New Media Initiatives

What content should go into a myspace or facebook account? In the end, it depends a lot on the needs and identity of the institution. Here are some general guidelines that might work.

The Profile

• Represents the institution as a full
• Is your institution a man or a woman?
• What's their marital status?
• How old are you?
• What are your likes and dislikes, movies, etc?
• Who is your "top 8"?
• Mind numbing other choices

Temporal Content

• Video
  • Expose content that might be interesting to an audience, but isn't getting seen
    • Walker Channel for instance
  • Use it as a quick off-the-cuff peak into what's going on now (see vodcasting)
• Photos
  • Pull content from Flickr or own photo archives
  • Photos most represent your institution

Thanks for the Ad(d)

There is a phenomenon on myspace; when you approve someone as a friend, they will often leave a comment "thanks for the add". This will often be accompanied by some sort of promotional attempt, sometimes including and image and a link.

This reeks of blatant cronyism and spam, and is probably not behavior becoming of most institutions. Bulletins are often more efficient and ethical ways to reach users.

What content should go into a myspace or facebook account?

• Events
  • Don't put everything in there, too big of a pain
  • Pick and choose events that appeal to a younger audience
  • Consider promotions that might make it appealing or special