Online Social Networking: Case of “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em”

For some colleges and universities social networking is a scourge upon their academic landscapes. When students aren’t studying, or when they should be, they are “networking” on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

One person’s online social networking site may be an annoyance to some, but for others it may prove a useful tool. The San Francisco Chronicle has an article on the latest college strategy: social networking as a communications and marketing vehicle for current and prospective students.

Social Networking for Good not Evil

A respectable handful of colleges have already linked their home pages to their own new, hip MySpace page. There fresh content the likes of recent videos, photos and student comments can be added and subtracted just like any other MySpace page. The strategy is quite marketing related, but it provides prospective students with a more palatable inside look at the colleges they are considering, possibly even from a student’s perspective. It’s the glimpse behind the glossy marketing brochures.

“San Francisco State recently put up its own MySpace page, becoming the largest among the growing number of colleges and universities — from Boston University’s College of Communication and Graduate Admissions to Hiram College in Ohio — to embrace social networking.” (SF Chronicle)

Sum of its Parts

Some colleges have not stopped with a MySpace page. Some are going all the way, linking into their campus Facebook, and featuring podcasts, blogs and forums, and messaging systems.

An admissions counselor at SF State (Victor Villanueva) was the individual behind the university’s new MySpace presence:

“San Francisco State started its MySpace page after Villanueva attended a conference in Las Vegas titled ‘100 Ways to Effectively Recruit Today’s Students.’ He added a Facebook group about a month ago. The campus also has a self-guided campus tour that can be downloaded as a podcast.”

The Real Thing

Even though the colleges that have implemented the new sites have reported a remarkable number of hits and queries, the strategy still has its fair share of critics. Some say young adults will be turned off by “adults butting-in.’” Yeah? Well get this: Santa Clara University in California features student blogs on its site and just since September it’s received close to 40,000 hits. While it’s a sure thing the blogs are “adult-supervised” they are, nevertheless, an inside look—sights, sounds, smells and tangibles not otherwise conveyed by any other means.

Leave a comment