Last night I was given the opportunity to speak to the CIT 499 class at IUPUI for Dr. Thomas Ho. It was an engaged class, composed of some students that hadn’t entered the workplace, some who had, and some who were currently working in technology.
In speaking to them, I simply shared my experiences on how businesses are beginning to adopt (or being forced to adopt) social media for marketing. This marketing includes both retention and acquisition models. Businesses are trying to adjust, but we know how slow some companies are to change.
Our education system is being forced to change as well. I shared this incredible video that Amy Stark sent to me for the class:
I hope that I left an impression with the class on some very specific items:
- For our CIT graduates getting into Infrastructure, this is an incredible period we’re living in – where computing power is moving from purchased hardware to remote clouds. It’s changing how we’re building and delivering software, how we’re deploying that software, and how we’re starting new online businesses.I mentioned to the group that they should take a tour of Indianapolis’ own BlueLock to visit a managed hosting environment as well as Lifeline’s Eastgate Mall to visit the future of datafarming.
- For our CIT graduates getting into software, Software as a Service is the only future. The old model of building and deploying software on media is flawed, expensive, and lacks the unlimited potential that SaaS does.Many people still favor the old model of software deployment – I’d argue that the business of SaaS is an extraordinary model that allows businesses to fund growth quicker, become profitable sooner, and continue to enhance the user experience with minimal investment.
- For any college student, I can’t stress reputation management enough. Educating our students on building an online reputation – either by building projects and deploying them to the web, blogging about them, joining social networks, and joining professional networks to begin nurturing professional relationships are all steps needed to step out of college and step into a successful career.I think we’d all agree that, for the time being, the days of massive recruitment by companies to have you walk into a fat job are long gone. By getting online sooner, developing a professional presence, and beginning to meet and greet with regional professionals – you may have a shot at some few open doors.
Thanks to Dr. Thomas Ho and CILT Chair Stephen Hundley at IUPUI for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with the class. I can’t say enough about how incredible the staff and the facilities are at IUPUI – and having them open up to regional entrepreneurs and social media folks like me shows how dedicated they are at moving education at the speed of technology!
IUPUI also has a special place in my heart because it’s where my son is currently going to school. Bill is an honors student at IUPUI in both Math and Physics, a Math lab tutor and he’s beginning to do some Physics research there. IUPUI has been an amazing institution – offering and encouraging my son to expand into new and challenging opportunities every day. He’s recently been nominated by the staff for the Barry Goldwater scholarship!
