Dec 23rd 08 Posted by Fritz McDonald

The Power of Creative Thinking

It’s interesting how often we turn to left-brain thinking when times get tough. We analyze what went wrong in-depth, chart the numbers and dissect the trends or business practices that led us to the breaking point. Unfortunately, we spend very little time fashioning a constructive vision for the future. In an uncertain economy, it seems almost frivolous to suggest that we need creative thinking now... read more

Dec 9th 08 Posted by Fritz McDonald

Wise Digital Moves in Hard Times

Earlier this month, Bob Sevier gave an outstanding webinar on what you should and shouldn’t be doing during this economic downturn. It’s chock full of great advice and insights from a leader in higher education marketing. In the digital domain, there are several things also worth keeping in mind. First, priortize your needs and don’t be afraid to focus on the basics. Many of you might... read more

Dec 1st 08 Posted by Fritz McDonald

What Social Media Isn’t…

Recently, Nike ran a promotion using a mobile application called NikePhotoiD. It was their attempt to start a “dialogue” with their customers and it worked like this: you take a phone photo, send it to a number Nike gives you, Nike “extracts” the two strongest colors from your photo, creates a pair of sneakers in those colors, sends you a photo of them and asks if you want to... read more

Nov 20th 08 Posted by Fritz McDonald

Social Media Homework: What I’m Reading

There are a number of excellent books on social media out there and many more on the way. I’ve read two recently that I think everyone should read: Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky Both will help you make the case for integrating social media into... read more

Oct 21st 08 Posted by Fritz McDonald

Social Media Strategy

Many institutions are getting involved in social media—and this is a good thing. A 2008 study by the UMass-Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research states that colleges and universities are adopting social media tactics faster than Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, more than 700 institutional Facebook “Pages” launched by December 2007 shortly after the site opened its doors to corporations... read more