Boston University and Social Media

28 Jun

Recently, there have been a lot of articles and rankings swirling around regarding colleges and universities that use social media well. Earlier today, USATODAY College posted their article “The 20 colleges making the best use of social media.” This article left me speechless.

Firstly, I wasn’t on twitter when the article and the twittergate aftermath exploded. I was actually at BU’s Fitness and Recreation Center. (Yes, they too are on twitter). When I checked my phone post-workout, I was shocked by the number of tweets regarding the article on my timeline. Of course I knew BU tweeps are active online, but I was proud to see so many of my fellow students responding in defense of BU’s social media presence. After reading the article and seeing comments left by some of my friends, I left my own comment and decided to write a blog post about how and why BU really is succeeding with social media.

Admittedly, I definitely have a personal bias in this situation. Not only am I a proud Terrier, but social media is definitely my thing. Admittedly, I love twitter. I have a bracelet with my twitter handle on it, it’s a serious obsession. Social media has essentially taken over my life: I work as the Digital Media Program Assistant for BU’s Dean of Students Kenn Elmore, who is a pretty influential tweeter himself. In this job, I help advise and contribute to BU’s social media presence and engagement. I help tweet and blog for the Dean of Students Student Blog, @BU_FYI, and I’ve worked to make some of the BU SCVNGR treks. I also speak at BU Orientation for all incoming students, giving advice on how to get engaged on campus, specifically focusing on how BU uses social media. Needless to say, I’m passionate about my University and it’s social media presence, so this article hit home. 

I’m not really sure how USAToday College missed or overlooked BU’s social media presence, especially since they’ve approached me about blogging for them about social media in the past. (With my crazy schedule last semester, I unfortunately didn’t have time to contribute anything, and at that point hadn’t ever blogged before, so I was hesitant.) I know @USATodayCollege has tweeted with BU people before, so I’m definitely lost on how they didn’t include the University in their list.

Here are a couple examples on BU’s social media use, just in the past semester. @BUERC has recently been using social media to share study tips as well as the services they offer. I’ve had friends say to me, “Did you know BU has an Educational Resource Center? I saw it on twitter yesterday!” Students had been completely missing resources we offered because these departments didn’t know how to reach them. The entire University has been making a huge social media push and it’s clearly showing with engagement online. @MugarLib tweets, blogs, you name it. @BUDiningService has foursquare tips and ran aSCVNGR trek earlier this year, giving out BU Convenience Points (aka college student gold) as prizes. Boston University KNOWS social media. Take a look at this (very minimal) list of BU tweeters that I compiled for the class of 2015, if you’d like to see a couple more examples.

Harvard ranks as number seven on the list. Let me just say this: I think the entire social media community needs to get over their infatuation with Harvard. Yes, Zuck went there. We get it. That doesn’t automatically make them social media pro’s. In fact, in conversation with @JoselinMane the other day about some @BostonTweetUp University-related things for this fall, we discussed how there are basically no Harvard tweeters showing up in Boston. I’m sorry, Harv, but Scarlet > Crimson in this case (I think even The Harvard Hoochies will agree with me on this one).

Syracuse University comes in at second, and is potentially the only deserving ranking on the list. I actually grew up just outside of Syracuse, and considered enrolling there myself. There are definitely influential tweeters, awesome professors, engaging discussions, and good content coming from SU. One of my favorite things to follow on twitter is #RotoloClass, which is led by @rotolo, a professor @iSchoolSU. Using the hashtag, I can keep up with the class discussion from Boston, and they have some great ideas. It’s also the alma mater of @dens, the co-founder of @foursquare.

As for the rest of the list, I’m dumbfounded how some schools are on this list. For starters, Notre Dame’s number one status? That is by far the biggest joke. If your requirements for first place are having alumni, athletics, and libraries on social media, I’m pretty sure BU still would have beat ND. The methodology of these rankings was not only unexplainable but embarrassing for USAToday College. If you want to be a trusted news source, you need to research your work and then be able to stand up for what you publish. However, USAToday College has already said via twitter that they made a mistake and are working to reevaluate their rankings, which is not only humble but also greatly appreciated.

If the response of BU’s twitter community doesn’t show the influence of BU across social media platforms, I don’t know what will. I look forward to seeing USAToday College’s updated article soon, and hopefully Boston University will receive some well deserved recognition.

It’s Not All About Followers

22 Jun

So, I’m definitely not much of a blogger. It’s been really difficult to sit down and write out something I’ve been throwing around in my head or in conversation, but for some reason I’m not used to the sit down and blog practice yet. With that apologetic opening out of the way…

I wanted to comment on Likeable Media‘s intern challenge to gain followers. I don’t intern at Likeable, nor do I know the specifics about the competition, but I do know one thing- for me, it’s really annoying when people tweet “Follow me for a work competition!” or “Help, I need followers!” Don’t get me wrong guys, I love followers. Really, I do. I hit my 800th follower last week and cheered. But, then again, I’m not devastated when I lose a follower. The important thing about followers, as Kelly Lux and Scott Stratten point out, is that they aren’t as important as everyone hypes them up to be.


Honestly, getting followers is cool. But what’s cooler, and more likeable in my opinion, is generating good content. I follow a person if I like what they’re tweeting about. If I unfollow, it’s because I don’t. I don’t follow all of my friends on twitter, and let me tell you- almost all of my IRL (in real life) friends do not follow me on twitter. They find me extremely annoying and my tweets irrelevant to them, which is totally and completely fine with me.

Twitter is about generating content and having a conversation, sharing information and learning new things, and most importantly for me it’s about connecting. While I love Likeable Media and Dave Kerpen is not only awesome but also a Boston University alum and now a New York Times Bestseller, I have to say I really didn’t like this competition. My timeline was spammed with #teamfollowback #followme #follow #500aday and more hashtags that had nothing to do with generating content. I had people text me and DM me, even Facebook me, asking me to help promote them to my followers. Listen, I love you guys, but getting followers isn’t the end-all-be-all. Contests are cool, but it would have been interesting to see how the competition went if you were banned from using those hashtags and shameless plugs. Finding an audience, engaging with your tweeps, and actively contributing to things you find important is how to earn actual followers, not just the Justin Beiber superfans and spambots.

What did you all think about the competition? Was your timeline as swamped as mine was? What do you think is important about followers? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

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Why College Actually Matters

11 Jun

Going into my sophomore year at Boston University, I am by no means an expert on college life. That being said, I can’t help but take offense on behalf of my university, and universities nationwide, in response to this recent UnCollege movement.

UnCollege claims that “school no longer requires analytical thinking or independent thought. In a traditional college setting, the joy of learning is easily lost.” The homepage for the organization also states that to be successful you need to be an exception or a standout; since going to college is no longer uncommon, it is no longer a requisite for success. The company continues to attack the collegiate process for it’s lack of “analytical thinking or independent thought,” and states that “the joy of learning is easily lost.”

It’s true, some students do not succeed in college. In fact, many millionaires and billionaires have NOT completed college. However, these students are admittedly 1) already intelligent, and 2) anomalies. Not every student is a Mark Zuckerberg in the making or a soon-to-be Steve Jobs. While prerequisites and undergraduate requirements can seem tedious, pointless, or just downright boring, it’s not the classes at college that provide the best education. It’s the experience.

I have completely evolved from the individual I was in September, when I first started college. While I haven’t transformed miraculously or changed who I am, I definitely have developed as an individual and personally grown because of my experiences both in and outside of the classroom. I took collegiate courses during my first two semesters at BU, some which I found to be more annoying than useful at points, but I gained the most knowledge from simply being in a college setting. I gained the most memorable experiences from outside the classroom events, such as concerts or networking events or even a late night discussion with people who lived on the same floor in my dorm.

These experiences can’t be retold or explained, but their importance can’t be undervalued. In fact, the out of classroom experiences during college years are essential a person’s development. You can’t learn everything in a textbook or in a classroom, but you most certainly can’t learn everything on your own. Self-taught students miss out on memories and relationships fostered during their college years. 

I can whole heartedly understand that college is not for everyone. I can even agree that at some times, the joy of learning can disappear. At 3AM on a Tuesday morning, trying to study for a final at 10AM that same day, I am most certainly not experiencing this “joy.” However, it’s a ridiculous claim that self-directed study is a revolution taking over and reshaping higher education. In fact, I have to completely and one-hundred percent disagree with the claim that American students should join the UnCollege movement.

In my opinion, of the 71% students enrolled in universities, about 5% of those students are actually taking advantage of opportunities their college provides. The real movement that should be happening right now should be encouraging collegiate students to value their education as more than a four year quest for a degree, and push these students to use the full benefits of their school.

At BU, for example, many students don’t even realize that our Center for Career Development has an internship search database, or that career counselors that can help you write a resume and a cover letter. Many fail to take advantage of the office hours their professors hold, or even the classes available at our Fitness and Recreation Center. The real issue at hand isn’t that college isn’t doing enough for students, but rather students are not using their colleges to their full potential.

So, while UnCollege is right in that a college degree does not equal success, the movement fails to understand that attending college is not about getting an A on an exam. It’s about connections, conversations, moments, networking, failing, and even being bored in class. 

Sidenote: I’d like to thank firstly CNN, who published an article written by Dale Stephens, which triggered my interest in the movement. Stephens’ article is well written and definitely thought provoking, and I respect his opinions and commitment to his cause. (Interestingly enough, Dale tweeted at me while I was working on this post.) Secondly, I’d like to thank Dean Elmore, who discussed the importance of college in his closing remarks during a Boston University Orientation session yesterday afternoon. And lastly, I’d like to thank Boston University. This post was to not only give my opinion on why college matters, but to thank a University that has given me so much in just ten months. I look forward to another three years at BU. 

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So you think you can blog?

3 Jun

Well, not exactly…

I’ve never dabbled in blogging, although when I divulge this to friends and connections they’re often surprised. It’s always something along the lines of: “But you tweet so much, why don’t you blog?” Admittedly, it never really came to mind.

It wasn’t until I read some of my friends personal blogs (Rachel Sprung, Jenna Glynn, Zach Cole, Valentina Monte, and Kevin Wang to name a few) that I began thinking how a blog would be great. It would allow me to broadcast my thoughts and comments as a social media enthusiast (or addict, as some may speculate) in more than one tweet? How was I not already blogging? For starters, I should give a sparknotes summary of how this all began- let’s go back to the beginning of freshman year- aka, September 2010.

Growing up in Upstate New York, I wasn’t exactly the big city girl ready to tackle Boston. When I first arrived at Boston University, I was a bit overwhelmed. How am I going to stand out? As a 5’1″ brunette majoring in either public relations or advertising, I was definitely not an exception on campus. Was it possible to personally get connected and navigate such a large university? I was skeptical whether I would be able to find my niche in a sea of freshman.

I distinctly remember a discussion I had first semester with my roommate about social media, specifically about twitter. Remarking about the stupidity of the 140-character limit on a “glorified Facebook status update,” I scoffed that I would never use twitter and found it useless. Fast forward to now, and I can say with certainty I was completely, one hundred and fifty percent wrong.

I first joined twitter to follow people and gain information. Whether learning about new concerts in Boston, events on BU’s campus, contests and prizes, or just random fun facts, I quickly began to pick up how useful twitter really was. From there, things kind of took off. Now, twitter for me has developed into a vehicle for conversation, a means of networking, a tool for broadcasting, and more.

I’ve met great new friends and made professional connections through twitter. The network has introduced me to people such as the Dean of Students at Boston University Kenn Elmore and John Battaglino, Mike Schneider, Kaitlin Maud, and even Laura Fitton, CEO and founder of oneforty. Everyone that I’ve met and connected with through twitter have been amazing and truly helped me develop as a person. I’ve learned tons through my online engagement, arguably more than I’ve learned in my first two semesters of courses.

So, as my life revolving around social media continues to grow, I’ve made this blog to discuss anything that comes to mind, particularly things related to college life and social media.

I look forward to blogging more in the future, and can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Please feel free to leave your comments!

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