The Week in Links

CASE's annual survey on social media use in higher ed, put together by mStoner, is out. Lee Gardner of the Chronicle of Higher Ed has a nice breakdown here.

​Good thoughts on what to do with superfans and brand advocates by Jon Thomas on Social Media today. Treating those people right and rewarding them in some special way is always a good idea.

My most popular post this week: Using social media to build school spirit on a college campus. Also, if you haven't read my big long thing about Instagram (good for those launching a page and those that are looking to grow their presence), you should. Because I spent a lot of time on it and it pains me to see the distressingly low click rate. Not quite single-digits, but close. Too close.

A long, but important, article by Augie Ray on Social Media Today about the ethics of responding to tragedies like the Boston bombing by social media managers. If you were planning on clicking just one link from this list, make it this one. Because quite frankly, shit like this (below) drives me absolutely nuts and makes me embarrassed to work in social media.

​Horrifying. And, sadly, all too common.

I also highly recommend another post by Augie Ray, this time on his excellent blog Experience, about how social media marketers are quickly losing authenticity with the constant begs for likes, share, RTs, and comments. Yes, we all have to play that EdgeRank game, but this ​post articulates many of the reasons I started this blog in the first place - social media should be about so much more than slumming for engagement, and the people that are doing good work out there deserve to be recognized.

The great Jon Loomer talks about the varying importance of Facebook fan page demographics on his website. I don't pay as much attention to Insights as much as I know I should (I operate more on instinct than on data... a dangerous pastime, I know)​, but keeping an eye on which age demographics are "talking about" your posts is a crucial data point for higher ed social media managers who have to appeal to everyone from prospective students to graduates from the 1950s.

Good stuff from Jeff Bullas on his website about podcasting being the hot new trend. ​There is a lot of opportunity for great podcasting in higher ed (so many professors, visiting luminaries, interesting research, etc.), but it's not an easy thing to get started with. I got all fired up about starting a podcast a year or so ago and even recorded a few with some professors, but ultimately I was disappointed with the quality and with the distribution. I'm coming full circle though... this is definitely a goal of mine in the coming year.

My Twinkies are on the right side of .500 for what is likely the last time in 2013, so I have to memorialize this moment for posterity.​

​And finally, the Stone Roses take us away into the weekend, with the fittingly-titled "I Wanna Be Adored." Remember, this blog is not much more than a vanity project for yours truly.  :)