Archive for February, 2008
I've just found out that the newly redesigned website - a design signed Jim Welch, an Admissions Counselor for Missouri State University - of the HighEdWeb conference is now live: This design was the winning entry of the contest launched to replace the old coffee mug theme. That's definitely a BIG change, don't you think? So, go check out the new website. You'll also see that the call for proposal is open.
Just forward this article published yesterday in the eMarketer newsletter (but hurry, these are usually only accessible for a limited-time only): "Student Noses Buried in Facebooks". According to Youth Trends' February 2008 “Top Ten List Report,” Facebook and YouTube are included in the top 3 picks for favorite websites - ahead of Google - named by college students. Heard recently about Facebook fatigue? Here's eMarketer analyst's take on the new buzz word: "Although some have suggested that consumers are less interested in social networking than they once were, that is clearly not the case for college students,” said Debra Aho Williamson,...
Read MoreI've already mentioned that my summer plans include a trip to Atlantic City, NJ this year as I'm scheduled to give the closing keynote presentation at the eduWeb conference (so, if you plan to attend, make sure you don't leave early -- pretty please ;-) Conference director Shelley Wetzel asked me to remind you all that the call for proposal is open until March 17. So, here's my reminder with 5 reasons for you to submit a proposal - in no particular order: Presenting at conferences can also be a great way to get some of the third-party validation we all need...
Read MoreThis morning, I received a few emails asking if it was still possible to register for the March 4-6 webinar series about Facebook applications (the initial registration deadline was yesterday). As a result, I decided to postpone the registration deadline until this Thursday (Feb 28) at 8PM ET. If you want to learn more on how to engage students via Facebook applications, this 3-webinar series featuring Chris Mocko (KissMe creator & Stanford graduate student), Mike Richwalsky (Allegheny College) and Dr. Tony Hirst (The Open University) should help. Institutions registered for this series include: Tufts University RIT/NTID Saint Michael's College Alfred University Berkeley College US Naval Academy Alumni Association University...
Read MoreThe popular social networking website has just announced yesterday a few new features for its Facebook pages on the Facebook page dedicated to Facebook pages (gosh, how many times can I write "Facebook" in a single sentence? ;-) including the following: Users will be able to upload photos to Pages. Check the settings on the Photos application on your Page to turn this on or off. You can now replace your profile picture on your page with dynamic content, including flash and fbml (a subset of html). Just install one of the apps (links to them are on the Facebook Pages page)...
Read MoreI haven't picked my dress yet for the walk on the red carpet, but I'm really excited to be part of this great initiative officially launched today by Stewart Foss, the founder of eduStyle - Stewart who also presents today the first webinar of "Website Redesign Boot Camp" about top trends in higher ed redesigns. So, what are those eduStyle Higher-ed Web Awards all about? Here's the answer straight from the source: These awards celebrate the best work in college and university websites of 2007. Thirty-five categories recognize the most innovative and exciting developments in key areas of higher education web development....
Read MoreAccording to a tip from a reader, I should be able to add a new entry to my higher ed facebook application directory soon. If this email from US News & World Report (that was forwarded to me this morning) is to be believed, this application will be launched along with a Facebook page for the release of the 2009 edition America's Best Graduate Schools at the end of March: [...] Facebook page and application that will be an all‑inclusive resource for information on graduate schools, rankings, and the grad school selection process for users and their friends. Using data...
Read MoreBy now, you've heard the news: a gun man shot 22 people yesterday at Northern Illinois University. Seven Six - including the gunman - died. All my prayers go to the families and friends of the victims as well as to the whole campus community at Northern Illinois University. There are some blog posts I would rather not write. This is one of them, but as I did at the time of the Virginia Tech Tragedy, I think it's important for the higher ed web and communication community to keep a record of the way NIU is handling this tragic event. Higher...
Read MoreToday, I’m celebrating the third “birthday” of this blog launched on February 12, 2005 as well as its 500th post, which means I posted exactly 200 posts since its last birthday - and I didn't do it on purpose ;-). Now with 946 readers via RSS feed (according to feedburner), 450 email newsletter subscribers and over 7000 unique visitors per month, this blog has exceeded all my wildest dreams (well, most of them at least ;-). When I started to blog 3 years ago (geez, don't I sound like an old lady?), the higher ed marketing and web blogosphere didn't really...
Read MoreThis morning, I received a few emails asking if it was still possible to register for the February 19-21 webinar series about website redesign (the initial registration deadline was yesterday). As a result, I decided to postpone the registration deadline until this Thursday (Feb 14) at 8PM ET - hey, the perfect gift for your Valentine ;-). If you want to learn more on how to prepare and survive a website redesign, this 3-webinar series featuring Stewart Foss (eduStyle), Nancy Prater (Ball State University) and Seth Meranda (UNL) should help. For more information and to register online, just go to www.higheredexperts.com/redesign And, if...
Read MoreBy now, you've probably heard (or seen on TV or on the Web) what happened last night at Union University in Jackson, TN. As reported by Ashley Anthony of The Jackson Sun in "Union University tornado damage update", 2 dormitories were destroyed in Tuesday night's tornado, 51 students were taken to the hospital and 9 stayed overnight. But, this emergency situation also made another casualty: the university website. As far as I can tell, the website was down all this morning -- until 12:30PM ET. Since an error page including an online form showed up at that time, I guess it wasn't due to...
Read MoreI've just filled out an online survey from Jupiter Research about online social marketing with lots of questions about blogs, social networking websites, facebook widgets (or applications as they are called by facebook) and the likes. While more and more big brands are starting to engage their target audiences on facebook via these applications, only a few universities and colleges (fewer than 20 as you can see in my higher ed facebook application directory) have created an application of their own. Kind of strange when you think about it. Almost all our student population (prospective, current and even young alums) live inside...
Read MoreAs I mentioned in a previous post about new initiatives in the higher ed designer community, John Strubel, Higher Ed Experts member and Web developer at Charleston Southern University, has been working very hard on a new website targeted to university web designers: eduDesigners.com. I’ve been watching the site developed over the past couple of weeks and I’m really impressed with the quality of what I saw. That's why I asked John to tell us more about this new initiative. 1) You've just launched a new website targeted to web designers working in colleges and universities. Why did you decide to...
Read MoreAs regular readers know, I design and schedule several webinar series per year for Higher Ed Experts. Since it doesn't make sense to have a series at the same time of a big conference, I keep track of some of the main events held throughout the year by different organizations and associations. And, I do that in a nifty Google Calendar. This weekend, while I was updating this calendar of higher ed conferences and events, I realized that it would be a great tool for the community at large. I'm updating it anyway, so why not share it with everybody, right? That's...
Read MoreI don't know if this is due to something in the water (or in the air), but the higher ed web community is bubbling with great new initiatives. Here's a quick list of what's going on. Andy Shaindlin who blogs at Alumni Futures wants to encourage you to brainstorm new ideas to improve higher ed administration with a contest. He provides some help to get your started with your brainstorming as well as nice prizes for the best submitted idea. John Strubel, HEE member and Web developer at Charleston Southern University, has been working very hard on a new website targeted to...
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