ACUHO-I News Blog

On an October afternoon in 2007, I sat in my office thumbing through archived issues of The Talking Stick. If you’ve never had the opportunity to do this, I highly recommend it. The historical perspective of our association is fascinating, particularly in the years pre-dating electronic communication. At any rate, I found an article submitted almost 20 years ago by Lee E. Bird, then of the University of Arizona (a quick Google search tells me that Lee E. Bird is now Dr. Lee E. Bird and she is the Vice President for Student Affairs at Oklahoma State University). I wrote this quote down because the GLACUHO Annual Conference was around the corner. Over the weekend, I stumbled across it again in my Facebook notes, just in time for the ACUHO-I Annual Conference and Exposition in Austin.

“Perhaps no profession, save the Widget Makers Union of America, has a more desperate need for a professional organization than do college and university housing officers. For never has a profession been so misunderstood for so long by so many. Yet, there is hope. For three or four days a year we can associate freely with similarly inclined [albeit masochistic] individuals and avoid ‘that look.’ In the bosom of our peers, we can feel sane, normal, warm, and accepted. We can swap hall horror stories, cry over diminishing budgets, celebrate victories in our programming, and discuss the present and future of higher education all before lunch the first day.” (March 1991)

In the next few days, more than 900 registered members of the association will descend on Austin, Texas, from around the world. Certainly we’ll embrace the opportunity to exchange ideas, create new partnerships, and move our profession forward. But this quote is also a timely reminder that our association is more than the Annual Conference and Exposition. We spend three short days together; during the other 362 days a year, it is up to us to be ACUHO-I and all that it represents on our own campuses and in our regions.

For those of you not joining us in Austin, stay tuned to this space throughout the conference for updates (I’m planning to blog my way through my first ACE). Log in to Twitter and search #ACUHOI to find out what the hot topics area (and join the conversation)! Take a few minutes to check the rest of the ACUHO-I website for upcoming professional development opportunities, resources, and additional ways to connect outside of ACE.

When we last left our Tweeps — that’s Twitter slang for “your peeps” — (old man editor’s note: “peeps” is slang for “friends or allies”) we’d finished setting up our Twitter accounts and teaching the ins and outs of searching and hashtags. You’ve had a little more than a week to get comfortable with your Twitter account and maybe even send out a few messages to the universe.

(Still working up the nerve to send your first tweets? Here’s more “get started” material, courtesy of Ed Cabellon, director of the Campus Center at Bridgewater State College.)

But why would anyone want to follow along with the #ACUHOI tag when they aren’t at the 2010 Annual Conference and Exposition? Or, for that matter, when they are and the other people tweeting are in the same room as them?

Picture the last conference you attended. Think about your favorite program session that you attended. You were enthused and excited. You couldn’t wait to share the ideas with people on campus or colleagues from other institutions. As you left the room, you eagerly started chatting with the people who were in the room about the presentation. You shared resources and generated new ideas.

Multiply that energy by all of the people at the conference and all of the people following #ACUHOI from their offices.

Using Twitter as a back channel at conferences isn’t something entirely new, but it’s growing particularly in higher education and student affairs. Throughout both the ACPA and NASPA conferences, as well as The Placement Exchange, attendees tweeted and added the hashtag relevant to each conference. What resulted was a national dialog about individual program sessions, highlights from keynotes and large sessions, debate about the potential merger of the two associations. Referred to as “live tweeting,” the sharing of information, thoughts, and resources while attending a session can be hugely beneficial.

The back channel discussion continues where program sessions leave off and include more people. They expand on topics in ways that conferences themselves limit, especially when you factor in the thousands of people who won’t be in Austin at ACE this year but can join the conversation on Twitter. And from those back channel conversations, new conversations are generated. You may connect with someone new or learn more about a seedling of an idea.

It can feel uncomfortable to have your phone or laptop out during a session. After all, how many times have speakers asked us to silence our mobile devices? But silencing our mobile devices doesn’t have to mean silencing ourselves. Share your thoughts, share your resources, and share the energy.

There will be on-site assistance at ACE for those of you getting started with the Twitter. Volunteers will be on hand in the hospitality lounge on the fourth floor of the Austin convention center. They will be the ones sitting in front of a large screen broadcasting ACUHO-I Tweets and ready to help coach anyone new to Twitter. If you’re not attending ACE and want assistance getting hooked in, feel free contact me via Twitter or e-mail. I’m more than happy to set aside some time for a Twitter tutorial (a twutorial, if you will) or I can connect you with others who are also happy to help.

Are you using Twitter? I know you have an account. Most everyone created one when the word “tweet” entered our vernacular. But are you using Twitter?

As the ACUHO-I Annual Conference and Exposition rapidly approaches – we’re only about a month away –it’s time to think about how Twitter is going to change the conference experience. Wait, you’re not going to the conference? Don’t close this browser window – this blog post is even more important for you!

(Okay, okay – if you don’t have a Twitter account, go set one up here. It’s free and easy. Click here for a video tutorial on setting up your account. Quick recommendation: Make your username something that identifies you as a professional rather than the cute nickname your partner calls you. This social medium means business).

Now that you’re all set up with your account, it’s time to start following some people. Odds are, you’ll be surprised by the number of colleagues — on your campus and around the world — that you know who already are using Twitter or at least getting their feet wet just like you are. Do you know @StacyLOliver (that’s me!), @JPKirch, @TorryBruce, @LynnEllison, @kmorian, @wepps, @chacharon, @EricStoller, @chadtweets, @LaurieABerry, @danoltersdorf, @annmarieklotz, @BiceJr, @jesscrombie, @meridethlar, @TBump, or @ACUHOI (editor’s note: that’s me!)? You might not recognize them by these handles, but they are just a sampling of the housing and student affairs professionals who are sharing news, information, pep talks, and more on a daily basis, all via Twitter.

So how will you know who else is talking about housing or ACE? Twitter utilizes “hashtags” to steamline conversation topics. Hashtags are terms or categories set off with the # sign, and usually tacked on to the end of a message. The official hashtag all things related to ACUHO-I, including the conference, is #ACUHOI. Enter that into your search box and you’ll find ongoing conversation about housing-related topics, the conference, idea sharing, and on occasion, haiku related to end of year closing processes.

Send out that first Tweet and get excited about conference. Attending for the first time? Not able to attend but still want to connect with people who are to share information? Get that first message out there with the #ACUHOI hashtag and see what happens.

Check back next week for information on how we plan to use the hashtag at the conference and the benefits of following along even if you can’t be in Austin.

In my most recent post, I wrote about staying connected with colleagues for both personal and professional reasons. Among the reasons I value those connections is the opportunity to share ideas and resources. When two of my professional mentors recently joined Twitter, I found a new dimension of connecting with them. Through our mutual involvement in a weekly student affairs chat, I learned more about their philosophies and approaches to their daily work. We connected long ago through mutual interests in conference hosting, professional development, and chocolate; this more insightful look into who they are as professionals only served to increase my respect for both of them.

Twitter is a strange animal, truly, as so many people are hesitant about its usefulness or influence. Tom Krieglstein, co-founder of Red Rover, once said (on Twitter), “Facebook is for the people you already know. Twitter is for the people you want to meet.”

Among Tom and Red Rover’s many accomplishments is the creation of The Student Affairs Collaborative, an online resource where student affairs professionals gather to share information and ideas. In addition to a frequently updated blog, there is a weekly chat during which student affairs professionals from around the country gather on Twitter to discuss a topic voted on earlier in the week. Through this medium, more than ideas are shared. There is a support network in place now, a group who cheers each other on through interview processes and holds one another accountable for self-care. In fact, one of the incredible people with whom I’ve connected — and now been fortunate enough to spend time with — articulated the value of the online student affairs community far better than I could in her recent blog post.

Finding support on Twitter can be as simple as knowing the right words to search for in the sidebar. Preface the search phrase with # — this is called a hashtag and helps organize topics. Search for #studentaffairs and you’ll find funny anecdotes and reflective insight. Search for #reslife and you’ll find more funny anecdotes and some venting of frustrations we all share. Search for #wihsng and you’ll find a support network you never knew existed. The #wihsng hashtag was created by one of my mentors, Julie Payne Kirchmeier, Director of Housing at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. A new face on Twitter, Julie is a veteran in the housing and residential life communities. #wihsng unites women from all functional areas within housing and provides them with a back channel on Twitter for engagement, support, discussion, and shared resources.

If you’re already on Twitter, join the conversation by searching for #wihsng and sharing your thoughts. If you’re not on Twitter yet, let this be the impetus to your joining — free professional development in a comfortable setting.

Join Julie and I for the first #whsing chat on Monday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET [12:00 p.m. CT] when the topic will be “Professional Development Opportunities for Women in Housing.” Contact either of us for more information or for help getting set up on Twitter. We’re happy to help and look forward to your participation as we continue the conversation.

Follow Julie on Twitter!

Follow Stacy on Twitter!

The student affairs and higher education Twitter community was buzzing on Wednesday with people sharing the link to the Pew Research Center’s “How Millennial Are You?” quiz.  The fourteen question quiz provides a generational result ranging from Millennial [1981+] to Silent [1928-1945]. While results of the quiz were being Tweeted throughout the day, conspicuously absent from the conversation was dialog about what the quiz was actually trying to accomplish.

It is obvious from the questions on the quiz that this is a glorified Internet meme. The results, truly, are meaningless. Many of the traits being assigned to Millennial or Generation X are as much a function of personality as they are generational. Or, more flawed, they are things out of the control of the participant [e.g. the quiz asks about parents’ marital status].

While the site doesn’t portend to be an accurate evaluation, the ensuing conversation was fascinating about how student affairs professional perceive Millennial students. In fact, some seemed insulted to be considered a Millennial, flaunting their Generation X result.

Has it become a status symbol to be identified as a member of one generation rather than another? When did Millennial become a four-letter word, even for those who work in student affairs and higher ed? And, more importantly, have we lost sight that generational identities are indicators of trends in thought patterns, behaviors, and motivation?

Check out the quiz yourself and share your thoughts below.

This week on Inside HigherEd, read about how colleges and universities are attempting, with mixed success,  to social-network for money; how fewer students are coming to the United States for higher eduation; and how students’ paid affects their lives.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA MAZE: Colleges are eager to leverage Facebook and Twitter to boost recruiting and fund raising, but many still don’t have a coherent strategy for how to do it.

WILL WORK FOR BEER: Economists find evidence that college students choose to take jobs not to pay tuition but to cover other expenses and, unless they work a lot, those jobs don’t do much to harm their academic performance.

INTERNATIONAL ‘LEAPFROGGING’: Study examines impact of decline in share of world’s college students who are educated in the United States.

COURSE HERO OR COURSE VILLAIN?: Professors worry that new companies might be making money from their copyrights while encouraging plagiarism among their students.

DARWIN, FROM THE CREATIONISTS: Anti-evolution group plans to distribute 100,000 copies of Origin of Species next month — with an introduction designed to undercut the book and promote a literal view of the Bible.

…of course, we’re all still talking about whether Facebook is dead, so perhaps it’s not. If you have strong feelings on the topic (or want to read the views of those who do) see this story on the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s website. Since we’ve all heard that Twitter isn’t of interest to the young folks, what’s coming up next? Telegrams? Letter-writing? Calling cards? Do you have any ideas?

Last week, with the 2009 ACUHO-I Annual Conference & Exposition, ACUHO-I completed its first “major” use of Twitter — the latest social-media craze. Before the conference was over we had more than 225 “followers,” many of whom shared their thoughts about speakers, sessions, travel, social plans, meeting colleagues, and more. For those following the Twitter-feed, it was like getting to eavesdrop on dozens of great conversations all at once.

In the future, ACUHO-I will continue to use Twitter to promote news, developments, new resources, and other information of importance to those in the college housing profession. In other words, we will use it like many of your campuses already are: alerting students to deadlines, news, and information.

Right now, we’d like to hear what you think about the use of Twitter at the conference. Was it useful? Did you participate? How could we improve it? Did you use it to follow the conference, even if you weren’t able to attend in person?

Post your thoughts in the comment section below. You can also e-mail them to James Baumann, the ACUHO-I director of communications and marketing. Or you can just Twitter about it — just be sure to use the #acuhoi hashtag so we can easily find your comments.

And for any of you still unsure of the Twitter phenomena, click the red box here and check out the video.