higher ed, vendors find common ground; webcast at 11.

Fox News and MSNBC would have been disappointed, but four professionals actually discussed the often-dicey relationship between higher education and outside vendors on Higher Ed Live with nary an insult, shouting match nor discouraging word. Despite a lack of sensationalism, the result provided a lot of substance, room for understanding and even common ground on what makes for a good college-vendor partnership.

It all begin with my blog post expressing frustration over apps vendors “fishing with shiny objects,” or rooting around trying to find buyers for products that have more cool factor than actual benefit to our institution or our students. That brought an interesting rebuttal comment from Brent Grinna of EverTrue, a company that builds apps to meet an institution’s missions and goals. Brent eloquently noted that the bad past relationships of colleges and vendors made it hard for startups to get traction in such a competitive environment. Then old friend Kyle Judah of RecoVend, a startup whose goal is to help colleges find worthy vendor partners, provided additional perspective on how problems lie on both sides of the vendor-college relationship. The whole debate was so juicy I pitched it to Seth Odell, who happily invited us all to probe the issue on his Higher Ed Live online talk show.

If you saw it live or watch the replay, you’ll see how much common ground reasoned people can find when engaged in productive dialogue. I’m glad Brent contributed his viewpoint because it’s helpful and humbling to hear another side of the story and remind us never to oversimplify anything. We noted that vendors who excel and constantly help us try to better serve our campus and our students are really more like partners, and credited the likes of readMedia and Kevin Prentiss of Red Rover.

And it is, of course, wrong to cost all blame on outside forces. I keep a copy of John G. Saxe’s poem The Blind Men and the Elephant and realize how many entities within colleges don’t see the whole picture. Encased in silos with limited vision, they feel the tusk and sense a spear, feel the leg and imagine a tree, feel the ear and envision a fan. And miss the elephant in the room, which is that only by working together can colleges best serve their students.

And if you can’t work together, there’s most definitely not any app to solve it.

how we use pinterest: it’s about goals, users and gut.

If you work in social media, you couldn’t help but catch the buzz over Pinterest, which repeatedly smashed records for fastest social media community to [insert just about any number] members. We’ve started up a Pinterest page — but not because it’s the next shiny object. The SUNY Oswego Pinterest page came about because we saw another way to connect with key users, fulfill communication goals … and because of an intangible gut instinct.

When I brought the idea of Pinterest up to our student social media team, the three young women in the group were immediately excited about it. That doesn’t happen when I mention working in Twitter or Formspring or Foursquare, so my gut instantly realized that if part of our target market was this into the platform, it had real potential. Of course, that Pinterest mainly appeals to women is considered a punchline in some sectors … but it’s foolish to pooh-pooh such a huge market (around 55 percent of our students are female, for one thing).

One intern, Jenna, immediately thought of two potential boards — photos of items students should bring when moving in (one of the questions we hear the most in social media) and images of places of interest in the Oswego community (ditto). Thus our ongoing goal of better communicating with potential/incoming students gives one great peg for using Pinterest. As I always say: Goals first, then tools. Ideas for boards about various living options, activities on campus, sporting events and even winter preparation followed … all produced by students on the team.

I’ve also talked to key folks in alumni relations, who are also interested in photos and items of interest to alumni. One of the alumni magazine’s most popular stories involved images and stories of famous performers who played Oswego over the years, so historic photo galleries are in the planning stages. Thus we can offer content that spans the student lifecycle — from when they’re choosing a college to graduates recalling their glory days.

Say what you will about Pinterest, but if your institution has goals, motivated people (students!) working on it and a focus on content of interest to your audience, it’s well worth pursuing.

how home renovations are like using social media.

Like most homeowners, I found myself deep (over my head?) in a renovation project during my week off. Seemed simple enough: Remove an old sliding patio door and install a new one. Not that simple, of course, but it nonetheless reminded me of good advice I’ve received about social media.

Tools support a goal. Because of a number of complications, I used just about every tool I own (and had to buy more). I didn’t just say: I want to use a hammer and a saw! Which is, alas, what too many people do when they say: I want to make a Facebook! or Let’s do a video! with no attention to why and how they want to use social media. For my project, I had a goal — replace my patio door — and the way it unfolded dictated what tools I’d need.

Learn to adapt. The condition of the (soon-to-be-removed) Florida room where I installed the door provided some obstacles (or even hazards). The previous owners appeared to have framed the door after putting it in, which made it impossible to fit without taking out the old framework. Much adaptation ensued, and sometimes I was on my third or fourth tool to take out an obstacle. This is true of social media too: You’re never sure what to expect. You can plan, but sometimes you have to roll with what happens and respond. Or you may find a social media avenue is not working as you want, thus you have to change. Or you have to go into your social media toolkit for another option.

We can’t do it alone. Did I mention that a sliding patio door is a large, cumbersome item? After a lengthy amount of trying to negotiate it by myself, I eventually realized I’d need someone to help situate it (thanks to Fred Vigeant for the extra hands). This happens in social media too. We can’t monitor our Facebook pages and Twitter accounts 24/7 without some help (often students). We need other people contributing engaging content. If you’re fortunate enough to have a great network (via Facebook, Twitter, G+ or other), you can learn from colleagues at any time, and tap them for advice.

It’s never over. If you own a home, you know that there’s always another project waiting as soon as you finish anything (I have several). And working with social media is a never-ending process — whether you’re answering questions, learning about new means of communication or trying to figure out how to do things better. But even though there always seems to be more work to do, don’t forget to step back and take some time to admire a job well done once in a while.

social media 101: 5 golden rules

In creating a Social Media 101 workshop for campus users as well as a new social media users’ guide, I recently crafted five golden rules to consider before beginning social media efforts on behalf of one’s institution or organization. They borrow from advice from many colleagues, but I figured posting them here just might benefit others.

1. Be present. Acquaint yourself with any social media outlets before trying to use them professionally. If you’re not familiar with Facebook, creating a group or fan page 15 minutes after you sign up could be an uphill climb. Learning as much as you can about a particular platform or community will increase your chances of success.

2. Be prepared. Have a plan for who will post and/or respond to social media, how often you may want to post content and what goals you want to accomplish (see below). You may want to prepare a content calendar based on major related activities and what your audiences should know … but be flexible to accommodate great news or suggestions whenever possible.

3. Be responsive. The biggest problems with social media efforts involve a lack of responsiveness and community abandonment. If someone asks a question via a Facebook page or Twitter account, they do not expect to wait days for a response. If you don’t know the answer to a posted question, don’t be afraid to say you’re looking into the response and get back to the person later. And don’t start a social media community unless you plan to make it sustainable.

4. Be friendly. Social media is conversational. Don’t talk down to your audience. Don’t bury readers in jargon. Don’t get angry and defensive. Do start conversations. Do what you can to help others. Do what you can to represent a friendly face for your area and the institution.

5. Put goals before tools. New sites, applications and communities emerge all the time, but before you commit to jumping in somewhere, ask three questions: 1) Does this help us meet a specific goal or goals? 2) What’s in it for us? 3) What’s in it for our users? If you can’t answer these questions, don’t forge ahead into an area of social media. While OSS (“Ooooh! Shiny Syndrome) can be hard to resist, success in social media involves focusing on communities and outlets where you can do a good job, both for the institution and for your users.

Any other tips anyone would suggest?