Good News Site up and running!

The first “Guest Blog” goes to Matt Shipman.  Matt’s work has resulted in another news  outlet for NC State,   “The Good News” Page.  Check out Matt’s post that follows and by all means, check out the new Good News page.

HELP US SHARE THE GOOD NEWS

By W. Matthew Shipman

One of our goals at NC State is to foster a sense of community among those people who care about this university. Our alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends want to be involved in the life of the university. Friends of mine who are alumni often ask what they can do to help NC State – and I always give them the same answer: help us share the good news.

Every week finds NC State in the news, with stories on the success of our faculty and students, new scientific research and the university’s role in supporting the state and national economy. It is important that people recognize NC State as the economic driver and leading research institution that it is. We need to let people know about all the great work going on at NC State – and an active NC State community is the key to spreading that good news.

The idea is simple: when you see some great news about the university, share it with someone. Tell your family about it over dinner, talk to your co-workers about it at the water-cooler, email your best friend from college. If you’re a student, tell your parents about it – it will give them something to brag about.

The rise of the internet and social media have also given us a number of new tools for reaching out to the NC State community. In addition to our traditional magazines and newsletters, we can communicate with friends of the university through our Web site, our Twitter accounts and our Facebook pages. But all of these outlets are only tools – they are a means to achieving a goal, but they are not the goal itself. Starting a Twitter account doesn’t accomplish anything if people don’t read it. Creating a Web page that lists all of the NC State stories in the New York Times and other media outlets doesn’t do any good if only a few people visit the page.

So follow NC State News on Twitter, join the NC State News Facebook group, or bookmark the Web site where we post national stories about the university. All of these tool will keep you current on breaking news about NC State. And when you get the news, don’t be a passive consumer – pass it on. NC State has some amazing stories to tell, and we want you to help us tell it!

This blog post is part of a larger effort to develop an active NC State community – we want your help to share our good news and we want your feedback. What stories have you loved? What do you think we could do better? Check out the Good News NC State page for more information about this effort.

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