Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Oops... I Forgot my Second Nov. Lunch Recap

Sorry, guys. I got busy. I thought the week before Thanksgiving would be slow. I was wrong. It's been busy, busy, busy. But I'm squeezing in time this morning to share with our readers some of the information I shared during the November "It's Academic" CCG lunch.

Higher Ed Loves an Expert
This probably isn't that big of a surprise. But I've learned to embrace that as a rule. By which I mean, when I wanted my campus to start taking more advantage of the Social Media possibilities, I could have done a presentation myself. After all, I'm using Social Media (Facebook, Twitter -- rferrier, etc.). Instead, I brought in a consultant who is an expert on the topic and had her brief my senior team on the world of Social Media. And now, I'm getting ready to lead a planning session on how we can implement some of the tools she introduced. In the past, I would have cringed at having someone present on a topic I could talk about. But I've learned that it doesn't reflect poorly on me -- or my expertise -- if I bring in someone from the outside to present new ideas.

Media Policies & Higher Ed
Early on, I talked about implementing a media policy to ensure that calls from reporters went through me versus going directly to staff. And quickly found out that's not an option... the nature of universities -- or, at least, the nature of my university -- is such that faculty can talk to any reporters they want whenever they want. My solution: I've tried to make friends with my local faculty so that they see the value in keeping me informed and working through me whenever possible.

Nature of Working on a Satellite Campus
I'm at Hopkins Montgomery County Campus. Because of this, I end up being somewhat of a one-man shop. My job includes: web site, media relations, community relations (i.e., "town-gown" issues), newsletter (both electronic and print), marketing and advertising, special events, alumni affairs (very limited), legislative affairs (again, very limited), tour guide... you get the picture. This is great because every day is different ... and chaotic and crazy. But it's also difficult because you easily begin to feel like you aren't doing everything you should be. After all, I'm just one person.

So there's a little bit about me, my job, and what I presented on at our lunch. If you were there and I said something else "wise," feel free to post a comment. And if you have questions, ask away. I'm happy to answer anything.

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