Last Thursday’s Web Advisory Meeting set records in attendance as well as in length (My apologies. I resolve to keep shorter next time).
Thank you to all who attended.
In addition to a review of the creative concepts mStoner, our Web design partner, proposed for union.edu, the group had a free-ranging discussion about online policies (and more specifically the lack thereof) and the way forward to a better Web-based events calendar. Sadly, by meeting’s end I was left with the unmistakable impression that aspects of the college’s culture presents a formidable hurtle to realizing either.
We’ve been down the policy road before, a participant in drafting the last set of Web guidelines back in 2003 observed. Adherence to the latter is apparently voluntary (though migrating folks to CMS has corralled some of the chaos, especially compared to that free-wheeling Frontpage era).
And an optimal calendar solution crashes head first into what one colleague in attendance dubbed the college’s “push culture,” the obvious manifestation of which is your stuffed-to-busting e-mail in-box. Since it is far too easy to send an event notification via e-mail to everyone at campus, what incentive is there to submit an event to a calendar?
If it is a matter of culture then, well, by Jove, let’s together work on changing it.
We can start by reminding folks that Union’s presentation in the digital space can profoundly affect its success. Here’s a tidbit you can throw out: Of 1,000 college-bound students surveyed, 57 percent concurred with the following: “If I notice that the content or text on a school site is out of date, incorrect, or unhelpful, I will probably take it off my list.” (Click here (pdf)).
And how about a gentle reminder to your peers that due to their frequency, event e-mails have almost become the digital equivalent of junk mail. You think I am seeing your message? Think again. I don’t know about you, but I reflexively hit the “delete” button shortly upon their arrival in my in-box.
Where do things stand with the Reboot? As mentioned above, the Web Advisory Group got to see the three mStoner mock-ups. Next steps: A new logo, which our other design partner, ID-29 is crafting in their hip Collar City brownstone.
Once our new logo is finalized and synced up with the mStoner designs, the Web designs will be tested quantitatively.
That’s a fancy way of saying it will be time for a survey.
Cheers!
Ken George
Web Communications Director
Office of Marketing and Communications
Referenced during the WAG Meeting:
- “Tribes” by Seth Godin (reading was taken from pages 16 – 17)
- Noel-Levitz: “Scrolling Toward Enrollment: Web Site Content and the E-Expectations of College-Bound Seniors” (Click here for pdf)
How will you be performing said surveys?
A suggestion on dealing with the “push culture”…
Why not make it possible for people who want to receive e-mail announcements to “subscribe” to the calendar system. Perhaps people could subscribe to certain categories of events. And maybe you could have some subscriptions that receive full details and others that just receive a digest (and a link to more detail). And people who don’t want a cluttered inbox can simply look at the calendar when they want.
And couldn’t we set it up so that people could send an email to events@union or something to announce their event and have it “automatically” added to the appropriate calendar?
Just thinking out loud.
At my institution, the events calendar and room reservation requests are tied together. So if you reserve a space, you can have it added it to the calendar at the same time. Student organizations are required to reserve spaces for their events, so this helps keep our calendar full of up-to-date happenings on campus. What it hasn’t seem to have done, however, is reduce the amount of “push” all-campus e-mails…
Thanks folks for the comments.
Wash: The surveys will be conducted online. The survey link will be sent to various audiences both internal and external. The results will help inform which creative concept we adopt for the new union.edu
Aaron: Thinking out loud is always a good thing in my book and I do it all the time here at the office. Stand outside my door any given workday and you’ll likely hear me talking to myself!
Great ideas regarding tying the calendar to some sort of email subscription system. Will review the competitors to see if they offer that functionality.
And thanks J.D.! I agreed, the tying the reservation system to the calendar is critical. I doubt we can get to a one-stop shop solution, but we certainly can link them up somehow I imagine.
Thanks everyone for the feedback!
Ken George
Office of Marketing and Communications