Mark Greenfield

I have been blogging for several years and the post that received the most attention by far was
Will Higher Ed Websites Become Irrelevant?. I’ve talked about this at recent conferences by sharing the following observation:  In 2005, 100% of my time was spent working on sites within the buffalo.edu domain. Here in the summer of 2008, I spend about 70% of my time working on sites in the buffalo.edu domain.  The remaining time is spent developing our presence on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Ning, etc., time that is well spent.

Jeremiah Owyang’s recent post The Future of the Corporate Website involves People continues to explore the future of corporate web sites. I particularly like the idea of “fluidity”:

“Corporate websites of the future will be less about canned content and more about fluidity. Meaning, the consumer will demand websites that are connected to the ‘users’ and ‘consumers’ personal networks which will promote and instill word of mouth as a best practice for business development and ultimately sales. The infrastructure will be designed in a way that company developed case studies, webinars and such will be replaced by real consumers leaving messages and user created video’s. …”

To stay relevant, higher ed websites will need to focus on authenticity, transparency, and a willingness to cede control to fully leverage the power of social media. And the time has come to think outside the proverbial box. It is no longer about your web site. Instead, it is about your web presence. Information and commentary on your school is no longer confined to your site, but instead lives in numerous places including Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and countless individual blogs.

In addition to the three presentations I did at the Innovative Educators conference last week, I did a session critiquing several sites volunteered by attendees. While these reviews focused on all aspects of what goes into a great site, usability was what everyone was most interested in.

It amazes me that many higher ed sites continue to have serious usability issues. For example, one site we reviewed prevented someone using Firefox from completing the admissions application. Opening the “Apply Now” link resulted in an error message saying “WARNING! Unsupported Browser!” I also shared an example from my school where the housing request form was recently made available online. Here is some of the text from the instructions:

System Requirements :
You MUST ONLY use IE v 6.0+. You cannot use a Mac. Incompatible browsers may prevent some pages from being displayed. Do not use Firefox.

I guess we don’t want any Mac users or Firefox users living on campus!

I wish these were isolated cases, but the majority of higher ed sites I visit have usability issues. So my questions for the group is why does higher ed continue to struggle with usability? I have my own thoughts, but I would love to hear yours.

I’ve just returned from my annual visit to Happy Valley and the Web 2008: A Conference for Penn State Web Professionals. I was honored that at the closing town meeting I was granted unofficial membership into the Penn State community, complete with my own Penn State football jersey. As always, the conference was a great experience with wonderful hospitality, great sessions, and knowledgeable and engaging attendees.

Steve Krug was the keynote speaker and provided great insight to the many challenges in being a higher education web professional. Here are his “10 Reasons Why It S*cks to be You”

10. Corporate expectations on a not-for profit budget
9. Stakeholders who can be petty and whiny
8. CMS and herding kittens
7. Subsite/Fiefdom hell
6. Multiple audiences with different needs
5. Many disparate databases
4. Home page death match
3. Tons of dynamic content
2. Cool factor arms race to stay competitive
1. Consensus decision making

In addition to the Town Meeting, I gave two presentations (”The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web Teams” and “It’s the End of the Web as We Know It Redux”), along with a 4 hour tutorial titled “The Long Tail of Social Networks - Building Successful Niche Social Networks.” We had a great conversation around the uwebd social network and I learned a lot about how people are using the site and how it can be improved.

All in all, it was a great two days. Hopefully I will be invited back again next year. The next stop for me is Cincinnati, Ohio for the Increasing Enrollment and Retention via Technology: Blending High Tech and High Touch conference on June 18-20.. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you there.

The uwebd social site hit another milestone today with the addition of the 700th member. Activity on the site continues to grow at a steady rate. There are now 36 groups, 18 videos, and 256 discussions in the main forum. Over the past month, we’ve had 4,608 visits, 19,953 page views, and visits from 80 countries

Ning has been in the news recently as well. The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) recently highlighted Ning in the “7 Things You Should Know About…” series These briefs focus on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. (see 7 things you should know about Ning)

The cover story for the May 2008 issue Fast Company magazine is Ning’s Infinite Ambition. The article focuses on Ning’s business model and provides a nice overview of the history of the company. IMHO, Ning will be a major player on the web. Niche social networks are the future and Ning is a great platform to allow people to connect and coolaborate.

In 2005 I gave my first presentation on “Emerging Technologies” and talked about RSS, blogs, wikis and podcasts. Given the exponential change of the web, calling these emerging technologies today seems behind the times

As we look down the road, I’ve been thinking about what are the new technologies. Here are my initial thoughts. As far as general concepts, I would start with the social graph, lifestreaming, aggregation and niche social networks. Tools/sites would include twine, Ning, friendfeed, spokeo, and grou.ps

I’m looking for your help to build this list. So here in April 2008, what are the new “emerging technologies”?

Here’s another excellent video on how the Internet is changing society.

I particularly like the following quote:

In the past, you were what you owned.
Now, you are what you share.

Put another way, we are seeing a move from hoarding information to sharing information. Traditionally, those in power held onto information because knowledge was power. The connected age reverses this. Now sharing knowledge is power.

As always, let me know what you think.

Jeremiah Owyang is one of my favorite commentators on Social Media. I have been thinking about his post Web Strategy: How to evolve your irrelevant corporate website for quite some time and if this is applicable to higher ed sites.

The basic premise is that the corporate website (yourcompany.com) is becoming less relevant and marketing is no longer about your domain and Google search results. In the spirit of Cluetrain:

People are tired of the corporate website and all its happy marketing speak, stock photos of smart looking dudes or minority women crowded around the computer raving about your product, the positive press release, the happy customer testimonials, the row of executive portraits, the donations your corporate made to disaster relief, the one-sided view never ends.

The growing trend, especially with the millennial generation, is that decisions are made before people visit the corporate website. This is certainly the case for me. Whether it’s the purchase of a new car, a tennis racket or a bike, I’m making product decisions based on feedback from my peers on consumer rating sites, social networks, discussion forums, etc., not on information from a corporate website.

Owyang goes on to say that in order to stay relevant, future corporate websites will have to have customers building them along with employees. He goes on to say:

The corporate website of the future will be a credible source of opinion and fact, authored by both the corporation and community. The result? A true first-stop community resource where information flows for better products and services.

So my question for you is will this concept apply to higher education websites? Will yourschool.edu become irrelevant? I think it will. Not totally irrelevant, since marketing is just one aspect of a university website (online services and academic support being others.) But as far as marketing the school, we will continue to see more emphasis outside the .edu domain. Think about the numbers of colleges and universities that have created a web presence on Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, Ning and Second Life. Progressive higher ed sites have been following Owyang’s advise by providing an open, authentic and transparent view with tools like blogs and wikis.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Will .edu sites become less relevant with the continued growth of Web 2.0 and Social Media? What strategies should we employ to stay relevant? And if prospective students are making their choice on what college to attend using non .edu sites, what sites are they using?

(Please note that this post is slightly off-topic)

I am in the process of hiring another staff member to join our team at the University at Buffalo (UB). For those of you not familiar with UB, we are a large, public research university with over 28,000 students. UB currently has 13 schools offering 78 undergraduate degrees, 177 master’s degrees and 82 doctoral degrees. My office reports through the Office of the Provost.

Below is the official job posting. The salary range is $37,662 - $45,000. Closing date for receipt of applications is May 14, 2008. Resume, cover letter, and application must be submitted online at www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu referencing posting #0800156. Be advised the application process is cumbersome. UB uses third party software that has many usability issues. If you would like more information, feel free to e-mail me directly at markgr [at]buffalo[dot]edu.

Job Title - Assistant Director of Web Services

Job Description

The Office of Web Services is responsible for the strategic planning, design, development, support and evaluation of Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and select Provost’s Office Web sites. Reporting to the Director of Web Services, this position acts as the content lead and is directly responsible for developing and managing online content, balancing technical proficiency with artistic and editorial creativity. Responsibilities include maintaining editorial writing quality and monitoring online content for appropriate style. The incumbent acts as the liaison between Web Services and unit content managers. Additional responsibilities include assisting with the overall planning, development and maintenance of sites.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, communications or a related field, plus three years of relevant experience, preferably in higher education. A combination of education and experience equivalency will be considered. Must have excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills. Must have strong creative and artistic ability and advanced knowledge of Web design practices and techniques. Expert knowledge of XHTML and CSS required. Strong interpersonal skills and excellent oral and written communication skills are essential.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with relevant software including image editing, graphic design, page layout, and web authoring. Experience with emerging technologies including RSS, blogs, wikis, social networks and rich media. Proficient with diverse computer operation systems including Windows, Mac OS and UNIX.

Registration for the 2008 eduWeb Conference is now open. The conference is scheduled for July 21-23 at the Trump Marina Hotel in Atlantic City. The conference program is also available. In addition to giving the opening keynote speech, I will be conducting a three hour workshop with my colleague Brad Ward from Butler University. Here are the titles and abstracts for both:

Opening Keynote

Title: It’s the End of the Web as We Know It Redux

Abstract: A seismic shift is underway. Exponential change will make tomorrow’s technology unrecognizable. The mobile web is making always on – always connected a reality. Prosumers are driving the move from Mass Media to My Media. The weapons of mass collaboration have laid the groundwork for the Participation Age. It’s no longer about one-way communi-cation to an audience. It’s about two-way conversation with a community.

It’s time to rethink a few things.

Completely updated for 2008, this award winning presentation will focus on the (r)evolution of the web and the implications for higher education web professionals. A review of the latest trends will be followed by strategies on how to fully leverage the full potential of emerging technologies.

Workshop

Title: Join the Conversation: Social Media in Higher Ed

Abstract: The social web is here. Dialogue has replaced monologue. The conversation is the message. Communities dominate brands. It?s time to join the conversation.

This workshop will provide an in depth look at how higher educational institutions can leverage the full power and potential of social media. In addition to examining the many advantages of social media and an analysis of the current tools available, case studies will be reviewed on a social site built for prospective students, and a niche social network created for higher education web professionals. Learn first hand the experiences that Mark and Brad have had in launching these successful social media sites and how this knowledge will help you in your social media efforts.

I look forward to seeing you in Atlantic City this summer.

I was interviewed for an article for Campus Technology on the impact of the Amazon Kindle on college textbooks. The End of Textbooks? explores the pro’s and con’s of using eReader’s to replace the traditional printed college textbook.

This is a huge paradigm shift for most people, much greater than when the music industry went digital. The problem is that people think of a laptop computer when they think about eReaders and all the inherent problems with reading from a laptop. TheKindle and other eReaders solve most of those problems. Reading from a Kindle is very similar to reading from paper with excellent resolution and no backlight that causes eyestrain.

So what’s your take on the Kindle? Will it ever replace college textbooks?

Related Resources:

• Books Aren’t Dead - They’re Just Going Digital - (Newsweek Cover Story from November 2007)
• The Coming Death of Paper as an Information Storage Medium
• Steve Jobs Was Only Half-Right: People Do Read - Even Kids - They Just Do It Online
• Move Over Kindle: Here Comes the Chinese E-Book