I meant to note this earlier this week, when Apple made its announcment that it had sold the 100 millionth iPod. That, as they say, is a lot of iPods, considering the first iPod was sold just five and a half years ago.
If a student here on campus doesn't have a cellphone pinned to an ear, earbuds are firmly implanted.
We see iPods and podcasting as a great tool for our media relations/communications efforts here at Colgate. We will soon be releasing our 20th episode of Colgate Conversations, a podcast series that highlights members of the campus community.
While it's hard to track, we do know that subscribers to our iTunes site have roughly doubled since we launched the series back in February 2006 (Colgate president, Rebecca S. Chopp, was the first guest). We also list our podcasts on our website and write stories about each guest, which generate additional "listens."
We feature faculty members talking about their research and alumni talking about their careers and sharing their expertise. Alumna Gloria Borger, CBS news analyst and U.S. News and World Report columnist, spoke with us for a podcast. Political science professor Michael Johnston, an expert on U.S. politics, spoke about the early start to the '08 presidential campaign.
One anectdote shows how the podcasts add to the university's media relations mix. An alumni who returns to campus fairly often to talk about money and investing, Chip Simon, turned the podcast interview we conducted with him into a DVD that he hands out to clients. His use of the podcast generated a story in InvestmentNews, and a positive Colgate mention.
It's another vehicle to get the Colgate name out there.
