Are people addicted to their smart phones? Image: Flickr/Andres Rodriguez.

Denny Carter of eCampus News, in his article on how frequently students check their smartphones and laptops, extensively quotes ASMH co-founder Julie Germany. Here are the quotes:

The trend of checking devices is going to get worse for a while before it gets better,” said Julie Germany, cofounder of the Association for Social Media and Higher Education, and former director of the George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet. “For many people, connecting through text, eMail, chat, and social media has become an important interruption. I suspect we’ll become even more addicted before we see people begin to take longer breaks from their devices.”

Germany said the presence of smartphones with speedy web connections has transformed lectures, and even meetings: “People talk on the phones, write papers for other classes, and connect socially.”

“It’s not all bad, either,” she said. “Some of us Google issues, people, situations or theories during lectures, for example, and that provides additional context and a new level of learning.”

Professors should try to incorporate popular social media sites that students scour every waking hour into their course curriculum, Germany said, and students should remember that lectures and discussion sections still have a purpose in the age of digital devices.

“It’s hard to disconnect,” she said. “In some ways, educators need to adapt by being more interactive. In other ways, students need to learn to when shut down their devices, pay attention, and learn.”

ASMH is mentioned in a story by Lauren Kawam of College Times in “A New Connection: ASU develops new online social networking program” (PDF, page 6).

Click on the image to enlarge. Here’s the full text of Kawam’s interview with Menachem Wecker:

Q1: Why have people – young people namely – become so reliant on social media?

A: Saying young people have become reliant on social media is kind of like saying young people have become reliant on communicating with peers, being inquisitive, forming communities and experimenting. Young people have always done those things, and social media is just the latest in a long tradition of technological advances that young people have embraced. Add into the mix that social media is overwhelmingly free (if you can afford an internet connection), and you get a set of tools and communities that is even more accessible.

Q2: Is this a good or a bad thing? Or both? Why?

A: I would be cautious about slapping a “good” or “bad” label on social media, or young people’s reliance on it. Surely there are young people embracing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, Quora and other networks and wielding them for healthy and constructive reasons, and there are others using it to slander, humiliate, hurt and otherwise clogs networks with useless information. Young people, like older people, are using social networks in a variety of ways. Some refer to “social networking addictions,” while others ridicule the term. I’m agnostic on whether that’s a real phenomenon (mostly because I don’t know much about it), but I can see anecdotally that some folks should use social networks more. Some should use them less. I think it’s more fruitful to focus on the question of how we can all use social networks to build and grow.

Q3: Where do you see social media going? The way of Google (as in, getting bigger and bigger)? Or the way of MySpace (as in shrinking to almost nothing)? Or somewhere else?

Great question! I think we are all starting to see that social networks are mostly about the people and only coincidentally about the tools. I wish I had a crystal ball to predict the future of MySpace, Google and other platforms (I’d be rich, for one thing), but I don’t. I think the phenomenon where social networks are being used cooperatively, rather than competitively, is here to stay. For example, it used to be that a company would hire an individual, and depending upon the field, that individual might bring her or his Rolodex of contacts along to the detriment of the previous employer. Now, it’s not unusual for friends (or connections) at competing companies to have each other in their chat buddy lists or as connections on social networks, and increasingly we are all collaborating to resolve problems together. “[People] work together,” Robert Frost wrote, “whether they work together or apart.” I think this culture is going to be a larger and larger force moving forward, whatever the platforms lucky enough to host it.

Q4: Can you offer some advice to students as a way to use social media as a tool and not a crutch?

I’d be glad to, but with the caveat that students are usually showing me how to use social media, rather than the alternative! I try to use social networks in a way that I am always learning something. If I am using them as a platform to pitch my own ideas, then I’m not gaining anything. Who says my ideas are that hot anyway? Instead, I’d advise students (and everyone else!) to use social networks like sponges. Absorb as much as you can. Try not to speak for as long as you can. Maybe this is the Zen of social networks. Social networks offer us so many Libraries of Alexandria many times over at our finger tips, and it’s all free. You used to have to may millions to access this kind of information. That’s a tremendous opportunity, but also a great responsibility. I often joke that social media users should have to take a Hippocratic Oath of social networking: first of all, do no digital harm. Whatever else you do, matters much less.

Q5: Why create something like the Association of Social Media & Higher Education? Was there a need? What do you guys do there?

I and my colleagues created ASMH because we were, and remain, very interested in how social networks can and do inform higher education, and in the ways higher education can impact social networks. Are there others who are doing good work on this intersection? Of course. But we figured we had a unique way to go about it, and we each brought our own resources and connections to the mix. We had a really successful event about the ways chain of command in the military interact with social networking, primarily Twitter, and we recently hosted a conversation about the role, if any, Wikipedia should have in higher education. To the extent that we can continue to curate relevant and useful conversations of this sort, I think we will be a success story.

Denny Carter of eCampus News, in his article on students using social media to organize gatherings outside the White House, mentions ASMH. Here’s the quote, which comes toward the end of the article:

Menachem Wecker, cofounder of the Association for Social Media and Higher Education and a staff writer at a GWU publication, said that most students there don’t use the school’s Twitter hashtag to engage the campus community, but students who regularly seek social media interaction can create a stir during important events.

“What we are seeing is a very engaged minority on campus that is sharing everything from news clips to information about campus events, and from excitement about the GW brand to occasional criticism,” Wecker said. “It’s fair to say that important events, like the news about Bin Laden, will dominate the kinds of tweets that GW students send out to the conversation tag, but the constant volume shows that the university is lucky to have some of the most digitally savvy and social media engaged students around.”

Twitter has become college students’ go-to social media tool in organizing campus gatherings, he said, because “it is so rapid-fire and because it is very search engine-optimized,” meaning Twitter allows students to easily monitor hashtags.

Ryan Lytle (@rlytle), education web producer at U.S.News & World Report (@USNewsEducation), admits being a web producer in education was never a dream of his. “I was drawn to the responsibilities that came with my position, with the control I have over our social media endeavors and the opportunity to do a lot of writing,” he says. “Especially being young – I’m 22 – in this field, I really wanted to start somewhere where I had the opportunity to wear a lot of different hats and have a lot of different responsibilities.”

Ryan (about.me page/LinkedIn), who has worked previously at MTV, NBC, the Washington Post and Cincinnati Enquirer and an alumnus of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, fielded questions about social media and higher education.

1. ASMH: When and why did you first get involved in social media?

RL: Well, I first got involved on Facebook when I was 17; actually right after I got my college email address so I could register. I started using Twitter during my first college internship (at The Cincinnati Enquirer) in 2008. I was really drawn to the idea of being able to connect with anyone and everyone. I can’t even tell you the opportunities that have been opened to me because of my consistent presence on social media.

2. ASMH: What are some of the most innovative uses of social media in higher education, in your opinion?

RL: I still think every college and university benefits the most by having a highly-engaged Facebook and Twitter program. We’re on social media to listen, learn and discuss ideas. Universities need to have their brand in this area, and they need to listen to what people are saying! I do love the schools that are being more proactive and bringing platforms such as Foursquare to their campus. Students are so tech-savvy that you benefit by having your brand out there on every platform.

3. ASMH: How important is your journalism background to your job?

RL: I think my journalism background does help to an extent. My grammar and ethics courses are put to the test almost on a daily basis. But, I’ve learned basically everything I’ve needed to know through my internships and student organizations. There’s no replacement for hands-on experience. But, my journalism background helped me land great internships so I can’t say it didn’t help.

Read the rest…

I know, I know. The reports that the royal family and Scotland Yard were joining forces to jam cell phone access at Westminster Abbey have been dismissed as “rubbish,” according to the most recent story on Mashable. This despite an earlier story from Yahoo! news that the “royal wedding will be a tweet-free zone.”

Leaving aside the question whether it’s appropriate to use a phone in church and despite the fact that the reports have been dismissed, it’s worth pondering for a moment whether there ought to be mobile phone-free zones, particularly in higher education.

I once heard someone (I wish I remember who) say that the worst thing colleges and universities can do is allow their sports arenas and fields to have poor reception. A large gathering of sports fans can, if given the chance, tweet up a storm, the person said. Why would you want to deny them that? Yet, so many school arenas (and large lecture halls too) have precisely that problem.

Does anyone have any insight into whether there might be particular technology challenges in arenas? Anyone think there are reasons to avoid letting fans use their smart phones?

Should higher ed ever block Twitter? Flickr/creative commons.

Dennis Carter, assistant editor of eCampus News, wrote about ASMH’s radio session on Wikipedia in “Universities told not to edit their Wikipedia entries: College representatives should keep off of their school’s page, Wikipedia spokeswoman says.”

Here is a selection:

Menachem Wecker, cofounder of ASMHE, said campus officials could raise awareness of errors on a college’s Wikipedia entry on the site’s discussion page and encourage other editors to make the change and include proper citation.

“Users should not try to participate in Wikipedia in a vacuum,” he said. “One doesn’t show up in a community and tell it how to do its business, and one should immerse oneself in the Wikipedia community and realize that it functions as a community.”

Update 4/26: The radio session has also been covered in Lani Farley’s article in The Western Front titled “University Wikipedia pages ripe for biased editing: Site that tracks IP addresses finds some universities edit their own Wikipedia pages.”

Check out the below widget or visit this web page for ongoing updates. (Use #casesmc11 to join the conversation).

Hat tip to Chris Syme (@cksyme) for creating this through paper.li!

If you have a moment in the next few days check out the stories and multimedia from the AdAge Digital Conference website.

There are some great reports and videos available about digital marketing, social media, viral video, mobile, and brand management from the likes of Google, Twitter and FourSquare.

If you are interested in presentations more specific to higher ed look no further than the CASE Social Media & Community conference held in San Francisco April 13-15. Even if you can’t make it to SF you can tune in to certain presentations via simulcast ($99 for CASE members, $130 for non-members).

Let us know if you have feedback / insights on any of the presentations from either of these conferences!

Analytics and social media ROI is a topic garnering a lot of attention recently, and for good reason.

Many of us in higher education have seen our leadership move beyond the “we have to be on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn!” phase and into the “wait, what are we getting from the resources we’re spending?” mode.

Some of the more interesting recent chatter about social media ROI includes:

• Tailoring metrics to your audience by Nate Elliott (@nate_elliott);
• Taking a long-term perspective on social media efforts by Steve Goldner (@SocialSteve); and
• Defining a framework for social marketing analytics by John Lovett (@johnlovett) and Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang)

Earlier this month HootSuite joined the measurement party by launching HootSuite Social Analytics. I took a deeper dive into this new analytics platform in the past few weeks to provide a report card on the company’s offerings. (Full disclosure: I am a HootSuite user).

Below are my grades for HootSuite Social Analytics. After the jump you can see a Q&A with HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, who was good enough to respond to several questions about the new product. Thanks to HootSuite’s @ashjbee and @daveohoots for their help with this article.

The HootSuite Analytics Report Card

Usability: A -

HootSuite’s quick reports allow you to create simple presentations from Owl.ly statistics, Facebook Insights, and Google Analytics. The platform’s custom reports allows for some more advanced results.

It didn’t take me long to figure out how to create custom reports. The four step process includes: 1) Select report type (From five options); 2) Choose profile (Twitter / Facebook / Google Analytics); 3) Add report “modules” (Rollovers provide at a glance descriptions); and 4) Select your email scheduling preferences and create a report.

I found the interface to be very intuitive and user-friendly. The only thing that threw me off a bit was the point system associated with the reports (more on this below).

Functionality: B

After some testing I ultimately created two basic reports, one for the Facebook page I manage and one for the Twitter account. These two reports used up my monthly point allocation.

If you do go “Pro” and use Social Analytics you will find yourself having to do some testing to develop the optimal report(s) for your needs within the pricing structure. Don’t forget about the quick reports option, which is free and may be able to meet your needs in a pinch.

I would like to see some LinkedIn group analytics; there are none at this point. CEO Ryan Holmes says HootSuite will “keep our eyes open for additional ways to work with LinkedIn,” but in reality LinkedIn is in the driver’s seat and can choose how much information to share.

Cost: C

The pricing model is certainly the biggest disappointment with HootSuite Analytics and has drawn the most comments and questions from HootSuite users.

Upgrading to HootSuite Pro (at $5.99 a month) provides you with 50 monthly points to allocate toward creating reports. Most “modules” that you include in a report have a cost associated with them, as do report templates, so you can quickly go through your point allocation. I found was that I could either create one very in-depth report for a particular profile (e.g. Facebook / Twitter) or two pretty good reports for the basic monthly cost. I chose to go with a pretty good report for both Facebook and Twitter.

According to Mr. Holmes the company surveyed users before selecting the current pricing model. “The ‘a la carte’ points system provided the best way to offer enhanced analytics tools to most users by allowing custom-tailored reports for their particular analytics needs,” Mr. Holmes wrote.

You can purchase more points to create additional custom reports – at the very steep cost of $50/month – or try to generate a report through the free quick report system. A lot of the same data are available on each individual platform – Facebook Insights or Google Analytics for example – but there certainly are benefits to the user from having a single analytics platform.

The Overall Grade: B / B+

If you are a HootSuite user, like the product, and have a need for some basic reporting I suggest upgrading to HootSuite Pro and creating some sample reports. (Please note: there is a 30-day free trial for pro accounts so its worth testing out).

I think the points pricing system is unnecessarily confusing, but hopefully that is something that HootSuite will look at down the road. I also think additional functionality – like more information from LinkedIn and additional tools related to user sentiment and affiliation would be useful.

You can read the full text of our Q&A with HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes about HootSuite Analytics after the jump. (Q&A edited slightly for clarity).

Read the rest…

The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s Ben Wieder reports on a story that most ASMH visitors probably already take for granted in “Professors With Personal Tweets Get High Credibility Marks,” but it’s worth repeating.

Kirsten A. Johnson, assistant professor of communications at Elizabethtown College, and her student Jamie Bartolino collaborated on a study (published in Learning, Media and Technology) in which they created three Twitter accounts for a fake professor.

One handle was all business, another was all fun and the third was a hybrid. “To Ms. Johnson’s surprise, when the students were surveyed, they rated the personal professor the highest on measures of competence, trustworthiness, and caring — which adds up to credibility,” Wieder writes.

Of course, there are some caveats, and the students surveyed did not unanimously agree that sharing intimate details amounts to credibility, rather than simply being creepy.

But the notion that using social media in an authentic way is something that readers appreciate is hardly surprising.