The CAS and the Graduate Community: Building a Better Connection

“Improving the number of graduates communicating and engaging with the CAS should be a top priority.” Class Advisory Senate Survey Assessment Results October 14, 2009

How Do Graduates Communicate? There are a large number of methods available— but many of us don’t leverage them for CAS

How Do We Communicate? “Push” methodology – Checkpoints – Direct “Dear Classmate” s ZoomiEnews AOG announcements – Websites AOG Individual class websites “Pull” methodology – Direct Responses to “dear classmate” s Letters to the editor (Checkpoints) – Chapter meetings – Reunions – Phone calls Social Networking Traditional Much of it relies on face- to-face contact Makes some use of technology Largely one-way communication Combines advantages of both

What Is Social Networking? Brings people with common interests together in a secure virtual environment Provides a way to connect and engage with classmates – Built on the principle of a two-way conversation – Gives authorized visitors the opportunity to generate opinion and add content Enables communities and conversations to form within sites – Authorized visitors can enter areas of interest

Growth of Social Networking

Facebook Started in 2004 as a service for Harvard students Focuses on “traditional” social networking (communications), as opposed to entertainment – Easy-to-use interface, less advertising than many of its competitors – Members have control over who sees their content Currently the world’s most popular social network (Nielson, March 2009) – 168% increase in relative users in 2008 – One-third of global audience is aged 35 – 49 years of age – About one-quarter is over 50 years of age – Visited by three in every 10 people online across the world For more info:

MySpace Originally established as an entertainment portal, rather than a pure social network More focused on entertainment – Can encompass music and video – Decoration options allow profile pages to be highly customizable Used more by teens and young adults Smaller global presence than Facebook For more info: m m

LinkedIn Specifically geared to business use Allows user to set up a profile and connect with past and present colleagues – Tracks connections between user and every other member of the site (“degrees of contact” principle) – Alerts user if other people from a given company sign on so user can connect with them – Can search for topics of interest and comment on them – Users can set up and join groups (50 max) – Can send out questions and surveys to get feedback from personal contacts Adding new members at a rate of about one member per second (Adage, March 2, 2009) 137% relative increase in users in 2008 (Nielson, March 2009) For more info:

Twitter Primarily designed as a messaging tool – Enables user to send messages to members of his/her group – Supports back-and-forth conversation – Messages limited to 140 characters – Messages (tweets) are archived in a timeline 11% of online adults use Twitter or update their status online Users are mobile, less tethered by technology Reached 4 million visitors in February 2009, up more than 1,000% from a year ago (Comscore, April 2009) For more info:

Who Uses Social Networking Sites? Each site has its own demographics Demographic Group FacebookMySpaceLinkedInTwitter Gen Y Classes (‘02 – ‘09) 65%75%9%14% Gen X Classes (‘88 – ‘01) 76%57%13%18% Baby Boomer Classes (‘67 – ‘87) 73%40%13% Earlier Classes (‘59 – ‘66) 90%23%4%17% Source: May 2009 Example: For classes ‘02 – ’09 who use social networking sites, 65% use Facebook, 75% use MySpace, 9% use LinkedIn, and 14% use Twitter

Why Do Users Join a Social Network? Reason Given in Survey Gen Y Classes (‘02 – ‘09) Gen X Classes (‘88 – ‘01) Baby Boomer Classes (‘67 – ‘87) Earlier Classes (‘59 – ‘66) Keep in touch with friends 82%71%62%57% For fun 61%51%38%30% Keep in touch with classmates 40%27%12%10% Business networking 3%6%12%2% Job search 3%4%10%1% Business Development/sales 1%6%4% Source: May 2009 Sites are used in different ways, depending on age

Other Conclusions Social networkers use sites in different ways, depending on their age Motivations are similar from generation to generation User interests depend on age group – Facebook represents the largest constituency and has broadest appeal – MySpace users more interested in humor/comedy and video games – LinkedIn users more interested in luxury activities – Twitter users more interested in pop culture Source: May 2009

Relevance to CAS Dramatic increase in time spent on social network sites among all class demographics – Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity – Time spent on these sites is growing at three times the overall internet rate, accounts for almost 10% of all internet time Member communities are visited by 67% of the global online population – the 50+ age group accounts for a greater share of the social networking audience – Will not replace traditional push/pull methods, but it’s a great opportunity to enhance our contact with classmates Source: Nielson March 2009

Recommendations Consider social networking as a means of improving information flow among classes – Collect best practices to share with CAS representatives at future meeting – Designate mentors to help other CAS representatives get sites up and running – For older classes

Improving Communication Effectiveness in CAS Meetings The problem: it’s difficult to follow the proceedings if you’re not at the CAS meeting Recommendation: broadcast CAS meetings over the internet

Implementation Criteria A wireless webcam that can be moved to and from several mounting locations in the building A unique IP address that can be accessed via any common browser Security measures will ensure privacy Remote pan and focus capability (from within the conference room) – The camera would be moved occasionally to break the monotony; we would not attempt to track each speaker Microphone capability would be optional – we still need the dial in capability