Comments on: We Want More! http://eduwebbuzz.com/blog/2008/05/07/we-want-more/ the "buzz" on marketing and web development in higher education and beyond Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:39:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: lance.merker http://eduwebbuzz.com/blog/2008/05/07/we-want-more/#comment-334339 Tue, 13 May 2008 20:10:31 +0000 http://eduwebbuzz.com/blog/2008/05/07/we-want-more/#comment-334339 You points are very good! Finding the right bloggers and trusting them is key. However the political reality for many institutions I've spoken with is that some form of veto power over blog entries is the key to getting their blog initiative off the ground. The ability to approve blogs for inappropriate content (even if it never occurs) might be the only way. As for the right number of bloggers, I agree that too many blogs can be an issue. However, be prepared to replace those who don't participate. Presenting blogs that have little activity could be counter productive to your goals! You points are very good! Finding the right bloggers and trusting them is key. However the political reality for many institutions I’ve spoken with is that some form of veto power over blog entries is the key to getting their blog initiative off the ground. The ability to approve blogs for inappropriate content (even if it never occurs) might be the only way. As for the right number of bloggers, I agree that too many blogs can be an issue. However, be prepared to replace those who don’t participate. Presenting blogs that have little activity could be counter productive to your goals!

]]> by: Bradjward http://eduwebbuzz.com/blog/2008/05/07/we-want-more/#comment-329081 Thu, 08 May 2008 01:07:55 +0000 http://eduwebbuzz.com/blog/2008/05/07/we-want-more/#comment-329081 I don't think I agree with a few of your comments. #1 - "ensure that you can monitor and veto blog posts before they are live on the web." Never, never, never. Instead, get student bloggers you can trust and allow them to run the show. In 150+ blog posts this year and over 800 forum posts, I have not moderated a single thing. Give the students the benefit of doubt here. Our most popular blog posts are about parties and picture of parties as well as athletic events and greek life. You say that bloggers know what topics their peers want to hear, which is correct. However, moderating will only eliminate the topics that students want to hear. It's all about authenticity, not controlled content. #2 - Dead on. Video is a great enhancement to a post. #3 - According to this formula, I would have needed FORTY bloggers to get my expected results of 8 good blogs for my prospective students. I had 8 bloggers ( <a href="http://go.butler.edu/cs" title="Blogs here." rel="nofollow">)this year and they all posted the same amount of content, 27-35 posts in 32 weeks without reminders. Maybe I just had amazing students?? On the topic of "And, worst of all, you won’t know which ones until it’s too late", I would say that a good blogging advisor would be checking in each week to see what is being posted. My rule is that if someone hasn't posted within the past 14 days, I send them a reminder and occasionally offer a topic suggestion. I think I only had to send about 5 of those emails this year. I think that any more than 8-10 bloggers is overkill and the prospective students will a) not take the time to read them all, b) not engage in conversation with the bloggers, and c) won't develop a meaningful relationship with the student blogger, which is ultimately the goal. If you can build relationships between prospective students and current students, your yield of those students will be much higher. I don’t think I agree with a few of your comments.

#1 - “ensure that you can monitor and veto blog posts before they are live on the web.” Never, never, never. Instead, get student bloggers you can trust and allow them to run the show. In 150+ blog posts this year and over 800 forum posts, I have not moderated a single thing. Give the students the benefit of doubt here. Our most popular blog posts are about parties and picture of parties as well as athletic events and greek life. You say that bloggers know what topics their peers want to hear, which is correct. However, moderating will only eliminate the topics that students want to hear. It’s all about authenticity, not controlled content.

#2 - Dead on. Video is a great enhancement to a post.

#3 - According to this formula, I would have needed FORTY bloggers to get my expected results of 8 good blogs for my prospective students.

I had 8 bloggers ( )this year and they all posted the same amount of content, 27-35 posts in 32 weeks without reminders. Maybe I just had amazing students??

On the topic of “And, worst of all, you won’t know which ones until it’s too late”, I would say that a good blogging advisor would be checking in each week to see what is being posted. My rule is that if someone hasn’t posted within the past 14 days, I send them a reminder and occasionally offer a topic suggestion. I think I only had to send about 5 of those emails this year.

I think that any more than 8-10 bloggers is overkill and the prospective students will a) not take the time to read them all, b) not engage in conversation with the bloggers, and c) won’t develop a meaningful relationship with the student blogger, which is ultimately the goal. If you can build relationships between prospective students and current students, your yield of those students will be much higher.

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