UW-Oshkosh to incorporate social media in degree
OSHKOSH—The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is trying to incorporate interactive technology such as Twitter and Facebook into a four-year degree.
Jakob Iversen, a professor of Information Systems, is part of a three-member team looking to incorporate the popularity of the technology, its workings and possible applications into the degree.
He says a working title is "Interactive Web Technology Management" but they are not 100 percent happy with that.
Another member of the committee, marketing professor Sarah Stanley, says she doesn't only see a growing interest in a social media major, but also employment opportunities.
The university is trying to attract new students and they hope to offer classes by next spring.
Aug 9, 2009 at 7:33 p.m.
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This article could serve as an introduction to a whole semester of classes:
http://asis.org/Bulletin/Aug-09/AugSep09...
Aug 9, 2009 at 2:21 p.m.
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From the movie "PCU" :
"You can major in Gameboy if you know how to B--S--!"
Aug 9, 2009 at 11:53 a.m.
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biggirl, I'm sorry, but I personally know people who are millionaires due to social media.
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While learning the basics of Twitter, or even Facebook, won't take long (20 minutes?), there is a lot that can be incorporated into a curriculum, from marketing strategies to ethics. Mass media are a topic of many university-level degree courses, but the 21st century is seeing the slow death of mass media in many ways. One-to-many is being replaced by many-to-many. People won't let an ad tell them what to buy, but they will listen to their friends. If you go into business in this day and age and don't understand that relationship, you're a dinosaur.
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This is the original story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ngGpI9v_...
Aug 9, 2009 at 11:04 a.m.
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Will they also be offering a four year degree in iPod?
Aug 9, 2009 at 10:43 a.m.
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This is stupid and demonstrates how people (including some in the professoriate) misunderstand education. It is not supposed to be training in things that can be picked up by anyone (as our teenagers will show us). It's supposed to teach you how to think critically, how to write, how to think in a number of ways. Only such an expansive education will help prepare students for a lifetime in which they will have on average 11 jobs.
Aug 9, 2009 at 9:39 a.m.
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I'm not sure what to think here. I think in terms of marketing and search engine optimization it's important to stay informed on the social networking scene. However, to focus primarily on learning sites like Twitter and Facebook leaves the degree a bit hollow to say the least. It doesn't take a genius to learn Twitter and Facebook. Moreover, these sites are trendy. The next big thing will come along eventually.
Aug 9, 2009 at 7:55 a.m.
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UW-Oshkosh Rocks!!
Aug 9, 2009 at 7:51 a.m.
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All those people I see driving with their knees, heads down, and working the PDA with both hands are perfect candidates for a B.S. in twitter.
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