New Official Instagram Account: @smubasketball

by **ponyelite17** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 12:41 pm

@smubasketball

tell everyone you know to follow!

by **skurtn** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:23 pm

Does anyone else find it a tad annoying that there's so many different Youtube channels, Twitter accounts, and now Instagram accounts?

It makes it hard for me to keep up-to-date on the messages coming from the university.

Youtube: SMUVideo, SMU Mustangs, PonyUpTempo, TheSMUMustangBand
Twitter: SMU, SMUBasketball, SMUMustangs, LarryBrownSMU, SMU_Football, SMUTV, smumeadows, SMUSoccerM, SMUCoachMalone, SMU_Equipment, and 25 more or so additional accounts.
Instagram: No idea how many
Facebook: No clue how many

It seems like there's a lack of cohesion in the message/marketing that SMU is trying to deliver to their audience. Things like Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube allow you to separate your media into different categories.

For example, Twitter has '#tag', Youtube has channels, and Facebook now also has '#tag'. This allows me to follow one person/organization, and then use these platforms to filter what I want from each.

by **mrydel** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:48 pm

Just drop June Jones a note to keep you updated and you will not have to put up with all this information.

by **ojaipony** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:55 pm

I'm still trying to figure out this interwebs thing . . .

by **Mustangs35SMU** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:57 pm

skurtn wrote:It seems like there's a lack of cohesion in the message/marketing that SMU is trying to deliver to their audience.

Every top school does this...

by **DanFreibergerForHeisman** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:00 pm

I do get annoyed seeing/hearing the same thing 10 times, but that's sure better than not hearing/seeing it!

by **skurtn** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:42 pm

mrydel wrote:Just drop June Jones a note to keep you updated and you will not have to put up with all this information.

My background is in technology; specifically network and software security. If you want to make jokes, at least understand the point. Since that's not possible, let me break down for you.

The POINT of my remark is that all of these social networks already afford the users of these systems with the ability to determine what THEY want to look at through the means of filters, channels, tags, etc.

What SMU has done, is artificially separate their information, which causes them to have to duplicate the same thing across multiple mediums (and perhaps with varying standards). This introduces
- unnecessary complexity
- probably requires more staff to manage (which means it's more expensive), and
- further reduces alumni's ability to keep up-to-date with all things SMU.

Mustangs35SMU wrote:
skurtn wrote:It seems like there's a lack of cohesion in the message/marketing that SMU is trying to deliver to their audience.

Every top school does this...

Using the reason that "others do this" is a poor excuse for a university's failure to understand the technology they're using.

by **SMUPhil** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:46 pm

I don't know, I think splitting it up makes sense. I would follow the basketball instagram account because I'm interested in it. I was briefly following the general SMU athletics account and I was dealing with post after post about women's soccer, equestrian, etc. This allows fans to follow bball into the postseason and the choice to follow other accounts if they desire.

by **skyscraper** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:53 pm

I have no problem with it. Yes, there's some duplication but we're finally out there in these spaces. Recruits especially love Twitter and Instagram so having a sport-specific feed makes sense.

by **skurtn** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:55 pm

SMUPhil wrote:I don't know, I think splitting it up makes sense. I would follow the basketball instagram account because I'm interested in it. I was briefly following the general SMU athletics account and I was dealing with post after post about women's soccer, equestrian, etc. This allows fans to follow bball into the postseason and the choice to follow other accounts if they desire.

This is a perfect example. You can still follow an account on Twitter that contains a broad amount of information, so long as SMU applied consistent hash tags to each piece of information.

For example, if you only cared about basketball, then they could apply a hash tag (e.g. #smubball) which allows you to filter @SMU with the things you care about, and may be (and likely are) different than what someone else cares about.

by **GiddyUp** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:57 pm

SMUPhil wrote:I don't know, I think splitting it up makes sense. I would follow the basketball instagram account because I'm interested in it. I was briefly following the general SMU athletics account and I was dealing with post after post about women's soccer, equestrian, etc. This allows fans to follow bball into the postseason and the choice to follow other accounts if they desire.

.

Correct, I dont care about equestrian or swimming etc. specific sport is good but there is ponyuptemp, smufball and several variations. Needs to be cleaned up a bit on all channels.

by **SMUPhil** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:01 pm

skurtn,
I understand how hashtags work. I'm talking about instagram, which this thread was about anyway. Open the app and it's a single linear/scrolling feed. If you're following an account that posts a lot, then you have to scroll through that many more posts every day to see what else has been posted. When I was following the SMU sports account, it was blowing up my account 3 times more than anyone else I followed so I deleted it. However, I would like to follow the basketball team on their journey to the tourney. So, in the case of instagram, for a fan like me, it works wonderfully to have separate accounts.

by **skurtn** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:14 pm

Instagram also supports hashtags.

by **NewAgeMustange** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:44 pm

I like that they have dedicated accounts. Better than the actually @SMU instagram which doesn't ever post anything. The sports ones have really stepped up their game, better to play with the big boys.

by **SMUPhil** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:52 pm

skurtn wrote:Instagram also supports hashtags.

Do you currently use Instagram? I know they use hashtags also, but my problem with getting EVERY sports post in one account is that when I check my "feed", it's like 20 posts a day from SMU rather than 2 from just the basketball account. There's no way to "block" a post of someone you follow, it just shows up in chronological order. So if you're following someone that posts a lot, you constantly have to swipe past their content to see what else was posted from friends, family, etc.

Anyone else see what I'm getting at here? I feel like I'm talking to people that don't actually use Instagram.