Northwestern tweets.
The University tweets about Mardi Gras lunches, Peace Corps rankings and professors in the media.
“We’re responsible for making the University look good,” University Spokesman Al Cubbage said. “Sometimes we do it through a nifty brochure … sometimes through postings on Facebook or tweets on Twitter.”
Twitter is one of the more recent advancements in communication utilized by the University.
Cubbage said it’s important to have a mixture of communication media in order to reach various audiences.
“What we like to do is use Twitter and Facebook to communicate the news that we are creating and putting on our Web site,” Cubbage said.
Former DAILY staffer Matt Paolelli (Medill ’05) created the NorthwesternU Twitter account April 20, 2009.
“The popularity of Twitter has exploded recently,” said Paolelli, Web content producer for University Relations. “It’s another outlet for people to consume NU news.”
Currently 2,491 people follow NorthwesternU, which is based off NU News but features “retweets” from other NU tweeters such as “norriscenter” and “MedillSchool.” Paolelli said the growth has been organic, with the University doing little to promote its Twitter account.
Communication sophomore Ben Prawer, who recently created a personal Twitter account, follows NorthwesternU and several other NU-related tweeters.
“I feel like I’m already more up-to-date with NU news,” he said. “It’s cool because they also put up all kinds of research NU does.”
Prawer said he recently read an NU research article on why some autistic people don’t like hugs.
“I never would have read that otherwise, but it came up on my Twitter, so I decided to read it,” he said. “Even though I don’t need it, I rely on NU to have a Twitter, to get out info through as many mediums as possible.”
Lucas Artaiz also follows NorthwesternU but said he receives more news via the University home page and campus newspapers. He said the usefulness of an NU Twitter account is watered down by the multitude of NU-related tweeters.
“The one I’m following, anyway, is pretty sporadic,” the SESP senior said, citing days when NorthwesternU tweeted several times, followed by days with no tweets. “It’s not a particularly constant flow of communication. I think part of that might be that there are so many different Twitter feeds.”
Students are not the only followers of NU’s Twitter account, Paolelli said.
“There’s actually a wide variety,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect … but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
Among the followers is a large group of graduates from the 1990s, Paolelli said. Alumni have given positive feedback of Twitter and Facebook communication, he said.
The NU Facebook page has about 9,900 fans, a rapid expansion from about 8,000 in December, Paolelli said. The page serves as a way for alumni to connect.
Within an hour on Saturday, 34 people “liked” a post about NU’s victory over Minnesota in men’s basketball, he said.
Other advancements in communication include a new format for e-mails, Cubbage said. An e-mail sent out to 125,000 alumni Tuesday morning included graphics and color, he said. Previously the e-mails were plain text. The new format allows the University to highlight stories, he said.
“We’re trying to take advantage of new technologies whenever they arrive,” Cubbage said. “All mediums are good mediums.”[email protected]
