I’ve been reading a lot about corporate blogging lately, and think that many of the issues raised there are very applicable to student groups. An increasing number of students is starting to question, what exactly groups are doing with their money. The recent special fees crisis just further illustrates this point. Getting members of student groups to blog might give students valuable insights into what those groups actually do. Right now it is almost of a relationship of students giving, and groups taking, where many students fail to realize the benefits of student groups.

The main complaint I hear about ISIS is that we waste money. Now for people who have been to our meetings and know that we do not spend money on anything we can think of, but rather carefully evaluate all options. But for somebody who has no access to ISIS (or any other student group) this is hard to see. Having public group blogs would help students understand what actually goes on at these groups.

There will be, of course not too many students who will make us of this, and groups will worry about loss of a coherent image to the outside. But in a world where organizations are starting to become more and more transparent through blogging, this has to happen eventually. ISIS should be first in embracing this.
Maybe one day even important faculty and administration people will take to the time to blog about what is going on in their department.


2 Responses to “Transparent Student Groups”  

  1. 1 Scott

    The idea of a public blog “What is ISIS thinking” is excellent. Would be cool to both publish different ideas and get feedback. I agree that it definitely adds much more transparency to a group and helps students feel connected.

    Let’s discuss the best way to implement this (who posts, how often, what content) next week and then set one up.

  2. 2 Bob

    I’m reminded of Dave Hyatt’s Safari development blog. It’s a place for him to share his progress, as a communication tool, but it has become a place for people to file their grievances and bug reports as well, which makes it also a support tool. He now actively solicits opinions from his readers, making it a research tool as well.

    Those three factors I feel are essential for corporate accountability: News, Support, and User Research. Let’s try to incorporate them all in our public-facing site.

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