SMCEDU in Central VA: The Beginning of Something Big

After meeting with members of Social Media Club-Richmond, VA, it’s evident that central Virginia and SMCEDU are a great fit.

I met with Kendall Morris, a media specialist and social media consultant associated with SMCRVA, Nathan Hughes, the programming director for SMCRVA, Marcus Messner, a journalism professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Jennifer Greenwood, an undergraduate student at George Mason University.

I had an interesting conversation with Prof. Messner regarding his journalism classes. As most know, the print journalism industry is in a state of decline, and journalism across all mediums is facing major changes. The future press corps is being educated in classrooms that must embrace change, and it sounds like many students are entering these classrooms unprepared. Although Prof. Messner said that almost all his incoming students had Facebook accounts, the majority are unaware of how to apply social networking technology beyond this most popular application.

It’s just more evidence of why this project could benefit so many people. Kendall Morris spoke of her work with the creative firm Punch. As a social media advisor to many businesses in her area, she championed the effort to teach social media knowledge not only as an employable asset, but because so many students (especially young women) were unaware of the wide net social media profiles can cast. We’ve all heard of the cautionary tales involving visibility of one’s private life, but Prof. Messner and Kendall Morris both told stories of how students that are afflicted with a “it hasn’t happened to me” mentality when it comes to embarrassing photos can quickly change their perspecitives once the ease with which private information can be shared becomes evident.

Again, more reason to teach the principles behind social media, and how current and future tools can/will affect multiple aspects of a person’s life.

What’s really exciting about the SMCRVA group is their enthusiasm and potential to connect with a sizeable network of schools in the area.

The VA Board of Education just launched their Virginia Education Wizard, an online tool to help students create a plan to make college education a reality. The announcement of “Ginny’s” release was made using Twitter, and shows the area’s willingness to use social media tools to communicate with students.

Virginia Commonwealth University makes for a great starting point. In October, the school will host the first in a lecture series that will be hosted by VCU’s School of Mass Communication. The first event in the series will deal with social media, and attendees can expect to hear from a broad panel of social media experts/users that will range from student advocates to proven business practitioners.

There are many ideas behind the lecture series, including opening up attendance for students from other schools (although nothing has been formalized just yet). The proximity of schools and the excitement of SMCRVA could be a formula for great advancement in social media education, and would in the very least provide a way for schools to communicate with each other to collaborate and create a unified curriculum.

We’re still looking at ideas to spread awareness and get others to participate…I’m seeing questions from people in other areas that are asking about how to create a SMCEDU group in their area. As I wrote about earlier, SMCEDU in Washington, D.C., is working with members from George Washington University. Now, Georgetown University is also advancing the cause, as Renee Goldman, president of Hilltop Consultants, Inc., has posted a charter for an SMCEDU group at the home of the Hoyas.

We’re hoping this charter can serve as a model for any school interested in establishing their own SMCEDU group. If your school is interested, please stay connected to the overall effort via our SMCEDU Ning group, and don’t forget to check in on two of our current working groups, SMCEDU-GW and SMCEDU-GU. I’ll stay in contact with Steve Radick, the professional sponsor for both chapters, and post updates as both groups grow.

I’ll also try to contact those that have inquired about creating SMCEDU groups in other areas and see what we can do to help. If you have any questions, please post them to the SMCEDU Ning group forum, and we’ll provide some direct information or guidance to get SMCEDU going in your area.