University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Curriculum Proposal Form #3
New Course
Effective Term: 2107 (Fall 2010)
Subject Area - Course Number: COMM 285
(See Note #1 below)
Cross-listing: JOURNLSM 285
Course Title:
(Limited to 65 characters)
Social Media Optimization & The New Web
25-Character Abbreviation: Social Media Optimization
Sponsor(s):
Department(s):
College(s):
Spencer Stuart and Barbara Penington
Communication
Arts and Communication
Consultation took place : NA Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)
Departments: Art and Computer Science
Programs Affected: NA
Is paperwork complete for those programs?
(Use "Form 2" for Catalog & Academic
Report updates)
NA
Prerequisites:
Grade Basis:
Course will be offered:
Yes
SOPHOMORE STANDING OR CONSENT OF INSTRUCTOR
Conventional Letter
Part of Load
On Campus
will be at future meeting
S/NC or Pass/Fail
Above Load
Off Campus - Location
College: Arts and Communication Dept/Area(s): Communication
Instructor: Spencer Stuart
Note: If the course is dual-listed, instructor must be a member of Grad Faculty.
Check if the Course is to Meet Any of the Following:
Technological Literacy Requirement Writing Requirement
Diversity General Education Option: Select one:
Note: For the Gen Ed option, the proposal should address how this course relates to specific core courses, meets the goals of General Education in providing breadth, and incorporates scholarship in the appropriate field relating to women and gender.
Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
Total lab hours:
Number of credits:
0 Total lecture hours: 48
3 Total contact hours: 48
Can course be taken more than once for credit? (Repeatability)
No Yes If "Yes", answer the following questions:
No of times in major:
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No of credits in major:

No of times in degree: No of credits in degree:
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Proposal Information:
Course justification:
‘Social Media Optimization & The New Web’ will teach students how to engage with online communities, generating publicity, public relations opportunities, and organizational relationships. ‘Social
Media Optimization’ will arm students with the ability to analyze web trend statistics in order to optimize the discoverability, visibility, and popularity of their global brand. Finally, this cutting-edge, timely curriculum will require students to do in-depth research into some of the most compelling topics confronting nonprofit, government, and business organizations—as well as individuals—in their attempts to extract value from the dynamic, participatory, ever-morphing ‘new web.’ Students will analyze course themes to produce original scholarship on the subject of Social Media & The New Web.
Objectives: o By the end of the class, students will have a strong understanding of the current topics and themes that define the communication, public relations, business, marketing, and cultural revolution that is the rise of social media. o Students will apply communication theory to develop a theoretical understanding of the application of social media. o Students will become engaged in a research/applied learning experience centered on the development and enhancement of brands on a global stage and the management of socio-political issues. o Students will stay abreast of the most current social media optimization news and trends by reading, reporting on, and thinking critically about a selection of the industry’s top blogs, including TechCrunch,
VentureBeat, FutureMedia, and Mashable. o
Students will learn how to build a powerful, influential web presence in an energetic, creative, and collaborative environment. o Students will utilize web analytics to crunch data and optimize their brand’s visibility and popularity. o Students will understand the role social media plays in issue management, crisis management, reputation management and other public relations strategies and tactics. o Students will become ‘power users’ of social media web applications, technologies, and services such as
Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Picasa, Flickr, StumbleUpon, and YouTube.
Relationship to program assessment objectives:
COMM 285/ JOURNLSM 285 – Social Media Optimization & The New Web introduces an extremely timely and cutting-edge curriculum to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Organizations are quickly adopting new technology to manage their images and issues. The proposed course will integrate into the Multimedia Arts & Game Development (MAGD) curriculum expected to launch Fall 2010. The course will also prove an excellent elective for Advertising, Public Relations, and Marketing students-providing UWW’s students the knowledge and confidence to engage with online communities in order to generate publicity, opportunity, web traffic, and business partnerships.
Budgetary impact: Class will take place in the new Multimedia Lab in MG 127, where a $60k lab modernization fund will cover the class needs. Students will have the opportunity to work on brand new iMac computers outfitted with a complete suite of multimedia software including Adobe Production
Premium and Final Cut Pro Studio 3. In addition, optimized data connectivity will facilitate web-based social media optimization work.
Course description: (50 word limit)
‘Social Media Optimization’ will teach students how to engage with online communities to generate publicity and manage the images and issues of organizations. This cutting-edge, timely curriculum will require students to investigate the most compelling topics confronting organizations and individuals striving to extract value from the dynamic, participatory, ever-changing ‘new web.’
Syllabus Attached.
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Fall 2010
Instructor: Spencer Striker (Stuart)
Office: McGraw 104c
Office Hours: Tues 3:00-5:00pm; Thurs 12-3pm
Telephone: (608) 301-5578 (Google Voice, rings office)
Email: stuartsw@uww.edu
Course Schedule: 6:15-845pm W
Location: McGraw 127 (MAGD Lab)
General Goal
‘Social Media Optimization & The New Web’ will teach students how to engage with online communities to generate publicity and business opportunities, and to manage organizations’ images and issues. ‘Social Media Optimization’ will arm students with the ability to analyze web trend statistics, in order to optimize the discoverability, visibility, and popularity of their global brand, to manage organizations’ images through social media, and to apply social media to the management of issues.
Finally, this cutting-edge, timely curriculum will require students to do in-depth research into some of the most compelling topics confronting businesses, nonprofit and government organizations, and individuals attempting to extract value from the dynamic, participatory, ever-morphing ‘new web.’ Application of communication theory will support the development of this understanding. Students will analyze course themes to produce original scholarship on the subject of Social Media & The New Web.
Objectives: o By the end of the class, students will have a strong understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, current topics, and themes that define the communication, public relations, business, marketing, and cultural revolution that is the rise of social media. o Students will become engaged in a combination research/applied learning experience centered on the development and enhancement of brands on a global stage and the management of socio-political issues. o Students will become ‘power users’ of social media web applications, technologies, and services such as
Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Picasa, Flickr, StumbleUpon, and YouTube. o Students will apply communication theory to develop a theoretical understanding of the application of social media. o Students will stay abreast of the most current social media optimization news and trends by reading, reporting on, and thinking critically about a selection of the industry’s top blogs, including
TechCrunch,VentureBeat, FutureMedia, and Mashable. o Students will research and analyze the industry’s deepest trends by looking at a selection of the best books on the subject to produce rigorous original, academic writing on the subject. o
Students will learn—in the trenches—how to build a powerful, influential web presence in an energetic, creative, and collaborative environment. o Students will utilize web analytics to crunch data and optimize their brand’s visibility and popularity. o Students will understand the role social media plays in issue management, crisis management, reputation management and other public relations strategies and tactics.
Course Information
‘Social Media Optimization & The New Web’ is an intermediate-level communication course intended to deliver students a research/applied learning experience, centered around the development and enhancement of brands on a global stage and the management of an organization’s image and issues.
‘Social Media Optimization & The New Web’ will provide the opportunity to drastically enhance one’s global web presence as well as one’s understanding of little understood, highly employable skills.
Students will apply communication theory to help develop that understanding. Toward that end, students will investigate uses and gratifications, groupthink, interpersonal relationships, self-revelation, social penetration, and social contract theory within the context of social media. Finally, and most importantly, students will analyze both the breaking news blogs covering the industry and the best books on the
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subject of social media by the industry’s leading thinkers, to create a rigorous original scholarship by semester’s end.
Requirements of the student
The primary requirement of the class is that students demonstrate enthusiasm for the potential of social media marketing. Students should possess creativity, web savvy, and a desire to explore and improve.
Students will be entrusted with important assignments and given increasing levels of responsibility.
Confidence, reliability, and professionalism are key. Social media and promotions is fun, yes, but driving the global popularity of a brand is also a lot of hard work. Come to class prepared to roll up your sleeves and put forth genuine effort, and not only will you benefit tremendously from the opportunities presented by the class, but your classmates will truly appreciate you, trust you, and value the contributions that you bring to the table.
Computers, Procrastination & Murphy’s Law
It is unacceptable to come to class without paperwork/homework due to printing problems or other technical difficulties . Don’t wait until the last minute to write, print or carry out your work. Expect your computer to malfunction or the software program you’re running to crash. ALWAYS make a redundant copy of anything you do. This applies to computer files and paperwork. It is your responsibility to have these materials when required. A big emphasis of this class is professionalism; unconvincing excuses will get you fired from a competitive production position—begin to emphasize these good habits now.
UWW Academic Statement
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Academic Misconduct,
Religious Beliefs Accommodation and Absence for University Sponsored Events (for details please refer to the Schedule of Classes; the "Rights and Responsibilities" section of the Undergraduate Catalog; the
Academic Requirements and Policies and the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Catalog; and the "Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures (UWS Chapter 14); and the "Student Nonacademic
Disciplinary Procedures" (UWS Chapter 17).
Attendance
Attendance will be taken for all class periods. To accommodate for scheduling conflicts and other
"surprises" that may occur during the semester, all students are allowed 2 absences. Your final grade will be reduced 1% for every unexcused absence. More than 5 unexcused absences during the course of the semester will result in an automatic failing grade. Unless it is unavoidable, do not schedule medical appointments or interviews during class or lab meeting times. Students who have true emergencies, lifethreatening illnesses, or deaths in the family may be granted excused absences. An excused absence must be supported with written documentation when you return to class. You will be responsible to get missed notes and information from a classmate. Students who will be absent due to religious holidays that are observed during the semester must fill out UWW's Religious Holidays request form and turn it in before their holiday observance.
Grading:
You grade will be based on your understanding of the topics presented in class, the quality of your papers and assignments, and your competence with skills demonstrated in the social media marketing process.
There is your social media marketing blog, exams, paper, and hands-on social media projects, which altogether total 200 points. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes & assignments, unless substantial extenuating circumstances can be supported with written documentation. All weekly web journals are
"turned in" when they are posted to your personal blog.
Grade Calculation
Your final grade will be calculated by dividing the total number of points you have earned by 2 (half). At any point during the semester you can calculate your grade by dividing the number of points you've
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earned by the number of possible points. Then, multiply that number by 100 to get your grade percentage.
An evaluation of the overall quality of a student’s participation, such as helping others with technical questions, engaging the class discussion list in interesting gaming themed debates, or doing extra research to enhance the quality of a game video script, will be used to push a borderline final grade either up or down. For example, a strong performance in this area will push a B+ up to an A-, while a weak performance could push a B- down to a C+. Your score out of 200 will be resolved into a percentage of
100. The final grading criteria according to percentages is: A = 94-100, A- = 90-93, B+ = 87-89, B = 84-
86, B- = 80–83, C+ = 77–89, C = 74-76, C- =70-73, D+ = 67-69, D= 64-66, D- = 60-63, F = below 60.
As calculated in points:
A = 188-200, A- = 180-186, B+ = 174-178, B = 168-172, B- = 160–166, C+ = 154–158, C = 148-152, C-
=140-146, D+ = 134-138, D= 128-132, D- = 120-126, F = below 120.
Social Media Optimization and The New Web Blog (10@2 points) = 10%
You will maintain an online journal to express your ideas and reactions to the latest developments in the social media marketing and web analytics industry. Here you will synthesize your readings of assigned, professional social media marketing sites to form your own professional opinions concerning industry topics of interest. You will choose one topic approximately every week and write a solid 3 to 4 paragraph entry exploring the subject in sufficient depth that your average marketing layman will find it informative and valuable to read. Journal entries will be posted to your official game industry blog by 10PM.
Exams (2@25 points) = 25%
Two exams will test you on specific assigned reading from our list of social media marketing and web analytics blogs online.
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Participation (20 points) = 10%
As stated earlier, our class will come together to form a highly effective, flexible, professional team--your reliability, work ethic, and positive attitude will be of great value. Conversely, flakiness and inconsistency will result in a poor participation grade.
Papers (2@30 points) = 30%
Students will utilize ideas gleaned from the reading of books (see full list below) by industry leading authors, such as Seth Godin, Tamar Weinberg, Dan Heath, Charlene Li, Jeff Jarvis, Chris Anderson, Chris
Brogan, and Andy Sernovitz, to fuel their enhanced understanding of the subject. Students will analyze the deepest trends of Social Media & Web 2.0 to produce two pieces of rigorous, original, academic writing that illuminate compelling issues concerning the dynamic, participatory, ever-changing ‘new web.’
Major Social Media Optimization & The New Web Projects (50 points) = 25%
You will be given as many projects as you can handle, with an escalating level of difficulty. Your grade will be a subjective evaluation of how well you fulfilled the duties associated with your specific team role. Every job is vitally important to the success of the team, but each job has separate challenges, work flow, and means of fair evaluation. Every project must begin with a written proposal. Every project must be followed by a written evaluation of the experience. All told, project proposals and evaluations will account for 5% of the 35% project grade. Here is your opportunity to heap praise upon the individuals whom you found reliable and hard working, or alternatively, express your frustration with people you don’t feel owned up to their end of the bargain. The written portion of your proposals/evaluations should be word-processed.
Specifics of Grading: You will be graded specifically on your individual contribution to your project.
This will be determined by your area of emphasis/assigned role. The quality of your work will continue to improve with each successive project. Your reward will be enhanced social media marketing and web analytics literacy and a strengthened portfolio. Always push yourself to improve and look for opportunities in projects to develop skill sets that interest you.
Required Reading – Books:
In-depth class readings will be selected from the following list of industry leading books on the subject of social media:
Tapscott, Don. (2006). Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything.
Portfolio.
Heath, Dan. (2007). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.
Random House,
Inc.
Livingston, Geoff. (2007). Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and
Entrepreneurs . Bartleby Press.
Shirky, Clay. (2008) . Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations .
Penguin Group.
Godin, Seth. (2008). Tribes - We Need You to Lead Us. Penguin Group.
Li, Charlene. (2008) Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies .
Harvard Business Press.
Bhargava, Rohit. (2008). Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity and
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How Great Brands Get It Back . McGraw-Hill Professional
Postman, Joel. (2008). SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate . Peachpit Press.
Shuen, Amy. (2008). Web 2.0: a strategy guide . O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Gillin, Paul. (2009). The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Medi a. Linden
Publishing.
Shih, Clara. (2009). The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better
Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff.
Prentice Hall.
Jarvis, Jeff. (2009). What Would Google Do?
UK: Harper Collins Publ.
Anderson, Chris. (2009). Free: The Future of a Radical Price . Hyperion.
Sernovitz, Andy. (2009). Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking .
Kaplan Publishing.
Brogan, Chris. (2009). Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and
Earn Trust . John Wiley and Sons.
Qualman, Erik. (2009). Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do
Business . John Wiley and Sons
Comm, Joel. (2009). Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time . John
Wiley and Sons.
Weber, Larry. (2009). Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build
Your Business . John Wiley and Sons.
Safko, Lon. (2009). The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success .
John Wiley and Sons
Weinberg, Tamar. (2009). The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web . O'Reilly
Media, Inc.
Solis, Brian. (2009). Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is
Reinventing the Aging Business of PR . FT Press.
Schawbel, Dan. (2009). Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success . Kaplan
Publishing.
Solis, Brian. (2010). The Social Media Manifesto: The Revolutionary Guide to Build, Manage, and Measure Online Networks in Business . John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Required Reading – Blogs:
The following industry leading blogs follow the latest news and trends in Social Optimization
&The New Web:
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Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide . Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
<http://mashable.com>.
TechCrunch . Group-edited blog about technology start-ups, particularly the Web 2.0 sector .
Web. 28 Aug. 2009. <http://techcrunch.com>.
VentureBeat – News About Tech, Money and Innovation . Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
< http:// venturebeat.com>.
AdAge – Digital. The leading global source of news, intelligence and conversation for marketing and media communities . Web. 28 Aug. 2009. <http://adage.com/digital>.
Seth’s Blog - Seth Godin's riffs on marketing, respect, and the ways ideas spread.
Web. 28 Aug. 2009. <sethgodin.typepad.com>.
How to Change the World - A practical blog for impractical people. Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
<blog.guykawasaki.com>.
Inside Facebook - Tracking Facebook and the Facebook Platform for Developers and
Marketers. Web. 28 Aug. 2009. < http://www.insidefacebook.com
>
Web TV Wire | Internet Video Business & Gadgets. Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
< http://www.webtvwire.com
>
C21Media.net - FutureMedia - ongoing analysis of the trends, issues and technologies shaping the future of entertainment, from viewpoints to reports and profiles of the players making it happen. Web. 28 Aug. 2009. <http://www.c21media.net/futuremedia >.
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