UK Universities On MySpace

UK Universities On MySpace by Brian Kelly | Feb 23, 2007 | Web2.0 | 19 comments Andy Powell alerted me to Warwick University’s presence on MySpace . Is this a first for Warwick University or are other universities also doing this? Is this a sensible way of reaching out to potential students? Should universities be pro-active in doing this? Doesn’t it break all sorts of established guidelines such as Web accessibility, design principles, use of corporate logos and visual identity guidelines, etc.? Isn’t Facebook a better alternative? Should universities observe what happens and back the winner? What are the resource implications of doing this? What are the implications of not doing this? Personally I have to confess that I don’t like MySpace’s user interface – even for friends such as Adrian Stevenson and the Witches of Elswick , and performers such as Atilla the Stockbroker . But if the service is successful, does this matter? After all, I’m not part of MySpace prime demographic audience. What do you think? And, perhaps more importantly, does anyone know what the users think? Technorati Tags : MySpace 19 Comments Michael Webb on February 23, 2007 at 1:34 pm We need to think carefully about the how setting up a ‘corporate’ presence on these sites effects the existing dynamic. My personal feeling is that too much offical University interference will make these places less attractive and end up spoiling it for the students. There’s also a real danger of looking like a Dad dancing at a disco… Saying that, if every other University sets up a MySpace site then we’ll have to as well – in the same way that all bands now have to have one.

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