What is this course about?
This couse is on understanding the needs, issues, and operations behind running social software systems in a business environment. It offers an understanding of social software tools, but focuses more on why a business would need one, how can it be used for their business goals, what processes are involved in running a site, and how do you measure success.
Why is this significant?
Online communities have existed for a while but with the rise of greater social interactions on web sites, businesses are beginning to see the value of involving their employees, customers, partners, or even the public through such systems. Analyst firm Gartner Group predicts by 2008, the majority of Global 1000 companies will adopt several aspects of Web 2.0 to advance their business
While social software and Web 2.0 tools abound, the real difficulty is in understanding how to work with such constituencies and audiences in effective and acceptible ways. Thus, the role of a community manager is a mix between IT support, people management, marketing and public relations; a role that is quite new for many organizations.
Where is this course and who is teaching it?
This course was launched in Fall 2006 as an undergraduate junior elective through the Univ. of Arizona Management Information Science department open to MIS and Marketing majors enrolled in the Eller College of Business. This full semester course (about 14 weeks) is a combination of lectures, in-class activities, assignments, student presentations, industry speakers, and a final project.
We also see this as a way of engaging students at the high school level to generate interest in MIS and IT education. The final project involves assigning each student to work with a different group of high school students to try and organize a community effort based on the techniques and tools they have learned.
The course is being taught by Andrea Winkle
with the U. of Arizona MIS, and myselfas visiting lecturer this semester.
How long is this course?
This is a full semester course at the U of A, which is typically about 14-weeks long, about 2.5 hours each week. All in all, the course is probably about 35-40 hours of work, not including assignments and projects.
How is that different than a primer on Web 2.0, blogging or other social software?
We discuss many of the tools and technologies of Web 2.0 in the course, but rather than teach particular tools and how to be best at them, they are there to create a base level of familiarity with the software, enough so that they may use them and teach others about their use. The emphasis is not on the tools themselves or even the type of tools but what is the context for using them.
Who is the University of Arizona MIS department?
The UofA Management Information Science department is a leader in IT education, and the UofA also happens to be my alma mater. It is part of the Eller College of Business and located in Tucson, Arizona. The undergraduate program has been in the top 5 ranking each year, for the past 18 years, according to U.S. News & World Report. Their MIS graduate program has likewise also been in the top 5 for the past 18 years. This course is offered as an elective to Juniors at the undergraduate level.
How many students do you have?
Fall 2006 is the first semester and we have 37 registered students all UofA MIS or Marketing majors.
What books do you use?
The course does not have an assigned textbook, since there isn't one directly on this topic. We do however, talk about many books that are worth reading, including In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work, The Long Tail, The Tipping Point, The Wisdom of Crowds, Buzzmarketing, and more (see a full list of books). Please see the MIS 300 Resources page for more details.
