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College Joins Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube
by Loretta Akins
Jeremy McPherson shooting for YouTube
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College administrators tend to deplore Facebook and the problems (excitement?) it brings, but as Mars Hill College has discovered, closing down computer labs doesn't stop kids from visiting sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.
Mars Hill College Web Master Andy Mrozkowski, however, stepped back and looked at the big picture. "We need to be on all the sites the teenagers are on. We need our own content on these pages. If a kid is looking at a MySpace page for Ashley Simpson, maybe they will stumble across the MySpace page for our college. This is a fresh way to sell our college."
Mrozkowski does not claim to be the first college web master to try this, but he recognized at once that this was the way to go. He also knew he needed the help of a younger generation. "Lucky I have great interns every year. (This year: Ben Guynn, Nicole Thurman, and Dustin Whitlow.) I have students that come and volunteer to work with me. I asked one of my interns to build a MySpace page, one to build a YouTube page and another to build a Facebook page.
"They went back to their rooms or computer labs and did it in a way that they liked, in a way that would appeal to them, which is what I was hoping would happen. They in turn immediately went out to their friends telling them to look at what they did. Those friends signed up as friends on these sites and then the whole thing just started snowballing! At some point it's very possible that a potential student will search Facebook or YouTube for a college near Asheville or a college in the mountains and find us."
Kristy Brockwell, a freshman at the time, had said she would like to see videos of students when looking at college websites. She was probably unaware of it, but that simple statement was the birth of our video profiles. The idea grew and led to the MHC Cribs!
"Two guys that work on the videos are Jeremy McPherson and Brian Danforth (MHC '06), both recent college students now working in the Mars Hill admissions department."
Mrozkowski was asked to do a video featuring Bailey Mountain Hall. His first idea was to imitate Real World on MTV. "One of the young guys came to me and said we need to do it like Cribs, where they swing open the door and we can go in and shoot all their CDs, pictures, and computers as they lounge around. I thought this was a great idea!" (Click to view)
"The 'Make Your Mark' idea actually came from a radio interview. They were talking about a video game and graffiti, like spraying paint on walls. I thought about how good the concept of Making Your Mark would work for our college."
"I have students approach me every year with a genuine love of web design, and I allow internships out of my office for most of them. My interns have started their own web design companies, or got jobs with government and educational agencies."
One of them, Brian Danforth, now designs web sites and videos for the admissions office directly downstairs from Mrozkowski. "Brian was great, he showed up everyday to class with a love for both the web and business."
"Hopefully students looking at YouTube, MySpace or Facebook will see Mars Hill College on there and look a little closer. It's a marketing concept."
"The best part about my interns is that is where I get my favorite ideas. They always have such a fresh viewpoint about the Internet and what could be done with the same tools we now use. Most of the ideas which make it to our website come directly from the students, whom I trust more than any other audience for what 'makes MHC's mark' on the website!"
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