CLASS COMMUNICATIONS

MHC Web CoordinatorsKristin Stueber, Class of 1965

Ada Szeto, Class of 1985

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CLASS OF 1985Spring 2011, 94 respondents

TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

Class Letter - Emailed or mailed annually by the Alumnae Association on behalf of Class Officers to provide information on planned activities and solicit support for MHC and Class Dues.

MHC Quarterly – Published by MHC Alumnae Association. Class notes are submitted through the Class Scribe.

Phone calls – Made by Class Agents. Traditionally used to solicit participation in support for MHC Development Programs.

COMMUNICATIONS ON THE INTERNET

Class Website – Activities directly related to Mount Holyoke. Maintained by Class Web Coordinator working with Class Officers. Accessible to Public but may have password protected pages for sensitive information.

Class Facebook Group or Page – Posting of news that other classmates would be interested in learning. Information on job changes, marriages, reconnections with classmates, etc. Monitored by Class Officers but not responsible for content. Members may join by invitation only.

Class Blasts – Short emails from MHC Alumnae Association on behalf of Class Officers about class activities and other time-sensitive information.

MHConnect Social – MHC’s social media opened to the MHC Community with an account.

CLASS WEBSITE ARE IMPORTANT!

Messages from Class Officers Class Officers’ names, titles, and short profileInformation and photos on special projects, Class Activities, Mini Reunions, Major Reunions, etc…

MORE WEBSITE CONTENT

Class Dues/TreasuryHow to submit Class notes, In MemoriamSolicitation for Class VolunteersPhotos from memorable moments, reunions, etc.. Posted on Flickr Account.

HOW THE CLASS OF 1985 CREATED THEIR WEBSITE

Class Officers worked together during NCOT Workshop to discuss following content and delegate tasks.

Welcoming Message on Homepage – Class President

Communications Strategy – All Class Officers

Class note page and crafted message – Class Scribe

Dues/Treasury page and crafted message – Treasurer

Class Survey – Co-Vice Presidents Web Coordinator – designed website and posted content created by Class Officers and other “Static” Class information (Class Officers’ profiles, Communications Strategies, By-Laws, photos, etc…)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Rome was not invented in a day - NCOT meeting was in

October, 1985 class website up and running in mid-December.

THE CLASS OF 1965 STORY

• Had Website that was somewhat inactive• Class was beginning to embark on several

projects that would require class wide participation

• Needed to transition from previous format not fully supported by Alumnae Assn.

SUPPORT FOR WORD PRESS

1. NCOT WordPress hands-on workshop with Ed Gray, MHC Computer Support.

2. The MHC Alumnae Class & Club site (http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/wp/) which has links to videos and illustrated instructions that will walk you step-by-step through the different tasks required to build your site with WordPress.

3. If you are really stuck technically, don’t panic – email MHC Technical Support (Ed Gray egray@mtholyoke.edu and Katharine Reisbig kereisbi@mtholyoke.edu ). They have never failed.

4. Don’t hesitate to contact other MHC web coordinators. Most of us are eager to share our knowledge.

ROLE OF WEB COORDINATOR

• Plan content of Web Site with Class Officers• Keep content up to date• Monitor comments• Adhere to the Alumnae Ass. Guidelines

http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/about/governance/governance_fairusage.php

WHAT KEEPS WEB DESIGNERS UP AT NIGHT?

Possibility that the website will be corrupted by hackers, spammers and malicious visitors.Hosting on the MHC Website provides a secure firewall against spamming and hackers. Keep on top of all comments submitted by visitors.

Providing incorrect information or posting content with errors.Submit content for review before posting. Have all Class Officers visit the website on a regular basis and provide feedback on new content.

Privacy issues. This is a BIG one. Contact information, photos with names, and any sensitive personal information should be protected and not released to the general public without prior authorization of the Classmate(s) involved.

Complaints and bad reviews of the website. If the comment is constructive and warranted, don’t take it personally and do your best to rectify the situation. If you can’t fix it, ask for help.

HOW TO BE A WEB COORDINATOR AND STILL HAVE A LIFE

Design the website to have low maintenance content. Static information, photos, links with RSS feeds, etc…

Do a weekly review to remove or update content that is not static.

Avoid major redesigns of the website unless you have a very good reason for doing so.

Recruit another web coordinator to assist in maintaining the website and serve as a backup .

YOU CAN DO IT!

Your education at MHC has taught you how to be an independent self-learner and capable of mastering complex tasks.

Your Class Officers choose you because of your creativity, communication skills, perseverance, and eagerness to overcome challenges.

The MHC Alumnae Association and Computer Staff have many resources to enable you to design and maintain.

Obtain ideas and material from other Class Websites.

ACCESS TO SITE

• Password protection– Allows control of access– May limit who looks at it

• Open– Means anyone can view– If use blog may get unrelated comments

GETTING STARTED

• Consider using Safari as the browser.• Go to

http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/wp/class/wp-admin

• Log in

GETTING STARTED

• Think about the header (menu) topics.• Plan it as an outline with each having sub

headings• Title each page• After you have a few pages start to rank them • Once you have the basic outline think about

the content.

PAGE CONTENT

• Free text. Can type right in the box. Hard to format as need to know HTML.

• Import other content as copy and paste.• Pictures work best with something like Flickr

or Shutterfly.