From DSC:
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Could we use social media/tools in order to get input from all of the constituencies of a
college or university? Such input could be used to create innovative ideas,
establish buy-in, and build future strategic direction/vision.
What would that look like? Work like?
I wasn’t sure where to put the workplace here…but certainly that is also a key piece of our future.
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Good question, Dan. Social media tools would pick up a particular cross-section of media-savvy constituents who take the time to respond. This would likely encourage responses from a younger cross-section of post-college stakeholders. Would it also pick up a retired contingent that now uses social media tools to connect with extended family and friends? It should be one important avenue for input along with other channels.
Thanks Shirley for taking the time to respond/comment here; much appreciated. It just seems like there are so many constituencies to try to solicit input from, that we need some efficient ways of doing so (especially given the pace of change). It think it could help give people a chance to contribute…to be heard.
Thanks again Shirley,
Daniel
Dan,
We do this all the time in our strategic innovation work for corporate clients. We are just about to test it for the first time in a university setting. But there are a couple of distinctions from what you are describing. First, it may not qualify as ‘social media’. We use email addresses to reach out to large numbers of constituents in our client organizations. The emails contain links to our online application. Secondly, we don’t use these tools to gather basic needs data. We use them to gather reactions to innovation concepts that are developed by a smaller working team. We then slice and dice the date to reveal who thinks what, both individually and by population segment. This often goes by the term Wisdom of Crowds or also Prediction Markets. It is an extremely valuable tool for us.
Brian
Brian –
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on this item; much appreciated.
“We use them to gather reactions to innovation concepts that are developed by a smaller working team.”
That sentence jumped out at me because I have it that we, in higher ed, need to experiment more…innovate more…and it reminds me of what Clay Shirky said the other day at Educause:
“Give 5 people 1 month and see what they come up with.”
Thanks again Brian!
Daniel