Colleges need to step it up. As a recent college grad, I see academia’s sluggish embrace of technological innovation as a disservice to my fellow students. Today’s job market has suffered in these tough economic times, but employers still seek workers who can gather information, assess it and act. Those in the workforce already rely on the web-based information-gathering tools daily, but if you’re currently enrolled in undergraduate college classes, you probably don’t even know they exist.
Are Students Helpless?
The three universities that surround us here at MetaSpring, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College, are valued assets to the Ann Arbor community. As a recent grad from the U of M, I consulted my network for a comprehensive view of the issue at hand.
An informal poll of 15 of my peers (college seniors or recent grads from assorted majors) revealed that only one was happy with their exposure to Web 2.0 tools. All reported some experience with web-based database systems in which professors and instructors could post powerpoints and class-related articles, but when it comes to utilizing Google’s research tools or implementing keyword tracking programs for crowdsourcing, most students draw a blank. (Unless those students are Computer Science majors or programming wizards.) When Web 2.0 or new media did come up in liberal arts or business classes, it was discussed by students rather than an instructor. A professional’s insight can make a big difference.
Let’s take a step back and discuss a few terms I’ve been throwing around so far.
- Web 2.0 – This term refers to the current generation of the Internet wherein websites provide applications facilitating interactive information sharing with a user-centered design. A few examples include online social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube), wikis, blogs, GoogleDocs, etc. Web 2.0 tools are those you’ll hear about in today’s offices.
- Web 3.0 – This concept is a semantic term denoting the next phase of internet programming that some are calling “the intelligent web”. Think artificial intelligence technologies.
- Crowdsourcing – Basically defined as a group problem-solving model in which a problem is broadcast to a group or online community with the hopes that a flood of ideas comes back. There are many approaches to crowdsourcing, but the ultimate goal is to consult the insights of many. Web tools are able to expedite the crowdsourcing process.
- New Media – Everyone has their own definition of “New Media”, but I like to think of it as any technology that is used in innovative and creative ways. Sure social media marketing falls in this category, but so do Apple’s thousands of apps, along with thousands of other widgets you can find online. In my definition, Web 2.0 tools are included in New Media.
Students & Professors: Divergent Viewpoints
Jason Spector, a master of crowdsourcing ideas, is in the process of authoring two works on the subject and proved to be a great consult for this topic. When I came to him with the question about Web 2.0 in the classroom, he presented a unique perspective that identified the conflict of viewpoints that bog down the Web 2.0 education.
As an example, let’s consider the typical business class at Eastern Michigan University. Students casually bump into Web 2.0 daily, yet they rarely reflect on the business principles that the various networks and applications provide. Professors and instructors on the other hand are well-versed in business, but probably not as much in social media. “It’s when they meet in the middle to collaborate where the true education begins,” explains Jason.
But Don’t Blame the Professors
Wait, so all professors are stuffy, unhip, old lecturers? Not quite. Most professors crowdsource and research like any marketing guru or investment banker. Professors at the University of Michigan and many other institutions are encouraged (required actually) to publish regularly. Clearly, staying up on new trends is pretty important. So why isn’t Web 2.0 used in the classroom more often?
For that answer I talked to Scott Moore, Associate Professor at the U of M Ross School of Business, who has put together a course called, “Web-based Information Resources”. I was invited to look over the syllabus for the class (appropriately found at HowCanIFindIt.com) and was pleasantly surprised.
After a semester with Professor Moore, students know how to use search engines at an in-depth level. They understand the exceptional value of informational technologies. They can find blogs, podcasts and email alerts. They can assemble their own applications to assess information. To borrow a phrase directly from the syllabus: “This course is about finding information on the Web and having it delivered to you with a minimum of effort.” Music to my ears.
A Matter of Missed Opportunities
So, it’s clear that a majority of students feel they are missing out when it comes to career preparation and information-gathering. This concern is important to college co-eds because they feel that their future employers will demand certain web-related capabilities. Although most students and young people are perceived as knowledgeable users of Web 2.0, their professors and instructors are not teaching them how to apply these tools with a career in mind. There are some professors forging ahead with classes exploring New Media and the internet’s business tools, but there’s more room to improve.
Where Can We Improve?
Focus Expectations On Course Selection
It’s easy to point the finger at the faculty and administrators of our universities when it comes to this dearth of Web 2.0 knowledge. I may have even cast colleges as the villain to open this post. But in many ways, the students share the blame. Students can learn about Web 2.0 in some courses, but shouldn’t expect Twitter tutelage in all of them.
Require Courses for Graduation
To expedite this adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, I’d like to see web-related courses become mandatory for graduation. Classes like Professor Moore’s will prove to be invaluable in the workplace, so why not require students to fill three credit hours of Web 2.0 instruction in order to graduate. This will also help faculty and administrators become familiar with Web 2.0 and it’s academic worth, sweeping in a relevancy many students yearn for.
Introduce Timely Material
One of the most common exclamations heard after students walk out of an exam is, “When am I ever going to need that stuff?!” It’s time to add timely issues to curriculum. Merely knowing about Twitter and Facebook is not enough. I contend that exposure to Web 2.0 and web development stimulates the creative process. Classes exploring web-based tools should be thought of as a career prep.
Tomorrow’s leaders and thinkers must be aware of the big picture when making decisions. An important part of this picture is how to harness the Internet with answers to questions like, “How does a website work?” or “How can we best market this launch?” Web development is racing ahead these days and before we know it, Web 3.0 will be here. Students attend college to receive preparation for future endeavors. Traditionally, this preparation has included topics like algebra or economics, but an understanding of Web 2.0 tools has become just as critical.
Additional Reading
If you’re looking for a few ways to enact change in your classroom, here’s a helpful chat transcript from Poynter.com: How to make changes in curriculum.
So, where do you stand? Did you have the opportunity to learn about Web 2.0 tools in your collegiate curriculum? Was it enough? Let us know in the comments!
The Fall development rush is in full swing here, at MetaSpring, and we’ve been working extra hard to crank out some awesome new projects (stay tuned for a future Fall portfolio showcase)! While we have some great posts lined up for the weeks to come, our blogging schedule’s been a bit shuffled this week.
So to make sure that we don’t totally fall off the blogging bandwagon, we’ve put together a special Halloween treat for you - a Facebook Photo Album of the MetaTeam wreaking Halloween havoc around Ann Arbor.
There are even some cute cameos from the youngest members of the MetaTeam!
From all of us at MetaSpring, we hope you had a very Happy Halloween!
In 2007 Facebook launched their developer platform, essentially allowing anyone with the spare time to create custom applications for the site and add a bit of their own personalities to the experience. Since then, the platform has evolved and expanded at a record pace with developers – both in the community and commercial – providing a near constant stream of new and exciting applications.
Many of these new applications are created by companies looking to seize the opportunity and extend their consumer base to the ever-expanding Facebook community. And thus begins the union between eCommerce and social networking.
Mixing business with pleasure
Unfortunately for many of these opportunistic companies, Facebook users are generally not very receptive to what might be considered a commercial invasion of their personal networking space. While these commercial applications tend to be fun and quirky, site users have not been very eager to take advantage of them - likely because the business of eCommerce conflicts with Facebook’s fundamental use: relaxation and social interaction. Users feel as if they are being exploited as potential customers, rather than potential friends.
And so the question stands: Is it possible to fuse eCommerce with Facebook AND avoid alienation by Facebook’s core audience?
Giving the users what they want
Facebook had its beginning as an exclusive social networking site for college students, but opened their doors to all ages and countries in 2006; members now span all ages, interests, and backgrounds. That said, Facebook users are generally technologically savvy enough to use a computer and tend to value both their time (where they choose to spend it) and the quality of their interactions with others (their primary reason for visiting the site).
As Facebook grew, it quickly became a popular outlet for professionals - allowing them to find new contacts, maintain existing relationships, build their businesses, and widen the scope of their career field. It was this shift in Facebook’s core audience, from college students to professionals, that really got the ball rolling on eCommerce integration with Facebook.
Knowing the identity of their users is exactly why “Virtual Gift Giving”, an early eCommerce program run exclusively by Facebook, was such a success - they finally found a way to combine spending in a way that directly supplemented a user’s social interactions. Because it was so successful, many real world businesses followed suit.
Go viral with it!
Along with knowing their audience, successful applications have had a few other things in common: they are often both extremely functional (strengthening the social connections between users), as well as entertaining. These characteristics are two of many “viral attributes,” or traits that make an application appealing to the both the user’s sense of enjoyment, as well as to their check book. These viral applications are not only something that people want to be associated with, but also something that people feel like they need to share with friends.
One innovative business, Blue Nile Fine Jewelry, found it most effective to use indirect sales methods when dealing with Facebook users. In their wish list application, they acknowledge that people don’t usually login to Facebook with their wallet in hand - so instead the application provides a way for people to share links to what they’d like to buy/receive with potential gifters and recipients. At the same time, the application helps to keep users informed about sales and products right there on their own profile page. The application is simple, yet highly visible and successful in boosting the long term return on investment.
How to sell without selling
And so it seems, the key to generating an effective eCommerce application on Facebook is not to line the sidebars with banners pointing to your storefront, but to instead let the user seek you out when you have what they are looking for. Facebook users are constantly spammed with traditional internet advertising so the less that companies provide them with shameless promotions, the more valuable their product will be in the eyes of the user.
Once the users have found you, you just have to ensure that you’re providing them with useful content worth sharing. Good content and applications will benefit both parties when shared or placed on a user page, since the user must have strong motivation to advertise the company for free.
Indirect sales or mind control?
At this point in the game, perhaps the best method of eCommerce on Facebook is indirect sales - not asking the user to make an outright purchase, but still ingraining the product in their mind through continued, meaningful interactions with the application - subtly priming them for a future purchase.
Have you had any success implementing an eCommerce strategy with Facebook? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Editor’s Note: We’re very pleased to welcome our newest guest blogger, Katherine Naszradi. Katherine is currently a senior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, pursuing a career in marketing. She’s had extensive experience building social media campaigns and online brand identities through sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. In her spare time she can be found traversing the Twittersphere as @krnasz, creating abstract works of art, and running with the bulls in Spain. Thanks Katherine, for a great post!
