media

Coordinating Presenter: Nathan Victoria
Monday, March 14
3:45 PM – 4:30 PM
115 – B – Convention Center
A little more than five years ago, all of the social media channels listed above did not exist. Now, these channels are used constantly to form connections and market to our student bodies. Attend this unsession to share your best practices around these social media channels, as well as have conversations about challenges you are facing.

The campus auxiliary services social media and marketing short course that I created and presented for NACAS is now available for sale.

Are you or your staff tasked with managing or leveraging your organization’s social media / marketing ventures?

Social media is no longer an add-on for campus auxiliary marketers. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are now part of the traditional marketing mix. This two-part short course will teach you how to successfully leverage social media tools, mobile apps, and location-based services for sustainable auxiliary services marketing.

You’ll learn the latest strategies for creating a social media listening station and will learn how to effectively utilize: Facebook Places, Twitter Fast Follow, Foursquare, YouTube, SCVNGR, and QR Codes.

There were 64 institutions that signed up for the live webinar and over 500 total attendees. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The questions that I received from participants were tremendous. The short course is 2 hours of strategy combined with auxiliary services specific social media and marketing information.

I’m pleased to announce that I will once again be teaming up with NACAS to present information/strategies for campus auxiliary services marketers:

Are you or your staff tasked with managing or leveraging your organization’s social media / marketing ventures?

Social media is no longer an add-on for campus auxiliary marketers. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are now part of the traditional marketing mix. This two-part short course will teach you how to successfully leverage social media tools, mobile apps, and location-based services for sustainable auxiliary services marketing.

You’ll learn the latest strategies for creating a social media listening station and will learn how to effectively utilize: Facebook Places, Twitter Fast Follow, Foursquare, YouTube, SCVNGR, and QR Codes.

Campus Auxiliary Services Marketing in 2011:
Social Media, Mobile Apps, and Sustainable Strategies for Success with Eric Stoller

Part 1: Feb 22, 2:00PM – 3:00PM EST
Part 2: March 1, 2:00PM – 3:00PM EST
*Includes some pre- and mid-event “homework.”

In partnership with NACAS – the largest auxiliary services support organization serving higher education.

I’ve been blogging for Inside Higher Ed (IHE) for 6 months. The word cloud represents the most-used words in the 45 posts that I’ve written for my “Student Affairs and Technology” blog. Twitter has been one of my favorite topics to write about. It’s such a wonderfully versatile social media tool.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my ride as a blogger for IHE. I write at least 2 posts per week. As a seasoned blogger, having deadlines and a post quota has been incredibly motivating. My editor has a fantastic sense of humor. He has been a delightful boss. I can’t wait to see if I can crack 100 posts in 2011.

The only caveat of course has been that this blog has been a bit neglected. I’ve been much more active on Twitter in 2010. With a paid blogging gig and Twitter taking up more of my publishing time, I do try to put something up on this site from time to time. Stay tuned for significant site updates. I plan on incorporating more of my consulting endeavors on this blog as I continue to navigate the “Stoller Coaster.”

You may be asking yourself what banana bread has to do with social media and a 5 star hotel in Colorado. Let me give you a little bit of context:

I recently spent 5 days at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The hotel was the site of the NACAS Annual Conference. I conducted 16 separate social media consulting sessions with representatives from higher education campus auxiliary services units from the United States, Canada, and Lebanon. I also gave a keynote on how campus auxiliaries can use social media to create community and connections.

One of the main themes that emerged from the consultation sessions was how social media provides a platform for institutional units to connect with students. For example, a Facebook page can be a great place to build goodwill and engage with students in an online conversation. Here’s an example of how social media can be used to build goodwill — courtesy of the fine folks at The Broadmoor:

Before I left for Colorado, I visited and “liked” The Broadmoor’s Facebook page. During my stay at the hotel, I found myself eating an inordinate amount of banana bread. Aside from my mom’s homemade bread, this was amazingly good bread. I decided to ask, via their Facebook page, for the recipe. I had posted some of the of the photos that I took of The Broadmoor on their Facebook page and knew that they might engage with me. Within minutes of my request, I had received a Facebook message from a representative of the hotel. They were contacting the bakery chef for the recipe. A few moments later and the recipe was posted on The Broadmoor’s Facebook page as a response to my initial comment.

How amazing is that? I can’t be the only person who has so thoroughly enjoyed The Broadmoor’s banana bread. They shared the recipe with me and agreed to let me post it on my blog. The Broadmoor gained me as a lifelong fan at that moment. They used social media to connect and share. This was about building goodwill. They didn’t have to share the recipe with me. However, I hope this little social media snippet has shown you how a simple act of sharing via social media can have tremendous results!

The best banana bread you will ever eat…except for maybe my mom’s recipe

Thanks again to The Broadmoor and its amazing bakery chef!

Banana Bread Yield: 2 loaves

3 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
3 tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
Dash Salt
3 each Eggs
1 cup Oil
2 cups Banana, ripened, mashed
1 cup Walnuts (optional)

In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the flour mixture and add, well beaten eggs, oil, nuts, and banana. Mix thoroughly and divide evenly into two greased loaf pans. Bake in a pre-heated, 350 degree oven for approximately 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

My last day at Oregon State University is going to be September 30th. I’ve been an academic advisor and web coordinator for the College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) since 2007. It’s been a transformative experience. The advising team, college and university leadership, peer advisors, and my advisees have taught me so much. It has been a terrific adventure!

Speaking of adventures, you may be wondering what I’m going to be doing or where I am going…

When the “Blogger hits the big time” profile came out, I had already been thinking about my career, my future, and what I wanted to do:

During the day, Eric Stoller is busy advising students in the College of Health and Human Sciences and working on web projects for the college. In the evenings and on weekends, he’s juggling everything from consulting projects to blogging to chatting with his 1,900+ Twitter followers.

“Downtime? What’s that?” he laughs.

And these days, he’s added another job to that list of tasks, as a paid blogger for the highly popular academic website, Inside Higher Ed. As one of 13 regular bloggers for the site, Stoller has begun writing at least two blog posts per week, focused on student affairs and technology.

Working as an academic advisor / web coordinator during the day and engaging in numerous consulting / speaking engagements in the evenings and/or during my vacations has made my life feel like a roller coaster — twists, turns, dips, spins, etc…hence, the “Stoller Coaster.”

I have decided that I am going to focus my energies on my consulting/writing/speaking projects.

• I plan on attending Educause in October to promote my new Inside Higher Ed blog: Student Affairs and Technology.
• I will be participating via Skype in a technology and advising session at the NACADA Annual Conference.
• In November, I will be presenting a social media super session sponsored by Sodexo at the NACAS Annual Conference. In addition to my session, I am also going to be hosting small group consultations.

My consulting efforts are going to be focused on student affairs/higher education and technology:

• Social Media and Marketing
• Web Site Statistics
• Communication Plans
• Branding
• Search Engine Optimization
• Web Site Usability/Accessibility
• Higher Education Association Technology Development and Strategy

I am thrilled to start this new adventure. It’s going to be epic!

Credit for the “Stoller Coaster” – Conzen, 2010.

I am thrilled to announce that I’m going to be blogging about Student Affairs and Technology for Inside Higher Ed (IHE). As an avid reader of IHE, I am very excited to join the IHE blogging team. I think that my posts on student affairs + technology will complement Joshua Kim’s blog on Technology and Learning.

Recently, I held a contest via Twitter to name my new blog. The incentive — a $100 Amazon gift card — courtesy of Inside Higher Ed. Several folks came up with interesting/creative blog names. I think the #SAChat Community provided the majority of ideas. Student Affairs folks are uber creative.

Here are my 3 favorite submissions:

• Jeff Jackson: The Stoller Strikes Back, Return of the Blogosphere, Student Affairs….I am Your Blogger
• Zack Ford: Challenge and Tech Support
• ACUHO-I (sent via DM): Binary Code of Conduct

Choosing a winner from these 3 has been extremely challenging. Star Wars references, Sanford, and an entire Association…how cool is that?!! After more than a week of deliberate (intentional ) deliberating I have decided that the winner of the gift card is:

Zack Ford’s submission made me laugh. It’s subtle….and I love subtlety. The obvious nod / homage to Nevitt Sanford warms the heart. Challenge and Support is one of my all-time favorite, and oft-used, student development theories.

It should be noted that Julie Larsen was correct…the official name of my new blog is going to be: Student Affairs and Technology. The name needed to be something that would be simple enough that any IHE reader would know exactly what it was about. The blog also needed to be search engine friendly…”Students Affairs + Technology” is simple and searchable.

Stay tuned for my first official post on Inside Higher Ed!

Honorable mention:

Julie P-Kirchmeier: Stoller: Resistance is Futile

Niki Rudolph: Epic Stoller

Justine Carpenter: Tech Tips for SAPs

Christopher Conzen: The Stoller Coaster

NACADA Tech in Advising Recommendations for Use of Online Social Communication in Academic Advising

The purpose of these recommendations is to provide guidance to Academic Advisors contemplating the inclusion of on-line social communication tools in their personal or programmatic advising design.

For the purposes of this discussion, Online Social Communications will be understood as externally hosted Web environments, sometimes referred to as Social Media Environments, in which information is aggregated, presented and shared. Further, where functionality exist, the environments allow you to document and filter connections between individuals, maintain profiles, support multimedia, and facilitate communication with a time shift supporting response at user-defined times. On-Line Social Communication environments include Facebook and other Online Social Networks, Twitter, YouTube, personal blogs and wiki pages. Since Facebook’s introduction in 2004, an ever-increasing number of advisors, student services specialists, academic units and universities have been leveraging the benefits of an on-line presence.

The expanding use of on-line social communication by advisors and advising offices, evidenced by numerous publications and presentations over the past five years, encouraged the NACADA Commission for Technology in Advising to proffer the following recommendations when considering inclusion of Social Communication tools in the delivery of advising information:

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