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Higher Education Social Networking

Hear that big boom? That's social networking on the Internet. It's huge right now. Everyone has heard of MySpace and Facebook, right? But how about Bebo and MindSay?

MySpace has gotten all of the attention - some good, some bad. They have over 100 million active users on their site. Pretty amazing, huh? But the social networking boom is not about MySpace, or any of the other sites that I mentioned above. It's about connecting and sharing with people.

In higher education, so much time is spent on mailings and campus visits, but the Internet, the most effective form of student marketing these days, is sometimes forgotten. The Internet is where the students are interacting, so it's good to see schools taking notice now.

One of the most popular social networking tools is the blog. Blogs have exploded in the past couple of years and higher education has jumped on board. Check out Philadelphia University's Student Journal program: http://www.philau.edu/Admissions/studentjournals/

I spoke with some of the people behind the Philly U journals and they say that the students who write on their site have become celebrities on campus. Students who visit the campus during the decision making process are requesting to meet the journal writers. That's amazing. It means that this tool, a blog (or a journal) has drawn people in. People who may not have been interested in Philly U before are changing their mind, because they're getting first hand accounts of what the school is like. THAT is social networking.

Another example is our project BlogAbroad.com. Through this social networking project, we can follow around four students during their study abroad experience, ask them questions, and interact with the experience, AS it happens. THAT is social networking.

One day, distance education classes could all take place in a Second Life type environment. What's Second Life, you ask? Well, it's an online virtual world where you make a profile, interact with other users, and even buy stuff! Don't worry, the world hasn't gone completely anti-social, it's just convenient to do everything online....including interact with people.

So interact, network, and please, by all means, use the Internet to do so. When is the last time you went two or three days without "plugging in" to the net? Soon, I'll be asking "When's the last time you went two or three hours without "plugging in" to the net."

We would like to network with you, the recruiter. We'd like to talk to you about your current recruiting process! We'll interview you and put the audio on the web, and other schools and students will be able to read and hear all about you! Email us at FeatureMe@StudentProspector.com with the subject line "Recruiter Interview".


Article submitted by Drew Olanoff.