University fires $100k/year social media director for lying on resume

[godshammgod]

2. Nothing you do in the social space is private. Ever. I have a paid program I used to monitor keyword mentions about brands and competitors. Sometimes we even pull up conversations from locked Twitter accounts or private Facebook accounts. Once we caught a user trashing the CEO of the company we work with. We found out they had done business together and sent the conversations over to the CEO who was not happy. The employee was fired - and then posted some angry messages on Facebook - which we found too.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. We also have some paid tools that let us monitor by location, meaning we can grab any check-in, Facebook update, Tweet, blog, etc. from anywhere. I can draw a map around a football stadium and check every Tweet coming out of the place. I can see everything my neighbors on my block talk about (even if I don't know their handles/names, I can now reverse engineer), I can check the list of everyone who checks in to the donut shop down the street. Creepy and awesome at the same time.

This is what strikes me most about the Social Media Specialist where I work (a college in Massachusetts). He tracks everything. Every tweet, facebook post, youtube comment, etc. Every interaction is catalogued through a cool program called "Meltwater Buzz." He can then take that data and create an incredible list of metrics, effectively measuring the outcome of every interaction. For example, if a prospective student tweets at the school, he will then track that student's progress...if they apply, are accepted, decide to attend, etc. The same thing for donors.

I think it's an incredibly useful resource and he works seamlessly on our team. We produce content, and he finds unique ways to disseminate it through various social media.

Sure, the position does involve some tweeting and Facebooking, but I think the back-end, behind the scenes work is really what makes this person so valuable.

Its fascinating some of the things people use it for. But it isn't easy. There's a lot to go into place to get that person at a school to get that program running. The hardest part is justifying the costs to the bosses.

I think what impresses me most about our guy is that he basically built our infrastructure from the ground up, by himself. Luckily, our Director of Communication is really accepting of social media and understands its value.

 

[wicked]

Yes, journalists should be taking the initiative to learn this stuff.

But also, companies should be investing in employees to teach them how to leverage these tools.

I would like to think of myself as someone who knows technology, even if I'm not a true tech geek. I spend a ton of time online every day. But this is the first time I've ever heard of Meltwater Buzz. And I consider myself a curious person.

Simply sending out tweets and Facebook posts isn't what corporate social media is about.

 

[godshammgod]

Yes, journalists should be taking the initiative to learn this stuff.

But also, companies should be investing in employees to teach them how to leverage these tools.

I would like to think of myself as someone who knows technology, even if I'm not a true tech geek. I spend a ton of time online every day. But this is the first time I've ever heard of Meltwater Buzz. And I consider myself a curious person.

Simply sending out tweets and Facebook posts isn't what corporate social media is about.

I have tried to be proactive in learning as much as possible about what our social media specialist does. It might not be a position I ever hold, but at least want to understand it.

And this is Meltwater Buzz. Very cool: http://buzz.meltwater.com/

 

[mustangj17]

Yes, journalists should be taking the initiative to learn this stuff.

But also, companies should be investing in employees to teach them how to leverage these tools.

I would like to think of myself as someone who knows technology, even if I'm not a true tech geek. I spend a ton of time online every day. But this is the first time I've ever heard of Meltwater Buzz. And I consider myself a curious person.

Simply sending out tweets and Facebook posts isn't what corporate social media is about.

The problem is, there are so many platforms and networks and proprietary tools that no one could ever learn them all. And I really think it isn't any employers job to teach Twitter or Facebook, blogging or Foursquare. There are easy and free tutorials online. The more in depth stuff comes with time.

 

[wicked]

A monkey could use Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

But if you want a social media person to be effective, the company should dump some resources in getting this person training in best practices.

 

[LongTimeListener]

A monkey could use Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

But if you want a social media person to be effective, the company should dump some resources in getting this person training in best practices.

I think that's old world thinking. These companies don't expect anyone to stick around for more than 3-5 years at the most, so investing in the training of an individual worker doesn't make sense. In a lot of cases (including mustangj's, it sounds like), the companies are just contracting out the services anyway and not bringing it on-board.

Meanwhile there are thousands upon thousands of people who are taking it upon themselves to learn the stuff. So why does a company need to train people when they can hire people who already know it?

 

[mustangj17]

A monkey could use Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

But if you want a social media person to be effective, the company should dump some resources in getting this person training in best practices.

If you expect to make it in the world of social media you should know how to use the internet well enough to get the training and best practices you need. I got 0 training at my job for these things; aside from vendors showing us their specific tools.

 

[Captain Obvious]

This job is posted now.

http://www.higheredjobs.com/admin/details.cfm?JobCode=175714052&Title=Social%20Media%20Director

 

[Doc Holliday]

Nobody - I mean nobody - blows money like higher education.

Winner.

 

[Captain Obvious]

The minimum qualifications seem to be a little more rigorous. I have my doubts Miller had written social media case studies during the interview process.

 

[Matt1735]

The minimum qualifications read like there is someone already in mind for the job and to scare off applicants. Probably required to post the job for a certain amount of time.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Doesn't say anything about whether you need to be banging someone in the office or whether oral will suffice, huh?