Heads up Champlain College Students and Alumni!

A must see event: Laura Fitton (you may know her as @pistachio on Twitter) is coming to Champlain College on Thursday, March 22nd.  She'll be speaking from experience at 7:00 p.m., sharing her experiences as an entrepreneur, writer, and social media expert (she wrote the book…no really…she wrote "Twitter for Dummies") and runs her own consulting gig. But…not only is she speaking for us all, she's got to be able to eat!

It'll be a great meal. Wouldn't you like to join us?

If you are a current student or an alum here's your chance.  We have FIVE seats up for grabs.  Sounds like the perfect time for a TWITTER CONTEST!

Top five tweets WIN dinner with @pistachio (and a few other awesome people).  Here's the details (naturally failure to follow the instructions means you won't win).

The contest begins NOW, March 15th and runs until Sunday, March 18th. The hashtag for the contest is #eatwithpistachio.  The mission: in less than 140 characters (gotta count that hashtag) is to TWEET why you want to have dinner with @pistachio. Simple enough don't you think?

Bob Bloch and I will judge the tweets based on originality, creativity, and fun and will announce the winners via the contest hashtag on Monday, March 19th.

I know, I know…I’m turning in my homework late. And as a College Prof who is all about “turn your work in on time or you will lose points” this is bad. Really, really bad. No excuses. Just super busy with turning in the midterm grades last weekend and launching my MBA Marketing course. Yep, no spring break for me!

Now on to what I learned this week.

Seriously you HAVE to check out this SlideShare from Leslie Bradshaw of @Jess3.  It’s all about content marketing and the ways in which we as social media marketers should be thinking about content as a VISUAL medium. It’s really not just about infographics, although the content grid infographic @Jess3 developed really gets to the heart of this discussion.

It really got me thinking about social media and content planning. Honestly I’ve been resistant to creating a stand alone course in social media marketing because I’ve felt that it really needs to be integrated into EVERY marketing class. It is not easy to do however, and often causes much distress for students who aren’t very excited about this space.  However, a course in visual design that incorporates content planning and social media releases of the content could be very very interesting….

Next up Week 4.  Oh, yes I know this was short…but why spoil it all for you when you can go check out Leslie’s presentation and see it all for yourself.

Awesome does not begin to explain the key points made this week by speaker Matt Dickman (@mattdickman) from Webber Shandwick. 

Since the homework this week is getting into specific detail about where we are and aren’t in our organizations, I’m going to move to just posting up my notes — those things I thought were particularly noteable.

Happy reading — happy learning.  It’s good stuff for sure!

My own personal notes from the presentation.

• Leaderships alignment is PRIORITY #1 before any other efforts begin!
• It will FAIL if the head of the company/org and leadership are not in alignment that social is a priority for the business going forward.
• Must have a GOAL.
  • Success = CEO says this is a priority
  • Direct reports know it is a priority and they work together.
• Social Media Governance/Operational Guide
  • Need a common framework
  • Each core function needs to be present/engaged
  • Give each team “guides”
    • Who is responsible for response,
    • Who is responsible for which channels?
  • There is a ROLE FOR EVERYONE!! Marketing/Legal/etc….
• Who should own Social Media? THE ORGANIZATION!!!!
• We are there…now what?
  • Build a platform and then enforce it…
  • Forget talking about each channel. (Twitter, FB, etc.)
    • You need an ENGAGEMENT strategy.
    • Leave the platforms out of it.
    • Understaffed, under trained is a big issue
    • It takes a minimum of two hours per day
  • Business Priorities Focus. Start there. Then set:
    • Social Media Objectives
    • Strategies
    • Measuremen (if you have goals, you an measure them!)
  • Platform Strategies
    • Know the ROLE of the platform!
      • FB: Customer Engagement
      • Twitter: Engagement
      • LinkedIn: Networking/Recruiting
        
    • Measurement:
      • Broad: Share of Voice, Mentions, Tone (Radian6, etc — total conversation around a topic)
      • Behavioral: Engaged to Dis-engaged/Inactive – creator (this is different culturally/internationally)
      • Actionable: Sales, Coupons, Referrals, RTs, Mentions, Clickthrough
      • Influence/Brand/Reputation: Likelihood, Message pullthrough, specific campaigns
        
• Employees must be TRAINED. There must be a social media policy! Look to FTC guidelines.

I’m a student again. I’ve signed up for the Social Media Bootcamp offered by Media Bistro — if you want to learn a little about it, check out my post over at My Posterous. Meanwhile, here’s my first homework assignment…

Dr. Elaine Young

Marketing Professor, Champlain College

Consultant in Residence, Champlain College Graduate Studies

@ejyoung67

1. What are your social media marketing goals?  Be as general or specific as you like as you write the answer to this question. We’ll ask you to revisit these goals during the boot camp.

1. Goal 1: Stay Current. As a College Professor it is a challenge to stay current in the evolving Social Media Marketing space. My number 1 priority is that I am current in this field so I can bring it back into my classrooms.
2. Goal 2: Apply what I’m Learning. I’m in a unique position right now as “Consultant in Residence” at Champlain College where I’m working exclusively with our Graduate Studies Program to help them better understand how to utilize social to engage current students and alumni while also seeing how it can improve acquisition rates. It is my hope this course will provide me with opportunities to practice what I’m learning.
3. Goal 3: Become attuned to what others are doing. What is best practice? What are others doing with Social Media that is illustrating the power? What challenges are others facing and how are they overcoming those challenges?
4. Goal 4: Meet interesting people, network and start great conversations!
   

2.Review Michael Brito’s presentation: “The Rise of the Social Customer and Their Impact on Business” in the Archives. List 5 to 10 ideas you got from the presentation on how to create relevant and meaningful content.

1. Create actionable posts that call participants to some type of action.
   1. Polls
   2. Questions
   3. Encourage sharing
2. Post our content in all of our social channels but write it differently. Avoiding feeds and the same content everywhere.
   1. Utilize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn better.
3. Organizations have to change in order to cope with the social customer. My biggest ideas came from this:
   1. New structure to address social channels (starting to play with this already)
   2. Clarify roles/responsibilities
   3. Create an internal communication plan for the college that communicates what is happening on social and where/how they can participate.
4. Train individuals on how to humanize their voice on social channels — it’s ok to be “on message” with the branding, but not ok to be so corporate you don’t show personality.
5. Listen to what people are writing and know who should take action. Create a social media action plan to help individuals know what to do when needed.
   

3.  Are your customers social customers? Are they brand advocates for you?
Document your current answers to these questions, and revisit them throughout the boot camp

1. How much do you already know about the social media behavior of your current customers?  Your target customers?

   1. Not enough. We have many researchers and participators but very few advocates. However we haven’t been tracking them enough to know.

2. What sites do they visit?  What platforms do they use?  How engaged are they on those platforms?

   1. Different majors behave online differently — this we do know. Depending on the platform they will interact more or less. A group is on Facebook, while others are on topic-specific forums.

3. Is this data mostly anecdotal, or do you use analytics and listening tools to look at results?

   1. We are just wrapping our heads around data gathering in a more specific way. No social listening right now, more analytics. Social listening will be utilized more.
      

4. Review Dave Kerpen’s presentation: “How to Establish a Brand Personality Through Social Media” in the Archives. List 5 to 10 ideas you got from the presentation on how to create a voice for your brand, listen and respond to your audience, and deliver engaging content on social media.

1. We’ll have multiple voices that will be representing different programs — the big idea here is to train the team in understanding what “voice” even means and how to represent the Champlain College brand, be helpful and informative while at the same time being themselves. It can be intimidating so training and practice here is key.
2. We need to do a better job of listening and responding. As we provide more useful and actionable content we’ll need to do a very good job of coordinating among the different individuals to make sure we know who should respond.
3. How can we do a better job of using multimedia? I loved the video stories and will work with our Grad Studies team to consider how we can play with video to make things better for our students, our alumni and our prospective students.
4. We have a great story to tell — our students who have been successful and our current students should be given the tools to tell that story in a raw and real way — not in the polished way most Higher Education organizations approach “testimonials”.
5. We have to do more on “Surprising and Delighting” our audience. It’s too easy to just pass on events and information. What can we do in a Grad Studies arena to surprise our students? To delight our followers?  I don’t know the answer to that yet, but I’m working on it.

5.  What’s your brand personality?  How can you use social media to get it out there? Write down your thoughts on this topic.

1. Define your brand personality in a few sentences.

   1. Champlain College Graduate Studies : Master’s level education that connects you to your job, creates opportunity for you to grow, allows you to apply what you are learning in a meaningful way, and helps you become a part of an engaged and diverse learning community in your field (IT, Business, Law, Mediation, Digital Forensics, Health Care, Early Childhood Education and Creative Media).

2. Do your current social media efforts show your brand personality?  How can you enhance your current plans?

   1. No. Our current social media efforts are anemic — one of the reasons we are working to change that.

   2. We need to begin by training staff and creating content, which has begun and getting practiced. In other words, we need to get out there in a more intentional and meaningful and CONSISTENT way.

I posted the syllabus for MKT 490: Marketing Senior Level Internship on-line a few weeks ago with the following tweet:

Shortly after I sent it out, I got this response from George Somers, a Computer Prof in Cali:

Now, let’s be realistic. A syllabus, well, it’s not supposed to be pretty right? It’s full of policies and procedures and dire warnings and detail. And of course every student READS IT!

That was my thought bubble.

But then….

I remembered…

They DON’T READ IT.

And George was right.

IT COULD BE PRETTY!

Revolutionary thought right? A pretty syllabus.

I won’t bore you with details but suffice to say, after a tweet exchange and coffee with the most AWESOME Lara Dickson (you know her as @deepdishcreates) the graphic syllabus was born!

I’ll leave it to you all (and my students) to tell me if we are on the right track here:

My most awesome “non-pretty” syllabus

VS

My even more awesome “Graphic Syllabus”:  MKT490-F2011-infographic

Many thanks to George for creating the “Aha moment” and to Lara for making the idea a reality.

]]> http://ejyoung.com/2011/08/17/good-information-but-could-be-prettier/feed/ 9 http://ejyoung.com/2011/07/14/how-do-you-re-imagine-education-champlain-gets-crazy/ http://ejyoung.com/2011/07/14/how-do-you-re-imagine-education-champlain-gets-crazy/#comments Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:11:26 +0000 Elaine http://ejyoung.com/?p=479 It’s no secret that many individuals have been calling into question the value of a college education. We have people giving students CASH MONIES to drop out of college and start a business (Thanks Peter Thiel for that awesome idea…sigh) and a recent study, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” by sociologists Richard Arum of New York University and Josipa Roksa of the University of Virginia makes the point that students aren’t learning anything new during their college experience (I have my doubts on the validity of this report, but that’s for another blog post). Regardless of where you look, the reality is that at a time when the average individual in the U.S. is going to hold a multitude of jobs and even have multiple CAREERS in their lifetime, traditional education just can’t keep up.

As a professional educator and someone who has held multiple jobs and had several career switches in my lifetime (from administrative assistant, to Marketing and Communication Director, to College Professor) it is something that causes me much concern and self doubt.  A teacher’s job, regardless of the level is NOT really measurable.  Come on folks, you’d like to have quantitative measurements for learning, but REALLY? A test score of 100 does not guarantee that anyone will know what to do with that information. How do you really tell someone LEARNED something?  How do I know that I was effective in the classroom? How does a parent know that there is value in their child’s education ? How does an employer know that an education will guarantee that their new hire will be able to actually do the job? How does the student know that they really gained what they needed in college when so often their focus is on gaining independence, being social and growing up…at the same time we are trying to get them to understand business theory, principles and strategies that are supposed to prepare them for their future career?

See my job is not easy at all. Judging my success at my job only comes really when I hear from former students who have gone out into their professional careers and send me notes two or more years after graduation saying, “Thank you, your class really prepared me for my career”. Other than that, it’s very difficult to quantify.

So when you want to re-envision or re-imagine education to address the concerns of being able to keep college education valuable, relevant and engaging how do you even begin?

Well at Champlain we do something totally crazy.

We set aside two days and invite students, alumni, parents, guidance counselors, employers, government officials, faculty, staff and our Board of Trustees to come together AT THE SAME TIME…IN THE SAME ROOMS to actually have a dialogue about higher education. About how to make it relevant. About how to make it valuable. About how to make it engaging. Yep. We bring people together who are all vested in making sure that education WORKS.

I know. Crazy idea. No ivory towers. No us vs. them. It’s all about listening to experiences, creating a space to discuss, connect and engage, and then, coming up with a framework… a vision…for how we change the work we do here at Champlain to make a difference.

In the end it will mean more work for me and all the professors.  It will challenge us like we have never been challenged before as we build upon the framework that comes from the Summit. In the end, we will all benefit.

And now a word from P-Finn (President Finney):

Champlain College Summit: President Finney’s Invitation from Champlain College on Vimeo.

So what say you? Here’s my call to action to my friends, followers, colleagues, current students, former students, professional connections, politicians — won’t you join me and others at Champlain College on August 11 and 12 and be part of re-imagining education?

It’s FREE (did I mention that?) and just requires your time, your energy and your commitment to creating a new approach to education that will benefit all Vermonters and a whole new group of Vermonters yet to come.  RSVP by clicking HERE.

There will be food too.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up. Go click that link.

Can’t make it? Send your thoughts and ideas my way as comments to this post or to my Champlain email at eyoung at champlain dot edu.

In my case, however, summer is a time to retool. As someone who teaches Digital Marketing, keeping up to date is incredibly difficult.  In the digital marketing arena tools are changing and evolving and new tools are coming online every day making it nearly impossible to keep up. My job is to ensure that undergraduate and graduate students are up to date and ready for the work they will need to do as they become marketing and business professionals.  This is no small task if I’m not up to date and ready to teach them.

Enter ThoughtFaucet. We are incredibly lucky here in Burlington, VT to have a wide range of digital marketing and PR professionals who know their stuff. Like REALLY know their stuff.  @gahlord (Gahlord Dewald) is just one of these remarkable professionals and when he put out a call for an apprentice at his shop, I responded. What better way for me to stay up to date then work as an apprentice to a rock’n awesome professional?

So there you have it.

My summer gig: Thoughtfaucet Apprentice.

Wish me well and much learning!

First, let’s begin with the rubric which this year I tweaked a wee bit to include a Google search to find out just how the students stacked up according to the Googles. We had some interesting results and it’s no surprise that those who dominated their ego search for their name scored high on the rubric.

The rankings are simple:

• Social Media Ninja = A
• Specialist = B
• Apprentice = C
• Grasshopper = D/F

Getting there, however is not so easy and it really does take quite a lot of work.

This year I watched as the students learned a great deal about what it really takes to engage in social media. Even with passion there are days when it is very difficult. Creating engaging content, linking, responding, tracking…it takes time, dedication and a willingness to be present, always learning and continually curious. At the end of the day, regardless of the final ranking I believe that every one of the students in #ccc410mkt learned a great deal this year.

So here we go… our top results for Spring 2011!

Specialists: These are the students who really pushed hard. They might have changed things in mid-stream and ran into some barriers but in the end they all were able to gain their stride and really start creating content, make connections and start to make an impression on others outside of their F2F social circle.  I’ve made some specific notes after each one.

• @NinaBrn: http://ninaborn.wordpress.com/ Fun Fun Fun — Nina has created a blog and Twitter account where her personality truly shines through!
• @Lucas_Hertweck:http://hertweck.wordpress.com/ On the rise — It took Lucas a little while to find his voice but now that he has watch out!
• @Kamcg21: http://katherinesteapot.wordpress.com/ Katherine has taken her passion for Tea and really started something special. Her branding on her blog is truly EPIC!
• @AngelicaFerris: http://themodeloffashion.tumblr.com/From Feathers, to Jeans, to how to dress for an interview Angelica has really been able to create content that is becoming her own.
• @MoniquePrevost: http://moniqueprevost.wordpress.com/ Monique was the only student to utilize About.me to help link together her sites and incorporate it into her Twitter. Nice touch that.
• @AnaHiigh: http://anahigh.tumblr.com/ Go to Aria’s blog. Just go. Creative and eclectic and just so who she is.
• @Tatro20: http://mckennatatro.com/ Kenna’s blog is another great example of letting her personality shine through. Sports has been an important and meaningful part of her life and it really shows!
• @OTenan: http://oliviatenan.wordpress.com/Olivia switched gears from her original plan and in doing that found ways in which to share wonderful news about non-profits around the world.
• @Mltiburz: http://mtiburzio.posterous.com/The only student to use Posterous, Melissa has done a great job of injecting her personality and her love of travel and volunteering throughout her social media.

And now…for the Ninjas. The Social Media Ninjas. They rocked it from the start — well sometimes they crashed and burned (one had their site down for a month) but in the end they rallied, listened to the feedback, made connections, built communities and created content that is having an impact on a wide circle of people well beyond #btv and #campchamp!

And the Ninjas Are…

@TriciaCawley

http://triciacawley.com/

Tricia stood out because not only was she consistent, she has employed all the tools, made the connections and has helped her peers grow (Google searches for the different students often showed her blog with links to them in top results). She gets community. She gets how to leverage the tools and above all she has taken @garyvee’s advice and CRUSHEDIT!

@Klei_ber (aka @culturecycles)

http://www.culturecycles.com

Brian has been working with his passion, Culture Cycles prior to our class.  I have seen him really grow this blog and learn how to make the Twitter feeds and Facebook much more meaningful. He has built a great fan base for the blog and is now seeing what happens when he intentionally injects more of himself into the Culture Cycles brand. He overcame a huge tech failure and hasn’t lost any readers by keeping the site fresh, engaging and interesting.

@Nategins

http://homeiswherethebrewis.wordpress.com

In a very short time, Nate has begun to make a big impression with his blog — his focus on home brewing and most importantly helping to educate others about home brewing is helping him to gain recognition in a niche area. He’s taking @garyvee’s words to heart and helping others to learn and understand about something he is passionate about. As he has begun to find his voice, Nate has been expanding his content to not only provide how-tos but also connect the home brewing community together. It’s all about adding value and Nate has shown how it can be done.

@Tech5 (aka @tfquilty and @Alexqmfashion)

http://qmfashion.wordpress.com/

http://www.tfquilty43.com/

Alex has taken his passion and has woven it throughout his work here at Champlain. His goal is to go back home to Chicago and run the family business — a military surplus store — that has helped outfit costumes in movies. He loves military fashion and has taken this assignment to new heights by using it to fuel his business idea through different twitter accounts, a blog and his newly launched business website. He has linked them all and created a foundation for an online brand that will broaden out the scope of the traditional historian/antique military buff to the fashion world where as it turns out, many folks really like to wear the military garb!

And there you have it.

The 2011 Social Media Ninjas from Champlain College’s Senior Marketing Capstone class.

I hope you’ll follow the Ninjas and the Specialists and of course consider hiring them — if they can do all of this for themselves…imagine what they can do for you!

We’ve had an amazing year within the Division of Business at Champlain College and are in the process of coming forward with curriculum that will launch in Fall 2011 for incoming students.  While we still have to get through the curriculum process (Division approves, then Curriculum Committee, then Faculty Senate, then the President and then the Board of Trustees) I can give you a bit of a preview:

• NEW Integrated Business Curriculum: All students coming into our Division of Business will take a set of courses that will integrate the various business disciplines into one. Emphasis will be on team projects, working with businesses, and learning the context of business decision making.
• NEW major in Management of Creative Media: Business emphasis with minor in a creative area such as Game Production, Digital Film, Publishing, Graphic Design or Broadcast and Streaming Media.
• UPDATED Marketing Major providing specializations in Brand Promotion, Digital Marketing, Event Management and Public Relations
• More coming from our Business and International Business Programs as well.

Imagine innovation within Higher Education, and notice how we have reinvigorated and updated our programs … in a years time.  That doesn’t happen in Higher Education much, but we are a different breed here at Champlain College and I’m proud of that.

So my head has been in the high-level thinking — assessment and learning outcomes and mapping program competencies.  I love this stuff, but what I REALLY love is the step that happens after the curriculum has been approved — the actual course development.  I haven’t developed a new course in a few years (my most recent being Technology as a Disruptive Force, which is now part of our MFA in Emergent Media) and I miss it. So, when Ann Demarle the Program Director for the MFA reached out to me to find out if I could develop AND teach a course this summer for the MFA it required about 30 seconds of thought. Yes, I’m wicked busy but I need to follow my Joy.  So I said yes.

This summer, beginning in May, I will be teaching a course entitled “Managing Online Communities”. I’ve completed the course proposal and it is working its way through the curriculum approval process.  In the mean time, I thought I’d share my development process.

Course Rationale (Why it is important and we need it): Online communities include branded content that exists on websites, forums, blogs, social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, mobile platforms and geolocation networks. As online communities continue to evolve, marketers are being asked to not only build them but also create fresh and interesting content that spans text, video, audio, digital images, and online social games in multiple combinations. Many companies are utilizing social tools to provide customer service as well. Additionally once these communities are built, they must be monitored, measured and kept up-to-date. The complexity of managing these many online properties requires a skilled brand strategist who understands how to leverage these online communities in a way that is authentic but also is able to work with multiple individuals with specific skills in order to implement applications, and design brand-appropriate visuals and tools that captivate and engage the customer.  According to Jeremiah Owyang, Partner of Customer Strategy at Altimeter Group, the Community Manager must: 1.    Be a Community Advocate; 2.    Be a Brand Evangelist; 3.    Have Savvy Communication Skills and shape content; 4.    Gather community input for future products and services  These tenets of community management will be the basis for this course.

Course Description: Organizations must carefully manage their online communities. An online community manager must be a community advocate and brand evangelist, who has savvy communication skills, can create content on multiple platforms, gather community input and measure success. Students will learn how to manage multiple online communities for a brand. Current case studies along with a hands-on project with a business will be used. Students will be required to sign up for multiple online accounts on a variety of services.

Topical Outline (subject to change at a moments notice)

• An exploration of Community: Historical (pre-digital), Sociological, Psychological
• The impact of digital communication on community: digital to present, Sociological, Psychological
• Marketing Communication and online communities: The birth of the Community Manager
• What has brand strategy got to do with it? How brands create opportunity for community engagement.
• The Community Manager’s Roadmap: Marketing planning in a digital age | Integrated Marketing Communication means silos no more | Building policies that support the community: privacy, security, support, copyright, intellectual property, rules of conduct, democratic or autocratic
• The Community Manager’s Digital ToolBox: Analytics – Goal setting, budget setting, Measurement and Adjustment: Qualitative and Quantitative |  Content – Content Development and Management: writing, message development, repurposing, curation | Monitoring and Response – When is a crisis not a crisis, how an apology can go a long way and when it’s time to throw in the towel.
• The Community Manager’s Lifestyle: 24/7 365 |   How to be there…when you aren’t there |   Staying on the cutting edge | Being an advocate both offline and online |   Fighting for your right to exist – what’s your value proposition?

Now that I’ve come up with what I think should be covered it’s time to find some readings that will support my course roadmap.  So here are the ones I’m reading through now to decide. I really can’t require them ALL (it’s a 6 week intensive course that will meet for three hours for two times per week) but I want too.  I really do (smile).

• Design to Thrive: Creating Social Networks and Online Communities that Last by Tharon Howard
• The Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web by Anna Buss and Nancy Strauss
• The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation by Jono Bacon
• 18 Rules of Community Engagement: A guide for building relationships and connecting with customers online by Angela Connor (with Forward by Peter Shankman)
• Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block
• Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy and the Integrity of Social Life by Helen Nissenbaum
• Understanding Privacy by Daniel Solove
• The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet by Daniel Solove

I anticipate using at least two – three of the books in their entirety and an excerpt or two from some of the others. I’ll supplement with work from blogs including Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang as well the weekly #cmgrchat on Twitter.

At the moment I’m looking to have the class develop a community management plan for a new or emerging community and will be looking for businesses, organizations, governments, non-profits to be our class client.  If you are interested in exploring being a client in this class, please let me know via email at eyoung at champlain dot edu.

The students in the B.S. in Marketing here at Champlain College get to finish off their program with a CAPSTONE experience. This course is a five credit culmination of all of their work from their marketing program AND their core liberal arts learning.  It’s the place where they learn just how important critical thinking, communication, problem solving and being open to new experiences are to being a successful professional and member of society.

This year, we have a great group of students, who, as a part of their work in this class are pulling together their PERSONAL BRANDING PROJECT aka “The Social Media Ninja Project”. Last year I ran this project for the first time in our MKT420 class and you can read all about right here on this blog — just check out the tag on MKT420.

Students were asked to begin the semester by reading CRUSHIT! by @garyvee and then I asked them to hone in on their passion.  Something that they could sustain over a 10 – 12 week time frame that they could also Tweet about, write about, talk about and build a brand around.  The ultimate goal of course is to be able to show a potential employer that they truly “get” social media, content creation, and how to set goals and measure success.

And now, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the Ninjas In Training. I hope you will follow them, provide them with feedback and input because come May, I’ll be awarding Social Media Ninja Status to a select few and will be asking all of you out there if you will HIRE THESE GRADS and based on the topics, you just might learn a thing or too as well!

• Armenti’s World a blog about pet peeves and the crazy things we do in marketing. http://armentisworld.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @davearmenti
• Nina Born a blog about Fashion, Snowboarding and Music…not necessarily in that order! http://ninaborn.wordpress.com/| Twitter: @ninabrn
• ABroad’s Blog a blog about studying abroad by a broad who studied abroad… http://triciacawley.com/| Twitter: @triciacawley
• B-Town Boarder we aren’t all about snowboarding here in #btv. This one is about SKATEBOARDING! http://skateboardbtv.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @kylec_mkt
• Market Research: Beyond the Survey a blog about the backbone to marketing — research, research, research. http://megcril.blogspot.com/ | Twitter: @megcril
• Eat Me a foodie blog with a side of snark and a dash of sarcasm and maybe just a wee bit of bacon. http://keldeats.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @keldia
• Salt Water Experience a blog about fish. More specifically setting up a salt water tank. Photos are of Korey’s fish. http://saltwaterexperience.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @kdrewns
• Fashionology the name says it all. A fashion blog about the culture, sophistication and class of the fashion industry. http://angelicasfashionology.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @angelicaferris
• Home is Where the Brew is A blog about home brewing beer. It’s a how to and a homage to the perfect blend of hops, barley and mysterious surprises. http://homeiswherethebrewis.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @nategins
• Compare, Contrast and Comment A blog devoted to us vs. them, that vs. this and everything in between. http://hertweck.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @lucas_hertweck
• Filming My Future one student’s foray into the world of digital film as he learns by creating. http://filmingmyfuture.blogspot.com/ Twitter: @kirkpatrickj
• Culture Cycles a blog about cycling, the community, bikes and gears and everything and anything having to do with cycling. http://www.culturecycles.com/ | Twitter: @klei_ber
• Danica’s Social Marketing Blog all about using marketing to help others highlighting non-profits, individuals changing the world and social issues.  http://danicalamos.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @dlamos11
• Interior Design creating beautiful spaces, making meaning from design and gaining inspiration from the every day. http://lyndsaymahoney.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @_lyndsay_
• Katherine’s Tea Pot a blog about tea — growing it, drinking it, why drink it and all sorts of other wonderful surprises. http://katherinesteapot.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @kamcg21
• QM Fashion not your ordinary fashion blog. This one is all about military fashion and the history behind the different items of clothing and the designers inspired by uniforms. http://qmfashion.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @alexqmfashion
• Coup Data a blog about marketing and most specifically about the impact of social media on customer service, data collection and analysis. http://coupdatamarketing.blogspot.com/ | Twitter: @Rouellette19
• Sports Anything and Everything a blog about all things sports from a woman hockey players point of view. http://kristanp.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @kristanp17
• Monique Prevost a personal exploration of one students foray into the world of student life, student affairs and leaping out of their comfort zone. http://moniqueprevost.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @moniqueprevost
• Full Court Press this blog is not just about any sport, it’s all about basketball. Hoops, hopes and… I’d write something more but I don’t know enough about basketball! http://pumafullcourtpress.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @nicholaspuma
• I’m Ana High is a personal blog the ultimate goal of which is to fulfill the assignment for the class. Hopefully along the way some other surprises may happen. http://anahigh.tumblr.com/ | Twitter: @anahiigh
• Embracing Fan Life is a sports blog that is less about sports and all about the fans. http://mckennatatro.com/ | Twitter: @tatro20
• Olivia Tenan a blog about non-profits, changing the world and making a difference. http://oliviatenan.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @otenan
• A road less traveled a travel blog with a volunteering focus from a student who has volunteered and traveled and who plans to do keep on doing just that. http://mtiburzio.posterous.com/ | Twitter: @mltiburz

So there you have it. The Senior Marketing Class of 2011 begins their social media training. Let’s see where they end up!