No doubt about it—networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Gather are hot. They’re a great way to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and meet people with common interests. You also have a chance to let people know the real story of Capella and your experience here.
While these sites initially attracted a young crowd, the fastest-growing demographic for Facebook is the 25 and up segment. More than 150 million people are now registered on Facebook.
Capella has recently launched its own Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capella-University/79435985640), with dedicated sections for K-12, Higher Education, and Mental Health communities. . (You need to join Facebook to see Capella’s page; it’s free and simple.) Once you’re registered, you can use Capella’s Facebook to post your thoughts and successes on Capella’s Wall and meet new Capella people.
Like Facebook, social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, Bebo, and Gather let you set up a free profile quickly and begin connecting with others who share your interests. Many of these sites provide you an opportunity to talk about your education, and you’re in a good position to provide useful answers about Capella.
Another effective way to connect is to join one or more of the countless online groups that exist for everything from MBA students to marathon runners. Groups exist not only on Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites, but also on Google and Yahoo. You can easily search these sites for groups that focus on higher education or your specific field of study. These are great forums to meet others who have similar professional interests while sharing your experiences with Capella.
Capella has also joined Twitter, a popular Web service in which users stay connected by answering one simple question: What are you doing right now? Our Twitter feed gives you the latest news, announcements, podcasts and other Capella updates, delivered to your computer or cell phone.
When posting a message to a group or social networking site, include a link back to Capella’s Web site (http://www.capella.edu) when appropriate so people can learn more for themselves about Capella.
Comments?
What kind of interesting and useful experiences have you had on social networking sites?
This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 am and is filed under Alumni, Learners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
