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2	Controlled Landscape architecture major in the studio
3	Uncontrolled Landscape architecture major in the studio
4	Controlled Viewbook copy “Our residence halls are so popular that many of our students choose to stay in them for their entire college careers.”
5	Uncontrolled Podcast “I’m living off campus now, which is soooo much better than living in the dorms!”
6	Controlled Off-campus life as depicted in the viewbook
7	Uncontrolled Blog entry: “As for outside of Ball State activities – I’m not going to lie, there’s not a whole lot to do in Muncie.”
8	Controlled Viewbook copy “Our beautiful campus mingles classic architecture with modern facilities.”
9	Uncontrolled Blogcaster “There’s no freakin’ privacy in the JOHN! No wall, no nothing. You’re just left hanging out there… Truth is, I like the school, but they said when I signed up for this I could complain about things if I wanted.”
10	Controlled Viewbook copy “Ball State has unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that will challenge and inspire you.”
11	Uncontrolled Impromptu Saturday Morning Shirtless, Fruit Loops Eating Contest
12	Uncontrolled Are you scared yet?
13	Project Motivators More personal, interactive recruitment communication Provide “unvarnished” (but positive ) view Reflect university’s technology prowess Set Ball State apart Experiment with emerging media
14	Getting Started So much interest, so little ownership Assign a home Find a champion…or champions Look outside IT Be creative Write a plan and get buy in up front Let the champions run
15	Our Blogs are Different Blogs, not journals Unedited entries Multimedia…text, photos, audio (podcasts) and video
16	Protecting Ourselves Coaching, coaching, coaching Constant monitoring Blogcasters are in full control of comment sections Blog gateway page points readers to Admissions Office for official questions Working with legal counsel
17	Social Networking It’s already happening Blogs, wikis, IM, texting, word-of-mouth Facebook, Xanga, Yahoo! 360°, etc… Search your institution’s name at blogpulse.com or technorati.com
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19	How We Did It: Choosing Students Recommendations from deans, chairs, key professors Interviews Writing test (sample blog entries, list of ideas) Diversity – majors, geographic location, year in school
20	How We Did It: Compensation Color iPods Griffin iTalk (turns iPod into recorder) Digital camera w/ Web-quality video capability Accessories (cases, firewire, extra memory cards)
21	How We Did It: Our Expectations Post an average of once per week Be honest Warning: Your mom, professors, future employers, etc… are watching Let them go
22	How We Did It: Technology IT was not prepared for us Found an expert and enthusiast in the Telecommunications Dept. – John Dailey
23	How We Did It: Technology Open Source Weblog Tools Why WordPress? Flexible Themes (large choice, non-corporate look) Easy to Learn (see: http://www.bsu.edu/blogcaster/~jcdphd/) Self-Management Easy to Edit Templates Wide Array of Plug-Ins Stats Recorder WYSIWYG Editor
24	How We Did It: Technology Auto RSS and Podcasts Podcast “Demo” RSS Feeds for Auto Retrieval iPodder and Pluck http://www.bsu.edu/reallife/auto/ Dedicated (“Recycled” ?) Server 3-year-old Macintosh G4 New OSX Server Software Extra 100 baseT Ethernet Port
25	How We Did It: Training Three training sessions covered Communication-related issues Creating/managing the blogs How to podcast Preparing photos
26	How We Did It: Promotion Printed pieces: postcard and poster E-mail Newsletter for admitted students College fairs Web site (home page, Admissions, prospective students page) Featured entry
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28	How We Did It: Engagement Keep up the energy/avoid fatigue Praise Coaching Competition with the “featured entry” Blogger social events Be prepared, this part takes time, too
29	How We Did It: Budget Compensation $10,800 Equipment/Technology* $500 Postcards and Posters $24,000 Events for Students $2,000 Total $37,300 * The equipment cost did not include purchase of a server because we already had one.
30	Preliminary Results Traffic Averaging 3,000 visitors each day Plus, whatever we can’t log due to RSS feeds Can track most popular blogcasters and topics
31	Preliminary Results Priceless quotes from blogcasters “Every one at Ball State has to take a fitness/wellness class… And it helps to have one of the women who wrote the text book as your wellness instructor. ”
32	Preliminary Results Priceless quotes from blogcasters “As I sat at my computer today in the main office of the Department of Modern Languages and Classics …., I suddenly had the realization that I hardcore LOVE my job.”
33	Preliminary Results Admitted Student “I’m coming from out of state, so I’m curious as to how high school relationships affect the social climate at Ball State. Do many students stick with their high school groups or do I have a fair chance at finding some friends who aren’t already attached to people they’ve known for years?”
34	Preliminary Results Parent “My daughter and I are coming to visit BSU this Saturday. Can you tell me what living on campus is like since this is a new experience for you? … What’s it like in the dorms? Sounds like you can find a party when you want to, but can avoid them when you need to.”
35	Preliminary Results Blogcaster response to parent “Personally, I feel that dorm life is very beneficial for first year students. It forces students to be around other students. Therefore, for the first couple weeks, you are constantly meeting new people and making friends. As you may have seen from my blog, some of my closest friends here at school are from my floor.”
36	Preliminary Results Young student “I am an 8th grader at R.J Baskett Middle School. I have been looking at this web site a lot, and I think Ball State is the college I want to go to…..I would really like to get some more information… I know I am still young but I also have really big dreams. Please get a hold of me as soon as possible.”
37	Measuring Results Qualitative and quantitative research during Orientation Intercept interviews during campus visits General research objectives Influence of interaction with blogs on brand perception Positive/negative reaction to communication method vs. others Experience and suggestions
38	Future Align with branding work Consider narrowing focus Add IM hours for a few blogcasters Involve them in Admissions events
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