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Recently, Mashable released a top ten list of the most social media-savvy universities. The list included notable universities such as Harvard University and Stanford University and schools across the pond such as University of Sheffield and University of Oxford. The rating was based upon criteria such as number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers, content of social media sites, frequency of updates and level of engagement with users.
All of the schools boast interactive websites with state of the art features for both prospective and current students. University of California Berkeley often engages its followers by posing questions about the university to its followers. Sheffield even created several videos on YouTube to give prospective students a more realistic idea of what attending school there would be like.
While Boston College did not make this list, it does boast many social media features that these tech-savvy schools utilize. For example, Boston College not only has a single Twitter handle for basic university news, but it also has accounts geared toward alumni (@BCalumni), BC sports fans (@BCSportsNew, @BCBradBates), students studying different disciplines (@BCLSOE, @BCCarrollMBA), and emergency situations (@BC_OEM, @EagleEMS). Current, past and prospective members of the BC community can follow all of these Twitter accounts. @BostonCollege also frequently retweets students and interacts with them via Twitter.
Screenshot by Christie Merino
The Boston College Facebook page has over 72,000 likes. This number is a bit below the average Facebook likes when compared to the schools that did make Mashable’s list. However, the page is updated multiple times per day with historical facts, stories of Eagles succeeding in the work force and tidbits of student life. The account often replies to comments and “likes” comments in a timely manner.
Screenshot by Christie Merino
Boston College also boasts several official Instagram pages. These accounts do not update daily, but when they do post it's truly golden. Beautiful pictures from campus life today and in the past give prospective students and current Eagles off campus a great way to stay connected. The Boston College official Instagram page has over 31,000 followers and the BC athletics account has over 4,000. Lately, the BC Athletics Instagram account has been posting photos that highlight the upcoming football season and incoming class of athletes training on campus over the summer.
Overall, Boston College has been on the tail end of the social media wave. Though the school has been updating its technology by giving students Gmail accounts, remnants of an outdated class registry system have left many students feeling like BC is stuck in the past. Students and staff have worked together to push Boston College further into the technological age, and as the school continues to make a name for itself as a new ivy there is no doubt that the social media associated with the school will improve by leaps and bounds.
An avid tree-hugger and political junkie, trying to do good for the world one article at a time. Possibly the only student with good things to say about Edmond’s, she can be found in the kitchen or the library.
