This post was originally published on .eduGuru on November 8, 2011.

Yesterday, Google announced that they are rolling out Google+ Pages. According to Google, “this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world.”

At launch, only a few Google+ Pages were available but more will be coming soon. You can check out the the Google+ Page create page if you plan to create one for your school. Access is somewhat limited but the Page creation option should be open to all users soon. Quick tip: Only ONE admin per page is currently allowed, so it may be better to create a Google+ Page using a department Google account (and not a personal account). Multiple admins should be coming soon.

After one night of some searching and crowdsourcing, I found about 20 schools that have already created Google+ Pages. If you’re a Google+ user, you can view a Shared Circle I’ve created to collect and showcase colleges with Google+ Pages.

UPDATE: Huge thanks to Travis for sharing this Circle from Educational Marketing Group, Inc. filled with over 180 schools on Google+.

Some of the first schools to join include:

• Berkeley-Haas
• Emerson College
• Ithaca College
• Penn State School of Theatre
• San Diego State University
• UWGB
• Webster University

Google+ Page Features

Even though Google+ Pages are still in the very early stages, they still include some interesting features for colleges looking to experiment on a new social platform.

Google+ Page for Emerson College (click for larger image)

Circles

Google+ delivers a few standard Circles for Pages, including Team Members (possibly employees of your school), VIPs, Customers and Following. The approach here is that you’ll segment your posts out to specific populations of Circles if that content is audience-specific.

In the future, colleges may want to create Circles for audiences like Prospective Students, Parents, Faculty, Alumni, etc. One downside is that Pages can’t add people to Circles until the page is added first or mentioned. So, you’ll have to do some marketing of your Page before you can segment your users into Circles.

Direct Connect

An interesting feature is Direct Connect, which simplify searching for and following colleges on Google+. After connecting your website to your Google+ Page, you are eligible for Direct Connect through Google searches. A user can then type in + then your Page’s name into a Google search and be sent directly to your Google+ Page. More information in this video:

Hangouts

Pages can interact with other Google+ profiles by starting Hangouts. This could be an easy way to create video chat with specific Circles from your Page. Let’s say, maybe, that you want to connect accepted students online before they move in. You could start a Google+ Hangout from your Page and invite students moving into a certain dorm on campus. Or, you could have your college’s president initiate a Google+ Hangout to talk to select members of the college community.

Your Thoughts?

Google+ Pages have just arrived, but because of the possibilites with Google search and Adwords integration along with Direct Connect, we’ll be seeing brand Pages pop up more in our search results. It’s really just a question of “will your audience actually visit their Google+ stream to see the information you share?”. That seems to be biggest hurdle for Google+ to overcome.

Have you created a Google+ Page for your school? What are your initial thoughts of the platform and eventual growth? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This post was originally published on .eduGuru on October 17, 2011.

Whether you’re attending HighEdWeb 2011 in Austin, TX or planning to follow along on Twitter, you know that keeping up with all of the conference tweets may be a bit overwhelming. Here’s a breakdown of the conference schedule, hashtags, speaker handles and more. Nod to Knewton Blog’s The Twitter Guide to EDUCAUSE 2011 for the idea.

If you have updates or changes to the information below, please let me know at @mikepetroff.

Official Twitter Handle and Hashtag

@HighEdWeb
The conference *by* higher ed web professionals, *for* higher ed web professionals. Follow them.

#heweb11
Use this Twitter hashtag to follow all things HighEdWeb. Most session workshops and presentations will use #heweb11 in combination with their session hashtag (for example, #heweb11 #SOC1) in their tweets.

Twitter List of Attendees
Follow the Twitter List of HighEdWeb 2011 attendees.

Session Tracks

• WRK: Pre- and Post-Conference Workshops
• APS: Applications and Standards
• TNT: Content
• MMP: Marketing, Management, and Professional Development
• SOC: Social Media
• TPR: Technical: Propeller Hats Required
• COR: Corporate

Sunday, October 23

*All times CDT

Workshops: 1:30pm – 4:00pm

A Nuts-and-Bolts Introduction to Client-side Interactivity with jQuery and AJAX
#WRK1
Jason Woodward: @woodwardjd

Developing and Maintaining Web Content: An Idea Generating Workshop
#WRK2
Douglas Tschopp

Introduction to PHP 5
#WRK3
C. Daniel Chase: @cdchase

Online Video Workshop
#WRK4
Brad Mitchell: @emarg0ed

The WordPress University
#WRK5
Stephanie Leary: @sleary
Shelley Keith: @shelleyKeith

Web Manager’s Leadership Academy
#WRK6
Doug Ruschman: @ruschman
Daniel Frommelt: @Frommelt

Monday, October 24

Presentations: 8:30am – 9:15am

Using WordPress to Power Your Institution’s Entire News Presence
#APS1
Lacy Tite: @lacytite

Multimedia and Social Storytelling: Capitalize on Content
#TNT1
Donna Talarico: @donnatalarico

Creative Services anyone?
#MMP1
Susan T. Evans: @susantevans

Customer Service & Social Media: You Can Do Better
#SOC1
Mike Petroff: @mikepetroff

Drupal: Not Just Your Daddy’s CMS!
#TPR1
C. Daniel Chase: @cdchase

Presentations: 9:30am – 10:15am

Rethinking the Login
@APS2
Mark Heiman: @wyrdebeard

Plan to be a champ: Turn your school’s 15 minutes of fame into a year-around web effort
#TNT2
Zack Barnett: @ZackBarnett

Knowing What We Are: Refining DePaul’s Brand
#MMP2
Deborah Maue: @debmaue

Beyond Blogging: Create an Integrated Online Student Ambassador Program
#SOC2
Mallory Wood: @mallorywood

Making a CSS Framework that Works for You
#TPR2
Dan Sagisser: @dansag

Take Your Website Mobile with OmniUpdate
#COR2
Nathan Gerber: @nathangerber
Lance Merker: @lancemerker

Presentations: 10:45am – 11:30am

What Students Want in Their Mobile Application
#APS3
Glenn Donaldson: @gdonaldson
James Burgoon
Stephen Fischer

Carrying the Banner: Reinventing News on Your University Web Site
#TNT3
Georgiana Cohen: @radiofreegeorgy

Project Management According to Attila the Hun
#MMP3
Daniel Frommelt: @Frommelt

Interdependency of Search and Social to Create Engaging Strategies
#SOC3
Martha Gabriel: @marthagabriel

Mobile on a Shoestring
#TPR3
Quinn Madson
Joel Herron: @h3r2on

Drupal in HigherEd
#COR3
Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg

Presentations: 11:45am – 12:30pm

The Ultimate Open Source CMS – A Cage Match
#APS4
John Vieth: @JohnVieth
Nathan White: @natepixel
Stephanie Leary: @sleary

Lost in a Map: Understanding the Direction of Your Campus Map
#TNT4
Nick Catto: @nickcatto

Politics or treason: Toeing the line or begging forgiveness in site adaptation
#MMP4
Anne Petersen: @apetersen

Crisis Communications on the Web
#SOC4
Chris Latham: @lathamdesign
Nyleva Corley: @Nyleva

HTML 5—Let’s Make Progress
#TPR4
Shahab Lashkari: @OUShahab

Agile Marketing: Content Strategy & Effective Tools
#COR4
Eric Karaszewski: @karaszew2
Joel Dixon: @joelddixon

General Session: 1:10pm – 2:15pm

Embracing Accessibility – Go for the Carrots
#heweb11
Shawn Henry: @shawn_slh

Presentations: 2:30pm – 3:15pm

Engaging Your Campus using a NextGEN Calendar of Events System
#APS5
Robert Sawler
Denise St. Jean

Homepage Survival Guide: How to Raise Content from the Dead
#TNT5
Brad Mitchell: @emarg0ed
Sara Clark: @smcl

Geopolitics for the Web: The Uneasy Alliance Between Marketing and IT
#MMP5
Chris Heiland: @nightspry
Jason Beard: @iamjasonbeard

Engaging Your Global Audience with Real-Time Campus Event Coverage
#SOC5
Seth Odell: @sethodell

Fact or Question? Analytics for User Experience
#TPR5
Julie Strothman: @strottrot

It’s All in the Visit: Utilizing New Web & Mobile Applications in the Campus Visit Process
#COR5
Justin Bayer: @jjustinb

Presentations: 3:30pm – 4:15pm

A Mobile Web Framework for the University of California System
#APS6
Brett Pollak: @campusweboffice

What Content Strategy Really Means for Higher Ed
#TNT6
Kate Johnson: @katedjohns

EZ QR 4 U2 Do!
#MMP6
Cliff Jenkins: @cliffyballgame

Tying it all Together: Part Duex
#SOC6
Kevin Prentiss: @kprentiss

Feeding the Beast: Fostering an API Culture
#TPR6
Erik Runyon: @erunyon
Jeremy Friesen: @jeremyfriesen

Geo-Social Nonsense: The Future of Location-Based Services and their Role in Mobile
#COR6
Jeff Kirckick: @JeffreyKirchick
Krisna Poznik: @krisnap

Presentations: 4:45pm – 5:30pm

Innovate and Collaborate: Using WordPress 3 to Build a Research Database
#APS7
Chris Gabel

Twin Red-Headed Stepchildren Of A Different Mother: The Usability of Accessibility
#TNT7
Michael Fienen: @fienen
Dylan Wilbanks: @dylanw

Buy vs. Build, and why the two are not always mutually exclusive
#MMP7
Joseph Ferguson

Web 2.5: The Love Story and Marriage of Your Website and Social Media
#SOC7
Lane Joplin: @lanejoplin

Swingin’ with Sinatra: Small Apps Fast
#TPR7
Sven Aas: @SvenAas

Social Media the good, the bad and the BS
#COR7
Michael Staton: @mpstaton, @inigral
Gabe Sanchez: @MrGabeSanchez
Brandon Croke: @bcroke

Tuesday, October 25

Presentations: 8:30am – 9:15am

Cornell’s Digital Well: A social networking repository for marketing information
#APS8
Dirk Swart: @dswart

On your mark, get set, mobile
#TNT8
Tiffany Broadbent: @tb623
Doug Gapinski: @thedougco

Herding Cats: Web Governance in Higher Education
#MMP8
Mark Greenfield: @markgr

I’d Buy That For a Dollar: What Robocop Can Teach us about Alumni Engagement
#SOC8
Jeff Stevens: @kuratowa

Drupal Workflow: Set it and forget it!
#TPR8
Mark Marcello
Alexander Gartley: @gartley

Building an accessibility road map for your organization
#COR8
John Krzesicki

Presentations: 9:45am – 10:30am

The Politics of Doing #IA for #HighEd
#APS9
Aaron Baker: @helveticaman

Going Mobile! The How and Why of UVU’s mobile web initiative
#TNT9
Nathan Gerber: @nathangerber

Lead the Horse to Water, And Make Damn Sure It Drinks: How to Lead Successful & Transparent Projects
#MMP9
Alana Riley: @alanariley

A Little Birdie Told Me – What the H1N1 Outbreak Taught Us About Using Twitter
#SOC9
Tonya Oaks Smith: @@marleysmom

Mission: Impossible – Content Management
#TPR9
Jason Pitoniak: @kodiak324

Building a low cost mobile web presence
#COR9
Piero Tintori: @pierotintori

Presentations: 10:45am – 11:30am

Drupal 7 for a University CMS
#APS10
Daniel Frommelt: @Frommelt
John Vieth: @JohnVieth
Michael Steffel

Beyond Mobile: Leveraging data and content sources for mobile web, apps and more
#TNT10
Roger Wolf
Doug Beck

Everything But the Kitchen Sink – A campus wide web redesign perspective
#MMP10
Kamalika Sandell

E-Expectations 2011: The Online Expectations of Prospective College Students and Their Parents
#SOC10
Stephanie Geyer: @NoelLevitz
Lance Merker: @lancemerker

Plug It In: Writing Better WordPress Plugins
#TPR10
Curtiss Grymala: @cgrymala

JQuery Mobile and Ingeniux CMS – Solving the Mobile Web Challenge
#COR10
Jim Edmunds: @IGXCEO
Nathan Eggen

General Session: 12:10pm – 1:15pm

Better Education through the Web
#heweb11
Chris Wilson: @cwilso

Presentations: 1:30pm – 2:15pm

The Status of Web Accessibility in Higher Education to People with Disabilities
#APS11
Jon Gunderson: @jongun

A Data-Driven Content Strategy Idea for Redesigning the Institution’s Website (work in progress)
#TNT11
Justin Gatewood: @lightjump

How to Break Things Really Good
#MMP11
Jon Boyd: @octothorp

Measuring the Result of the Bright and Shiny
#SOC11
Seth Meranda: @smeranda

The *!#* site is down! Again!?
#TPR11
John Wagner: @jwagner504

Presentations: 2:45pm – 3:30pm

One Calendar to Rule Them All
#APS12
Tina Coleman: @mstinalc
Andrew Bauserman: @wabaus

Make Quality Content Count with Web Analytics
#TNT12
Rick Allen: @epublishmedia

What Colleges Can Learn From The Insane Clown Posse
#MMP12
Karlyn Morissette: @karlynm

In the Shadow of the Colossi: Alumni online communities in the age of Facebook and LinkedIn
#SOC12
Francis Zablocki: @Zablocki

Management and technical issues in migrating a LAMP hosting environment and its sites
#TPR12
David Herrington
Steve Albin

Website Content Quality Assurance; the Proactive and Automated Way
#COR12
Brian Stewart @siteimprove
Mark Kleinbaum @siteimprove

Wednesday, October 26

Workshops: 1:00pm – 4:30pm

Admissions 101 For Web Professionals
#WRk7
Karlyn Morissette: @karlynm
Mike Petroff: @mikepetroff

Artistic Adventures in Adobe Photoshop
#WRK8
Joel Pattison

Going Mobile: Designing iOS, Android, and Web Apps with Standards
#WRK9
Kristofer Layon: @klayon

HTML5 & CSS3 Makeover
#WRK10
Christopher Schmitt: @teleject

The Conversation Tree: The Art of Social Media Content
#WRK11
Fritz McDonald: @create20

Web Application Security Boot Camp
#WRK12
Jason Pitoniak: @kodiak324

This post was originally published on .eduGuru on October 3, 2011.

If you’ve worked in higher ed for a few years, you have probably assisted with an on-campus event during orientation or move-in week. The excitement exuded by the new students is undeniable when they finally arrive. Many schools are now using social media to connect new students before these events, open up conversation between current students and alumni, and share coverage of orientation activities. If your audiences are social media savvy, they’ll surely follow your Twitter hashtags, find content on Facebook or check your YouTube playlists for updates. But, how do you curate that great social content and conversation from your events into a readable format for the masses?

Storify

So, you have some great tweets from students using your hashtag. You’re posting content to Flickr and YouTube. Facebook is really active with alumni sharing their memories of orientation.  If you’re looking for a tool that will help aggregate this content into a linear, readable and shareable format, check out Storify. From their FAQ:

Storify is a way to tell stories using social media such as Tweets, photos and videos. You search multiple social networks from one place, and then drag individual elements into your story. You can re-order the elements and also add text to give context to your readers.

Here are some examples of schools that used Storify to create recaps of their orientation events:

Babson College

Babson College combined content from their website, Twitter, YouTube and SCVNGR for this Storify of Undergraduate Orientation: http://storify.com/babsoncollegeug/babson-ugrad-orientation-2011

Emerson College

Emerson College covered two days of move-in and orientation activities combining Flickr photos, YouTube videos and tweets using the #ECWelcome hashtag. The Storify reached over 4,000 views through a combination of social sharing and an embed on Emerson.edu: http://storify.com/emersoncollege/emerson-college-orientation-2011 

Ithaca College

Ithaca College asked their current students and alumni to give advice to new students using #ICMoveIn on Twitter: http://storify.com/ithacacollege/advice-for-the-class-of-2015

They also collected Twitter coverage of move-in events in this Storify: http://storify.com/ithacacollege/icmovein-2011

University of Michigan-Flint

Tweets and photos of their Welcome Back Picnic were shared in this Storify: http://storify.com/umflint/2011-welcome-back-picnic

Webster University

Webster University’s Patrick Powers published this Storify, covering the 2011 New Student Orientation: http://storify.com/patrickjpowers/2011-new-student-orientation

Other Social Curation Examples

• Tufts University collected posts from their Facebook and Twitter communities and shared them with the Class of 2015. They also set up a great Welcome, Class of 2015! page, combining content and coverage from several sources.
• Rochester Institute of Technology used Foursquare to hold a contest for new students. The prize? A dinner with RIT President Dr. Bill Destler. They created a nice aggregation of Fourquare locations and contest promotion on this website.

Storify isn’t the only option for social content curation, but in my experience it’s the most user-friendly and publishes the best output for sharing or embedding on your website. How are you collecting content for sharing after your school’s events? Please share your examples in the comments below.

Special thanks to Rob Engelsman, Patrick Powers, Georgy Cohen, Ashley Hennigan, Vanessa Theoharis and Alaina Wiens for sharing these examples with me.