TheIdeaMan

Congrats! You're the first blogger I've seen to get online w/the news. You also managed to make the news concise and understandable--unlike the BJ-generated releases.

Before you get a big head, I'll bring you back down: I had an e-mail of the news before your post. Since I saw your post, I've definitely seen the word spreading through the blogosphere pretty quickly.

yes, i had received an email also, shortly after chapel, and spread the word to a few people who i figured wouldn't be checking the blogs for it.

it's so wild to view how quickly the "network" shrinks in inverse correlation to how "big" the news is. exciting-changes news like this, or great tragic surprises or sudden needs -- they spread like wildfire.

it's sad, too, in a way. i found out some six months after the fact that one of my former faculty members had passed away. someone whose legacy affected no fewer people than headline-makers. a prompt and tactfully considerate alumni-alert system of some kind would be more than welcome. (hint, hint, benjamin.)

there is some stuff that it's just hard to find out via the blogosphere or the tiny print in the sidebar of an old magazine issue.

Thanks for the kudos, JRC. I actually found out about it just a couple minutes before the general e-mail went out (via family connections).

Joy, I tried to push for an Alumni extranet (restricted access section of an internet site; an off-site intranet) while at BJ, but to no avail. We had larger fish to fry at the time. Perhaps some well meaning e-mails from current Alum might to the trick. :)

an RSS feed maybe? or even a page we could bookmark that actually has latest news posted there (even the kind of news that comes in the Voice).

Can't you just hear Bud now?

"RSS feed? I thought we got rid of the farm. Or are you talking about the Dining Common? And what does that have to do with Alumni news, anyhow? Oh well, I'm off to visit Alumni churches. Read about it in my next Voice diary."

Honestly, a modified blog interface could work well in that situation. Or the Alumni Association could send out e-mails every once in a while like the BJU E-news. It wouldn't be too hard.

Yes, I can hear Bud now...he's saying: "If you want 'up-to-date' information, just call our toll-free update line (800-258-2334). It's updated monthly!"

(BTW, if you're wondering if news of the just-announced transition is on this call, it's not - but I bet it will be there the next time the call is updated...on February 22nd...or maybe it's the 23rd...I've already forgotten...)

On a somewhat unrelated subject, a couple years ago, I wrote Bud a somewhat lengthy letter inquiring about the possibility of establishing some kind of regional (or even state) alumni clubs...like most "normal" colleges have. Bud wrote a nice response back, with the jist being that BJU wouldn't be able to control ("content", leadership - ?) such varied groups, so that's why they don't have them.

So...if you want to reach out to (and/or find) your fellow alumni, you must either: 1] Go to Greenville and attend Bible Conference (hardly a viable - or desired? - prospect for 75% of alumni), 2] search for good blogs of BJU alumnus (like BensFriends!), or 3] attend a local BJU Friendship Banquest (which, no offense, is merely a glorified PR mission to encourage children of BJU alumnus and their peers to attend the University).

Don't forget, for BJ news every other week, you could also read The Collegian online (www.collegianonline.com).

I see the recent past and current changes in the BJU Administration as positive steps, and trust that the "new generation" of leadership will continue to "modernize" the University to the level it deserves.

All right-y; I'll stop hijacking TheIdeaMan's blog now...

good grief. i would never, ever in a million years call him Bud. yikes.

i go to friendship banquets, and i check the website periodically, but haven't found a decent place to bookmark. maybe i'm missing something.

i'm kind of glad the collegian online doesn't report serious prayer requests or obituaries (like i said, some things are difficult to find about via a public forum). but it would be nice if we could find out when people we loved and learned from have gotten a doctorate or contracted cancer or lost a baby or have gone Home.

excuse me i posted like ASAP after chapel and got NO STINKING COMMENTS WHATSOEVER!!

i'm going to go pout

Don't feel bad, Gwen. These are the most comments I've received on one post in over three months. :)

I contacted someone at BJ's WebTech to see if there might be some way of improving at the at least the current web-based methods of communication with Alumni.

Stephen, no hard feelings about hijacking my blog. ;) It doesn't happen enough. :) I asked for something similar to the reginal alumni clubs while I was at the U, but got the same "control" answer. I don't suppose, though, that alumni are under under kind of restrictions if they started them on their own. Perhaps they could be organized in different regions and actually help further the Alumni Associations goals, promote the U of their own accord, and prove that there are many good, though "uncontrolled" (except Spirit controlled) Alumni that take their end of the year oath seriously.

Perhaps we should discuss this in a new blog entry... If someone starts a thread like that before I do, please comment here to let me know.

In the meantime, pray for the new Admins.

actually, ben's somehow got posted sooner because it was in the latest-posts box the hour before yours was. i'm sure you were only minutes apart in actuality. but i don't think that the firstness is the reason for the comments. i know it's not the reason for my comments.

stephen, if anyone's hijacked, i suppose it's me. i was the one who started the question about how alumni "get to" find out the latest info. sorry if it's "declined" into a tech talk.

and yes, we'll be praying for the new Admins and those big holes and shoes they've left behind.

Got a letter today advising me to take an online survey from the BJU "President's Advisory Council". The survey is run through JDresearchOnline ... i.e., Jackson-Dawson Communications...a bit BJU-affiliated). In any case, it had a lot of good, thoughtful, pointed questions, including questions on alumni relations and contact. I included many of the thoughts I outlined in previous posts here. Hopefully, many others will likewise fill out the survey and Dr. Bob and current (and future!) company will respond accordingly.

did anyone else hear about this?
BJ Grads Forum
maybe it's just me, but it seems to have a pretty low profile. if a few communities' worth of bloggers picked up on / linked to it, it would probably garner some more attention and have an increased potential to answer some of the abovementioned problems.

Not to be contrary, but does anyone know is Pensacola has aforementioned network? I know they're fairly a-techno, but surely there's a better connection than being emailed a link to new Alumni addresses?

Come to think of it, I'm going to spend a few weeks in retrospect then release a huge page of college memories. My friends and I were black-belt satirists in college (to my shame) and in celebration of said shame, I'd like to release our vast collection of ideas (what Bible characters would get kicked out of PCC for), skits (standing in the Disciplinary Committee line) and music (Luanne Mutsch, sung to the tunes of Flood by Jars of Clay).

Sorry BJ people. Didn't mean to wax contentious.

Kind of funny how it all works... Some people will use blogs to find out about things like the BJ Grad Forums; others will use the Forums to find out about a whole network of blogs. [I would definitely fit into the latter category!]

Anyways, I'd like to personally invite those of you who haven't been to the BJ Grad forums to stop by and say hello. I think it's somewhat restricted to BJ grads only, but I can't remember exactly how much. I think Joy has put into words the kind of thing that we were thinking about when we started the Grad forums... the only difference is that we were more the forum-type of people than the blog-type of people (myself included).

I agree though... something should/could be done to improve the communication of news from our alma mater(s).