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 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?

The Cluetrain Manifesto remains one of my favorite books. Written in 1999, I still consider the message very timely. Doc Searls recently spoke at a conference that discussed the relevance of Cluretrain as it approaches 10 years.

Here are his presentation slides,

I recommend anyone interested in Cluetrain watch the video. The 38 minutes is time well spent. Searls talk provides great insight into the history of the book. He believes that advertising as we know it will die. The Cluetrain was a rant against BS, and he is concerned that this basic advertising paradigm continues today. His takes on Facebook (starting at the 22 minute mark) is that now BS gets personal. On Facebook, you’re not just a face, you’re a target. It’s still about selling eyeballs to advertisers, and ultimately this model will fail.

This June I will be giving several presentations at a conference hosted by Innovative Educators called Increasing Enrollment and Retention via Technology: Blending High Tech and High Touch. Here is the conference overview:

Using technology is essential in attracting students to your institution and creating an atmosphere that cultivates success. Some feel that when incorporating technology you lose the personal touch that makes institutions memorable. However, high tech and high touch do not have to be mutually exclusive. Knowing how to use technology to target the individual needs of students is the key to successful implementation.

As students move to the web for information and more and more services are provided online, combining high tech and high touch becomes imperative. One of my main messages at the conference will be the value of Web 2.0 tools in achieving this goal. For me, Web 2.0 is the social web. Web 2.0 is about connecting people. It’s about conversation. It’s about building and sustaining relationships.

I’m really looking forward to this conference. There are many great speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds and the program covers many interesting topics. Hopefully I will see you there.

The 2008 Horizon report was recently released and as always contains valuable information on the latest technology trends impacting college campuses. The Horizon Report is a collaboration between the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative and identifies emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching and learning. As in previous years, the report identifies six emerging technologies that will likely enter the mainstream within three adoption horizons:

One Year or Less

• Grassroots Video
• Collaborative Webs

Two to Three Years

• Mobile Broadband
• Data Mashups

Four to Five Years

• Collective Intelligence
• Social Operating Systems

Among the critical challenges outlined in the report, one really struck a chord with me:

“It is critical that the academic community as a whole embrace the potential of technologies and practices like those described in this report. Experimentation must be encouraged and supported by policy.” (emphasis mine).

And finally, the report lists seven metatrends that extend out beyond the five year horizon:

1. Evolving approaches to communication between man and machine
2. The collective sharing and generation of knowledge
3. Computing in three dimensions
4. Connecting people via the network
5. Games as pedagogical platforms
6. The shifting of content production to users
7. The evolution of a ubiquitous platform

I was happy to see that this report maps well to my ideas about the top web trends. And be sure to check out the report’s extensive use of del.icio.us tags for additional information.

I’m sitting in my hotel room in Atlantic City finalizing the presentation I’m giving in the Admissions Track at the Middle States Regional Forum tomorrow. The title is “Connecting with Students: New Technologies” and it has two main themes. The first is that “it’s the end of the web as they know it” - that students use the web in a much different fashion than they do. The second theme is that traditional marketing and public relations is dead.

One of the articles I’ll reference is Fear and Loathing in Web 2.0 from Currents magazine. Not only is this a great article, but it’s one of my all-time favorite titles. (I had an interesting night with Hunter Thompson back in the day, but that’s a story for another time and place.) At the conclusion of the article is one of my favorite quotes - “the conversation is the message”.

I’m looking forward to returning to Atlantic City this summer to give the keynote speech at the 2008 eduWeb Conference. This is my first visit to Atlantic City and it is a great place for a summer conference. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

As we move from monologue to dialog, we are going to need some new rules. While much of the focus is on how companies and institutions such as colleges and universities need to behave on the social web, the customer needs to behave in an ethical manner as well. I came across this Company-Customer Pact which helps define this behavior. Companies and customers need an online environment that supports open, authentic communication and a mutual responsibility to make it work.

Learn more about the pact at http://ccpact.pbwiki.com.

As I sat watching the results of Super Tuesday last night, I was reminded of one of my favorite books on the Internet and the power of Web 2.0. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Democracy, The Interent, and the Overthrow of Everything) was written by Joe Trippi, the campaign manager for Howard Dean’s presidential run in 2004. My favorite part of the book are his Seven Inviolable, Irrefutable, Ingenious Things Your Business or Institution or Candidate Can Do in the Age of the Internet That Might Keep You from Getting Your A** Kicked But Then Again Might Not:

1. Be First - There is very little about the Internet that is proprietary. I could start a bookstore tomorrow and do everything Amazon does. And you know what? Amazon would still beat me like a dirty rug. … The first everything has a head start in building community. (Rule 1.a: If you’re not going to be the first mover, you’d better be a hell of a lot better.)
2. Keep it moving - Do not be static. The Internet is a liquid medium. It’s amazing how many companies spend $100 million on TV advertising while their $64,000-a-year “web division” consists of the CEO’s twenty-two-year-old Nintendo geek nephew updating the site with a new press release once a month. Don’t let your site be wall paper. Your Internet presence should be an organic, flowing, daily dialogue with your customers.
3. Use an Authentic Voice - The Internet is not a place for safe, vetted corporate communications. We’re not morons. When we get an e-mail from the president of the company, we know it wasn’t really written by him. People would rather get a real e-mail from a real guy in the real mailroom than a phony one from the CEO. Have real people write real stuff.
4. Tell the Truth - The Internet has an inherent transparency. A strong Internet presence is a way to open the doors of the company. But if you invite people in, you’d better be prepared to have them look in the medicine cabinet.
5. Build a community - Create a commons, a town square, a place where people can come together and talk… Get people involved! This is not top-down, one-to-many anymore. The Internet is side-to-side, up-and-down, many-to-many. Use it that way. It’s the dialog, stupid.
6. Cede Control - Once you invite people in, they’re going to want to do more. I know this violates everything you were taught in school, but you have to let go of the old command and control style of business. Let the edges blur between customer and company.
7. Believe Again - The days of condescension toward customers and citizens are over. Democracy is based on the principle that if we give citizens control over their common future, they will choose the best path. The same is true for consumers.

All of this is very applicable to higher ed. I recommend reading the book. Depending on your politics, you will immediately love it or hate it. I suggest putting politics aside and focus on the use of technology.