A few days before Christmas, Brad Ward uncovered, on his blog, a scheme perpetuated by College Prowler and another company to create hundreds (more than 300 according to Brad’s research) of Facebook “Class of 2013″ groups under false pretense and using some trademarked material (logo, name, etc.)

A lot has been written about the topic, but it looks like things have settled down on the Facebook front thanks to Brad and the community - some “fake” groups were deleted by Facebook itself, and it seems like others have been handed over to legitimate admins, i.e real admitted students of the Class of 2013.

But, the biggest lesson in the wake of this FacebookGate is just a reminder:
Institutions can’t control everything - especially when using a third-party website like Facebook.

Good news is that alternatives (some almost free, others a bit more expensive) to Facebook are available if your institution want to interact with prospective, admitted or current students in a controlled environment.

Mark Greenfield (UB), Mike Caulfield (MIT OpenCourseWare) and Adam Stahr (UNL) will share winning strategies, good tips and practical advice on how to use these alternatives - including the NING platform available for free - in a 3-webinar series scheduled next week (Jan 13-15, 2009).

Webinars: Higher Ed Experts

The goal of this series - that was scheduled before the FacebookGate story broke - is to help you evaluate and create a private social networking website, the perfect solution if all the media attention around the Facebook groups has scared your boss or your Admissions folks.

I’ve just postponed the registration deadline for this series to this Friday - January 9, 2009 at 9PM ET.

You can find out more about Social Networks MBA, this 3-webinar series, and secure your spot (places are limited) by visiting www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Questions? Just email karine@collegewebeditor.com

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

My first UB column for 2009 (actually it’s the one that was scheduled for the December 2008 issue) is now available in the January issue as well as online: “Should You Twitter? Real and effective communication, 140 characters at a time”

Here’s a quick excerpt to give you a reason to read the column:

Wondering why you should read a column about a web service powering the dissemination of 140-character messages?

Here’s a short, 140-character answer about Twitter: It can help individuals and institutions reach out to their network to share info, request help, organize, and update everyone in real time.

A bit dry, I know. [The column includes] a few more examples to illustrate the long answer.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, you can do so at http://twitter.com/karinejoly.

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Most of you have probably been asked to kiss goodbye 10%, 20% or even more of your office budget for this year. Not yet? Well, I hate to say that, but it’s probably coming your way for next year.

So, I’ve decided to take on a new mission: hunt vendor deals and other bargains for you my dear readers. When I stumble upon a great deal offered by higher ed vendors, I’ll make sure to let you know (and, here is your cue if you’re working for a higher ed vendor and want to get featured on this blog - so, get creative and send me your best deals/bargains/offers, but beware that I’ll make the final decision to write about them. Sorry no free advertising on this blog).

Let’s start with a deal offered by the email marketing provider I recently switched to for my newsletters: Vertical Response.

First, the bad news for some of you: this deal will only work if you have 501 c 3 non-profit status (or the Canadian or UK equivalent) and can prove it.

That’s you? Great, keep reading.

What’s the deal?

Vertical Response will let you send 10,000 emails per month for free.

If you go beyond this cap, you’ll get a 15% discount on their rate starting at 15 cents per email.

What does the fine print say?

You just need to sign up for a free account (you can cancel your account whenever you want and you’ll be asked for a credit card only when/if you need to buy extra credits) and then prove your 501 c 3 status by filling out an online application.

How do you get started?

Just by signing up for a free Vertical Response account. You’ll get some free credits (I set up a new account yesterday for somebody else and got 100 free credits) to play.

BTW, you don’t need to be a non-profit to do the test drive with this free account.

If you want to say thanks for the tip, just use this link to sign up for your free account or click on the screenshot above (as I said, I’m a VP client and will receive $2 for each new sign ups)

If you prefer other ways to say thanks (an email, a nice comment or maybe chocolates?), here’s the other link to sign up.

And, last but not least, here’s the link for the non-profit online application.
Now, you’re all set.

I’ve just wrapped up the upcoming webinar series for the first quarter of 2009, and I hope you’ll like the result.

With the tougher budget times we’re all facing in higher education, I’ve decided to focus the next webinar series I design for Higher Ed Experts on topics that will help you do more with less: social media, saving big, going paperless with your publications and implementing effective analytics programs for your Web and email initiatives.

As usual, places are limited, so it’s always wise to register ahead of time if you want to secure a spot for your team. You can register by visiting each of the dedicated web addresses of the series.

Social Networks MBA: How to develop and nurture a thriving community
January 13, 14 & 15, 2009
“Social Networks MBA” is a 3-webinar series that will help you decide if your institution should launch its own private niche social networking website. After this series, you will know why and how to nurture and develop a thriving online community around your own social networking website.

• Besides and Beyond Facebook: Do’s and Don’t’s for your niche social network by Mark Greenfield (University at Buffalo)
• ROI-Oriented Social Network in a Box: Why and how to buy an integrated social network by Adam Stahr (UNL)
• Add-Member Social Network Mix : Why and how to host your free online community on Ning by Mike Caulfiled (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Register by December 19 January 9, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Saving Big: Winning strategies to get better results even with a crunched budget
February 4 & 5, 2009
“Saving Big” is a 2-webinar series that will show you how embracing the right digital approach can help you dramatically cut costs while still meeting the needs of your target audiences. It will show you why and how social media can become a very budget-friendly asset in the battle to attract, engage and win over the brightest, but also why and how to save on any publication budgets without alienating readers and compromising editorial quality.

• Recruiting on a budget 101: Master plan to win the social media jackpot with prospective students by Rachel Reuben (SUNY at New Paltz)
• Taming the print beast: How to stretch the publication dollars of your institution by Joe Hice (UF)

Register at by January 26, 2009 www.higheredexperts.com/savingbig

Stop the Presses: Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter
March 3, 4 & 5, 2009
“Stop the Presses” is a 3-webinar series that will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications. It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.

• Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital by John Lofy (Michigan University)
• Paper and Pixels 101 by Bonny Griffith (Ithaca College)
• The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine by Karl Bates (Duke University)

Register by Feburary 23, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Analytics 360: How to track and measure (and show to your boss) the ROI of your online initiatives
March 24, 25 & 26, 2009
“Analytics 360″ is a 3-webinar series that will help you jump start, fine tune and optimize an effective web and email analytics program for your institution or your department. It will show you the best way to track and measure important data with the help of the tool of the trade, Google Analytics, calculate return on investment and use your analytics program to improve your web and email initiatives.

• Web Analytics 101: How to plan, start and implement a comprehensive analytics program by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Web Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your web initiatives by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Email Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your email initiatives by Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth College)

Register by March 16, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/analytics360

Questions? Email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

So, here is another one: the list of the top 10 most viewed posts that were published in 2008 on this blog - each of them was viewed more than 1,000 times, so I guess you might want to add them to your reading list if you skipped them previously.

1. How to get a branded YouTube channel for your institution in just a few easy steps
2. How to transfer your Facebook group members to your Facebook page
3. Don’t upload your higher ed video to YouTube (or other video-sharing websites) before doing these 5 simple things
4. After 2 dorms were destroyed by a tornado and its website went down, Union University relies on a blog and its Facebook page for its online emergency communications
5. Northern Illinois University: Another tragedy unfolding on the website homepage
6. Facebook pages now support Flash, HTML and photo uploads by users
7. OSU’s new homepage includes a tag cloud for most popular links
8. Admissions Offices spend twice more of their budget on print than on electronic student recruitment methods
9. Email, Gmail, Hotmail and Beyond: Outsourcing email for better and worse?
10. Get the report about the state of advertising and sponsorship in print and electronic higher ed publications

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Holiday Greetings from the University of Maryland

Like last year, the 2-minute video is also available on Youtube (56 views at the time of this writing):

‘Tis the season (even though it doesn’t feel like it sometimes with all the bad economic/budget news), so why don’t you share with us the holiday card of your institution by posting a comment. If I get a few, I’ll feature them in a future post.

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

If you’re not familiar with Ning, here’s what I wrote about it in University Business a couple of months ago:

Launched in October 2004, Ning is a social networking platform aimed at giving anyone the opportunity to create social networks for anything. Offered as a free web service-with some premium options for minimal monthly costs-Ning now powers thousands of niche social networking websites. With extended privacy settings and flexible state-of-the-art social networking features, this platform has gained some traction in higher education as a viable alternative to solutions offered by traditional vendors.

Among the institutions using the Ning platform are Keene State College (N.H.) for its private social networking website targeted to alums; the University of Richmond for a university-specific network open to students, faculty, staff, and alumni; the University of Wales, Newport (U.K.), for an online community targeted to new and prospective students; and the University of Maryland School of Social Work for My Social netWork, a website dedicated to the school’s new and current students.

Ning is definitely something you want to check out if you’re planning to launch an online community or social networking website for prospective/current students, alums or your campus community at large - especially in those tough budget times since this platform is very powerful, but doesn’t cost a dime (or a very minimal fee if you want your site to be ad-free).

Mark Greenfield from the University at Buffalo has become a sort of Ning evangelist in higher ed. Beyond his work on the uwebd social networking website - powered by Ning - Mark has also created several Ning websites for his institution and several associations.
Mike Caulfield launched the alum community of Keene State College powered by Ning last April. Mike has also been a very active political online community organizer.

Both Mark and Mike will be joined by Adam Stahr from UNL on January 13-15, 2009 to present the 3 webinars of “Social Networks MBA,” a series that you shouldn’t miss if you are in charge of an online community/social networking website for your institution.

Already sold on the idea?
You can get more information and register for Social Networks MBA at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba.

If you want to learn more about the different sessions, just keep reading:

“Social Networks MBA” is a 3-webinar series that will help you decide if your institution should launch its own private niche social networking website. After this series, you will know why and how to nurture and develop a thriving online community around your own social networking website.

January 13, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 20, 2009 1PM-2PM ET 1PM-2PM ET
Besides and Beyond Facebook: Do’s and Don’t’s for your niche social network
Mark Greenfield, director of Web Services at UB, will help you figure out if a niche social network is what your institution needs to communicate with all or some of its constituents. Mark will share best practices and lessons learned in launching and maintaining a few niche social networks including a private site targeted to current students and a public site for higher ed web professionals.

January 14, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 21, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
ROI-Oriented Social Network in a Box: Why and how to buy an integrated social network
Adam Stahr, Assistant Director for Special Communication at UNL Admissions Office, will explain why and how his institution launched Club Red, a private social networking website targeted to admitted students. Adam will also help you understand what it takes to run a social network that delivers results and great return on investment.

January 15, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 22, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
Add-Member Social Network Mix : Why and how to host your free online community on Ning
Mike Caulfield, director of Web communications at Keene State College, will explain why and how his institution launched “About Keene and After,“ a private social networking website targeted to alums, in almost no time and no cost by leveraging the Ning platform. Mike will also share good tips and practical advice to jump start and nurture a community.

Find out more about this 3-webinar series at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba. And, if you have any questions, feel free to email karine@collegewebeditor.com

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

I’m not in the market yet. But the other day, my 12-year-old, Morry, showed me this funny video clip he’d seen on one of the free online games he plays. (Yes, we’re cheap and we’re raising cheap kids.) It showed a really rotten rapper singing the praises of his college, Roanoke, and getting rejected at mascot tryouts. Morry clicked on another clip, this one of a redneck also trying out. Rejected. A streaker? Rejected. A goth girl? Rejected. Every possible stereotype had a 30-second audition in front of a weary, bemused panel of judges à la “American Idol,” and they all failed delightfully.

“Roanoke College,” mused Morry. “I’m thinking of going there. Or M.I.T.”

As this was our first college conversation, I had to find out more about this campy campaign.

A quick look at Roanoke College’s channel on Youtube shows that these videos did have some real traction with their target audiences — including the rapper video the Advertising Age journalist’s son loved so much with close to 70,000 views at the time of this writing (although this success might be explained by the ads the college bought on an online gaming website as reported in the article).

Roanoke College used a very interesting tactics that you might want to steal for your next viral video campaign. They posted some of these videos as replies to other popular high traffic YouTube videos, piggybacking on their success.

If you’d like to view all the videos, I’ve compiled a nice playlist of the 11 videos for your convenience.

The whole campaign is supported by a dedicated website to engage even further high school seniors: Classic College.

What do you think? Have your institution launched something similar?

Even though economic crises can usually translate into positive outcomes (increased enrollment with many laid-off workers going back to college to upgrade their skill set), I have serious doubts about it in this specific case.

Didn’t the whole thing started with a financing meltdown?

The New York Times seems to agree with me today (not personally, but still) on this point in an article about a recently released report, article published today on its website: “College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.”

The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, adjusted for inflation, while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ve all started to feel the pinch that is going to spread to our profession and industry. But, I’m wondering if you’ve already been asked to work on a similar type of the crisis communication website I stumbled upon this morning: Wesleyan’s “Securing The Future” website.

In the last update dated November 25, 2008 of this website launched in October, Wesleyan President Michael Roth even went on camera - in a short online video - to share an update about the current situation of the college budget and finances.

The website includes updates by the president, frequently asked questions and links to several posts Roth wrote about the topic on his blog, Roth on Wesleyan.

Have your top executives started to use the Web to communicate on this tough topic as well?
Do you think this is a good idea? Tell us by posting a comment.

How can we manage to keep up with all the amazing content and interesting conversations taking place in so many higher ed websites and blogs?

I tried the catch-up-date post a few weeks ago on this blog, but realized quickly they were also drawn in the sea of published content.

So, then I thought about email (maybe because I was promoting the Email Marketing 360 webinar series starting tomorrow)

Why not try to compile the best of the content published on all the sites we wish we could visit more often in a short right-to-the-point email newsletter sent every week or so?

The results of the survey we ran a month or so ago showed me it was worth trying (80% of the 540 respondents indicated they would be interested in receiving updates every other week), so I did and sent this morning - to the registered HEE members only - the first issue of this new email newsletter compiling:

• the latest higher ed jobs from www.higheredexperts.com/work,
• upcoming events and conferences pulled from the higher ed calendar I maintained on this blog,
• the 5 most engaging discussions on the uwebd Ning website,
• the 5 must-read posts from the higher ed blogosphere,
• the latest video website reviews from educheckup.com
• the 5 most popular websites at the edustyle gallery for the past 7 days

Want to check out the first issue sent this morning?
Here it is:

[higheredexperts.com] All the higher ed content that matters

If you’re a registered HEE members, you should have received it. If you’re not, but want to give this newsletter a try, you can just subscribe to it by filling out the form below:

Wondering how to better manage your online communities and social networking initiatives?

Register by December 19 for the Social Networks MBA Webinar Series scheduled on Jan 13, 14 & 15, 2009 ($300 for 3 webinars) at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba