Picking some GREAT books for my Fall Classes -- Not your "run-'o the mill" textbook!

So I'm cleaning out my office and beginning to think about books for the fall -- crazy I know, but it must happen.

For my Exploring Marketing Class I'll be using Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava. Why? Well for several reasons. Yes, this is a freshman level course and my goal is to get them really excited about marketing and introduce them to books they should be reading. PNI is one way I will do that. Bhargava is an expert in Online Marketing and I read his blog "Influential Marketing" religiously. Thanks to social media, when I realized he had set up a Facebook account last year, I "friended" him and we corresponded. When I read the book excerpt I knew this was perfect for my class. It's current and it doesn't require someone to have a PhD to understand the importance of engaging with your customer. It will be something my students will be able to relate to -- even as freshmen!

For my Internship class, which is focused on Career exploration, I have discovered a very different book. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Daniel Pink, author of FreeAgent Nation and A Whole New Mind. Why this? Well, first of all the message in the book is spot on and something I try to express to my students. But the key is the delivery. It's Manga! Not your typical text for sure.

See the video:




My goal in choosing non-conventional text books is to be able to strike that balance between theory and practice -- and books like these help illustrate for students the possibilities. At a time when many find reading "boring" it's my job to get them excited.

It works.

In my Marketing Management class -- a senior level course -- students have to select three books from the field that are interesting to them. The big winners this semester? Seth Godin and Meatball Sunday, LoveMarks by Kevin Roberts, and Your Marketing Sucks by Mark Stevens. What is great is that the students read their books and post their thoughts in a discussion forum for one another and make recommendations -- so if one person likes a book, suddenly more people read them. And while they grumble about the papers I make them write (smile), they also write about being excited about reading books that make sense, are relevant and keep them up-to-date in marketing. As I tell them, once they graduate, the only people who will keep them current are...well....Seth and company. They won't have us Profs. to tell them what to read anymore.

So in the fall, I start with a new crop of students to do the same thing. Rohit has told me he'll video conference into my class in November -- this would be the first time students will get to read a current book and then MEET the author.

All because of Social Media, my passion for bringing marketing to life in the classroom and a wealth of great talent out there writing amazing books!

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.

Welcome to the "New" Academy -- Prof's who use online tools

So I'm not alone. Ok...I knew that really, but more and more I'm reading about College professors in disciplines other than Business (and there are not many of those either) who are using tools like Twitter and blogging and social networking to connect with their students and to write about their own experiences.

Yes, there are many who are playing around with podcasting at iTunes U, but recent items from the Chronicle of Higher Education have provided some other tidbits.

Like the emergent media Prof. who is now posting video on how he uses Twitter, and then there is today's article from the Chronicle where theologist Dr. Brandon Withrow writes about the pitfalls of faculty writing their own blogs -- who knew? Certainly not I!

It would seem that those of us who are utilizing these new tools may be running into some type of "hiring bias" ... hmmm.... better not tell Prof. John Rogate from here at Champlain -- he's created a whole virtual Champlain College in Second Life.

Bottom line, we are out there and we are experimenting and using these tools for ourselves, to connect with students, and to provide insight in the classroom. We have to. We are educators and we not only need to know about these tools, we need to help our students understand the ramifications of using these tools as well.

The NYTimes on "The Prof. as Open Book"

Wow. Looks like the social media is catching up to Higher Ed! Well...sort of. If the NYTimes article is to be believed we Prof's are wildly connected.

Um...

Ok...maybe those they interviewed...and me...and um....

Anyone? Bueller?

Goodbye 802 Online and Inside Track. I'll miss U.

The local Vermont blog scene has lost several blogs this week. I knew there was something in the wind with the dramatic drop-off in postings...and alas, it was confirmed this week.

Cathy Resmer and Peter Freyne at SevenDays have hung up their keyboards and have announced they will stop blogging.

No more 802 Online. No more Inside Track. Call it blogger fatigue...call it too much work...call it burn-out...whatever you call it the loss of these two blogs will leave a gap in our blogger coverage here in Vermont for sure.

I have to admit to feeling a bit...well...bereft. My NetVibes will not be the same.

Of course, things will go on...just differently. Perhaps I'm getting old (turning 41 next week) and am beginning to resist change but even though Cathy will be editing the new SevenDays Community blog "Blurt", I'm not really excited about it. Time will tell if it will keep me up to date the way 802 did. As to Inside Track. Well...that's another kettle of fish. One of the best political columns that I have read -- and while I don't always agree with Freyne, it certainly has kept me up to date in a way that others just don't. We'll suffer for this one for sure. Political coverage in this state is well...um...not terribly diverse for sure.

This brings forth several interesting questions. If blogging is about building community, what happens when the blogger exits for whatever reason. What happens to the community? hmmm..... AND, who will fill the information gap that these bloggers have left behind?

Twittering about Twitter and Rock'n with Ginger: Come follow me!

So the other day, I was Twittering about Ginger and my sister called me. She's been "following" me for a bit through Twitter, but hasn't really done much with it. My Twit, "Rock'n the Ginger Widgets. OMG!" proved too much for her and she called me almost immediately. "What the HELL are you doing and WHAT is GINGER?" she asked. And so it began. Too bad I didn't have the folks at Common Craft to help me out (grin).


Call it social presence or micro-blogging or something else (some might call it crazy!), Twitter allows you to stay in contact with "friends" and others in short little bitess. Of course, Common Craft has just come out with their "Twitter" how-to...



In my Twitter world, as you know, I'm "friends" with politicians -- although right now I'm just getting Twits from Obama and Clinton. I'm also friends with other people too (check out my Twitter feed on the sidebar). What's the redeeming value...really? Here's what I think:

1. Conferences. Conference organizers could set up Twitter accounts that all attendees can "follow" -- the organizers send out one note and all the attendees get it...on their cellphones...in real time.
   
2. Groups. Keeping the group (no matter what the group) informed. Helping complete a project, working on a scavenger hunt, whatever. One text reaches all in the group, quick and easy.
   
3. Family. Just like the folks at CommonCraft point out...keep your family and friends in the know and learn more.
   
4. Classes. Here's an interesting one. David Parry a prof at the University of Texas talks about Twitter and his students. Me, not doing that now, but I'm on the Facebook and working the NetVibes Ginger, so perhaps Twitter comes next. I've thought about creating a Twitter for a class to send out important announcements...hmmm...perhaps.

The general concept however is connection. And following. And that leads me to ...

GINGER!

Imagine you had a way to get to your students all the important things they need to read without printing them out, or assigning the readings. And you could provide a brief context for WHY something was important. A roadmap. A model to teach and show students not what they must read as an assignment, but rather what you are reading and why you think it is important. And you can do that at any time...from any place. And you get them ready for what is to come when they are in the work world.

Well...

It's here!

NetVibes (my FAV RSS feed reader) has released (just a few days ago) their newest version "Ginger". It came off of beta mode just a few days ago. I signed up for it a few weeks ago and have just begun to realize its full potential. Rather than a regular private RSS feed reader, it now allows you to create a public "universe" where others can follow you. You can post blogs and information you read to your "public universe" and even send favorites to your public universe with a note.

So if you follow me you would see that I've shared the Common Craft video, a research article about Web 2.0 and information about the Social Media Release.

Students can also access my Public Universe (http://www.netvibes.com/ejyoung67) and see the feeds that I have that I think they should be paying attention to.

As I talk about RSS in the classroom and show students the potential we are having some great conversations about the use of the RSS for marketing. Well, I do know right now that the power of this version of NetVibes is going to be the power of teaching.

Why not sign up and follow me?

Fighting the Winter "Blahs"

As I look out at the snow coming down outside and I rest my aching back from the shoveling of my driveway I have come to realize that I have a really big bad case of the Winter Woes.

Of course, it could be that I'm in PhD recovery (I hear that it's a transition from those who have done it before), planning on selling my house (so I have to actually keep it kinda clean, and get it ready for the selling), just taken on another class due to adjunct interuptus (33 students in a severe case of major confusion and starting again at square one when we are already into week 5!), struggling to deal with an 11-yr-old and 6th grade homework issues...

Who knows.

What I do know is that my motivation is hanging out in a sunny warm space on vacation.

Edwards gets thanks from Clinton and Obama...really!

Check this out:

Wow! and he even didn't endorse anyone. Hmm....I wonder...is this a thank you because you are such a great guy or is it a thank you for getting out of the campaign (grin)?

The campaign site has done an update and the speech the candidate made earlier today is on the blog too.

Since Edwards has a fairly vibrant community it will be interesting to observe what happens on the campaign site. This is the one candidate (if you recall from an earlier post) who had an online community BEFORE he ran and if you notice in his speech today he talked a lot about "One America" which is the organization (the OneAmerica Committee) he formed after 2004. We'll see what happens at the campaign site now, which if you look carefully through Google still shows "One America" (the blog actually links to it directly). This, my friends, will be one to watch.

And the field gets smaller and smaller

Been a bit since I've posted. In that time...

Kucinich dropped out on Jan. 25th leaving a nice little message on his website, but hardly any ripples in the news media.

Obama won S. Carolina and gained "momentum" (more on that later).

and yesterday McCain won the Republican primary in Florida (check out the Huffington Post for a great recap of that one!).

This morning we hear that John Edwards is dropping from the race now as well as Giuliani. Let's see what their websites have to offer ...

As of 9:20 a.m. nothing at the Edwards site. Remember he had a bunch of the social networking things including Twitter -- my Twitter has not gone off, but my CNN alert sure has.

As of 9:20 a.m. nothing for Giuliani on his site either.

I'll check back after class. See if there is a difference/change.

It's Twitter-ific!

Today (Tuesday, January 22nd) I received yet another Twitter from the Fred Thompson Campaign. I've been getting them fairly regularly along with Twitters from the Obama Campaign.

However, today was a first.

At 2:40 BEFORE I got the alert from CNN (also on my cellphone), the Thompson campaign Twittered the following:

"Sadly, It's official. Fred says: "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States" Thanks for all of your support."

Over at the website there is a thank you image AND a post about the end of the canidacy. Well done. As a "supporter" who signed up for Twitter, I found out quickly which is the point of something like Twitter, isn't it?


























Better than what happened over at the Hunter site, which by now does have the posting that "Congressman Hunter has dropped out of the race" (quite unfriendly, by the way).