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Intelligence
Innovator: Chuck Will, The Longest-Running Blogger in Education?

Intelligence

Innovator: Chuck Will, The Longest-Running Blogger in Education?

Dec 18, 2008By Michael Stoner

Only he didn’t call it blogging at first. Chuck, who works at Proctor Academy in Andover, NH, actually began blogging in 1999 when the development office began to post images and text on the web using an backend interface developed by WhippleHill Communications of Bedford, NH, which specializes in web services for independent schools. The initial posts were targeted to high-value donors to Proctor, intended as high-tech/high-touch stewardship, but Chuck ran with the idea. He said, ”…when we became aware-through Whipplehill’s tracking capability-of the readership growing exponentially. The moment came when it was receiving more visits than the school’s front page, so we moved Chuck’s Corner up front. Faculty and trustees became aware of it after students and alumni/ae. ”

Back about four-five years ago, people were paying a lot of attention to Chuck’s Corner. There were articles, conference presentations-what Chuck and Proctor were doing was very innovative then. Fast forward to 2008. Chuck is still writing Chuck’s Corner; it has evolved into a blog; and it’s front and center on Proctor’s website. Not so much attention, but continuing authentic, valuable conversations-all the more significant because they’ve been going on for so long over at Chuck’s Corner.

Chuck’s posts often elicit comments and generate ongoing conversation. For example, here’s The No Major Deal, written when Proctor completed a term without a major disciplinary violation. Chuck notes the volume and quality of the blog activity and says, “The first (bottom) comment is so challenging, and stimulating. I could have deleted it! Thank god I did not.”

Over the years, Chuck has written Chuck’s Corner an average of three times a week and chronicled every aspect of life at Proctor. I asked Chuck some questions about his work on Chuck’s Corner—and for his advice to other would-be bloggers, whether they work at schools, colleges, or universities.

How did Proctor decide to take this step?
When we spoke with Travis Warren, president of Whipplehill, about our goals for the new site, I asked if we could stop writing about everything (excellence, core values, close student/faculty relationships, etc.) and start providing the experience of these qualities. He liked the idea, and said it was possible: website as seamless portal. The Cluetrain Manifesto was our bible. ”…markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can’t be faked.”

How much time do you spend on it each week?
It is tough to separate the time I am shooting images and editing them for Chuck’s Corner from the time I am doing these tasks for our e‑Stewardship of relationships with donors. Nowadays, I use Lightroom, and separate images of kids simply being kids, (which is one mission of the blog,) from more serious images. Once I sit down and say “Now I’m going to write a Corner,” (which happens about every two to three days,) it takes two hours to edit the images, upload them, figure out what the story concept will be, and write it. And that’s the typical sequence; I let the images lead me to the story. It’s easy that way.

Did you take comments from the beginning? If not, when and why did you decide to enable a coversation with your audience?
The comment feature did not exist until about six years ago. The truth is that Travis informed me that it was technologically possible, and explained that Chuck’s Corner would become something called a blog. This is interesting: I am technologically disabled—that lobe of the brain never grew! I am a writer and a photographer who has been taught to use technology a great deal, but I don’t “consume” technology well.

Is there a type of post that elicits more comments than others?
Emotion triggers behavior, such as commenting, and it is the page that triggers the emotions of alumni/ae and parents, etc. that succeed. This can mean getting into meaty issues about the school-which is a bit of a trick-or simply doing a page about how great the drama team did in producing a play, which is easy.

What advice do you have for others who would like to establish something like Chuck’s Corner but are concerned about potential fallout from intemperate or inappropriate comments?
Well, you can always delete, and I have a standard that the email address (which I can view from the back end) needs to be legitimate for a comment to stand. Now, I do let some stand with illegitimate addresses when I think that the comment serves the page well, but I will sometimes delete, and post my own comment, noting the rules. It is rare that I have to delete, and I am always amazed by how shy people are about commenting. Another thing: I’ll ask a friend to post a comment (to balance things, for example) when that works, and it usually is very effective. It’s best to let a feisty dialogue go on as much as possible. We’re all claiming honesty, and a blog is a great vehicle for demonstrating honesty.

How do you evaluate the effectiveness of Chuck’s Corner?
The number of “unique visitors” is staggering (I am told)-tens of thousandsbut I get very strong, direct support from parents all the time, and on family weekends I am like some kind of celebrity. But I came out of the Admission Office, where I was Director for 12 years, and I want Chuck’s Corner to benefit the school’s identity out in the world. Admission inquiries have been down for a few years, but visits have been up. We hope that tells us something! They don’t want another brochure claiming perfection. And it is true that enrollments (numbers and appropriate fit) have never been stronger. Instead of each Corner trying to capture Proctor’s qualities, it is a dozena hundreda thousand-that do the job. We have a new student this year who introduced himself to me and said, “I’ve read every Chuck’s Corner you ever wrote!” (They’re archived and accessible.)

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned from your experience writing Chuck’s Corner?
Here is some advice:

    • Unlike my answers to your questions, on Chuck’s Corner, less is more. Be concise!

 

    • When you use an image to punctuate a point without a caption, the reader becomes an active consumer, like at an art gallery… s/he says, “Oh, I get it!” That’s the best.

 

    • Humor communicates confidence. Exposing adolescent behaviors and poking fun at them is intriguing, but it is honesty that readers crave—not the specific voice I have created on Chuck’s Corner.

 

  • Get permission to work freely, and prove you deserve it. If your manager or a team demands editorial review for each blog, find another place to work.

Note: To hear more about Chuck’s Corner in Chuck’s own words, download this podcast from AdmissionsQuest.com.


  • Michael Stoner Co-Founder and Co-Owner Was I born a skeptic or did I become one as I watched the hypestorm gather during the dotcom years, recede, and congeal once more as we come to terms with our online, social, mobile world? Whatever. I'm not much interested in cutting edge but what actually works for real people in the real world. Does that make me a bad person?