Can Something Really "Change" Your Life?

"This book changed my life," is what I wanted to say. It's a very profound statement and emphasizes the impact the book (Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn) had on me. The only problem is the book did not change my life, my life is still the same as before I read it. Any changes that happened took place in spite of reading the book.

So I sat there with an open mouth, searching for the right words as my friend waited patiently. After a moment, I realized what I wanted to say. "This book changed the way I look at the world." It was less pretentious, more accurate, and spoke to its influence on me as evidenced by my friend asking to borrow the book.

It made me wonder how often to we say "(fill in the blank) changed my life," and not really mean it. If you were in a car accident and it made you a paraplegic, then yes, that event changed your life. But the way we think or feel about things is not really life-changing at all. The circumstances in our lives involve our environment and the people with whom we interact. When that changes, your life has changed. Your life does not exist inside your head.

Living Outside the Social Media Bubble

A funny thing happened at the Work Study job fair in the library last week. We put together our Marketing Office application and included a section to list computer skills, social media experience and a throwaway question "You're about to leave on a secret mission and have two minutes to pack; what five items do you bring with you?"

Students asked various questions about what we do and provided some entertaining responses to the secret agent question. But what really caught me off guard was how many students asked "what's social media?" When I gave them examples such as Facebook and Twitter they all replied something to the effect of "oh yeah, I know what that is."

It's not that they don't know what social media is. They've practically grown up with it. It's such a part of their daily lives that they never had to step back and label it. We were the ones that had to give it a name because we are outside the bubble. Let's face it, social media is a part of pop culture which is always driven by the youth.

That's why it's so hard to study social media and establish an effective marketing plan to young constituents. We're trying to put everything they do into a test tube and determine it's chemical make up. They don't see it that way. They are a part of a big youth culture with strong connections that only fragments as we get older. Meta thinking and reflection does not exist because they are reactive social animals. When we try to think like them, we are already thinking too hard. They are like a flock of birds, changing direction all at once without a leader. We can study the patterns of flight direction and try to determine when the flock will change direction or why. But the truth is that none of the individual birds knows, they just react.

I'm not saying that we should stop trying to study youth culture for marketing purposes. Just acknowledging that we are outside the bubble and therefore will always be a step behind.

Segregating the Message

We've been crafting a new message for our future publications; more of a focus on new buildings, programs, and renovations. Which is fine, but there was nothing wrong with the old message; our history, our distinction and uniqueness. My only question is: why not use both?

I'm not talking about overloading every printed and electronic communication we send out with every angle we can possibly spin (what's the old designer's adage? if you try to emphasize everything, nothing gets emphasized). I'm talking about crafting certain messages for certain audiences.

A high school student doesn't care that we just renovated the bathrooms in our oldest dormitory. They know little to nothing about us; everything is new to them. So we don't have to reinforce that message. What do they are about? The programs of study, the athletics program, campus ministries, campus aesthetics, and tuition (okay, maybe their parents really care about tuition).

Likewise, alumni do not care about the history of the school nor it's distinction. They already went there, they know what makes it special. They care about "what are you doing with my money." New buildings, new programs and reassurance that the college is moving forward.

Let's face it, a college, like any institution, means different things to different people. If you try to craft one message to your constituents, you are likely to leave a lot of people out. Instead, target your messages and predetermine your vision for each group.