It's been almost a year since last post. But I'm still alive, and approaching to end of year 3. This year has been pretty busy, full of work, studying, teaching/assisting, and activities at university. I've been "downgraded" (as 3+2 master degree equals crap in certain contexts in Estonia) and promoted. Latest "promotion" took place last week and from now on I've got double identity at FB, logging in as myself or sometimes as an institution, too. So seems that at least to some of my attention will shift onto representation of institutions in social media.
Through last year I've been reading quite some publications about Foucault and governmentality. When taking first steps in FB "as an institution" the presence of this theory is well-evident. Especially, if the institution has many departments that might have somewhat different understanding about representing the institution as a whole in social media. There are calculations and negotiations - more important than I ever could expect as a visitor. What information should be distributed, how much should be replied to comments etc - taking into account the importance of leaving a good impression and behaving as a whole institution (that can be difficult as there are different people who post in the name of same institution).
There are some questions I haven't found the answer yet (to be honest, I haven't turned to articles though). How often is it proper to post, without turning your FB page into killer app? How much of educational discourse (rare photos and texts that only your institution possesses) would be appropriate, without turning your FB page into a school? Is it ethical to post short memories about good legendary visitors? If and when should an institution go international in FB (i.e write posts not only in Estonian, but in English as well)? How to synchronize the information that is distributed by different persons via different channels?
There are some issues I've solved, relying on previous experiences (as an individual in Web2.0 world). If someone takes some time and leaves a reasonably long comment it's a nice way to react. If someone has a problem it should be solved (either through private message or figuring out an answer good for everyone or at least for most of us). Making new friends (by joining friend lists of other institutions) might leave a good impression about openness to new connections. ... And so on. I'll leave these three dots as this list is by far not complete - just a beginning.
Through last year I've been reading quite some publications about Foucault and governmentality. When taking first steps in FB "as an institution" the presence of this theory is well-evident. Especially, if the institution has many departments that might have somewhat different understanding about representing the institution as a whole in social media. There are calculations and negotiations - more important than I ever could expect as a visitor. What information should be distributed, how much should be replied to comments etc - taking into account the importance of leaving a good impression and behaving as a whole institution (that can be difficult as there are different people who post in the name of same institution).
There are some questions I haven't found the answer yet (to be honest, I haven't turned to articles though). How often is it proper to post, without turning your FB page into killer app? How much of educational discourse (rare photos and texts that only your institution possesses) would be appropriate, without turning your FB page into a school? Is it ethical to post short memories about good legendary visitors? If and when should an institution go international in FB (i.e write posts not only in Estonian, but in English as well)? How to synchronize the information that is distributed by different persons via different channels?
There are some issues I've solved, relying on previous experiences (as an individual in Web2.0 world). If someone takes some time and leaves a reasonably long comment it's a nice way to react. If someone has a problem it should be solved (either through private message or figuring out an answer good for everyone or at least for most of us). Making new friends (by joining friend lists of other institutions) might leave a good impression about openness to new connections. ... And so on. I'll leave these three dots as this list is by far not complete - just a beginning.
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