Friday Five: Erasure Edition

Another Friday, another collection of links that will almost assuredly make you smarter, happier, healthier, and a better bowler. Really, you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you don't click them all... just think of all the turkeys you'd me missing out on!

1. VIDEO FOR COLLEGES

Somehow I only just this week discovered the fantastic Video for Colleges website and podcast. Perhaps my several months of living under a rock while doing grad school was to blame. I'll never know. But I am certainly glad I did find it, since it's freaking fabulous and you should all immediately start reading/listening. It is the creation of Joe Case and Frank Hegyi, both from Northeastern University. Oh, and when you're done bookmarking that site, you should join this University Video Producers group on Facebook - lots of talented people working in higher ed collaborating and sharing great links and video ideas.

2. REDEF Newsletters

Since my blog is pretty much entirely curation with bits of self-promotion mixed in to add some sizzle to the steak, it should come as no surprise that I am a big fan of Jason Hirschhorn, the Picasso of the curation world. His daily REDEF newsletters are basically required reading for me these days - I subscribe to Media and Tech - and invariably I find myself clicking at least a handful of articles from them every single day. They make me feel smarter and more in the loop, and I particularly appreciate that he always links to thoughtful "smart" takes on things rather than clickbait "hot" takes. 

3. The problem with branded content

Speaking of trying to make myself feel smarter, any time I can make it all the way to the end of a Harvard Business Review article, I feel like I have ran a marathon. And what do people who have run marathons do? They tell you about it, ad nauseum! So check out this really insightful, really eye-opening piece on the myths surrounding branded content and why it so often doesn't work. The idea of "crowdculture" explored in the article is particularly relevant to higher ed marketers, since we have an inherent and built-in crowdculture with the shared experience of our students and alumni.

4. The Misery of Mets Fans

Boy howdy did I love this feature by the New York Times, in which they broke down a photo from last fall's World Series like it was the Zapruder Film. They tracked down several people who appeared in the photo, and asked them to explain how they were feeling at that exact moment. It was a wonderful little bit of journalism, and I can't help but think that it would be totally doable for colleges too - any sort of iconic photo from a major event or big game would probably do the trick. Oh, and it was awesome in print too - definitely could be a fun thing for an alumni magazine to play with.

5. Slackers

The great Jonathan Gabriel has created a Slack community for higher ed social media folks, and it's super awesome! I've only been a member for a few weeks, but I've been really amazed and delighted at all the great conversation and sharing of ideas that is happening there. Highly recommended for all #hesm peeps - contact Jonathan on Twitter to join up.

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One of my biggest regrets in life was that I missed a Radiohead concert in Portland. Not so much because I missed seeing Radiohead, but because after the show in a horrifically snarled parking lot, a few groups of cars (my friends being in one of them) began having a Pet Shop Boys vs. Erasure battle. No disrespect to Pet Shop Boys, but the answer is clearly Erasure, and I would have shut the "debate" down with this absolute jam. Enjoy!