Great stuff:
Tips to Make a University Student Blogging Program Successful
You Can Never Have Enough Feedback
The final step to a successful student blogging program is to constantly pursue feedback. Successful bloggers utilize user feedback to improve their writing and focus on topics that their readers would be interested in. Ask prospective students, current students, alumni, and staff to give their impressions of these blogs and suggestions of what they would like to see. Some of my best blog entries were inspired by e-mails from readers who asked what I had to say on a topic that interested them. Readers enjoy being a part of the conversation and having their feedback valued.
No Amount of PR is Better Than Happy Students
Any university that is afraid of giving their students a voice knows that their students have negative things to say. Blogging should always be honest and transparent. Therefore, any university considering a student blogging program should give their students good things to talk about.
Do Not Stop At Text
Blogs are a great start for giving prospective students an honest look into your college or university, but it does not have to stop at text. Pictures are very important and readers love them. Encourage bloggers to share pictures in their entries whether they are hosted on their own blog or through an online service such as Flickr [1] (www.flickr.com). You could also encourage student photographers to host an official photoblog. Finally, consider audio blogging (podcasting) and video blogging; two far more difficult but innovative ways to reach prospective students. The web provides a wealth of options for PR, and the benefits are waiting for those universities brave enough to take advantage of them.
This counters the universities still trying to control the message and the voice with useful advice and a “why it works” viewpoint.