Get Started, Then Keep Going!
Joel F. W. Price | @jfwpFriends’ Central School
Webmaster & Information Management
Photo by Wayne K. Lin
Relevant and Creative
Source: http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/epic-fail-helmet-fail.jpg
Still Relevant, Still Creative
Source: http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/fail-owned-safety-glasses-fail.jpg
Also Relevant and Creative
Source: http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/fail-owned-ladder-on-truck-fail.jpg
But Entirely Irresponsible!
Source: http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/epic-fail-parenting-fail.jpg
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rgordon/992957779
A 1985 Instrument Mashup
Know Your Constituents!• Where do they live online?
• Where do you live online?
(Did you just answer the same thing twice?)
Two Things You Should Be Using
• Google Alerts– Easy-to-use, daily emails about any/every
topic regarding you or people at your school
• Facebook– Probably the place most of your constituents
are (even the older ones). Try entering your school name in the search box!
Network Commonalities• They all bring people together
• Social networks are designed for for-profit use, but powerful educational uses emerge
Open Your Mind• You probably do not want to just
copy what other schools do (you are unique)!
• Applying a new mindset to media (including social media) will benefit you and your constituents.
Try It Out• See what happens, but keep your
expectations reasonable • remember that paper/telephones haven’t solved all of our
problems!
• Create a new social media experiment– Track it (Google Analytics)– Assess whether it is worthwhile
Google Analyticsspikes/troughs based on “hotness” of topic
“stickiness” of visit to photo gallery
how did they find you – searches, other sites, email?
What About the Time?!• You wouldn’t use a chainsaw without
reading the directions…would you?
• Instead of jumping into the pool with no plan, flailing, and FAILing: Do your research! It is now part of our job.
Make A Small Change
http://www.d3stores.com/perfectface/img/productImages/bumper_jpg.jpg
Learn, Shape, Innovate• 1. Use the tools first – plork* (pronounced
“plurk” = play + learn + work)* a great way to learn privacy/security settings
• 2. Adapt tools to fit your school
• 3. What will you build for your constituents?
Fan Pages: 3 Ways for <$25• Use Facebook Apps to syndicate
content
• Apps I recommend: SocialRSS (well worth the $25), My Flickr (free), FBML (free)
HTML (FBML)
RSS Feed (SocialRSS)
flickr pix (MyFlickr)
Your Expectations• You have expectations when using
Google, Amazon, or Netflix
Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Google.png
Most School Websites• Have more than enough info about you
• Are not set up to change rapidly
• Are not where your parents/constituents willingly go because it is FUN
Constituent Expectations?Desire vs. Desire
• You want them to learn a new “way” – it takes people longer to get used to it
• They want to do something – their patience exponentially grows
(P)reactions• Social media can be used both
proactively and reactively.
• Do you know what gets reactions from your constituents?
Our First Official Foray
Social Media Time Allocation• Consider your current strategy, your
team size, and your skill set
• In which places could you experiment?
Your Website’s Value• Offers information parents cannot
find elsewhere
• Your site will contain more information (perhaps behind-the-password content)
Grasping for…• Who controls your web presence?
• Is it open for discussion?
• What privacy concerns should you have?• Remember plorking! Break it yourself
first!
Set Goals, Metrics• Ideally: you’ll set concrete goals and
measurements in order to accurately measure and report successes and failures
• Often: you’ll just put it out there and see what happens, then learn!
Be Flexible• Due to workflow, you may need to
temporarily change the way you communicate (it’s okay!):
– Facebook posts to twitter– flickr posts to a blog and to Facebook– News posts to homepage and Facebook
School Mashups• Some schools are putting together
single pages containing their social media content
• Key benefits: Use new tools, show content in one place under your own brand/skin.
School Mashup Examples• http://wamash.worcesteracademy.or
g/
• http://www.bcdsmashup.org/
• http://www.nmhschool.org/nmhbook
Recent Inspiration
Valuable Resources• Inside Facebook• Mashable• Stanford University’s Fan Page• Alumni Futures• Adaptivate• Your Influences: Please share!
Aim High: Jump Off that Lily Pad!
Thanks to Carol Cheney and the Aim High 3.0 team!
This slide deck is available on slideshare.Joel F. W. Price | Webmaster & Information [email protected] | [email protected]://friendscentral.orghttp://facebook.com/friendscentral | http://twitter.com/friendscentral
http://www.flickr.com/photos/articnomad/17122403/
