Great Social Media Idea: Spontaneous Moments of Fun

Oh snap. Every now and then I come across something that I am desperately jealous of, and today, faithful readers, is one of those days. 

Check out this awesome and amazing Wellesley SMILES initiative, created and implemented by some incredible students - Hannah Ruebeck and Anne Dickinson Meltz - at Wellesley College. (SMILES stands for Spontaneous Moments in the Lives of Everyday Students.)

Now this is the type of stuff I am all about. These students have done everything from organizing flash mobs and drawing hopscotch games around campus to setting up card-making stations on holidays and putting out dodgeballs and balloons for all to play with and take. It's so awesome that USA Today took notice.

I dare you to go the Wellesley SMILES Facebook page and not start grinning from ear-to-ear and salivating at the prospects of doing something similar on your own campus.

Making memories, helping create special moments, giving students something to remember fondly when they are alumni and considering whether or not to send in a check or attend an event... I've written about it on the blog before, but I'll say it again: I've never quite understood why we (we being institutional marketing offices) spend so much time and energy getting students through the door with admissions and reaching out to them for donations and to come to functions and all that once they are alumni, but we spend such a small amount of time and resources on making the experience while students are actually on campus as fun, memorable, and enjoyable as possible.

At the risk of plagiarizing myself... Social media managers can play a crucial role in forging good memories and positive experiences, because we have the ability to reach a large percentage of students with a few clicks of a button. I absolutely believe that doing projects like this will help create more active, engaged, and (ideally) generous alumni.

Especially interesting to me is that these students have received support (i.e. funding) from the VP for student affairs, and even pursued a funding option through a student ballot initiative. I could definitely see partnering with some kids from the student government and/or a club to implement projects like this and tap into some of those student fee resources... even just a little bit of money can go a long way.

Big, big, big ups to Hannah and Anne... you guys are awesome, and deserve as many props and kudos as the internet can send your way.