Social Networking in the Classroom

There is a lot of debate right now within academic circles about social networking. In the K-12 world it's about allowing access and in the higher education world it's about the legal ramifications of the things that students will put up.

In my world, there's more.

I teach a course in Social Networking here at Champlain College and my challenge is, within this world of fast moving change, how do I keep up and continue to show students how Social Networking is changing how we will do business.

The first challenge, of course, is that students believe they already know everything there is to know about Social Networking. They have MySpace and Facebook. What more is there to know? A lot, actually. Consider the following sites that are changing the way we do business and connect:

• LinkedIn: You can see my LinkedIn profile here on this Blog. LinkedIn is social networking in the business world and it is having a big impact on how I connect with experts in the field, stay connected with businesspeople I know and garner internships for students!
• SixDegrees.org: This new website created by Kevin Bacon (ever played the game, sixdegrees of Bacon? I'm one degree removed because I know Kathryn Blume who met and worked with Kevin Bacon on her Lysistrata Project several years ago!) and it's goal is to use SOCIAL NETWORKING to fundraise for causes.
• MySpace.com: Yeah, I know. We all know about MySpace. But...what about the fact that they are working with eBay to create an opportunity for individuals on MySpace to sell stuff to their friends using the eBay auction engine? They are calling it PEER COMMERCE! The WSJ had an article in the paper on Thursday, Feb. 8th that addressed this along with challenges they are facing with Google and Advertising.
• YouTube: The non-profit group, Public Citizen is highlighting the dangers of new birth control pills -- using YouTube to get the word out. They are bypassing the traditional e-alerts and PSA's on TV to reach their audience. This is a new way for advocates ... and it's social networking! They've created website as well: notmypill.org.

There's more. But isn't this enough? Advocacy comes to social networking. PEER Commerce comes to social networking. Mobile is moving fast. Social networking isn't just about seeing what your friends did at their party last night. There's a lot more to it.

Well...I've got to get to class.

Getting Ready for the "Real World"

One of the challenges that I believe every professor faces in to make sure that our students understand and are ready for what is expected of them in the so-called "real world".

Here at Champlain College, in the Marketing Management class, I am working to reach that goal. Marketing Management is the final marketing course that all marketing majors must take before they graduate. It's a seminar course which in academia means more discussion based and we often sit around a room, rather than in that traditional lecture-based set up. However, this class is beyond a "seminar". It's project-based. But it is more than that too.

Students come in, meet a client and spend the rest of the semester working with that client to solve a marketing challenge.

It's hard work to break out of a structured, professor-driven environment. It's hard work for me and hard work for the students. At some point I'll write more about the power of giving up control in the classroom.

They told me yesterday that this didn't feel like a college class. I take that as a compliment. I don't want this to be a typical college class. I want it to be as close to the "real world" as possible. I want them to be ready. I want to build their confidence.

They came in yesterday with a presentation to give. They never gave it. Instead, they got the chance to re-work it and hopefully learned that brainstorming and implementation take real time, commitment and creativity. What they came out with as a starting point is exciting and I can't wait to see the final product. I hope they gained perspective on what it will really take to work with a client in the real world.

The Power of One

The semester at Champlain College is already five weeks done and here I go trying to get back into the BLOGGING scene. Yes, I'm bringing BLOGGER back. Why? For several reasons actually. First, it gets indexed faster because of the whole Google tie-in and secondly, it keeps me current on different blogging options. But...I get off topic...quickly.

One of the hallmarks of the Non-Profit and Social Marketing class that we developed here at Champlain College is what I call the "Friday Speaker Series". Throughout the semester I invite individuals who exemplify our theme of "The Power of One" to come into class and speak. This week I had the pleasure of inviting and listening to a good friend, Kathryn Blume talk about her journey as a struggling actor/environmental activist and how it has culminated into her role as an "Accidental Activist". She told us how she and another actor in New York City, in 2002 started a movement of actors and individuals in the theater around the world who produced readings of Lysistrata, the 2500 year old play where women withhold sex to stop war. They started the LYSISTRATA PROJECT on a shoe-string and had a HUGE impact. From this, Kathy's one-woman show the Accidential Activist was borne and she toured the country telling her story.

Now Kathy is back at it again with THE BOYCOTT. Here's the premise:

Inspired by the ancient Greek anti-war comedy Lysistrata, The Boycott tells the story of playwright and actor Kathryn Blume trying to fight global warming and save the word by writing the story of the First Lady of the United States, Lyssa Stratton, launching a nationwide sex strike to fight global warming and save the world.

She opened in Burlington, VT last week to two sold-out shows! Way to go Kathy!

So what does this have to do with our class at Champlain College? Tons! Students have begun to write about what they have learned from Kathy and the ability of one person to make a difference, when they feel that they can't until they have more money or more power or more fame....she has helped them to see that the power of one is real.