Student Affairs and Social Media

Ryan Masin, a graduate student in the College Student Development program at OSU (Oklahoma State University), asked me to answer several question about higher education, student affairs, and social media. We spent 45 minutes chatting about everything from the ubiquity of Facebook to how social media will influence student development theory.

Ryan and I first met at the NASPA Annual Conference during my social media unsessions.

Student Affairs Technology, Social Media, and #NASPACPA

It’s been a busy week for yours truly…I made an unscheduled appearance on the BreakDrink.com Student Affairs Podcast, broadcast the first ever live episode of Student Affairs Live, and was interviewed in a podcast on StudentAffairs.com. I’ll be at the 2011 NASPA Annual Conference from Saturday through next Wednesday. I’m excited that I get to put on two student affairs social media unsessions at the conference. I can’t wait to blog, tweet, and record as much of the event as I can.

At about the 12:25 mark, I called in to chat about the proposed NASPA + ACPA consolidation:
[audio:http://ericstoller.com/blog/audio/BreakDrink-NASPA-ACPA-Eric-Stoller.mp3]

I had a great time chatting with Stuart Brown of StudentAffairs.com about student affairs technology and social media:
[audio:http://ericstoller.com/blog/audio/Eric-Stoller-Student-Affairs.mp3]

Social Media Unsessions at #NASPA11

NASPA 2011 social media unsessions

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.

Campus Auxiliary Services Social Media Marketing Short Course

NACAS-campus-auxiliary-services-marketing

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.

3 social media apps for listening / engaging

I’ve been testing out 3 web-based social media apps. Built to leverage the API’s of sites like Twitter and Facebook, these apps are web-based and can be accessed from any net enabled computer. TweetDeck (Chrome only), HootSuite, and Seesmic are all amazing in terms of functionality. I tested them all out using Google’s Chrome browser. This was mostly due to the fact that TweetDeck is only available as a web app via Chrome.

Aesthetically speaking, I really like the look and feel of Seesmic. It’s been my favorite Twitter app on Android and the web-based version doesn’t disappoint. It’s feature-rich and integrates the following social media services: Twitter, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Facebook, and LinkedIn. TweetDeck works almost as well as the desktop version. HootSuite has long been a popular alternative to TweetDeck. However, I find it’s interface to be less intuitive and quite a bit more “clunky” than Seesmic or TweetDeck. The API connection that TweetDeck leverages in Chrome is impressive. Tweets stream into your web browser almost as fast as they are posted. This makes it very easy to participate in Twitter-based chats using “ChromeDeck.”

In terms of social media listening / engaging, I would recommend that you try out all 3 apps to determine which one works best for you. I’ve been using TweetDeck in Chrome for fast-paced Twitter chats and Seesmic works really well in Firefox. HootSuite offers up a paid, Pro service for folks who want access to a larger feature set. It will be interesting to see how these app providers can continue to provide such amazing apps while at the same time covering their operating costs. While these apps are certainly not as powerful as the social media listening stations that Gatorade and Dell launched last year, I’m certain that you can do quite a bit with a browser, a connection to the Internet, and one of these web-based social media apps.

Which of these 3 apps do you use? Do you use something else?

Continue reading 3 social media apps for listening / engaging

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

NACAS-campus-auxiliary-services-marketing

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.

TweetDeck: The Best App for Twitter

tweetdeck-social-media-dashboard

I’ve been a big fan of TweetDeck for quite some time. It’s my go-to “mission control” app for Twitter. I generally have somewhere between 20 to 30 active panels of various searches, hashtags, and lists. The latest version of the TweetDeck desktop client incorporates “real-time streaming.” The nifty thing about TweetDeck is that it is available as a desktop client and as an app for iPhone, Android-based phones, and the iPad. If you want to leverage the power of Twitter as a communications and marketing platform, TweetDeck is by far the best free app for staying connected.

Student Affairs + Technology: IHE Recap

Career Services and Social Media: Todd really says it best ;-)

@EricStoller If there is a single Student Affairs dept that could *pwn* social media it is career services.less than a minute ago via web

Let’s shift some paradigms: Introducing my new blog at Inside Higher Ed.

Challenge and Tech Support: Student Affairs practitioners and Tech Support departments…please let us be admins.

Do you YouTube? Don’t forget to add captions: Would you build a new building without an elevator? Nope… Then why would you ever create videos without captions?

George Orwell, Web Stats, and Your Site Visitors: Student Affairs + Web Stats….Nerdvana :-)

Blogging Student Affairs and Technology

Inside Higher Ed - blogging about student affairs and technology - Eric Stoller

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:

eric-stoller-challenge-and-tech-support

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