Integrated marketing in higher education: Nice work at Portland State University

I had a chance recently to hear people at Portland State University talk about what they are doing in social media as part of their overall brand marketing. I was impressed.

At the gathering of District 8 of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, PSU and others are recognizing that universities face great challenges: greater competition for students, faculty, research dollars and donor support. If you factor in the rise of for-profit universities, online learning and a new thinking in how state and federal governments relate to higher ed -- it's a new world. All the more reason to work harder to differentiate your institution and better tell you story. Success means a strong institutional commitment, a well considered plan and measures, execution by people with authority, message discipline and a relentless focus on evaluation and re-assessment. Oh, and some resources. If you don't invest in this effort, you can be certain of falling behind competitors who are making smart investments.

Here's a link to PSU's marketing page. And check out their photo contest.

The people of PSU said one of their foundations for their marketing was a video that sought to capture the essence of their university. Doing such a video is ambitious and risky. So many institutions are doing these -- so how do you re-invent the messages of academic excellence, the student experience and transformation that awaits those for whom your school is a great fit? What visual "vocabulary" and style do you use?  Here's what PSU did. One noticeable element: they embraced the character and beauty of Portland. What do you think?

Hey, person in Hong Kong -- why are you reading my blog?

Google analytics has been updated to show in real time the geographic origins or your readers.

Right now, somebody in Hong Kong is reading my blog.

Please! I'm dying of curiosity! My one Hong Kong reader, please go to the comments and just say who you are. If you are a cyber warrior, sniffing for a backdoor into NSA's mainframes, use the code, "I love Jack Bauer." I will write back, "Cloey, I don't have time to explain. You'll just have to trust me."

We will meet at the Kowloon station on March 1, 2012. I will be wearing a Redhawk warm up jacket, holding a copy of Lonely Planet.

Disguised as a conspicuous middle-aged white man, in Seattle University t-shirt, America's undercover agent prepares to  steal recipes for Dim Sum.

Can fishing be an act of cruelty to a human? Watch Eisenhower and Nixon

I felt more than a twinge of sadness to see Gen. Eisenhower humiliated his 1952 running mate by inviting the media to watch Dick Nixon learn fly fishing. Poor Nixon looked awful, and you have to wonder if the General was just training his subordinate on the relationship they would have. And to think years later an Eisenhower married a Nixon after both saw more of this.

By the way, later as President Eisenhower had extra trout dumped into a river before the news cameras arrived.

Sally Tonkin honored as photography educator

Sally Tonkin tonight at ceremony in Spokane named 2011 Honored Educator by Society for Photographic Education.

She gave a very moving speech that honored two great callings, photography and education. I'm proud to say she's excelled at both.

One year, a third of Shorewood High School's students signed up to take her class. She's been shown at the Frye, published in books and showcased by the Seattle Times and many others.

Much deserved recognition.

Steve Jobs: "Insanely Great" applied to him. RIP

Steve Jobs has passed away.

He will endure as one of the great visionaries of the beginning of the digital era. He transformed personal computing and several other industries. He changed our culture. All this began from a point of reflection that led him to drop out of college.

He told the story in a speech he gave at Stanford University.

Non believers? The 8th Proof of God's Existence

From the New York Times:

Prevention: Evidence of Heart Benefits From Chocolate

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

An analysis of studies including more than 100,000 subjects has found that high levels of chocolate consumption are associated with a significant reduction in the risk of certain cardiovascular disorders.

The seven studies looked at the consumption of a variety of chocolate — candies and candy bars, chocolate drinks, cookies, desserts and nutritional supplements. By many measures, consumption of chocolate was linked to lower rates of stroke, coronary heart disease, blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions.

But there was no beneficial effect on the risk for heart failure or diabetes.

Over all, the report, published Monday in the British medical journal BMJ, showed that those in the group that consumed the most chocolate had decreases of 37 percent in the risk of any cardiovascular disorder and 29 percent in the risk for stroke.

Still, the lead author, Dr. Oscar H. Franco, a lecturer in public health at the University of Cambridge, warned that this finding was not a license to indulge and noted that none of the studies reviewed involved randomized controlled trials.

“Chocolate may be beneficial, but it should be eaten in a moderate way, not in large quantities and not in binges,” he said. “If it is consumed in large quantities, any beneficial effect is going to disappear.”

Seattle's tunnel viaduct debate -- cue the videos

A decade after an earthquake revealed a highway that had to go in downtown Seattle, voices arise via video to make the case over a Seattle ballot measure.

Should Seattle replace an elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct highway with a deep-bore tunnel, a "surface option," or just keep talking?

Who decides the fate of one of the world's most fabulous waterfronts, while also resolving conflicting priorities over freight mobility, sustainability, transit and the car in the city of my birth? Dare we vote in a manner that further degrades our standing as the coolest city in the Northwest?

I so miss Emmet Watson.

It's a a huge civic debate, submitted to voters in mid August, when most of us are thinking of swimming and hiking in a region where the clouds have lifted after an 11 month wait.

Roll the tapes.

David Brewster, long one of Seattle's finest journalists, analyzes the long civic toothache. With his usual combination of wit and stylish mastery of detail, he sees a debate about the soul of our city.

An earlier post, containing Matt Smith's hilarious satire on the argument to keep the Viaduct is here.