Social Media University, Global (SMUG)
Suus Non Ut Difficile • Home of the SMUGgles
I had a fun opportunity to be interviewed earlier this week as part of this story that ran on KTTC TV in Rochester Thursday night:
I also kind of broke my general rule about not initiating friend requests with females under 30 because Lauren Hardie, the reporter, mentioned SMUG in the story, and that she had some additional video of the interview with me on her Facebook page. So if you want to see that snippet, go see Lauren’s videos.
I have the delightful opportunity this morning to present on social media for the Marketing and Communications Conference for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. I’m even going to get to meet a real-life Chancellor, James McCormick. I’m thinking I might ask what it would take for me to get SMUG accredited, but a more realistic goal would be to avoid have Chancellor McCormick (or one of his colleagues) tell me it’s OK to still use the title Chancellor for my office in this tongue-in-cheek university.
I think we’ll have a lot of fun with this, and hope to post some video later from the event.
Here are the slides:
Meanwhile, I think it’s pretty exciting that they have a Twitter hashtag established for the conference: #madmn. Please feel free to follow a long and chime in. I’ll be getting started about 9:15 a.m. CST, just after the real chancellor gets done with his greeting.
Just as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses posted on October 31, 1517 on the church door at Wittenberg were not a comprehensive statement of his theology, the 35 Social Media Theses posted on the wall of SMUG 492 years later also were just a beginning of the discussion. So here for your reaction is the 36th thesis, which I’ve been trying out in some recent presentations:
If someone gave you free and unlimited long-distance calling, or the ability to send letters through the mail without paying postage, would you not find ways to take advantage of those opportunities?
Of course, with social media tools you don’t just get to send your messages for free: you also get to hear from key stakeholders, whether they be customers, prospects, employees or the community.
Maybe you’re doing fine without these tools, and you’re feeling really happy with how your organization is performing (although I doubt it, given the overall state of the economy.)
If you’re comfortable with the status quo, you can be confident of one thing: you’re too confident. If you don’t use these powerful communication tools, a competitor will. And it may not even be someone you consider a competitor today. After all, Blockbuster didn’t see Netflix coming.
So if you can’t think of a way to effectively use social media in your organization, or if the barriers to adoption seem too high, you need to think harder. Or, in the words of the famous Apple slogan:
Which is, after all, what the first 35 Social Media Theses were all about. You don’t need to be an Einstein. Just think like MacGyver.
At Christmas, as part of my parents’ gift to me, they included my mid-year report card from 4th grade. This obviously was from an era in which, unlike Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon, not everyone was considered above average (click to view at full size).
A few observations:
So after I head to the Y for a run, I’ll be exploring for treasures in my home office desk.
Maybe that runs in the family, though: I think it’s pretty amazing that Mom would find a 37 year-old report card.
I’m hoping Mrs. Jones would be proud that one of her “average in all areas” students has grown up to become a university chancellor.
More of the power of social media: I’m in San Francisco today, and found out earlier this week that a SMUGgle from Norway was also going to be in town for a conference. Sturle Monstad (@SturleMo), who asked this good question in January. He came to meet me at the Ritz, and we had a nice talk. He even schooled me on the right way to say my last name in Norwegian, which helps me understand why my grandpa changed it to make it easier for the English-speakers.
I’m at the airport now, on the way back home, but it was nice to get another validation of the power of social media to make connection – even across oceans.