Twitter Helps Student in Egypt

A U.C. Berkeley student arrested in Egypt twittered to his network allowing the U.S. Embassy, the institution and his friends to get involved in his release. And it worked. What a great follow-up from my entry yesterday.....

Customer Service Meets Twitter...What About Student Services?

Pete Blackshaw recently blogged about, how Customer Service Meets "Lord of the Twitters". Check it out as it describes how consumers immediately talk about their experiences with companies and the service they have received.

These consumers that are twittering about their recent experience with Comcast are also sitting in college classes and dorm rooms with a lot to say. Twitter is already taking hold in classrooms and some professors are using it as a simple way to engage students. This is another way for advisors, peer counselors and others on campus to quickly and easily connect with others. While there may be instances of inappropriate usage, I think the benefits outweigh the negative.

Are Online Study Groups Different than In-Person?

It was recently reported that a student at Ryerson University is up for an expulsion hearing for setting up an online study group in Facebook . This is an important issue to explore - is there a difference when what has been traditionally been conducted in person is now conducted online? Maybe it is because they were not moderated by someone at the institution that causes the concern and you cannot track the online activity and information that is uploaded between students? Who knows how the hearing will end up.

The power of an online networking environment is it brings more people together creating additional connections that can benefit a student. It is the balance of moderating those groups without becoming "big brother" that comes into play. While this is a delicate balance, it is possible with the right programs in place.

Facebook-in-a-Box?

Is that what we are looking for? The ability to have a social network that is "in-house" so you are not using a public online social networking utility for your university or business? Yes. I believe that is what we are looking for -- to allow students and employees to engage with others at a time or place that is convenient for them.

Enterprise social networking is taking hold where this platform has direct impact on how students, employees, alumni and others connect, develop relationships and engage with each other on common or not-so-common areas of interest.

Think of all the knowledge that drives out of the parking lot every evening. Or your commuter students -- also known as customers. The knowledge that makes your organization tick. The loyalty that drives revenues. Sharing this knowledge and developing loyalty is essential in strengthening future success.

Think about how this can apply to employee retention efforts, student persistence, knowledge management, measurement and a host of other opportunities that are still to be explored, defined and implemented.

Pretty cool stuff....

Social Connections Impacts Retention Rates

An article posted on Texas Christian University's web site, The Daily Skiff talks about how higher tuition rates has impacted retention rates. There is one important statement in that article, "While university sources admit higher retention is usually accompanied by higher tuition costs, they claim social connections among students are the final determining factor in retention rates."

While there are often multiple factors in a student staying or dropping out of school, connections with others is key. Access to information and resources is critical and students communicate in an online environment for hours everyday. So - join them!

Online "friends" can be much, much more.

Online Social Networks like Facebook, for years have had "friend" as a catch-all category for your contact list, with the only differentiation being the top 8 (Myspace) or recently-developed Facebook applications to do a similar top friends list.

I stumbled into an article here from the Wired Campus through The Chronicle. A few developers have each created Facebook applications for your enemies, or people who you 'snub'. Surprisingly enough, students are using it. Some to put people they know that they're actually mad with or don't like, some goofing off and listing a friend as an enemy temporarily, etc.

This really supports a long-held notion that I have had that Facebook and other online social networks would be better-served by having multiple categories of contacts. They can even tweak their privacy settings by category, so that a student might have: friends, acquaintances, best buds, family, mentors, etc. When another student looks at their friend list, they clearly can see what the level of contact is for those people. For someone who might be in need of a mentor, or really wants to know how person A knows person B, this could be more beneficial than relying on the "how do you know this person" feature on Facebook.

What are your thought?