Letting “web people” manage web tactics

There is a civil war going on. You probably haven’t heard much about it. The combatants in this battle are traditional organizations who allow web practitioners to manage content and handle development, but don’t want to give up control of overall strategy.

On one hand, this is understandable. Marketing strategy is about more than just a plan for what you’ll do with the digital space. It encompasses print and a whole lot more, depending on the size and scope of the office charged with managing it.

The problems are more acute the smaller the institution and the stakes, because we find ourselves embroiled in turf wars that threaten our control over a certain budget, supervision of staff or some other prized asset we’re not willing to give up.

Despite the desire to hold onto what’s dear to us, we need to entrust the very capable people inhabiting the digital space to make bold decisions about where we take communications and marketing strategy in this highly communicative age. The talent exists, there’s little doubt about that. You can read their insights, see their statistics in their incisive blog posts and hear their perspectives at conferences all over the country. I often wonder what higher ed would look like if many of these innovators were given more than just a seat at the table, but an actual line item to work with.

The list: edustir Year in Review

While I spend a bit more time with the chisel before unleashing my big project I’ve been working on, I decided to take a look back at the past year on this blog and see what sorts of shenanigans I’ve been up to.

I think I feel a bit more pressure now that people actually read it, to be more interesting than when it was just me writing and not worrying about the rare instance that someone might be reading. If you like lists, fear not…my Top 100 albums of the decade list is forthcoming once the higher ed compilation gets posted.

But first, here are a few of the posts that seemed to hit a home run this year in my mind:

The Peril of Being Social (I changed the title from “When being social sucks” heh.) I piggeybacked Michael Stoner’s term “engagement fatigue” to talk about the peril of “always being out there” and how it might affect authenticity in the long term.

Keep It Short & Simple, Easier Said Than Done Lauren Shopp was a contributor to this blog earlier in the year, before a new job engulfed her. In this post, she wrote about some tips for writing online that often get lost. It’s a handy one.

Debunking “You Have To Go Where The Students Are” This one got a pretty loud response and it wasn’t all fawning either. I stand by it though and if I were to write a Part 2 right now, I’d say “don’t believe the hype. Get your own data and figure out what your students are doing.”

Social Media and the free rider problem One of my pet peeves are voyeurs who participate and criticize, but don’t actively participate. It’s part of the deal, I guess, but…here I examine the problematic nature of the whole 90-9-1 principle.

The Gen Y Guide To Social Media Just a primer on social media for the generation that came up with the term “sexting.” Seriously guys? Seriously?