Colleges and universities know that staying connected to students—and ensuring students are connected to each other—helps with retention, facilitates learning and collaboration, and builds campus culture. In the past few years, Twitter streams, Facebook pages, and YouTube accounts have become standard on college campuses, but some use the technology more effectively than others. Student Advisor, a site that lets prospective students compare schools to find the best fit, analyzed social media data from more than 6,000 schools to find the 100 that are making the best use of social media. Here are the top 10 masters of the campus social media universe.
1. Johns Hopkins University
Hopkins Interactive, the university’s comprehensive social media hub, provides the usual links to the school's Twitter and Facebook streams, but what sets the university apart are the forums, blogs and interactive student profiles on the site. Prospective students can access "candid, uncensored information about student life on campus," including a behind-the-scenes look at the admissions office and live blogging on the day the school sends 18,000 admissions decision letters. Current students can also connect with each other and with a variety of campus activities and organizations online.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
2. Harvard University
The All Harvard Social Media page shares the latest happenings at the university through tweets, blog posts, and videos, and features a thorough "social directory with a broader selection of Harvard-affiliated accounts." Harvard is also big on connecting students through FourSquare. There are over 70 check-in opportunities available across campus. And, given that Facebook started on its campus it's no surprise that Harvard's Facebook page has more than 800,000 followers, more than any school in the top 10.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
3. University of Notre Dame
Notre Dames top-notch mobile web app enables students on the go to find out what's on the menu at the dining hall, access tech alerts, and find out if there are open spots at campus computer labs. The school's communications director advocates students learn to use social media to further their professional careers. For fans of Notre Dame sports, there is also Irish Alerts, a free text message update service that gives users the latest scores and news.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
4. The Ohio State University
OSU's mobile web app lets students do everything from accessing grades to finding each other on campus. The school helpfully lists all the RSS feeds for all the blogs, podcasts, and student organization sites on campus. OSU also excels when it comes to photo sharing. Its O-H-I-O site lets students, faculty and alumni share and caption photos of their OSU experience. So far there are over 9,000 photo uploads.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
5. Columbia University
Nearly every department and club at Columbia has some sort of social media presence. Fortunately, the university's social media directory makes it easy for students to figure out how to connect using Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Connecting with Columbia alumni is also a snap, thanks to their searchable database that includes over 109 Facebook groups.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg=s900x900)
6. University of Kentucky
Kentucky keeps its YouTube channel updated with plenty of videos, including tips for prospective applicants and video blogs from campus departments. Prospective students can also take virtual tours with current students, and connect with alumni to chat about life after college.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
7. Stanford University
Stanford is celebrating five years of "edutechnosharification" on iTunesU and hosts "office hours" led by leading thinkers and researchers on the university's Facebook page. In January, Klout, the service that measures online influence, ranked Stanford number one based on the number of students, alumni, and influential professors engaging with the university's Twitter feed.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
8. Louisiana State University
LSU students can use social media for everything from finding a place to park on to giving tips to campus police. The university also offers a continuing education certificate in social media. For students and alumni that love to shout "Geaux Tigers," there's a social media directory just for campus athletics.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
9. United States Military Academy
West Point's social media presence captures the full cadet experience. Current and prospective students can read Army Strong Stories, which compiles blogs from current soldiers. And, to lighten the mood, the West Point band has a fun Facebook page.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
10. The University of Texas at Austin
UT's "Know" site makes connecting on campus a snap. Students can sort the university's social media directory according to type of media or department. For those who want to learn how to use social media in their own lives, the school also offers boot camps and hosts a Social Media Collaborative that helps plan and manage campus-wide programs.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
-
The Apollo 11 mission was so risky, Nixon had a speech ready in case the astronauts were left to die on the moon. “There are just too many things that can go wrong.”
The Planet -
For anyone who’s ever wondered if organic food is really better or just more expensive — check this out. This is sure to spark some debate.
Innovation -
Innovation -
Mom breaks down realizing her daughter was practicing lockdown drill in ‘cute’ bathroom picture. ”At that moment all innocence of what I thought my three-year-old possessed was gone.”
Communities -
Tech writer's tweet about Facebook's viral photo challenge is making some people nervous. Is there a conspiracy going on here?
Culture -
To the people who don't give up on me because of my anxiety and depression. Asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’ve simply been strong for too long.
Health
| The Top 10 Masters of Campus Social Media by Liz Dwyer |
.jpg=s1000x1000)
Colleges and universities know that staying connected to students—and ensuring students are connected to each other—helps with retention, facilitates learning and collaboration, and builds campus culture. In the past few years, Twitter streams, Facebook pages, and YouTube accounts have become standard on college campuses, but some use the technology more effectively than others. Student Advisor, a site that lets prospective students compare schools to find the best fit, analyzed social media data from more than 6,000 schools to find the 100 that are making the best use of social media. Here are the top 10 masters of the campus social media universe.
1. Johns Hopkins University
Hopkins Interactive, the university’s comprehensive social media hub, provides the usual links to the school's Twitter and Facebook streams, but what sets the university apart are the forums, blogs and interactive student profiles on the site. Prospective students can access "candid, uncensored information about student life on campus," including a behind-the-scenes look at the admissions office and live blogging on the day the school sends 18,000 admissions decision letters. Current students can also connect with each other and with a variety of campus activities and organizations online.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
2. Harvard University
The All Harvard Social Media page shares the latest happenings at the university through tweets, blog posts, and videos, and features a thorough "social directory with a broader selection of Harvard-affiliated accounts." Harvard is also big on connecting students through FourSquare. There are over 70 check-in opportunities available across campus. And, given that Facebook started on its campus it's no surprise that Harvard's Facebook page has more than 800,000 followers, more than any school in the top 10.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
3. University of Notre Dame
Notre Dames top-notch mobile web app enables students on the go to find out what's on the menu at the dining hall, access tech alerts, and find out if there are open spots at campus computer labs. The school's communications director advocates students learn to use social media to further their professional careers. For fans of Notre Dame sports, there is also Irish Alerts, a free text message update service that gives users the latest scores and news.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
4. The Ohio State University
OSU's mobile web app lets students do everything from accessing grades to finding each other on campus. The school helpfully lists all the RSS feeds for all the blogs, podcasts, and student organization sites on campus. OSU also excels when it comes to photo sharing. Its O-H-I-O site lets students, faculty and alumni share and caption photos of their OSU experience. So far there are over 9,000 photo uploads.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
5. Columbia University
Nearly every department and club at Columbia has some sort of social media presence. Fortunately, the university's social media directory makes it easy for students to figure out how to connect using Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Connecting with Columbia alumni is also a snap, thanks to their searchable database that includes over 109 Facebook groups.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
6. University of Kentucky
Kentucky keeps its YouTube channel updated with plenty of videos, including tips for prospective applicants and video blogs from campus departments. Prospective students can also take virtual tours with current students, and connect with alumni to chat about life after college.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
7. Stanford University
Stanford is celebrating five years of "edutechnosharification" on iTunesU and hosts "office hours" led by leading thinkers and researchers on the university's Facebook page. In January, Klout, the service that measures online influence, ranked Stanford number one based on the number of students, alumni, and influential professors engaging with the university's Twitter feed.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
8. Louisiana State University
LSU students can use social media for everything from finding a place to park on to giving tips to campus police. The university also offers a continuing education certificate in social media. For students and alumni that love to shout "Geaux Tigers," there's a social media directory just for campus athletics.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
9. United States Military Academy
West Point's social media presence captures the full cadet experience. Current and prospective students can read Army Strong Stories, which compiles blogs from current soldiers. And, to lighten the mood, the West Point band has a fun Facebook page.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
10. The University of Texas at Austin
UT's "Know" site makes connecting on campus a snap. Students can sort the university's social media directory according to type of media or department. For those who want to learn how to use social media in their own lives, the school also offers boot camps and hosts a Social Media Collaborative that helps plan and manage campus-wide programs.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
