Recommendations on the use ofsome web technologies

Why would you want to use Web technologies?

What technologies you can use How to get started in each technology Issues among and within the technologies Resources required to support these

technologies

Get your message out See what is being said about you Collaborate with other college/university

presidents

Blogs Podcasts Social Networking Alerts Video Conferencing

Each one of the technologies discussed here requires some effort and resources to implement and use.

They are also only useful when used consistently.

Some can be simple and you can manage them yourself.

Others will likely require the help of some technically-oriented personnel, either on your personal staff or in a department in your organization.

There are many, many online technologies and tools.

The best approach is to ◦ Understand what you want to accomplish◦ Choose tools that you have the resources to

support ◦ Choose tools that those you work with use◦ Use them consistently

Keep it simple.

Blogs can be used for several purposes. You can create a blog to get your message

out and invite conversation on topics of interest.

You can also participate in blogs hosted by others to contribute to topics of interest to you.

Many public offices (education, government) use blogs as a way to keep their constituents informed.

Blogs can automatically feed other forms of information sharing, like social networks, email, news feeders, etc.

Examples: ◦ http://whitehouse.gov◦ http://president.concordia.ca

Posting to well-chosen blogs can help get your message out.

Subscribing to others’ blogs will keep you updated on their thoughts and initiatives.

Examples: ◦ http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/

Offerings: ◦ Many. A few popular, easy-to-use choices are

Wordpress.com, Blogspot.com, Blogger.com◦ Your school likely already has one of these installed

on your systems How to get started:

1.Register for an account at the blog website2.You may be asked if you want to create a blog or

just have an account to post to others’ blogs

Keeping it current◦ Maintaining a blog can be time consuming. ◦ Unless a blog is active, it will not be of much use.

(Of 133 million blogs, only 5.6% are active within the last four

months and only 1.1% are active within the past week.**) ◦ It takes a while to gain a following. ◦ Good bloggers assure their site is kept fresh by

posting a new article on a regular schedule, e.g. weekly. (** from: http://www.bloggingtips.com/2009/05/26/6-tips-to-avoid-blog-abandonment/)

Privacy◦ In a public blog, anyone can see your posts and

reply to them, favorably and unfavorably. ◦ Some sites moderate the posts, but unless it is your

site or the blog is moderated by a trusted source, an unfavorable comment about you/your post could appear.◦ Your blog can be set up not to allow comments

from others about your blog.

Resources◦ Technical support and Public Relations support will

be required to keep it fresh and professional looking

Keep it Real◦ Consider having a blog for your office, not for you,

as an individual◦ This avoids issues with having others write on your

behalf

RSS: Really Simple Syndication Blogs have RSS feeds Users can subscribe to your RSS feeds to

receive your updates without having to visit your blog site

RSS feeds can also update other channels like Twitter and FaceBook

You can subscribe to others’ RSS to keep up with their updates

Recorded Video and Audio ◦ Your Messages◦ Speeches◦ Special Announcements

Personalize podcast to specific audiences Can be watched/listened to at audience’s

convenience (on demand) Can be used on computer or mobile devices Audience can choose to subscribe to your

podcasts

Audio◦ Can be recorded on your PC, but requires some

steps to edit and publish Video◦ Requires more production support to record,

compress and publish quality video podcasts◦ Self-recording possible, but not as

professional-looking Both can be uploaded to your blog site Both would likely require technical assistance.

Technical Support◦ Will likely need others to assist in the production of

podcasts◦ Especially for high quality video

FaceBook, Twitter… Another channel to help get you message out Users decide to subscribe to your information

on their terms When integrated with your blog site, can be

automatically updated

FaceBook◦ Create a FaceBook Page (not a profile)◦ Feed it from your blog via RSS (auto updates)◦ Post Events, get RSVPs

Twitter◦ Create a Twitter account◦ Feed it from your blog via RSS (auto updates)

Others◦ There are others, but these will be the most popular

Social vs. Business◦ FaceBook is primarily social in nature and its users

may not be interested in official business through that channel - They won’t follow your page.

Support◦ You will likely rely on others in your organization to

set the interfaces up and post events

Update your blog

From your computer…

…or mobile device

Automatically updatesRSS Feed

Auto updates to…

FaceBook Page

Twitter Feed

Your Blog Web Site

RSS NewsReaders

Alerts allow you to see what is being said about you across the various Internet channels

Google Alerts◦ Specify keywords to monitor

Google Reader◦ Receive updates As they happen Daily digest

Allows you to meet face-to-face Potential:◦ Saves travel expense◦ Meet more frequently

One-to-One◦ You and one other person◦ Use your computer and a web cam

Multi-Point◦ Several parties ◦ Requires specialized equipment

Not just video sharing◦ Presentations, files, images, etc.

Getting Started Buy a web cam ($50 - $100) Sign up for an account, for example:◦ Skype - install on your PC◦ Google Chat - nothing to install◦ Most Instant Messaging services , like Windows

Messenger, provide video chat support◦ Note: The other person needs the same setup

Issues:◦ Video/audio quality can degrade depending on

Internet traffic

Requires all parties to have compatible equipment

Requires use of a “bridge” to either:◦ Show all participants equally on the screen

(think “Brady Bunch”)◦ Show only the person that is talking

Your school may already have this technology for classes

Requires some training to learn to use it or support from your staff to set it up for each meeting

Issues◦ Can be costly to procure/lease◦ Although there are standards, not all vendors’

systems work well together.◦ Therefore, all parties may want to consider using

same vendor’s offering

Simple Alternative:◦ Conference call with web presentation slide sharing

Live presentation of slides through a number of online services, e.g.◦ slideshare.com◦ SlideLive.com

How-to◦ Create account (one-time)◦ Upload presentation◦ Send web link, dial-in info, and meeting time to

audience◦ Walk through slides while on conference call◦ Audience sees your presentation as you go through it

Web-based services◦ Microsoft LiveMeeting◦ WebEx

Participants use their computer and web cam Costs◦ Microsoft LiveMeeting ◦ <$5.00 per presenter per month◦ Needs a local adminsitrator◦ WebEx $60 -$70 per month, up to 25 participants