One of my favorite moments I witnessed and captured last night at the Wendy’s Recruiting Wrap Up! It was fun to see Dabo and #Clemson President Clements take a #selfie! #GoTigers #Canon #EOS #5dmarkiii
Photo taken at: Clemson Indoor Football Facility
I’m very excited to share with you something I have been working on for quite some time.
We have all been very busy at the Social Health Institute developing a Mini MBA Certificate Program with our friends at Clemson University. A year in the making, this six-course offering provides a unique approach to deliver thought leadership in the space of digital communication, social media communication and healthcare business management.
Look at the image above. I love this image! Meet Miles Thomas Haren…son to Tom and Jennifer Haren. This is their third child and the first boy our family has seen in a few generations.
Miles is my little nephew and I spent the afternoon helping Tom and Jennifer take his newborn pictures. Tom used to be a baseball player, catcher for Erskine College. You can see in the picture above his bat and glove from his college days.
This past weekend’s Clemson football game was Military Appreciation Day at Clemson. Clemson played the Citadel and how appropriate to honor those who have served with two schools playing on the gridiron representing such military heritage.
In the game program, Col. Ben Skardon was the featured story. Earlier this year, I produced a short documentary surrounding his story and how his Clemson ring saved his life. I thought it was awesome to see him honored, and to also see the pictures that I took of him during that interview appear in the program. It has been a pleasure getting to know Col. Skardon and his lasting legacy here at Clemson.
Here is his story, just incase you missed it earlier this year!
It was just the other day…I received another note in the mail from one of my students. I love it. They always let me know how they are doing, where they are going, and the dreams they are chasing.
There is this massive debate…how can we take South Carolina’s educational system and turbo charge it, innovate, and move ahead of the pack.
I think it is pretty simple…quit teaching and start inspiring. Move away from the regurgitative learning process and aim towards engaging conversation. If we want to create change, build a brighter South Carolina…why not inspire students to do more than just be students.
Institutional learning has it’s place…but there is a new student emerging in South Carolina. More and more students I work with in higher education…the more I realize there is an underlying need to take part in social justice. These students want to be a part of the solution…they want to create not only “their” tomorrow but also solve age old problems.
It seems so simple…but this is so hard to execute. Why, we have to change the way we think, we teach, create curriculums, the way we grade, the way we prepare these students for industry, and on and on. But what do we have to lose…nothing!
We have so much to learn from this new class of students…we should take off our teacher hat and put on our student hat. We should start learning from those who are inspired to learn. That is why I am sharing the video above…I learned so much from Riley Csernica.
Riley had a few dreams:
1) 3 degrees by the age of 23
2) Start a business in South Carolina
We educators, business people, legislators have a lot to learn from the Riley’s of the world. We better get out our note pads, take some notes, because her class of innovators will be leading us into the next century.
Here is a story from the GSA Business concerning the first MBAe Class at Clemson. Riley was one of those students and I had the tremendous pleasure working with…each of them were extremely special!
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From GSA Business
Clemson students recently finished competing for $40,000 in seed funding to launch their businesses.
First place: Brenda Morris-Wilson’s received $20,000 for her company to continue developing a clothing line for baby boomers residing in assisted living and nursing home facilities.
Second place: Riley Csernica of Tarian Orthotics received $6,000 to further commercialization of a more mobile and functional brace for those with shoulder dislocations.
Third place: Team Dabble, comprised of Carlisle Kennedy, Brendan Lopes and Josh Lopes, earned $4,000 to help expand the team’s mobile application from Clemson to other universities across the Southeast. The app aims to connect college students through events.
The students had to apply to the MBA program with a business concept in mind. The yearlong program aims to equip them with the resources needed to launch their concept. The students will graduate in August.
“The goal is to help these young people launch a successful business,” said Gregory Pickett, the director of Clemson’s new MBA program. “Each student comes into the program with an idea that gets them started. Throughout the year, they evaluate that idea and refine it, or pivot from it.”
Students learn from business people, both in and out of the classroom, about software and app development, intellectual property laws and financing, for example.
Students also work to secure capital and build on their business plans. They put the MBA concepts into practice, getting a head start on their startups while earning their degree.
http://gsabusiness.mappsite.com/news.php?link=http://www.gsabusiness.com/news/47872-clemson-students-compete-for-40-000
I just read a blog post from Mickey Plyler concerning the future retirement of Clemson’ Athletic Director. In his article, he built an argument articulating what the new leadership will “have” to look like when Mr. Terry Don Phillips retires.Regardless who follows, big shoes to fill.
Plyler states in his blog:
“Social media has become a bigger part of athletic departments across the country and Clemson needs an upgrade. Schools are trying to control the message more now than ever and Clemson needs a progressive thinking business person that understands how to create a brand in the modern business world.”
Guess what Mickey…this applies to more than just Clemson Athletics, it applies to many large organizations across the country. As I sat through a strategic meeting for a large organization yesterday, this all day conversation surrounded social media. To quote a person in the room…“It is a culture change.” I agree.
Organizations are having to trudge through a culture change from the leadership all the way down to those who are on the ground level. And it is not just social media or even the digital media strategy, it is an integrated communication approach. Social and digital media are no longer just a tool in the tool box, they are integrated strategies that warrant just as much, if not more, attention that your traditional marketing efforts. (This statement depends on organization and audiences goals.)
To be blunt, it is time for organizations to start curating content ONLY for social and digital efforts. Why…the audiences are looking for this content.
Look at Audi and this year’s Super Bowl, they created content specifically for the social space. They used the #SoLongVampires hastag in the Super Bowl ad that received over 2 million YouTube views and tens of millions of Twitter impressions a week after the ad appeared during the game.
After the 2012 Super Bowl, Murrey Newlands wrote: “Capitalizing on vampiremania, they showed an Audi driving up to a vampire bonfire party and accidentally frying the vampires with its powerful headlights! The vampires immediately turned to ash, (unlike TrueBlood vampires who for the most part slowly burn to death once exposed to the Sun).”
They built excitement for their target demographic around the Audi brand, and it is still paying dividends with over 7 million YouTube views to date! That is what I can integrated marketing.
Look at GoPro and their photo of the day initiative on Facebook. Each day, they share a photo of the day from one of their fans using their GoPro camera. LOVE IT! Talk about engagement, they have over 3 million fans and people love their product. This effort is all on Facebook.
Organizations are learning that it is no longer “just” a push marketing mentality. Brand management involves building community and leveraging word-of-mouth efforts. For the first time, social and digital media efforts provide an opportunity to engage digital word-of-mouth and a measurable outcome. We can build a community and track success. We can build sustainable efforts leveraging online tools and use them in specific tactical methods, then look back and see how we performed.
Organizations are also learning…they must take control of their own brand. Ed Bennet who manages web operations at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) understood this strategy. He brought all web/social/digital efforts in-house. He built a team, he built a culture, and how is a leader in the hospital digital media space.
The Clemson Family is a large family and they engage in many online communities. It is obvious if you look at the Clemson University main Facebook Page and Alumni Page. And even though many organizations like Clemson Athletics have built many online communities, it is now time to really see if they can build sustainable efforts. No more just pushing the message to a group, but engaging in online conversation.
It is a culture shift, not only for leadership but for those working these efforts on the ground level.