Web Manager at Marymount University in Arlington, VA, Rob Pongsajapan has a background in computer information systems and online journalism. This crossover pro reports to the VP for Communications and Marketing. He is responsible for the 10,000-page university website developed and maintained through a mix of good old HTML (moving to XHTML/CSS) coding and the use of Contribute.
Update – Karine’s note: Rob does “live the web” on his blog, but he also shows us how he loves playing with words…
What’s your background? What did you do before becoming a higher ed web pro?
I’ve been working on the web since 1995, with stints in online journalism, the association world, and higher education.
I worked as the New Media Director at the Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University’s student newspaper, while working on my bachelor’s degree in computer information systems. At the IDS, I created a PHP/MySQL content management system and handled all the design for the site.
After college, I worked for an association for a year before I landed at The George Washington University in Washington, DC as a web designer. At GW, I designed department sites, handled the data portion of the interactive campus map (built in Flash), and assisted with the redesign of myGW, the University’s portal. I also gave presentations on web writing, HTML, and web design. About a year ago, I jumped from GW to Marymount. I’ve had a completely different set of challenges here as the web manager for a much smaller institution.
I see many parallels between the web issues facing higher education and the issues facing online journalism. In the newsroom, the web site was frequently an afterthought–busy editors and writers didn’t have time to consider the specific demands of preparing content for the web. Additionally, the web was often considered a distraction from the print core of journalism. It’s a similar situation in higher education–especially at smaller institutions, where the web site is often seen as a burden rather than an opportunity.
What’s your biggest achievement as a higher ed web pro?
I’ve read some stultifying web content over the years, so it was satisfying to initially develop my “Writing for the Web” presentation at GW and refine it at Marymount. I’ve always felt that higher education web professionals need to look outside academia for inspiration, and I used lessons learned elsewhere (online journalism, personal web sites/blogs, etc.) to construct my presentation. The trick is to get writers to get comfortable with switching roles and approaching their own site in the guise of a user.
What’s the most difficult part of your job?
Web evangelism is extremely taxing–it can be very difficult to convince an institution that the web is a vital component rather than an awkward graft. However, the most rewarding part of my job is when I’m able to reach someone and see that light turn on in their head when they get it.
In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge we face as web pros in our industry?
I’m going to cheat and list two challenges.
First: Convincing institutional stakeholders to invest in the web. Anyone who’s been in the trenches probably winces at the mere thought of this. This is another commonality between online journalism and higher education–both are significantly behind the curve and have been trying to play catch-up for a number of years.
Second: How do you assemble the perfect web team in higher education? Do you need a designer, a developer, a writer/editor, and a project manager with strictly defined roles? Should you hire a team of generalists that can handle each role individually? Does power rest with an IT department or with a communications department, and how do you balance each department’s respective strengths and priorities?
Any good advice to share with your fellow higher ed web pros?
The best way to know the web is to live the web. Start a blog or an old-fashioned site, throw up some ideas and see what evolves. Participate in online communities and you’ll get a better sense of how they could operate at your institution. Through this online mental exercise, you’ll be better prepared to handle institutional challenges with knowledge gleaned from your travels and experiences.
On a personal note, I’d like to see more higher ed web pros communicating with each other. In my experience, I’ve found that conferences can be a wonderful, life-affirming confluence of people who ordinarily work alone. This interaction can be all too brief, however–conversations tend to stop when the conference concludes, aside from the occasional mailing list.
There’s got to be a better way to sustain communication within our social group. An online collaborative space could go a long way towards bringing people together to work on common problems.
What about a couple of good links?
- “Blogging Clicks With Colleges” – Washington Post
- Organization in the Way: How Decentralization Hobbles the User Experience – Adaptive Path
- A List Apart
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