Social Networking Services and Student Affairs The Washington TRIO Expansion Program The Evergreen State College Engaging Your Students, Staff and Colleagues Utilizing Web 2.0

Social Networking Services (SNS) What are SNS? Services that focus on creating communities and facilitating communication Allows people to make ‘connections’ and share We will focus on ‘profile-based’ and blogging Types of SNS Profile Based (Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace) Blogging/Microblogging (Blogger, WP and Twitter) Content Based (Flickr and YouTube) Group Building (Ning, Joomla and Sharepoint) Virtual (WoW and Second Life)

Getting your brain working What is your experience with SNS? What are your perceptions of SNS? What types of SNS are being utilized on your campus? By what departments/offices?

SNS User Data Social Networking Services 35% are adults 65% are teens 75% of 18-24 year-olds 57% of 25-34 year-olds 51% of all users have multiple accounts Facebook 56% are women 55% are 25 and under Fastest growing demographic --- women 55 and over Twitter 55% are women Almost 50% are 18-34 Almost 50% have college degrees TOP 5 FB, MySpace, Twitter, Flixster and LinkedIn,

Why should Student Affairs Professionals use SNS? Enhance the learning environment Increase student engagement Reach students on ‘their’ time Provide resources, updates and support Create community Build groups/pages for your students only Share content User created and 3rd party Collaboration across departments and campus groups

Why should Student Affairs Professionals use SNS? Personal branding and SEO Communicate and manage your online image Remove barriers for students Promote program vision Build relationships Build ‘social capital’

Social Capital Tips What is social capital? The perceived value of the links and updates you share on your SNS How can you build social capital? Be a good online ‘friend’ or ‘follower’ Share links of value or relevance Comment on others’ posts Respond timely Quality better than quantity … in followers and networks Ask for feedback … promotes inclusiveness Provide ‘insider’ reports or ‘breaking’ updates

Ways to connect Inquire about SNS during intake interviews Search for them on your SNS Ask to be ‘referred’ or ‘suggested’ to others Highlight your networks in traditional communication Work with your webmaster to enhance your campus website and add links to your social networks

Safety and Privacy Concerns FERPA SNS are not anonymous/private, but you can adjust your ‘profile’ settings Potential for cyber-stalking and harassment Many online profiles contain work info, school, interests, relationship statuses, photos, event invitations and the names of online groups you belong to How do we treat Inappropriate or undesired comments, updates, ‘tweets’ and messages? How do we treat TMI … ‘too much info’? Talk with your students in person Refer to appropriate campus personnel (counseling, advising, FA)

What we are doing at TESC Facebook Staff maintain professional profile Two Fan Pages (CSF and WaTEP) Event updates Links Critical advising information Chat advising Twitter WaTEP Tweets and retweets Follow people that inspire and motivate

Relevant Work Danah Boyd Social Media Researcher at Microsoft Research New England and a Fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Facebook’s Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence by Danah Boyd http://www.danah.org/papers/FacebookPrivacyTrainwreck.pdf Tweet Tweet Retweet: Conversational Aspects of Retweeting on Twitter by Danah Boyd, Scott Golder, and Giliad Lotan http://www.danah.org/papers/TweetTweetRetweet.pdf Social network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship by Danah Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2007/edition-13/social-network-sites-public-private-or-what/ Implications of User Choice: The Cultural Logic of “MySpace or Facebook?” http://interactions.acm.org/content/?p=1302 Schrock, Andrew and Danah Boyd. (2008). "Online Threats to Youth: Solicitation, Harassment, and Problematic Content." Research Advisory Board Report for the Internet Safety Technical Task Force. http://www.danah.org/papers/ISTTF-RABLitReview.pdf

References www.insidefacebook.com www.livescience.com http://www.pewinternet.org/ http://doteduguru.com/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/02_04_08_ofcom.pdf http://mistakengoal.com/blog/category/social-networking-services/ http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/11/18/online_community_college/ http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Adult_social_networking_data_memo_FINAL.pdf.pdf http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/02/12/list-of-white-label-social-networking-platforms/ http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

Final Thoughts Comments, suggestions or questions? Find us online and make a connection! Corey Leneker lenekerc@evergreen.edu Arvin C. Mosley, Jr mosleya@evergreen.edu