Should Alumni Relations Be Blogging?

Over at Blogging for Business, author and blogger Ted Demopoulos asked “why aren’t more alumni associations blogging?” Ted’s primary point is that “blogs are great ways to build community.”He suggested these ways to get started with alumni relations blogging:

• a group blog, where several bloggers each blog occasionally,
• student-written blogs, and
• hosting a list of alumni blogs. 

In a linked podcast interview, Ted says that “alumni web sites don’t work as well as they used to.”Although I hope he’s the last person to mention alumni associations in the same sentence as Enron and Tyco (why not throw in WorldCom?),
his point is that official-sounding organizational web sites have less appeal than they used to, compared with informal, conversational sites such as blogs. (I wrote in an earlier post that alumni web sites would get more traffic if organizations and websurfers used RSS feeds to syndicate and to read dynamic web pages.)

Meanwhile, what problem will you solve by creating an alumni relations blog? As with all alumni programs and services the real question to answer is “what do your alumni need?” 

Here’s an idea for someone daring: Continue providing the same kind of information you already offer online, but use a blogging format instead of the static informational pages you have now. For example, which calendar item sounds more interesting? 

This one?

March 28, Noon to 2 pm
Admitted Students Reception: Detroit Area
Organizer: Alumni Association
Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Description: Reception for admitted students.
Location: The home of Jayne Mayne ‘88, 100 Main Avenue, Oak, MI 48000
RSVP Info: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Or this one?

It’s that time of year-top high school seniors have their envelope from State U-either the fat envelope (good!), or the thin one (sorry!). Up near the Motor City auto industry exec Jayne Mayne ‘88 hosts the fat-envelope crowd at her hip downtown loft next Sunday (3/28) from noon to 2:00. Want to meet the admits and some other alumni? Shoot a note to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and let us know how many are coming and we’ll send directions and get you on the RSVP list. (Lucky for you, we’re like THIS with Jayne). See you there!

You get the idea. Give it a shot…I dare you.

Note: This post is by Andy Shaindlin, executive director of the alumni association at Caltech and author of Alumni Futures, who will be our guest blogger until mid-April.