I couldn't be happier about this article from the New York Times about M.I.T. embracing student blogging as a major marketing tool.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/education/02blogs.html?emc=eta1Before joining the Compendium Blogware team, I spent a year as an Admission Officer at DePauw University (my alma mater!). While I traveled states like Ohio, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, and Indiana marketing the value of liberal arts and DePauw University, I realized something very valuable that this NYT article now validates.
Prospective college students don't want another glossy brochure with cliche tag lines about diversity, the low student to faculty ratio, and incredible facilities. In fact, most 16 and 17 year olds rarely even look at the snail mail that reaches their home. This is the Facebook generation, the MySpace kids, the Tweeting youth of America. They're certainly not at home waiting on the mail to bring the next post card. They are all online. They connect to millions of other prospective students just like themselves in a matter of seconds. They do hundreds of searches a week as they research their college decision. And that is why student blogging is such a vital tool that all colleges should be embracing. Those teenagers I met while recruiting for DePauw wanted to know about the campus atmosphere, and they wanted to hear it from the the most qualified source; the students.
So this does not surprise me at all that top universities like M.I.T. are taking student blogs to the next level. But does this mean that the fears and risks are not on the minds of the admission office, every dean across the country, and every board of trustees? Nope. They are all still worried that student blogging will put them at risk and tarnish the school image.
That is why our enterprise level blogging software is so important to consider. We have easy to use administrative features that allow a school to unleash their student blogging army while still maintaining control of the message. We can customize the blogs to match the university branding without losing that blog feel that makes it more human than a web site. But most importantly, Compendium's platform is the only solution that can maximize the SEO value of all this amazing student blog content. With us, colleges can guide their students with important topics, good ideas for better blog posts, and the highest level of security. For an example, just search this: Top 50 Liberal Arts Colleges and look for DePauw's blog at the top of the search ranking.
Hey Admission Office, would you like to use safe student blog content to win on your most important search phrases that support your mission statement and encourage the best and brightest to apply to your institution? If so, email me at
bmillis@compendiumblogware.com or call my direct line
(317) 777-6254 and I'd love to share more about my experience as an Admission Officer and how it relates to the world of blogging.
My name is Brian Millis. As a Business Development
Manager, I get to learn all about the vast and varied business world and help companies tell their story, generate
new leads, and acquire more customers.
