Understanding and Using Social Media on College Campuses by Waite Brandon C.;Wheeler Darren A.; & Darren A. Wheeler

Author:Waite, Brandon C.;Wheeler, Darren A.; & Darren A. Wheeler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

CONCLUSION

The success of any social media initiative is to some degree a function of the skills, time, and effort of the individuals who create and manage the accounts. However, individuals’ Internet technology efforts do not exist in isolation. The environment where they occur is also a key determinant in their success or failure. Knowing as many aspects of the departmental environment as possible is exceedingly important.

A department’s character, goals, and mission can shape the attitudes of the people who populate it and these elements can vary considerably across departments, sometimes even among departments in the same institution. Individuals and departments need to accurately and honestly assess their communications goals and determine if a social media presence is warranted. Those initiating a social media initiative on behalf of the department need to make sure this conversation happens—at least to some degree—because departmental buy-in is an important component of a social media presence.

Some important resources for Internet technology initiatives will be found at the department level and it is important for those who wish to start social media initiatives to identify and cultivate these resources in order to assure proper support for their projects. These may be tied to or awarded in conjunction with external resources but it is important that the department identify social media as a priority by adequately funding and supporting it.

Departmental polices and norms also need to be developed in order to provide a positive atmosphere for social media initiatives. For social media initiatives managed on behalf of the department, discussions need to be had regarding all of the day-to-day issues like the following: Who will create and manage the page? What content will be posted, and how often? Will social media site management count as service for promotion and tenure purposes? Some of the answers to these questions will be formalized in department documents, while others will not. Regardless, they are best addressed up front rather than handled in an ad hoc manner.

A department that exhibits these elements will provide a strong departmental component of the individual’s ITE and, in turn, make it more likely that social media initiatives will be successful. One that does not may find that social media initiatives flounder regardless of individual attention or institutional support. Environment is key, and the departmental environment is an important part of any social media initiative.

NOTES

1. Tucker 1993.

2. Pifer and Baker 2013.

3. Roach 1976.

4. McHenry 1977, x.

5. Madge et al. 2009.

6. Jenkins et al. 2012.

7. Madge, et al. 2009.

8. Stoner 2012.

9. Wilson 2013; Ferriter et al. 2011.

10. Bruns et al. 2012.

11. boyd and Ellison 2009; Madge et al. 2009.

12. Tierney 1996; Chait 2002; Amacher 2004.

13. Dixon 2012.

14. Tucker 1993.

15. Dixon 2012.

16. Ibid.

17. Kezar 2010.

18. Waite and Wheeler 2014.

19. Mazer et al. 2009.

20. Karl and Peluchette 2011.

21. Dixon 2012.

22. Cappex 2010.

23. Carboni and Maxwell 2015.

24. Waite and Wheeler 2014.

25. Madge, et al. 2009.

26. Waite and Wheeler 2014.

27. Waite et al. 2015.

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