Mike Schottelkotte

My School is Selling Me Out

2007-11-15T13:10:00.000-05:00

The Scripps School of Journalism often sends out emails about internships or job opportunities, available scholarships or journalism awards. So when I checked my email this morning and found a message from the school I saw no problem in giving it its deserved attention. The subject of the message was labeled "Contest."

When I opened the email what did I find? Well, not reminders of jobs or scholarships, today it was a message that had nothing to do with journalism; today's message was about creating a video for some Aquafresh product. The kicker is that there was no language from the school itself, it seems that Aquafresh just used the school email to send me a message about their contest. I couldn't believe it, my own school sold me out to be blast-email spammed. Thanks J-School.

Let me just show you some of the language just to prove I'm not lying:

We're giving you a chance to become the next You Tube
star!  All you have to do is make an original video that
includes an Aquafresh Extreme Clean logo or package shot,
and the statement of a "a feeling of clean like nothing
else."  There's no right or wrong way, just make it
creative.  And don't forget to send the video to friends
and family, the more views you have the better your
chances are to win!

So as you can see this has nothing to do with being a better journalist. Maybe I should just forget the whole journalism degree and just sign up for all these contests the school tells me about. If I get really good I should be able to retire early and I'll never have to shop again as I'll have won thousands of great products!

Ohio University Second Life Campus

2007-09-18T02:28:00.001-04:00

So I just found this and thought it was really interesting. Too bad Second Life is just an afterthought these days. I'm not sure who made or posted this video but I am glad to see OU somehow made it 'outside the box' as far as reaching their audience.

Apple iPod Nano/Touch and Recruitment

2007-09-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

Well I've begun seeing commercials for the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch. The Nano is now capable of playing video and the Touch is similar in shape and control to the iPhone.

(Just want to make one quick and obvious point here that Apple has made themselves the brand that young people have to have -- case and point: universities can do that same thing by being being the first to adopt many new media applications to their curriculum. "School X is where I have to be because they will teach me the newest technology/media, if I dont learn what they have to tell me I will be behind the eight ball when I graduate.")

To get to my point I'll introduce it by saying I was on an exercise bike at the student rec center yesterday looking over part of campus and saw 3-4 tour groups being led into the facility. It occured to me that students come from all over the place to see the campus, but what if you were from California and wanted to check out an Ohio school? Here's my suggestion: schools produce a video that can be available for download to an iPod that takes you on a similar tour to what you would get if you actually visited the campus.

OK so this obviously has some people saying, "Well that might be a good idea, but students have to come to campus because we want them to get the real FEEL of the school." While this is definitely true there is something to say for a school that puts themselves out there for more people to see what they are about. So let's say you were on a plane on your way from California to Ohio University. You see you can download a video from OU that gives a general tour of what you wouldnt get to see on a normal campus visit. In my opinion it 1. shows that the university wants to give potential students the best experience for their time 2. it showcases a university that understands where their students get their media and information

This suggestion has other possibilities as well. Just about ever cell phone out there has the capability for internet. The iPhone is a good example here as you can read the NYT or watch YouTube videos. It is also becoming a common practice for some companies to toy with the idea of making their product available through mobile technology.

Social Media at UGA and an Outside the Box Idea

2007-08-30T22:26:00.001-04:00

OK so it was just brought to my attention that Kaye Sweetser at the University of Georgia is teaching a social media course. I couldnt believe it either, but it's happening, schools are starting to see the value of teaching new media techniques to its students. Sweetser has opened up the syllabus of the course to students, keeps her own blog, as well as has started a blog for the class. It's so refreshing to see that this is actually being adopted in the classroom and that students are latching on. I hope it turns out really well, it looks as if they are all excited about it and participating in the learning process more than ever. Check out both sites above for more information.

So now to an outside the box idea. It occured to me that many universities require their incoming students to invest in laptops for their collegiate tenure. My school, Ohio University, doesnt require this and I personally dont think they need to, but maybe it's time to mention the next step. Hear me out on this: incoming students invest in PDA's, whether Blackberries or other device. There it is, I said it. Just another hit to the parents' thinning wallet. Maybe it has some real benefit though as well:

Students are constantly in connection to the class, peers and professors nomatter where they are
Students can recieve class updates at all times
It gives some sort of real world experience as we all know many corporations have certain level employees carry PDA's at all times
If something such as blogging was instituted to the class it is an opportunity to practice moblogging on a regular basis

So those are just a couple thoughts. Students of course already carry their MP3 devices on them at all times, so while I imagine this suggestion will get many negative reviews, it might be time to think that this is one way to take things to the next level.

FIBA Basketball Tonight

2007-08-22T18:13:00.001-04:00

While I'm going to keep this blog to new media and universities, I can't help but mention FIBA and tonight's USA vs. Venezuela game. In light of the Tim Donagy referee scandal does it seem ironic that the game tonight is taking place in Las Vegas? Well let's just say my money is on the USA tonight!

Student Note-Taking Wiki Practice

2007-08-22T16:21:00.001-04:00

Just came across this great post on LifeHack about students using wikis for note-taking. I really recommend checking out this article for more specific information but just thought I'd jot down a couple comments.

First of all this is a great way for students to keep their notes in an accessible and editable place. One trick that I had used in the past was just keeping a Word document of notes because I found it more easy to remember if I wrote things a second time, and I prefer studying from clear notes rather than jumbled pages of doodles and short-hand writing.

The LifeHack article recommends using it for small study groups so information can be edited by numerous people. That's a perfectly good recommendation, but why limit it to a small group when you could even get a professor involved to help with ideas or clarifying information?

Once again I'll say I'm a realist in the sense that the majority of students would not participate in this platform. The platform is pretty much already available if classes use programs such as Blackboard. However, I do think it comes down to who is dictating the information. Perhaps students would be more willing to participate in a platform run by students for students.

Think about the practice young students could get using new media by using a wiki for notes. I can see going in to an interview and saying, "I developed a wiki for my peers and me that encouraged more participation in the classroom, and it eventually led to 15 percent of classes campus wide using a wiki to complement their coursework." Sounds to me like something a potential employer would be interested in.

For the real scoop check out the article from LifeHack.

Video is the Next Generation

2007-08-22T00:53:00.000-04:00

I just came across a post from AdAge titled, Why Web Video is the New 30-Second Spot and it got me thinking. First of all it's no surprise to me that video is where it's at. Video is basically on-demand for any web user who wants to learn or be entertained by any topic. So there are virtually a number of things universities can do by using video to attract new students. Here's just one idea.

Web video users want something fast and simple. That's something any Simmons research will tell you about any young generation of consumers. Students are looking for what life in the classroom is really about. Why dont you give it to them? From what I'm aware of there have been documented cases where students record professors lectures and then sell them to friends who may have missed the class for, I'm sure, university accepted reasons. What if you practiced transparency by giving potential students access to one of these highly protected lectures?

For this example I will talk about journalism because that's what I'm familiar with. OK, so let's say it's an Online Journalism Seminar course. One student is giving an hour long speech as to the effects of hyper-locality or blogging on the future of journalism. With the technology that is available today let's record that class, post it to a university sponsored site, and give potentials a real insight to what current journalism students are working on. Now I'm not the romantic to think that a video like this goes viral in any way, but it does put the university at the forefront of allowing potential students the opportunity to see what it's like to be a real student.

So let's just think about a few of the benefits of this:

Allows potentials to see first hand the expertise of the current students
Showcases the style and material that is expected to be mastered
Demonstrates what is affecting the student body currently in an attempt for upcoming students to do research before they step foot in a classroom

These are just a few reasons. To be fair let's look at the negatives:

Costs professors or students a little time to post information online
If you are a complete cynic you might say it costs the university a little money to give away one lecture from a university course

OK so I cant think of many negatives. But this could be a revolutionary idea that gains the attention of highschoolers who have no idea what college is like. I'd also like to add that this may be something that current students would be interested in. Obviously it takes hours upon hours of work to come up with a presentation for an upper level course, so why not showcase what they have learned to potential companies who are looking for the brightest and leading innovators in an industry because their thoughts now could help shape the future of business worldwide?

How to Choose a School

2007-08-19T22:53:00.001-04:00

First of all I want to mention that Google scares me in some respects. They have a voice in everything, literally, but why fight it. So check out this post, how Google is bringing certain applications to universities across the country.

The summer before I left for college my uncle pulled me aside at a family gathering and told me, "Dont get wrapped up in all the books, remember to have fun and make connections because that's what college is really about." He said something like that anyway. So when I read the post "Unranking the nations universities" I thought it was a perfect opportunity to talk about why students should choose certain universities and how new media plays a role.

It's becoming widely known that younger audiences prefer the reviews of their peers compared the the reviews of some professional who gets paid to study retention rates and class sizes. So who better to learn about a university from than the students who spend their time and money there?

The "Unranking universities" post suggests taking a look at rankings, and while I too think this is important, universities should be remembering that a students voice might be the most important thing in convincing other students to check out their school. So bottom line, provide a platform for students to talk about what matters to them, and listen. I imagine the common retort (at least at OU) would be that students dont participate in Student Senate elections. Well trust me, students have a point of view, they may just be nervous to participate, or unwilling since it is a university organization. Listening to students talking in a nontraditional media format could be the most beneficial thing a university could do to benefit academically and as far as credibility. It's just a suggestion.

College OTR - A Different Side of College Life

2007-08-19T15:24:00.000-04:00

Not long ago a friend of mine introduced me to College OTR (On The Record) proposing that I do some writing for it in my free time. If you dont know about it check out the site, but here is what it's about: "OTR is a new network of campus-specific blogs, written by students, for students, making sure that whatever happens on campus goes "On The Record." Think of us as your campus paper on crack -- quicker, funnier, and better-looking (even though we may be missing a few teeth)." It's basically the different side of college life that you wouldnt see in a college newspaper or other publication.

One thing I've noticed recently throughout advertising, marketing and PR is a certain drift toward making brands irreverent in the hopes of appealing to a more cynical younger audience. The Gieco caveman commercials are a simple example of this. College OTR to me is just another example of how younger audiences dont want to be preached at by big media.

So what exactly should universities be doing with sites such as OTR? Well first of all dont ruin it by trying to control what people say. What I would do is pay attention to what people have to say either about their university or another, attempting to learn about what affects their students and what their students care about.

To students, College OTR is an outlet that goes against the grain. From my personal experience at school I know a bunch of people who want to write about campus life but cant stand the output and people who produce the school newspaper. To those people I would highly recommend getting your name out there by writing what you think needs to be said. Use your creative writing ability to make a difference by "sticking it to the man" as Jack Black would say in "School of Rock." But seriously, if you are having trouble getting involved with university sponsored organizations then check out College OTR, it just might be the outlet you've been waiting for.

B-to-B, B-to-C, New Media, What Works

2007-08-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not practicing my ABC's but I am working on my business lingo and I just came across this article from the Conversation Agent giving new insights to how B-to-B's and B-to-C's use new media differently. Had some great findings and stats to back it up so here's a little recap of what it said:

B-to-B companies are significantly more likely to allocate a higher percentage of their media budgets to new media than their B-to-C counterparts

60% of B-to-B's have been using email marketing, 34% have been using webinars, 21% use blogs, and 14% use wikis

41% of B-to-C's have been using email marketing, 8% using webinars, 10% use blogs, 6% use wikis

Bottom line, businesses are using new media more and more every day. Schools better begin teaching their students how to create these platforms, as well as what makes these platforms successful, if they wish to succeed quickly in their field.

What I recommend is having professors blogging regularly, giving students more of an insight to what real world work is like. For students who may be timid to approach their teachers 1-on-1, a blog would be a easy way to conversationally interact with students. In the long run I think this gains credibility for faculty, but also increases the overall breadth of knowledge for students.

Change Minds in the Classroom

2007-08-15T11:05:00.000-04:00

I came to Ohio University’s journalism school because it is one of the most highly regarded in the country, and their Online Journalism sequence is known for its uniqueness and foresight to step in to an area that is taboo for many other schools. This summer I worked for Manning Selvage & Lee, a top 10 PR firm in NYC, and without my experience I would never have the confidence or ideas to come back to my educators and insist that they consider revising curriculum to better suit their students when they enter the real world. And while I cherish the education I have been given, my experience this summer and other experiences have put me in a unique position to be able to offer advice and guidance to start pushing universities in a 21^st century direction.

I have two main purposes for writing. First, to challenge the current way of thinking about the digital space, especially when it comes to journalism, as that is where I have my background. Secondly, I believe if universities embrace some of the ideas I offer they will see a boost in credibility, but more importantly, an increase in the caliber of students they attract.

When you mention the word ‘blog’ in a journalism classroom there are a few typical responses. First, ‘blogging is the downfall of journalism, it’s not professional and the writing skills are inadequate.’ Second, ‘blogs can not be trusted, it is unethical for a journalist to think about blogging, and it is unethical for others to trust blogs, anyone who blogs will lose credibility.’ Third, ‘blogs are OK, I read them sometimes, but unless it’s Steve Jobs I don’t take it seriously.’

Does that seem odd to anyone else? It’s obvious that J-schools are hesitant to peak outside the box for fear of losing credibility. But when companies come to PR, advertising and marketing firms looking for the most innovative ideas, it’s obvious that the digital world needs to be taught in a different way in classrooms across the country. It says something about the future of business when just about every commercial I see ends with promoting a microsite or some sort of Web 2.0 application to engage consumers.

There comes a point in school when you are tired of getting posed questions and no one ever having the answers. I’ll give an example, in journalism a major question is of course, “Print readership is down everywhere, what can we do about it?” Well if you said in a classroom what I’m about to say then you’ll be kicked out of school as quickly as you can say “New York Times.” What if you did nothing about it? What if instead you focused all your efforts in to attracting new, young, Gen X, Gen Y readers to come to your website? What if you had all of your staff, including senior executives, writing a blog on a daily basis? Of course there are gray areas here because you flirt with professional bias, but don’t statistics show that this generation yearns for transparency in all online endeavors?