Take It From the Top

This summer Nancy Schwartz posted a list of university presidents who blog. These are busy people, so as you might imagine they're not posting every day. But the best of them have a regular posting schedule (usually monthly, sometimes more often) and are engaging audiences and drawing some feedback. Ms. Schwarz apparently drew some of her examples from a New York Times article that appeared last November.

Let's take a quick look at a few of them. Lou Anna Simon, president of Michigan State University, blogs at the "Office of the President" page on MSU's web site. She posts on such subjects as the VA Tech tragedy; higher ed and state fiscal policy; biotech research at MSU and its value to the Michigan economy; and other subjects. In my opinion, this blog has two major strengths:

1. It's prominently displayed at a high-visibility location on the university's web site.


2. It's outward-looking: The President connects what's happening on her campus to what's happening in the larger community / state / nation / world.

On the whole, however, I don't regard it as a very "bloggy" blog. First and foremost, there are no comments --- it's one-way communication. Readers can't speak back to the blogger or talk to each other, and that's a major limitation. Second, the tone is not nearly conversational enough. It's too laden with PR-speak; the writing seems to have been subjected to a few rounds of sanitization. Third, I don't see many links to sites outside of the msu.edu domain. So on the whole, I don't get the sense that President Simon is using the blog to stimulate give and take and create connections between her institution and the outside world. Rather, I get the sense that she's using it to stake out hardened positions --- to speak, and have others listen.

That ain't how the blogosphere works. You don't use a blog to serve a fully baked souffle; you use it to spread the ingredients out on the table, and then you invite in the guests to help make the dish. You want them to see you with your hands covered in flour and your apron splattered with egg yolk. You want them to see you at work. And you want them to work with you.

We get more of that type of sense at Bob's Blog, written by Towson University president Bob Caret. Take, for example, this post about the university's snow-day policy, in which he walks us through the considerations that have to be weighed when deciding whether or not to close the campus. Not a very glamorous subject, admittedly. But the president provides an open window onto his world, he speaks conversationally, and he invites comment. Two readers took him up and offered their views on his post --- dissenting ones, at that. President Caret's blog is far less weighty than President Simon's; he uses it mostly to discuss things like the Towson U. mascot, study abroad, and construction on campus. But that's beside the point. His objective is to convey a sense of invitation and openness, and since most of his posts draw a smattering of comments, he seems to be succeeding.

The same sense of openness comes across at the blog of Martha Anne Dow, president of the Oregon Institute of Technology. During 2006 she blogged pretty regularly, about once a week, but earlier this year she required treatment for breast cancer and, for understandable reasons, didn't expend much effort blogging. In August she resumed posting. President Dow addresses matters of greater substance (budgetary considerations, grants, academic initiatives etc) than President Caret, but she does so without talking down to her audience --- and, accordingly, attracts some commentary and some feedback.

I have e-mails pending with all these individuals regarding their use of blogs; if their responses come back to me before October 17, I'll post them here.