The Student Affairs Blog

Facebook Page or Facebook Group?

What's the best way to represent your student club/organization or school department on Facebook?

Due to the number of questions received about this topic, I was about to write up my own analysis, but figured I should check with my blogging pals first. Sure enough Leigh Householder of Advergirl put together a nice post for businesses that is easily translated to Student Affairs. Here is a full repost:

There are a lot of choices – groups, pages, causes, fans, friends. And, none of the which and the why seems terribly clear.

To make it simple: There is one main choice. And, then a few other important options.

First pick: Page or group or both

Page
Who can create it: An official representative of the real public figure, artist, brand or organization that the page is for

Why page?

•     First up, pages are indexed on Google. A nice little add to your integrated social SEO strategy
•     Allows you to connect with an unlimited number of fans (personal profiles & groups support up to 5000 friends)
•     You can send messages to all your fans
•     You can use rich media and leverage Facebook apps (super customizable)

Why not page?

•     Little of the new content or activity you post is actually fed to your profile new feeds (the most visible? New fans. New photos or video uploaded by fans)
•     Messages to fans don’t go into their inbox; rather, they’re delivered as an “update,” which fewer people see.
•     Unlike being an administrator of some non-FB communities (like blogs or wikis),there’s no automated way to moderate activity. You have to manually check for new links, videos, etc.

Group:
Who can create it: Anyone (on any topic)

Why groups?

•     Most importantly, you can message all members and the notice shows up right in their inbox for maximum attention
•     All activities are picked up in the feed – posts, discussion, photos, etc., which provides a lot more visibility
•     Tend to be more informal, which can, in itself, feel more social
•     Lots of control over who to involve. There are three different types of groups: Open (anyone can join); Closed (the group owner/admins have to approve all members); Secret (only the members and invitees know the group even exists).

Why not groups:

•     There’s a 5000 fan limit for messaging. More people can choose to be fans of your group, but you won’t be able to directly contact them
•     You can’t add apps directly to a group
•     Customization is limited
•     Unlike being an administrator of some non-FB communities (like blogs or wikis),there’s no automated way to moderate activity. You have to manually check for new links, videos, etc.
•     Word is, these groups are also very tricky to delete (Editor Comment - Only way to delete a group is to ask everyone to leave the group, then it just closes. There is no delete button)
  

Then add:

•     Fan: both these pages allow administrators to turn on a fan function. Allowing fans lets your organization rack up contacts (just like a personal profile allows you to add friends)
•     Cause: Want to raise money, enable supporters to raise money, win volunteers, etc? Facebook’s new action-based app is Causes. It’s a good add for a group or page strategy. But, because it requires users to add an application, it’s definitely not a standalone.

Quick update in response to an offline discussion:

Q: What's the difference between a profile and a page?
A: Short answer: a profile is for people; a page is for non-people (or super people, i.e. celebs). Profiles are the basic building blocks of FB. They represent its millions of members. In a longer answer, I'd also tell you that pages allow a lot more customization and flexibility ... but, I think this whole person vs. nonperson thing gives you the talking point most people need.

Statistical Data on the Growth of the 'Class of 2012' Facebook Groups

The idea that new students are orienting themselves on Facebook without institutional guidance is a reality as discussed previously on the Student Affairs blog. Search Facebook for "Class of 2012" and you can see with your own eyes the trend. But we are lacking the hard data such as what percentage of new students join these groups or how influential are these groups. It's an opportunity for interested academic researchers to investigate as I suspect this is not a short term trend.

Through a very simple study, Brad J. Ward from SquaredPeg has been tracking the activity of the Butler Class of 2012 Facebook Group. His three metrics are the # of Members, Wall Posts, and Discussion Posts.

This is only the current screen shot of Brad's data, but you can follow his latest by visiting his Google Spread Sheet.

I would love to see a series of data points like this one for a big enough sampling of 2012 groups so academia can get a better idea of when new students start engaging in these groups.

Can someone start this now or are we too late and needed to start back in January? I suspect the window of opportunity to track the activity is almost closed for this upcoming school year.

It would also be interesting to see when these groups were created. The group page doesn't say the creation date, but one way to get a rough idea of the creation date is to look at when the first comment was made. The first comment on the Butler group was Jan 4th 2008.

Other open questions I have:

1. Should an official of the institution (probably someone within student affairs / admission) create groups for 2013, 14, 15?
2. Will students use the group if it is school sponsored?
3. Are the students who create the groups student leaders in high school? What is their motivation?
4. Are these students willing to work with (or even be hired by) the institution to manage the group?
5. Are institutions willing to give up the control and outsource the work to an incoming freshman?

As Students Go Mobile, Will Student Affairs Follow?

Long a prediction, not at all a surprise, perhaps more hype, but seems even more real:

In very short, Yahoo is planning to release an "all-in-one" messaging service for cell phones. This will include text messaging, instant messaging, email, and . . . oh yes, facebook.

And not just any method messaging - it will also include something that is called "Pulse" which includes Facebook status and . . . hard to tell from the screen shot. . . perhaps feeds from other services that know where you are, and perhaps some full fledged geolocation (if the phone has GPS or uses something else) .

Even if Yahoo doesn't get it right, the iPhone is soon to allow anyone to develop software on it (and you can be sure there will be aggregation services, IM's and facebook integrations) and other cell phone makers are catching up rapidly. (Don't think the iPhone type functionality is only for geeks, if it follows the RAZR price curve, there will be free versions with plans sometime next year.)

So the question for Student Affairs professionals: as students increase their connectedness by communicating on the fly through multiple methods on their cell phones, and, as they expose their own whereabouts and activities to their friends, will Student Affairs plug in to this? Can/Will/Should Student Affairs be a "friend"?

Before the jump to personal / professional separation kicks in, keep in mind students look at this differently. Much of their communication is limited to friends (as defined by facebook behavioral norms) it's kind of a "you're in or you're out" sort of thing.

Email, at the moment, is the preferred communication method for universities as it's established and easy. It's a recognized problem that students don't check email (especially official school email) and we can expect email use to decrease further compared to other channels that are getting increasingly convenient, mobile, and socially driven.

What about assessment?

How convenient to track GPS to figure out who went to what in orientation. What if the students didn't care? What if they actively published their location and status information to their friends and were fine with letting the university follow their digital foot prints?

Sound far fetched? Not so much.

Well anyways. Here it comes. And here come the issues:

Communication Needs
Unexpected Consequences
Context
Privacy vs. Transparency
Assessment vs. Invasion [Note: Context switch ; )]
FERPA (signed and written consent! sign a cell phone?) and lawywers (duty of care) [Note: This link is sarcastic.]

Good times!

Did You Know? The Viral Video on Education by Karl Fisch

The Did You Know? video originally started out as a PowerPoint presentation by Karl Fisch for a faculty meeting in August 2006 at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, United States. The presentation "went viral" on the Web in February 2007 and, as of June 2007, had been seen by at least 5 million online viewers. Today the old and new versions of the online presentation have been seen by at least 10 million people, not including the countless others who saw it at conferences, workshops, training institutes, and other venues.

Here is another variation of the video I created by adding a different style of background music:



Some of the data is already outdated such as Myspace now has over 200 million users (as of Sept 2007) and would be the 5th largest nation in the world between Indonesia and Brazil. This just shows the exponential growth of technology.

If you want to dig deeper, here's a link to all the sources in the video. Also here are two more videos created by Anthropology Professor, Michael Wesch, with his class at Kansas State University:

A Vision of Students Today

Academia 2.0

The New Age of Student Event Marketing - The 2D Barcode System

Sandra is sprinting as fast as she can down the hall so she isn't late for her Chemistry class. Halfway down the hall she approaches a table staffed by the Student Soccer Club who are trying to recruit new members. Sandra has always had a passion for soccer, but knows she can't be late for the class. As she goes by the table, there aren't any paper handouts for her to grab, instead she pulls out her cell phone and takes a picture of a 2D barcode sitting on the table. "Thanks!" she yells as she rushes on to just make it to class on time. Moments later her phone vibrates with an incoming txt that lets her know when the next soccer pick up game is, a link to the soccer club Facebook group, and a link to RSVP for the next game.

It's called 2D Barcodes and Case Western Reserve University is the first large scale school to test the system. From student event marketing, mapping bus routes, and in class Q&A, 2D Barcodes, or QR Codes, will probably be the next big technology to hit your campus and become a normal part of everyday life.

Case Western is working with Mobile Discovery and Scanbuy to make the new technology happen. Only people with a Case.edu email can sign up at Mobile Discovery and download the software needed to translate the 2D codes.

Set up is not as easy as point and shoot yet, but I suspect that as it becomes more popular, there will be more open source options that allow anyone to take a picture of any bar code and receive information. That is if schools will be ok with opening up more.

Why College Programming Conferences such as APCA and NACA Matter

After my last post about how Bemidji State University is using Sonicbids to book artists for their coffeehouse acts, Nancy Oeswein of Auburn Moon Agency sent me a detailed email outlining why online booking is no substitute for the value of a face-to-face programming conference.

Nancy is a good friend of mine as well as to many student activity advisors and student leaders across the country. The bottom line is she cares. She cares about the artists she represents, she cares about the programming quality at each school, and she cares about the entire college entertainment market. She cares so much that she participates in several boards to discuss the future of student activities.

Online showcasing and online artist booking are hot issues and the debate will continue well past this post because technology is increasing exponentially. Sonicbids is just the start.

I fall on the side of using technology to increase the effectiveness of face-to-face moments, not to replace it. I think technology can go a long way in improving programming conferences, but as for now, I don't think it can, nor should replace the conferences.

Here are several quotes from Nancy's email:

• Conferences provide networking opportunities among student leaders, people who share their passions, people who might have solutions to their problems, people who might hire them.
• Conferences provide hours of educational sessions targeted at their specific needs in all aspects of programming
• The experiential education of participating in the conference process from ed sessions, networking, showcasing, volunteering, co-op buying, building relationships could not be taught in a year of classroom work
• Personal enrichment...I was a student myself in NACA and I remember my conference experiences now 20+ years later....I probably couldn't describe one class I took in any detail.
• Technology is a pale, pale replacement for face to face contact with Artists & Agents.
  
• Every year I am approached by students who tell me I changed their life...thru a conversation, an example, an ed session; I don't think that has ever happened with one I didn't meet face to face.
• The whole point of showcases is to see how Artist engages students live.  As an agent, I can tell you that maybe 5% of my Artist's videos really capture the magic that they create Live.  It's nearly an impossible feat.  And there isn't a week that goes by that I don't hear a student or advisor complain that they had a bad behavioral or performing experience with someone they found on the internet (without benefit of agency screening or what self-repped Artists learn from participating in APCA or NACA conferences).  The opportunity to engage Artists in conversation teaches you a lot about their appropriateness.  I know we spend hours conducting interviews and reference checks and screen hundreds of Artists every year to pick 1 or 2 new ones.  There is so much that goes in to making a good college act beyond who has a friend with access to great professional video equipment.  If a picture is worth a thousand, a video is worth ten thousand, then a live showcase in front of an audience of your peers is worth a million in what it can tell you about that Artist.
• Showcase selection committees typically have years of experience and spend 4 non-stop days pouring thru and evaluating submission materials, that include a wide variety of background and info.   In addition to all the other enrichment of the conference, the students get to see live the fruits of those labors...so much more time effective than spending days pouring over EPKs that haven't been screened by any agency or committee.
  
• Ultimately the fact that this is so much LESS cost effective for Artists will eventually drive up costs significantly to schools or bankrupt most Agencies & artists.
• CO-OP BUYING saves schools thousands every year. It's never been done effectively on-line.
• My company has done 15,000+ shows on college campuses in 14 years, plus everyone here was a student and/or advisor in NACA/APCA before becoming an agent....we have screened and referenced checked and spend hundreds of hours preparing and educating our Artists about the road, and how to be both appropriate and to ensure that they are engaging on college campuses...our Artists are more accountable for their actions with the power of an agency that is providing their livelihood....etc. etc.....I don't think anyone could possibly question that we have something to teach students every day about selecting, promoting and producing shows.  The relationships students develop with experienced professionals committed to teaching them could not be replaced by a sonic community.
  

Bemidji State University Programming Board uses Sonicbids to find Coffeehouse Acts

The normal way of finding new artists to book is to attend a programming conference, watch several showcases, block book with other schools, and be done.

The programming board at Bemidji State University is trying a new method, well at least new to me. They are using Sonicbids, a sort of online showcase place for talent, to post an open casting call for artists to fill their coffeehouse performances.

Bemidji State University is currently accepting submissions for performances during the Fall 2008 semester. Located in Bemidji, MN and enrolling over 4,500 students, they typically book 2-3 artists for Coffeehouse performances each semester.

Performances will take place in the Lower Union on campus during lunch hours. Local, regional, and touring acoustic acts are welcome to submit for consideration. Specifically, the school in interested in smaller, acoustic alternative rock, indie, folk, R&B and pop acts.

Artists will be compensated for their performances with a negotiable amount ranging from $500-$800, all inclusive. The school will provide a PA system. Past performers include Julie Moffitt, Tyler James, Shevy Smith, and others.

I think this does several things for the artist booking process:

1. Saves the school money and time of going to the conferences.
2. Allows the school to set their budget and have the artist submit interest, instead of the artist setting their fee and the school submitting interest.
3. Better organization and environmentally sound as it is all done electronically.
4. More artists are given a shot at being booked as it is very cheap to use Sonicbids.

I'll contact the Bemidji programming board and ask them to comment on this post to let us know how the process is going. Has anyone else used Sonicbids to book acts?

A Technology Festivus for the Restofus

I just came across an explanation of social bookmarking (i.e. delicious.com) by Common Craft and it's a quick solution to two questions I've been asked many times:

"Ummm. . . what is delicious and why should I care?"

Here you go . . . three minutes and twenty-five seconds to clarity:

So then I was excited and poked around all their stuff, where I found videos for two more "new ideas" made simple: RSS and Wiki's.

Enjoy!

RSS In Plain English

Wiki's in Plain English

Great work by Common Craft. And a great, extremely easy, way for advisors to share technology with others that may not fully get it yet!

Faculty Ethics on Facebook - The Collaborative Project

Mark Clague, a faculty member at Michigan State, created a Facebook group titled Faculty Ethics on Facebook. The goal of the group is to collectively define a set of guidelines for faculty members to use when entering into the social networking world.

Here's the current list:

1. Keeping official course activities in official online tools and not on Facebook.

2. Never requiring students to participate in Facebook or having Facebook participation influence a course grade. (An exception is for class projects that might use Facebook for research purposes [such as a statistical analysis of how Facebook groups grow and fade] and make their connection to a course explicit.)

3. Not friending students unless they request the connection. Not poking students. Never pressuring students to friend the professor (such as repeated mention of a faculty profile in class).

4. Accepting friend requests from all students (unless the instructor makes the decision not to friend students at all).

5. Not looking at student profiles unless the faculty member has been friended by the student and even then using Facebook information judiciously and for educational purposes. In short, not spying on students, but getting to know them better when invited to do so.

6. Faculty members should avoid association with Facebook groups with explicit sexual content or views that might offend or compromise the student / teacher relationship. This guideline must be applied sensitively within the context of a diverse educational environment in which both students and faculty practice tolerance and accept competing views.

7. Taking extreme care with privacy settings and faculty profile content to limit profiles to information relevant to educational purposes. A broad variety of information may be appropriate, however, given the area of expertise / subject, the local customs of an instructor's school, and the personal dynamics of his or her classroom. Content should be placed thoughtfully and periodically reconsidered to maintain this educational standard.

8. Exercising appropriate discretion when using Facebook for personal communications (with friends, colleagues, other students, etc.) with the knowledge that faculty behavior on Facebook may be used as a model by our students.

9. Never misrepresenting oneself by using a false name or persona on Facebook, unless that characterization is connected explicitly with the real identity of the instructor.

10. Considering that the uneven power dynamics of the academy in which professors have authority over students, continue to shape the online relationship, even when the network tool (such as Facebook) is apparently democratic.

11. Keeping wall posts and other Facebook communication in concord with standard ethical practices of the educational relationship.

12. Never posting official course communication (feedback on an assignment, for example) in a public area of Facebook. Feedback might be given through private Facebook messaging when the student has asked a question via Facebook or a previous friend connection exists.

I previously posted a similar set of guidelines and think the two compliment each other well. What do you think about the guidelines? Would they work for you? If you were to add or change a point, what would it be? Join the discussion on this collaborative list and share your two cents.

The Best Free Software

I'm a enthusiastic practitioner of "freeware," free software that is available for use without payment of any kind.  I find that freeware is often created away from the "corporate culture" and is often more efficient and effective than it's commercial counterparts.

I use Firefox for my browser, and Thunderbird for my email.  I use Open Office instead of Microsoft Office-- which includes the Open Office equivalents for word processing, data base, spreadsheets, and more.  All of my college presentations and lectures have developed on "Impress" which is the Open Office version of PowerPoint.

I rip my MP3s with AudioGrabber.  I have a multi-track digital recording system on my notebook computer called Kristal, which I've used to produce not just demos but at least one song currently getting radio play.  I use CDBurner to burn CDs. 

I view my digital photos with IrfanView.   If the photos need to be touched up, I use Gimp (nearly as good as Photoshop, in my opinion).   

I create my PDF files with a program called CutePDF-- it installs like a printer, and when I want to create a PDF I simply choose it as my printer and Voila!  It works with any program, whether its word processing, desktop publishing, database, spreadsheet, etc.  And, as you might imagine, I read PDF files with Foxit, which I find much more useful and quicker than Acrobat

When I want to rip a DVD to my hard drive, I use DVDShrink. I use AnyVideoConverter to convert the DVD video to files I can upload to YouTube.

You get the idea.  There is really a lot of wonderful free software available online.  You can always do a Google search, but I generally start Here and Here.

Of course, much of the freeware in the computer world is like most of the computers in the computer world:  it's Windows based.  But don't assume that without checking, because many of these programs are also available for Mac.  I know a number of you are Mac zealots (even beyond fanatics!).   I even have a free software site for you:  Mac Recon.

So the next time you need to do something with your computer that calls for new software, check for freeware before you spend a fortune at the software vendor.  You might find something that works for you.