Two of the main ideas I promote for higher ed websites is that a decentralized management approach does not work well, but a centralized one does. But what does this mean in practical terms? That entails a discussion about audiences. Continue reading →
December, 2008
09
Dec 08
Content Management Systems Aren’t Just For Techies
Will your organization install a new content management system soon? Are you a part of the vetting process? I know the developers out there are, but I hope you content/marketing/design/etc. types are too.
Let’s face it, a CMS isn’t much good if its more painful than beneficial. The promises sound great, but the reality may not be realized unless you inject yourself into the process early. But don’t take my word for it, take Jeffery Veen’s advice: get your editorial process worked out before you do anything. Continue reading →
06
Dec 08
Link Journalism
The New York Times launched their “extra” version of their website’s homepage yesterday (click on the extra link underneath the NYT name in the header). While I find the execution makes the page even more dense than it, the idea marks one step toward the future of online news. For some time now, the people at Publish2 have promoted the idea of link journalism which they define as “…linking to other reporting on the web to enhance, complement, source, or add more context to a journalist’s original reporting.” This is what the Times has instituted. Continue reading →
05
Dec 08
Teens & Email
An article by mStoner says that teen abandonment of email may be a bit of a myth. Citing research (reg. required) from Ball State Center for Media Design and ExactTarget, the article says teens would rather have promotions sent to them via email rather than text message. The lesson to be learned is that higher ed organizations shouldn’t be so quick to abandon email for other communication methods — essentially, every medium has its place.
While I agree with the last sentiment, I think the ideas need further investigation. Many studies show that teens’ email usage is going down. That downward trend and the study by Ball State and ExactTarget seem to be somewhat at odds with each other. But I do think they can be reconciled. Continue reading →
04
Dec 08
Communicating With Students Beyond Email
In a discussion today, the issue of students not reading a certain group’s email newsletter came up. The group wanted a more effective way to communicate news since the emails weren’t being read and important information was going unnoticed. Intuition tells me that students today still use email, but more frequently opt for other methods of communication whether it’s text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, IM or any other number of tools at their disposal. Some quick and dirty surveys would verify this one way or another, but others have also come to this realization so I don’t think it’s a big secret. Continue reading →