Posts filed under 'Mobile Devices'
Offering site visitors the opportunity to subscribe to RSS feeds is one feature of a winning website strategy. Assuming your RSS feed is integrated into your web content management software (CMS), every time your staff updates important information on your website, an applicable RSS feed item can be created and sent to your audience. RSS is fantastic because the message is sent in virtually real-time, and isn’t filtered or blocked because it’s delivered to willing recipients… you can’t beat that messaging strategy!
As I mentioned in my last post, RSS feeds can be directed by the student to his or her preferred medium and accessed on a variety of devices, such as Facebook, RSS readers, email and portals. This alone can be huge. Think about it, how many other opportunities do you have to get right on your student’s Facebook?
In addition, RSS can be automatically converted to SMS and rapidly delivered to all subscribing cell phone users.
Now, how effective could RSS be when used for crisis communication? Well, based on a recent Newsweek report, approximately 97% of your target audience keep their cell phones “on stand-by” at all times. These people will get your message, whether they are sitting in a lecture, or on their way to class. While in class, their phones are in silent mode, but many students are still getting text messages discretely during lectures. Other audiences could include prospective students, parents, media, faculty, administrators and alumni.
Combine RSS with your web CMS and you’ve got an extremely powerful and cost-effective way to make updates from one central hub — your website! If subscribing to an emergency RSS crisis feed is integrated into the student enrollment process as part of a crisis notification plan, nearly all students and their affected family members could be registered automatically.
With a little planning, RSS can play an important and crucial role in both marketing and crisis communications.
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 23rd, 2008
18 months is the average life span of a cell phone in the US. I am proud to say I was on the cutting edge of cell phones (I had a bag phone and the original flip phone that weighed several pounds). While I now use my Treo to death …from texting to broadband, I am still amazed how quickly the market has changed.
So what does this have to do with higher education you ask? Schools are continually looking for new ways to market or communicate to potential students. Last April after the Virginia Tech tragedy we learned that most schools had no way to even communicate with its current students let alone potential students!
While I don’t know the statistic of high school and the growing number of middle school students with cell phones, but I can only imagine it is high. So it truly leaves three options for institutions to communicate:
Back to basics…simply calling the contact. Many students consider their cell phone number more sacred then their e-mail address. They also change their number just as often as their e-mail. Unless the contact has specifically noted that the cell phone is the best way to get a hold of them, I would resist the temptation to use it. This generation uses the phone very differently. I know most of us hate the thought of telemarketers calling us on our cell phones…the admissions office calling a potential student is no different! This tactic should be reserved for much later in the funnel, when the student is truly engaged with your institution and has given permission.
Texting – LOL (Laughing out loud)! This is something many schools finally say IDK (I don’t know) what to do. I view this tactic as mentioned before, unless a student has inquired via text or asked to be communicated in that matter, you skirt being an annoying adult. Broad based marketing via text is often difficult and can be costly based on the broadcast nature of your messages. Again, would you like marketing messages sent via text to you?
Mobile Web. With the changing nature of phones, the mobile web, and the sizes of phones web browser, how does any school design their web page for just one platform. Honestly…who has the time, money and resources to create your .edu site that will look and function well on Safari for the iPhone and iPod touch and then turn around and do the same for Treo and Blackberry web browsers. Don’t also forget about every other major phone manufacturer with a different size screen to contend with.
While I completely agree colleges and universities should consider this platform when working with their website, I would argue that they need to solve many other issues first! Bad content is bad whether viewed on a normal computer or a cell phone!!
In closing, the changing technology is left to few institutions with the resources to dabble in this. All schools need to understand and harness what they can with regards to mobile technology but need to consider many other options first.
Rich
January 28th, 2008
There are lots of areas to talk about in mobile development but my reason for this post was the recent release of the iPhone. Not so much that the phone is cool(which it is) but what it could mean for the mobile industry and changes to come. I will not only hit on ways that mobile can relate to higher ed but mobile in general as well. I never thought much about mobile until an inspiring panel at SXSW this year.
First of all, a definition
mobile web - websites designed for viewing on mobile devices
Being that we are in higher ed it’s a pretty exciting market, most students have and are the most active users of mobile devices. Youths are always on the cutting edge. All throughout college I would buy the newest coolest phones, I’m trying to scrounge up money for an iPhone right now 
There are lots of cool things that most universities and colleges have that we can leverage online like:
- Directories
- Maps
- News and Events
- Calendars
- Communications
- Office hours, library hours, etc.
- Email
- Etc.
How great would it be as a student to be at one end of campus and know if your computer lab was open, or be in the lounge and check to see what time that game was at tonight?
Another very cool idea which is starting to show up but will only develop more in the future are location based services. This could be amazing in a community such as a campus! For example you could be walking by the chemistry building and be alerted that your TA is there for office hours. If your study partner for accounting happened to be around the dorms when you were you can meet to ask a few questions. These can also be used for location based marketing opportunities.
Crisis communications: In the aftermath of Virginia Tech it seems unanimous that mobile will be the best form of communications, while still coupled with other forms. SMS (text messages) can be used to send a message to every student in a very short time circumventing the many times slow and lagging university email servers that will only reach you if you are at a computer and checking your email at the time. You could also get updates throughout if you were stuck in a class.
Also not to forget, third party mobile sites. Many social networks such as facebook, twitter, etc now have mobile sites that you can figure into your marketing.
I will only touch shortly on the development of mobile sites since this isn’t higher ed specific. Mobile site development is essentially the same as development for regular sites as far as rules and standards go, BUT there are subtle differences. A few things to remember are the 3C’s of Mobile Web (Source : Blue Flavor)
- Cost
- If you don’t develop your mobile website responsibly, the user could get stuck with a big bill in order to view your content.
- Content
- Issues like navigation, image sizes, page weight and scripts all need to be considered when thinking about your website on mobile devices.
- Context
- What does your website add to the users mobility? How do you add value to their physical context? What is the context in which they will use your site? On a bus or train?
Here is an example of a university using mobile very well UT Mobile Services you can access their mobile site by going to http://mobile.utexas.edu/. For more technical information you can see my inspiration for the post the Blue Flavor presentation at SXSW and the dotMobi Mobile Web Guide
In the long run I think there will be a lot of development in this market. Right now there are constraints in the U.S. market from mobile providers and politicians which leave the U.S. mobile market years behind where it is in Europe and Japan. Mobile will change the way we gather and interact with information in the near future leaving us no longer chained to our computers.
- Matt Herzberger - July Blogger
July 2nd, 2007
Will you be one of the cool kids reading this post via your iPhone? I’m a long time Mac user but decided to wait on an iPhone for a while. What are your thoughts about it? Click “comments” and share them. I’d especially like to hear from those brave early adopters who got their iPhone today (post them via your iPhone if possible).
It’s been an honor to serve as June’s Guest Blogger, and I hope to meet and converse with many of you when we gather in Baltimore for the eduWEB Conference. (Now I’ve got to go draft my closing keynote about the Experience Economy and watch some John Waters films to get me in a Baltimore mindset.)
My TargetX colleagues and I will also be facilitating a few “Ask and Expert” Round Tables at the conference., and we’d be pleased to have you join in the discussion (but be aware we require gallons of coffee to get the synapse sparking):
- Monday Continental Breakfast 7:30 - 8:30 AM
Bob Mootz; Admissions Chats
- Tuesday Continental Breakfast 7:30 - 8:30 AM
Adrienne Bartlett; Admissions Homepages/Microsites
Jeff Kallay; Storytelling Related to Marketing
Is Scrapple served at continental breakfasts in Baltimore?
(And, just what is Scrapple?)
Thanks, and see you in Baltimore!
Jeff Kallay
June Guest Blogger
Experience Evangelist
TargetX
kallay@targetx.com
June 29th, 2007
Advertising Age reports U.S. Ad-Spending Growth Slows Way Down - It’s an overall pessimistic outlook (but optimistic for emerging media) offered by Universal-McCann and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Some eduWEB relevant information from the report:
- Discouraging picture for traditional media;
- magazines increased only 2.3%, radio .07%, and newspapers lost 1.5% compared to spending the year before
- Encouraging for emerging media:
- internet spending up 16.7%
- keyword search advertising is likely to grow 29% to $8.8 billion this year and 26.5% to $11.1 billion next year
- social networking also is expected to grow significantly, with revenue up 148% over last year, though that represents a rise to $685 million in 2007 from just $276 million in 2006
- but, spending has yet to match the interest or curiosity around online video, mobile marketing and gaming, attributing the disconnect to incomplete infrastructure; the prevalence of experimentation; and, in the case of mobile, the frustrations of working with multiple wirelesscarriers
- 33% of consumers 12 and older listed the internet as the second most essential medium (just slight behind TV 36%) and 35% listed newspapers the least essential medium
- Colleges and university spending is up 27% including a whopping 627% increase in national TV! (What’s up with that - is it just the for profits?)
Click here to read the report
As Bob Dylan said, “The times they are changing…”
Jeff Kallay
June Guest Blogger
Experience Evangelist
TargetX
kallay@targetx.com
June 28th, 2007
BOYER_FIN_0193_001_MWF_0240P_0330P_200703_BOYER_TABLET_2007-04-22_12-58-PM
http://tinyurl.com/2l9bt4
Congratulations to ED BOYER for activating his TUCAPTURE MOBILE TABLETPC to bring TUCAPTURE to his students in Fort Washington, Center City, and everywhere!
Dr. Boyer joins the ranks of FOX faculty & staff using TUCAPTURE MOBILE TABLETPCs to bring capture of audio/visual/handwriting to any campus, classroom, office… Anywhere!
DARIN KAPANJIE http://tinyurl.com/2emjfx
JON SCOTT http://tinyurl.com/2xqhrs
ROBERT PRED http://tinyurl.com/33zl5m
DONALD WARGO http://tinyurl.com/3b8t98
MART DOYLE http://tinyurl.com/25duo6
CHRISTIAN WURST http://tinyurl.com/274pzc
JOHN DEANGELO http://tinyurl.com/2ekoqz
DAVID FEENEY http://tinyurl.com/3bffbh
RIU BARING http://tinyurl.com/2keo75
ZEKE MOCTEZUMA http://tinyurl.com/ywc45e
ERIC PRESS
MARC SOBEL
April 25th, 2007
Supporting mobile devices is something that is becoming more important to North American schools as data costs come down for mobile plans and wifi enabled devices become more popular. You need to keep a few things in mind when developing for mobile devices, have a look at Cameron Moll’s The Mobile Web, Simplified to get you started. Then come back and have a read of this as Higher education is a bit more tricky (of course) when it comes to providing a solid mobile experience. The following are a couple things I think you need to consider.
You should consider the need to design a new page for the small screen. That well designed home page of yours just won’t translate well for the small screen and slow speeds. I would suggest you start with a page what includes a search function, headline summary, and access to links. If you are already using CSS for layout, a ‘handheld’ CSS won’t cut it, many mobile browsers don’t support it so need a different home page — current convention is that the page lives in mobile.site.edu or site.edu/mobile.
Target heavily used content and services. Don’t think you need to convert all your content into something mobile devices can use. It is likely the majority of mobile users are internal folks so focus on content for them. Make sure news and notices are available, exam schedules, event listings, and maybe even a campus map. This is where you might run into a bit of a challenge. It could be tricky if you need access to other people’s data from campus web services but it is also an opportunity to build some bridges with areas and encourage them to support some API’s.
Provide a simple way for mobile users to give you feedback and requests. This will give you a good idea how many people are using your mobile versions and what they would like. Encourage mobile users to make themselves known and let them know about the mobile version.
Finally I think you need to convince (or at least suggest) senior management it is important. That could be easy if they have a Blackberry (bet they do). I would recommend you use Opera and its small screen view for testing, it gives you a decent idea of what your content looks like.
Jesse Rodgers - January Guest Blogger
University of Waterloo
jrodgers@uwaterloo.ca
January 18th, 2007
