Ah, the events calendar. One of the most ubiquitous components of a university website, and often one of the most confounding. From wrestling with feeds and technical configurations to simply getting people to use the darned thing, a calendar can be a headache. Time to schedule some Excedrin. With the right approach, though, that headache can become a valuable asset. An events calendar is not just a software application, after all—it’s a rich … [Read more...]
Higher Ed Rocks Confab: Engaging Content at Indiana University
May 22, 2012 by
On the first day of Confab, Indiana University's Erika Knudson and Rebecca Salerno discussed their work creating a content strategy for the Indiana University Alumni Association geared around spurring engagement and building lasting relationships. We interviewed Knudson and Salerno about their effort: Below is our Storify of tweets from the session: [View the story "Creating Emotionally Relevant Content for Higher Education … [Read more...]
Be Interesting, Please
May 2, 2012 by
It's fast and easy to create and publish content, right? Maybe, but not if you intend for your content to rise above the onslaught of emails, tweets, blogs posts and ads people are hit with every day. Crosby Noricks of Fast Company makes the case to "think like a publisher" by referencing an Instagram photo that reads, "I'll be interested, if you’ll be interesting." That's the voice of our readers asking us for a reason to … [Read more...]
Planning for Time-Shifted Reading
March 5, 2012 by
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how longform content is a growing trend that merits consideration in higher ed. A topic often discussed in tandem with longform content is time-shifted reading. Sometimes called “DVR for words,” time-shifted reading is an increasingly popular option for content consumption. Before diving into this post, you really need to read (or re-read) Rick’s excellent overview of how we as publishers must plan for … [Read more...]
Keeping a Flexible Content Plan
January 19, 2012 by
Last week, Tim Nekritz, director of web communication at SUNY Oswego, tackled a great topic: content and serendipity. In it he shared an example of content that unexpectedly generated a record-breaking amount of engagement for the SUNY Oswego Facebook page: 275 likes, 48 shares and 28 comments. Not bad. This content wasn't a carefully planned editorial story or coverage of a campus event — and certainly not a report on the latest school … [Read more...]