Social Media Breakfast: Small Town, Pot-Lucks, Beer and Giving Back

Yesterday I was lucky to be part of the first Social Media Breakfast held here in Burlington, VT. In my humble opinion I would say we hit it out of the park. The brainchild of Digalicious founder, Rich Nadworny, our Burlington event was based on the Social Media Breakfast concept that has hit major cities around the country. Not to be out done, we had to have one here, with a double twist of local connection and giving back to the community.

Rich brought in CC Chapman and Todd Defren, two Boston Marketing and PR businessmen who specialize in helping businesses integrate social media into their communication strategies. He also was able to bring in Mike Hayes with Magic Hat Brewery. Great presentations by all the speakers....presentations which were live blogged right here by a great marketing student, Amanda Jones. The posts about the presentations from CC Chapman, Todd Defren and Mike Hayes are below this post, or you can click on their names here to get to each separately.

What really made the event special was that Rich brought in a local non-profit that is having an amazing impact on the lives of women in developing countries and had the crowd of over 100 people brainstorm ways in which Grounds for Health could leverage social media tools to further their cause. This giving back segment gave the attendees a way to practice what they had just taken in during the earlier session and provided an amazing non-profit with great ideas. Marketing student Nichole Magoon captured some of the ideas via her live tweets:

Table 7--game with backing/$$ edge, green patch model, FB fan page, video blog, celebrities, training program #btvsmb

Table 8 witter #tag, coffee drinkers, companies donating money each time #tag used, landing page w/content, highlight co-op ea. mo. #btvsmb Table 8 (con't) donate and get S.M. badge, bracelet with Twitter name, email list #btvsmb

Table 10--blogs; coffee socials @churches--donations, and social media, volunteers; women bloggers + health, WebMD (&the like) #btvsmb

Table 4(?)-- cup campaigns, coffee companies aligning with cervical cancer groups, Twitter, videos, month dedicated to cause #btvsmb

Table 11--videos, targeted ads in FB, women + coffee lovers (go where the fish are!) #btvsmb

Table 12 --contacting hospitals to only use G4H coffee, offering med. profs. lessons in Spanish #btvsmbTable 12 (con't)--video journals (follow doctors through experience), FB Spanish medical comm. #btvsmb

Champlain Students--program "building from the Grounds up", gather content and use social media to connect, going green movement #btvsmb Champlain students--connecting with colleges and passionate students, coffee talks, street teams, etc... #btvsmb #campchamp

Great local coverage and a lot of twitter-chat made the event dynamic, fun and highlighted some of the amazing, innovative work that is being done right here in Burlington, VT.

I was glad that Rich invited me to be part of the planning for this event and that our Division of Communication and Creative Media, under the leadership of Dean Jeff Rutenbeck gets the importance of bringing the local community together around social media and communication technologies. Also great to have the Burlington Free Press as a sponsor, and to see so many from the BFP in the audience. We are very lucky here to have progressive, forward thinking print publications who are examining ways in which to utilize social media and online tools to keep all of us informed.

I have to say that students Amanda Jones (guest blogger), Nichole Magoon (live-tweeter), Kelly Diamond (live-tweeter), Melissa Tuburzio (support and live-tweeter) and Riva Dumont (support) were AWESOME. Not only did they help keep things running smoothly, they really captured the high points of the event through Twitter. You should follow them. They are going to do GREAT things...maybe even for YOUR business. (Yes, shameless plug for my students...sue me!)

Here's some of the media coverage that came from the event:

• Burlington Free Press (pre-event)
• Burlington Free Press (post-event)
• WCAX
• Cynthea's Spa Blog Post at the BFP site (post-event)
• Vlog from Joe Mescher

The hashtag for the event was #btvsmb. Check out the stream before it flows away!

Looking forward to the next one in the fall.

Champlain For Reel: Crowdsourcing at Champlain College

What do you get when you ask Champlain College students to tell the world what makes us special?

You get Champlain For Reel of course.

It's our own little bit of neighborhood crowdsourcing from students in a wide variety of majors telling you what they have gotten out of their experience here. Now, while I'm not in any of them (sigh), I can attest to the fact that they are all pretty representative of our campus and student body as a whole.

To see them all go to http://www.youtube.com/user/champlainforreel

Here's a few that I think do a great job of telling the "reel" story about Champlain. And by the way, a lot of what they capture is WHY I WORK here in the first place (grin).

One Thing



Champlain College: What it is...



Get Lifted



Camp Champ



A Daily Motion



Don't you wish you went here?

Ada Lovelace Day and our AMAZING Female Technology Professors

I volunteered to be part of the Ada Lovelace Day where bloggers all over the world are writing about women in technology.

For my post I thought I would highlight some of the women faculty at Champlain College who are teaching amazing things.

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Amanda Crispel Fox: Program Director for Game Art and Animation and Game Design
2. Suzanne Glover: Graphic Design and Digital Media
3. Karen Klove: Digital Filmmaking
4. Toni-Lee Sangastiano: Graphic Design and Digital Media
5. Susyn Dees: Program Director for Radiography
6. Sarah Pettitt: Web Management and Design
7. Julie Rancont: Computer Information Technology
8. Shubashree Thekahally: Software Engineering
9. Kathy Whiting: Radiography
10. Cynthia Brandenberg: CORE
11. Suzanne Newberry: Math and Science

Each of these women is an expert in her field and utilizes technology tools in the practice of their work in different ways. Courses range from the highly technical such as Introduction to Computer Theory (Rancont), Game Technology I (Rancont), Conceptual Game Design (Fox), Intro to Web Design (Glover), Server-side Scripting (Pettitt) and Usability and Design (Pettitt) and Software Engineering Courses (Thekahally) to the blend of art and technology in courses such as Introduction to Digital Film making (Klove), Form and Color (Sangastiano), Introduction to Typography (Sangastiano), Digital Publication (Glover), and User Interface Design (Glover) to the health technology driven radiography classes taught by both Dees and Whiting to the integrated learning of our CORE courses where Brandenberg teaches Scientific Revolution and our Math and Science managed and taught by Suzanne Newberry.

What an amazing array of talent we are lucky to have on our campus.

So, in celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, I celebrate my female colleagues who work with technology in many different ways and who are educating a new generation of women and men.

Ladies, take a bow!

Service In Action '09: Champlain Students Making a Difference

Alternative Spring Break is a wonderful thing. Last year we had a group of student who went to New Orleans and helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity. This year a different group of students are heading to Washington, DC to help out local food banks and homeless shelters.

Not only is this a way for our students to give to a community, it is also a life-changing experience for the students who go.

They are often, for the first time, seeing a level of poverty and challenge that they have never seen before. They learn just how much one person can make a difference in the lives of someone else and they gain a much more intimate understanding of how interconnected we all are as human beings.

They leave very soon (next week is our break) and while they have done a great deal of fundraising, they are still $1500 short of their goal. They are looking for help to raise that money so they can offset the cost of the trip. If you are able to help out, go here: https://secure.champlain.edu/annualfund/ and designate your donation for THE CENTER FOR SERVICE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT who helps to coordinate the Alternative Spring Break. Consider how your donation will help not just our students but the people that they will be helping.

Now that's paying it forward.

A club, a cause, an event worth going to

The Champlain Campus is starting to buzz about a fundraising event that is being organized by the college's International Development Club to help raise money for a local non-profit Global Reach Partnerships.

Students have gotten sponsorships, a venue, and are recruiting local high school basketball players to participate in a Slam Dunk competition -- all to benefit an organization that is focused on helping refugees connect with mentors and role models here in Vermont. The Slam for Sudan is the event and here is what they have done so far:

1. Created a Website: http://www.theslamforsudan.org/
2. Created a Facebook Fan Page
3. Created a Facebook Event
4. Created a Twitter Account

They have also garnerned some great sponsorships:

1. Ben and Jerry's


2. Jay Peak


3. Ralph Lauren


4. Bogner


5. Essex Shops and Cinema


6. The Inn at Essex


7. Eating Well


8. Late Night Saturday


9. CHAMP Radio Station


10. The Links at Lang Farm


11. Champlain College

What I love about this is the fact that students on campus are fired up about this. The organizers are passionate and excited. They are working to connect as many people as possible to a cause that they believe in. It's a great example of how passion can help drive forward an idea. The idea itself, to involve local high school basketball players from around Vermont and to get sponsorships for the different segments of the event and give out prizes...Wow! (note the different parts)

The BEN AND JERRY'S Slam Dunk Contest

and

The JAY PEAK 3 Point Shoot Out

It's a wonderful blend of marketing techniques for a good cause that is local and helps make a difference.

The event is on March 25th and it will be interesting to not only watch the club utilize different marketing techniques to publicize the event, but to watch the community get involved to help an organization that is there for a new group of people who have come to and become part of our community.

Two of Champlain's faculty, Tom Myers and Scott Baker are board members with Global Reach Partnerships and several of us have students from the club in our classes.

So take a few minutes to check out this charity event and if you are local -- sign up! And if you aren't local, plan a trip to Vermont at the end of March. And if you can't do that, use their PAYPAL donation tool to donate some money to help this important organization do their work. Friend them on Facebook, visit their website, add their event, follow their twitter!

Recommended Books (From the Vermont 3.0 Tech Career Jam)

I was on a panel discussion today at the Vermont 3.0 Tech Career Jam about "So you wanna be an Internet Marketer".

I had the pleasure of presenting along with Greg Brand of Bluehouse Group (a former employer of mine from the late 90's) and Paul Skarvinko of Epik (Paul is a former Champlain Graduate!).

In true professorial fashion I brought with me a stack of books. Real books. Tangible, touchable, readable books. (I have a rep to uphold you know). I was asked at the end of the panel if I had a listing of the books for people and I of course said, "Well, I'll put them on my blog"....so here they are:

1. Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky
2. Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide by Amy Shuen
3. PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Deirdre Breakenridge
4. Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions by Tim Ash
5. The Art of Digital Branding by Ian Cocoran
6. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li

I recommend these books to my students and actually in my Internet Marketing class the students are to select one from numbers 2-6 to read as supplemental -- based on their major area of study.

So there you have it folks! Enjoy.

Welcome Class of 2012

Today we welcomed the freshmen class of 2012 here at Champlain.

For those of you who do the college thing, you'll understand what it is like to go from the sleepy summer campus to, in one day, a vibe that is all excitement, fear, anxiety, thrill and well...just fresh and new. Every year at this time you can feel the excitement in the air. You can touch the excitement.

It's in all the faces around you.

And I'm not talking about the freshmen!

Our current students who are Resident Assistants, Orientation Leaders and Peer Advisors put themselves out there today. They were full of energy, enthusiasim and downright silliness as they pulled out all the stops.

This year in particular is a new beginning for me as well. Having resigned as program director of the e-business and marketing programs, this is my first year at Champlain (and I've been here since 2000) that I will be 100% full time faculty. No administrative contract. No running any programs. Just focusing on the part of my job I love the most. Teaching.

Teaching from the sidelines and watching them FLY!

I've been on vacation. Well to be exact I've been on the very trendy much sought after "staycation". But of course that means I have access to the web and besides playing mass quantities of WoW I've also been more in-touch with work then I probably should be for someone "on vacation".

Why stay in touch?

For a very simple reason. I've been asked to be the co-advisor, along with my colleague Asst. Prof. Megan Frenzen, of a group of Marketing, e-Business and Education majors as they work on a very exciting project for the UN. Yep, the United Nations. Champlain College is the recipient of a grant from the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) to create a game prototype to help change behaviors around violence against women in South Africa. There is a large team of students comprised of e-game design, art and animation, e-game programing, software engineering, marketing, e-business and education majors who will be working through December on creating this game prototype.

I was asked to recommend a group of students for the project and as a Professor this is perhaps one of the most rewarding and most challenging things I can be asked. I considered this request for some time actually, thinking about the many different students I have had the pleasure of working with, the demands of the work that must be done and the fact that this work has the potential to have an amazing impact on others lives. In the end I recommended ten students. Then it was out of my hands.

Now the students who were interested and were selected by the project team are scrambling to get everything in order before they head out on the first part of their research -- travelling to Cape Town, South Africa the week prior to the beginning of classes to conduct on the ground research.

It's an amazing thing watching them struggle to find direction, to figure out what they should be doing and how to approach it ... and to provide advice and recommendations ... but not tell them what to do (smile).

I won't be going on the trip with them. Meg gets that honor (with my blessing). However I will be following their progress and providing my advice from afar using the methods of communication that seem to work depending on where they are at the time.

They have much to consider. Research areas, asking good questions, listening and working together as a team. They have already started thinking about branding, logo, etc.

We have much to consider. How to advise, yet let them lead, how to encourage but not let them go down the wrong path, how to empower but keep them grounded.

Keep up on our progress by reading some of the different blogs and other social networking sites that have been started by the students and by the folks at our Emergent Media Center.

1. Perpetual Reflection by Nicole Magoon
2. Persnickety Creative by Amanda Jones
3. Champlain's United Nations South Africa Project at Facebook (a open group)

Or, follow me on Twitter or Plurk to find out things as they happen!

Conference Posting: Vermont's e-State Potential -- Building Community in a Connected Age

I'm about ready to head into the Welcome session for the e-State Conference sponsored by the Snelling Center for Government and my own Champlain College.

Check out the agenda!

I won't be "live blogging" since my computer (in it's current state of ready to explode at any time) can't handle it, but I might be using my new "crackberry" to micro-blog via twitter -- certainly a fun time to give it a try!

However, several others WILL be blogging.

Bill Simmon has already started with this first posting from last night. Cathy Resmer from SevenDays will also be live blogging at Blurt -- here's her first post from this morning.

The twitters have already begun...everything kicks off in about 10 minutes...I'm off!

Avinash is coming...Avinash is coming!

If you are at all interested in Internet Marketing you know the name AVINASH KAUSHIK. If you are interested in Web Analytics then not only do you know the name AVINASH KAUSHIK, you have read his book, you follow his blog AND you watch his YouTube Videos. He is also the "Analytics Evangelist" at Google. Um...yeah.

Basically you can't really say Web Analytics without saying Avinash Kaushik at the same time.

I've been reading his blog and I have his book and I show his videos in my Internet-based marketing class. And in June...I will meet him. I will see him in person. This is WAY cool. What is even cooler is he will be HERE at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. Oh yes. I'm not off to some swanky conference in New York City or San Francisco or Chicago. I'm here...on campus...just a short walk from my office and I will get to listen to Avinash in person.

It's all part of the Online Marketing Bootcamp. This is the third go around for the Bootcamp and it's growing for sure. I attended the first one, conducted a session at the second one (about an hour after I successfully defended my dissertation!) and will be attending the third one.

As I get ready to re-write and re-tool the Internet-based Marketing class having the opportunity to hear Avinash in person and potentially even speak to him will certainly provide some great inspiration on how to get students excited about data-driven decision making. Yep. That's what I said. Get students EXCITED about data-driven decision making!

So why here you might ask. Well, to be honest, Burlington and Vermont in general is a growing hub for information technology businesses, small software engineering firms and cutting edge online marketing companies. At the same time, our college (shameless plug!) is one of the few that offers classes in things such as Social Networking, Web Analytics, Online Visibility and Search Engine Optimization. We've been teaching Internet-based marketing for over seven years (that's me, by the way) and we have some OUTSTANDING alum who are rock'n the business.

Dave Winslow, CEO of EpikOne (the only Google Partner in New England) and his team of Champlain Alum from the e-Business and Business programs: Paul Skarvinko, Charles Miller and Matt Brinkerhoff will all be there on hand to TEACH about different facets of online marketing. Read more about all the experts here!

So not only do we have local talented experts in this field (many of whom were educated right here at Champlain!) we are able to bring in the top tier in the business to our campus.

$500 for the first day session to see Avinash in person. Burlington is not nearly as expensive as NYC or Chicago and you have a WAY better chance of actually meeting Avinash here then you would there for sure. $1950 for the full week of sessions that are split into beginner and advanced.

Well worth it.

I'm bringing my copy of Web Analytics an Hour a Day to get autographed.

The END...well..sort of

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yep...it is for sure! It's the end of classes here at Champlain! This is finals week and last night I wrapped up my last class -- Internet-based Marketing -- with some really decent presentations (one of which the students went beyond what I taught them and showed the results...ohhh....cool!).

Now I grade.

Many papers coming in and it is going to be a big push.

But...I'm excited because I'm getting ready to start up blogging again since I'll have more time as we faculty move into clean out the office mode, May Collaborative mode and just down right REST mode.

I've got some great ideas for the summer and for my fall classes...but can't there until I get the grades done.

Do you SEE me? Reflection on Tent City at Champlain College

Walking from the cafeteria back to my office there were students laying around...litterally! One stretched out by the entrance to the bookstore, and one outside of Hauke Lounge. I stopped and spoke to the student outside of Hauke and she said:

"This is hard. Being ignored. It's hurtful that the students just walk by and don't do anything."

Wow.

Champlain College Students Raise Money for COTS during TENT CITY

Not in my backyard takes on new meaning when right outside my office window a "homeless" tent city has sprung up. Monday it began and today, Wednesday, there are clothes hanging up outside my window, cardboard everywhere, sleeping bags, tents, a central fire pit with chairs and bags.

$400 raised so far for COTS, 50+ students involved.

Here's a YouTube!



Kudos to these students who simulate homelessness to not just raise awareness but to learn and appreciate what the poor in our state and around the world go through. Here in Vermont as the temperature dips down, and we are seeing some of the highest heating prices in years, there a major challenges.

Check out the YouTube video to keep up to date on our students' progress!

Teaching about Social Media in the classroom

It is no secret that I'm a college professor who teaches a series of classes in e-Business Management and Marketing at Champlain College. One of the classes I'm currently teaching is an online course that lasts for five weeks. Online Visibility is the subject. Here's the "official" course description:

Creating online visibility for a business, service or product is becoming more complex as more and more tools become available. Moving outside the realm of advertising and building websites, this course will provide students with hands-on experience in using the web to disseminate information about their product or service in this examination of PR-oriented online tactics. E-mail marketing, RSS feeds, news release distribution, viral marketing, and referrals will all be explored and utilized as students disseminate information utilizing online tools.

One of the key components of the course is setting up blogs so that students can explore the use of RSS Feeds, subscription and the effect of linking and tracking key words in order to measure online visibility.

Students create blogs for their business, organization, business idea and even a hobby. Part of the work is learning how to write for the blog, link, track success, and see what happens when others subscribe and mention their blogs.

So this post, besides setting the context for what we are doing and why, is part of the assignment I gave the class. Today I have successfully signed up for almost everyone's blogs and they are ported into my NetVibes. And now I'm doing part two of the assignment, which is to write about each blog and see what gets picked up!

The first blog to get picked up in my Google News Alert for "Champlain College" was Welton Mountain Tech. This blog emphasizes the challenges facing web security. In one of the posts, the blog linked to Champlain College and mentioned one of our faculty, Gary Kessler.

Another blog in the class features a tribute to the Red Sox -- I believe they are a soccer team, right? This blog, aptly entitled Just another Red Sox Fan, portrays the interests and links that one who follows the Red Sox might care about -- the post that provides links to other sites might be useful to some.

Vermont UnBoxed is a blog that supports a business idea of one of the students to have a website where people can order and learn about vermont-made products. While the website is still an idea, the blog is "real" and this post on a local farm stand is one way to highlight Vermont at its finest.

If you are interested in BMW's then the this blog from our resident BMW Ethusiast provides some questions about where to find parts and the experiences the blogger has had with rebuilding and updating the cars.

Another business idea for creating more opportunities for people to find their favorite movies can be found at K Movies. The idea behind this blog is to link it with a website and drive people to purchase movies. While there isn't a website yet, this experiement will surely reveal some of the opportunities and challenges that come with linking e-commerce to blogs.

The world of Online Education is examined in the Continue Your Education blog from Champlain College's own Division of Continuing Professional Studies. One post highlights some student work at the South End Art Hop from several weeks back!
Another addresses the use of Web Analytics -- and links people to one of our other one credit classes in..Web Analytics!

Advice on Online Visiblity comes in many forms. In How to Acheive Online Visibility for your Business the focus is on advice for highly specialized business to business clients so they can augment their personal selling with a push from the web. It's a tough nut to crack for B2C -- imagine the challenges with B2B! Branding is important no matter what, so this post should resonate with many!

What an amazing array of options -- don't you just love the Blogsphere?

A proud member of the "Cult of the Amateur" and making new friends

I interrupt the social media analysis on presidential candidates for some important side notes.

I would like to take this moment to declare to the entire blogosphere in an unabashed, proud and down right enthusiastic "voice" that I am a member of the CULT OF THE AMATEUR!

Ok, well...maybe not. Perhaps I fit into that elite group of experts who so carefully monitor and dole out snippets of information that is easily digestible by the masses of people with little to no intelligence who need the big companies to tell us what to think and when to think it.

What IS she talking about, you may wonder.

Here it is in a nutshell. Many thanks to PBS and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer this evening for the interview they conducted with author, blogger, and former silicon valley exec Andrew Keen on his book: The cult of the amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture. I caught just a piece of the interview, but then HAD to check it out online. A Google search revealed a blog by Andrew Keen which he is using to promote the book where he is writing about his interview experiences and other musings. I'm getting the book. I think I'm actually going to use excerpts in a class I'm developing for the spring semester. The excerpt I read on the website and the interview I heard have revealed to me that Keen clearly is a capitalist at heart. He likes the status quo where "experts" get paid to be experts, and where information is pushed out to the masses by trusted gate keepers like news editors, music executives and others we can trust who are paid by advertising revenue that supports jobs and, well the economy. He also clearly finds the concept of consumer generated content to be a threat to the well-ordered way it has always been and that information created by the masses (read amateur) to be read by the masses is creating a culture where truth no longer exists and it's a great big free for all. Welcome to the chaotic world of Web 2.0!

Bloggers and YouTubers and Social Networkers beware! You are a blight on society. You are killing our culture with your opinions, anonymity, and lack of expertise.

This is as far as I have gotten. When I get the book and read it I am sure I will enjoy it even more. It will fit perfectly into my course here at Champlain College, which is tentatively titled Technological Innovation, Cyberculture and Identity. I've been told the title needs to be jazzed up. Anyway, we'll be exploring the points of view of many individuals who have written about technological innovation and how they see it affecting our culture, society and individual identity. From Mumford and Zuboff and Vinge and Birkerts and now Keen -- what a rich and diverse group of perspectives. It will be fascinating to explore and adding a point of view like Keens will make this even more fun and provocative.

By the way, for more information you should check out Keen's blog! I suppose his blog is ok, since he is an expert and all. Certainly isn't one of the masses engaging in mindless blogging for no reason except to get his name out there and "publish" his opinions.

Now...on to making new friends...

One of the blogs I do follow every day is written by Rohit Bhargava, Vice President, Interactive Marketing at Ogilvy Public Relations. His blog, Influential Marketing provides great insight into the social media space that is unfolding every day. It's a moving target that I'm trying to keep up on and translate for my students and his blog helps me do that. Well I popped on to the blog today and saw that he has a facebook profile now! So, on a whim, I send him a FB message. Not to long after that he responded. I'm now "friends" with Rohit and I'm really psyched! He just posted that he is trying to figure out Twitter, so I am now following him there as well.

He's in the process of writing a book about social media and he's interested in what professors of marketing are doing in their classes. Well, it will be very interesting to correspond with him and to continue to watch and read as he makes progress on that book!

In the mean time, I've got to finish up these social media analysis before the election!

More in the news

Well the news keeps on a roll'n! Yesterday, September 6th, yours truly was LIVE on Vermont Public Radio's noon Vermont Edition with Jane Lindholm. The topic? Social Networking of course! Jane and the production team at Vermont Edition interviewed Marketing major Dan Bergeron (of the Seven Days story) on campus the evening before and kicked off the show with him talking about how students are using Facebook to communicate and stay connected.

Then it was my turn! It's been a long time since I've been in the studio -- and this was a lot of fun! Jane did a great job and I enjoyed the conversation. The other guest speaker was the Director of Student Life from Lyndon State College, Jonathan Davis.

Listen to it HERE.

By the way...if you are around checking out the South End Art Hop this Sunday I'll be on a panel of local experts at the Digital Tools for Artists discussion sponsored by Last Monday [interactive]. We'll be over at the held at the Vermont Community Access Media studios at 208 Flynn Avenue from 1 - 3. The goal is to provide artists with information about how to use digital media tools in different ways...and I'll be addressing MARKETING and Online Visibilty and Social Networking. Hope to see you there!

Champlain College Online Marketing Bootcamp: Final Post

Digg

Delicious

Twitter

VOX

Blogger

Second Life

MySpace

Squidoo

Facebook

YouTube

Technorati

Feedburner

FlickR

RSS

CoComment

Twitterific

LinkedIn

BeBo

iTunes

-------------------------------------------------------
Um...get all that? And yes, I know, they should be linked, but then that would ruin the pretty colors and I am certainly NOT going to break into the code to figure it out!

So that was my day today. A total immersion into the world of Social Networking and Online Visibility.

I LOVED IT!

Of course, I teach it ... so this was a unique experience for me to be the student. Think I might have over-stepped a few times (bad me) in the class room (sorry Dave and Dan!) around some of the things...but the best part was the things that I learned today. Great context of Social Networking and Online Visibility and some good connections.

Let's get to it (before I do a faceplant on the keyboard -- gee whiz I'm tired).

As I mentioned earlier, Dave Winslow from EpikOne kicked us off this morning. Besides the whirlwind overview and the hands on with LinkedIn and Blogger, Dave provided a great list of:

Steps for Planning a Social Networking Campaign

1. State your goal, identify your target and know what your success
2. Determine how much money and time you will invest
3. Based on the budget, create a plan – just like any other marketing plan
4. Identify what mediums you will be using – ie video, text, etc.
5. Choose which networks you will allocate your budget too
6. Align your resources internally or find a good outsource
7. Execute the plan and please make sure to track your initiatives

While I like the list and will use it in my Social Networking class there is ONE thing missing and that is making sure to INTEGRATE whatever you do with your current marketing messages and branding. It's a very important step because with this medium, if people really "Digg" it (smile) you need to be ready and it (whatever it is) better match your brand identity.

We moved into this afternoon with a great presentation on Social Networking -- with a focus on Blogging and Facebook (my favorite!) from Daniel Schutzsmith (linkedin) (twitter) who is the editor of GraphicDefine, an eZine for graphic designers and business. Check it out at: http://www.graphicdefine.org.

I won't bore you all with the in-depth details but there are a few things I wanted to address.

So what makes a Social Networking "Expert" anyway? To hear Dan tell it, it's a mix of pure chance, passion and a healthy dash of insanity.

Disclaimer -- remember, I'm a college professor, so when Dan said that he didn't use his PR degree right off, um, I had to wonder because...well...Dan, all of this that you are doing it's um..PR!

Anyway...here's Dan's "Story" (as told by me -- my sense is that I've boiled down the past 15 years of his life into well...a few short lines)

History of Dan

PR major in College
Graduated
Tried different jobs in business and design, businesses tanked…he kept on moving
(note dot.com bomb here somewhere I'm sure)
Started posting in forums and link pages and discussions providing advice and comments which led to a...
call from Chopping Block
so he started working with them in Biz Development where...
they didn't do any advertising they just...
went to forums
submitted links
send info to Ad Week
and Clients evolved from the virtual word of mouth they generated
(um, I think there was good design work too!)

Which got him pretty much involved with business side of design
which evolved into graphicdefine magazine – an eZine
which moved from his solo postings...
to other people/multiple contributors on the site
and then some
teaching at school of visual arts – at NYU
and of course
speaking Gigs on Social Networking and Online Visibility!
(um, Public Relations I'm think'n!)

Both Dan and Dave said these posts were supposed to be short...but...well...it wouldn't be fun if I didn't break the rules!

Big take aways?

Gotta have passion to do this. What else? Well here are some tips that make a lot of sense to me:

First, build a personality. One that goes with you and is consistent through all your social networking gigs whether it is MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, or whatever.

What do people want to see?

• Remove the Bullshit
• No Sales Speak
• Stay Consistent
• Make it easy to link to

Keeping followers and credibility

• Update Consistently
• Quality Content
• Remain Humble
• Be Truthful
• Own up and admit mistakes
• Correct the mistake
• Don’t Censor
• Listen
• Implement and Compliment Feedback

Handling Criticism

• Evaluate
• Address it
• Correct it
• Follow up

What not to do

• Hide
• Attack
• Counter-criticize
• Sue
• Slander

And finally...Dan's Tips for overall success:

1. Stick with it.
2. It takes hard work
3. Focus on the message
4. Encourage participation
5. Be serious about not being too serious
6. Have fun

So what did I think overall? It was a great session. The full day worked very well together and even though I walked in with my own blog and an UBER Facebook presence and a well developed LinkedIn Profile, I still came away with a continuing appreciation for what is happening in the OnlineVis space and that there are others out there like me who find this not only interesting but revolutionary.

Dan calls himself an "Evangelist". Easy to do that in the business world -- especially in NYC and especially when you are a "creative". Much more difficult to do in Higher Education with curriculum -- but I'm working on it! (insert evangelical exclamations here!)

Read on over the rest of the summer as I take what I've learned and what I continue to learn in the blogging world and use it to update and improve the classes I teach in Internet Marketing, Online Visibility and Social Networking.

Now...I have GOT to get to bed.

Champlain College Online Marketing Bootcamp Day 4: Social Networking

First I should note that last nights reception at the Firehouse Art space was GREAT. Now, it wasn't the Magic Hat (really!) that made it the best...although that was quite nice (and they were a sponsor), but the opportunity to continue to network with individuals I already know, but also those who I haven't had a chance to get to know. These Web Analytics Wednesdays are GREAT!

On to today....

Today's post will be broken up a bit, as our focus is Social Networking and in todays second half of the morning session we'll be all getting LinkedIn profiles and setting up blogs...well I already have both, so I'll be concentrating on the optimization of them.

In the mean time today's morning overview has been very good. A great intro to Social Networking by Dave Winslow from EpikOne. In the spirit of all of this...here is Dave's Linked In profile.

Some highlights included the history of Social Networking (yep there's a history!) and the current day context. The interesting part has to do with where we've been, where we are and where we are going:

Early stages
1. IM
2. Message Boards
3. Webinars

Current Platforms
1. Blogs
2. Wikis
3. Online Communities

Next evolution
1. 3-d Virtual Worlds
2. Peer-to-peer
3. Virtual Tradeshow

Um...Dave's Back...time to get hands on with LinkedIn! Be back later!

Champlain College Online Marketing Bootcamp Day 3: Web Analytics Wednesday

It's day three and we are deep into Analytics!

The day began again bright and early in the Mac Lab at Champlain College as we DOVE in the DEEP END of the "Technical Side" of Google Analytics. Our tour guide was Justin Cutroni the VP for Web Analytics at EpikOne. Justin has a blog "Analytics Talk" which is referenced on page 86 of Web Analytics an Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik, where he writes, "Justin Cutroni is one of hte smartest web analytics practitioners and consultants around. His focus is on GA but he has lots of non-GA stuff as well."

Today we learned about how to set up Google Analytics on our websites and how to customize the data and the reports. I'd go into detail...but OMG! I'm still processing. The big things I'm taking away are:

• Filtering is important


• Link Tagging can make ALL the difference -- especially with non-HTML files like PDF and FLASH and ads outside of the AdWords network.


• Goals are CRUCIAL -- it's all about conversion, so make sure those goals are clearly defined.


• Goals don't have to be just e-commerce related -- if you want people to sign up for an email newsletter, that's a goal; if you want people to download a file, that's a goal.


• Campaign tracking is very important and encompasses all of this
  

This afternoon has focused on the reporting from Analytics -- we walked through all the reports and really got an in-depth look at GA from Rachel Meyers an Analytics Specialist with Google.
While many of the reports are self-explanatory, the context provided by Meyers was very helpful and there are many nuances that we went over that I had never considered before. The new interface has really made a difference and allows for ease and depth at the same time!

Next step is the Web Analytics Association's networking event Web Analytics Wednesday! at the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington, VT.

Champlain College Online Marketing Bootcamp Day 2: Google Website Optimizer

Another whirlwind day has wrapped up here at the Online Marketing Bootcamp. Today's focus was on the new Google tool: Alex Broussard with EpikOne, who is the VP for Technology and Co-Founder of this local company, this session was beyond thorough. While it ranged into the far too technical around some of the CSS work, the walk through of the Optimizer appliance using a testing ground for one of Epik's clients was incredibly valuable. It's fairly simple to implement as long as you know a little html and have some design skills -- or if you have a good team of people to work with.

Basically you need to have a plan -- take a look at your site funnel analysis and see where your problem area is -- the area where you want to enhance conversions -- then select a few items you might want to change. If they are images, come up with the variations, if it is text do the same thing. Then walk through the optimizer, put the right code on your testing and conversion pages, insert the variations into the tool and then launch. Wait. Wait. Wait.

The length of time you wait will depend on the amount of traffic to your site. But no worries, the Optimizer tool will tell you when it's done. Then, select the winning combination of changes that increase your conversions.

Implement the changes.

Wa La!

Check out this case study for a client of EpikOne.

Now the big challenge -- how does this fit in the classroom? Does it fit in the Internet-marketing class...or is it for the Web Developers? Or BOTH? Lot's to consider.

Tomorrow is Web Analytics Wednesday. We'll see how that one goes!