The 15 Must Follow Community College Presidents on Twitter 2018

To do the 2018 Most Social Community College list…or to not do the list…that was the question.  Well, for awhile I had decided I would not publish my list of Tweeting Community College presidents I began in 2014. I am publishing my first book this summer (more on that below) and between the book project and the day job I have been booked (yes pun intended).
However, as we approach the 2018 American Association of Community College Conference, I got a couple of questions about when the list was coming…and so (sigh)…here it is. The 2018 list of Social Community College CEOs on Twitter.  This list is much larger than the list I started in 2014.  In fact, I only did the Top 12 in 2014, because that is how few community college presidents were tweeting.  My total list of community college presidents tweeting that I watch has grown has grown to 88.

I am again confident this very social group of community college presidents will keep everyone informed on the happenings at the annual @aacc meetings as they keep their respective institutions informed via social media. The presidents listed are on the list because they use Twitter to create a unique social relationship with their campus constituents.  I use a formula which I developed 4 years ago when I started this list which considers many factors beyond the number of tweets. Last year I tweaked it slightly as Twitter now allows you to create Moments.  So presidents who have Twitter moments get points for using that part of the resource as well.  I also give Kent Points. Those are for stuff I like such as having fly-fishing listed in their profile.  Fly-fishing hasn’t helped anyone get on the must follow list, but hey it is my list so I might as well have some fun with it!

As this list is now in its 5th year I am at the point where the cumulative data is beginning to shed some light on how this tool is used for communication. by community college presidents.  With that in mind I have begun categorizing usage and although this is in its beginning stages I have the following so far,

1. 1. The Student Helper – They seem to focus on using the tool to engage with students.

1. 1. The Lurker –  Lots of likes and retweets.  They don’t tweet a lot, but they are watching.

1. 1. The College Booster  – Lot’s of tweeting about college events. It is obvious they love supporting encouraging their college constituents via Twitter.

1. 1. The Undecided – Very inconsistent both in volume and content.  It is obvious they only log on every once in a while and are probably thinking…”Is this a good idea or not?”

1. 1. The Shotgun Approach  – The content is quite varied.  Lot’s of college stuff, lots of personals, and lots of community.  I don’t think this is necessarily bad, but certainly.

1. The Strategist – The content is college focused,  combines aspects of being a student helper, a lurker, a college booster and a smattering of the shotgun approach to their tweets.

Not quite sure if I will ever name names under the above categories, but is certainly obvious to me from watching over the past five years the approach to using the tool is quite different from president to president.
Here are a couple of other observations

1. 1. I added more community college CEO’s (19) to the list this year than were tweeting in 2013-2014

1. 1. Ones of the most interesting trends in my data relate to presidents (about 10) who once tweeted have stopped.  Some have simply stopped. Others are still engaging (aka lurking) by following new people and liking tweets but they have stopped sending out their own tweets.  It is clear many are monitoring social media even if they are not engaged.

1. Two of the new entries on this list, Kirk Nooks and Tyjaun Lee became aggressive and effective Tweeters at the same time in 2017. As they are presidents on different campuses at Kansas City Community College I wonder if it is part of a broader strategic institutional plan for using social media at that institution. Here are the new entries on my list to follow for 2018.

Not sure if this list will continue next year, but It has been fun, and I have learned a lot.  However, but as we all know sometimes priorities change and I am now pretty busy with my book projects.    When I first published that list there were really only a dozen Community College Presidents Tweeting and only a half dozen doing it effectively.  I felt it was important to support the effective use of the tool for community college leadership. That has changed and grown and there are many community college CEOs who understand the benefits and power of social collaboration and how it’s used to communicate and collaborate with campus constituents.  The pioneers among Community College Presidents using this mode of communication in my estimation were,  Anne Kress @MCCPresident,  Margeret McMenamin @drmcm, and Karen Stout @drkastout
I wrote a blog a few years back called, “My Three Tweeting Presidents”  based on a presentation those three did at AACC. Thanks for communicating with all of us.  I for one appreciate your work.
If I am not working on this list, then what am I up to?  Well, I have been doing some other writing and need the time now and over the next couple months to finish up my book, “Old Boston:  As Wild As They Come” It is the nonfiction story of an 1886 Southeast Colorado Boom Town that became one of the wildest towns on the western frontier.  Let me just say…

“This Boston town on the Colorado prairie certainly lacked the culture and refinement of its New England namesake. Gunfighters, saloons, gamblers and painted women prevailed.”

While growing up and working for my relatives I drove over the location at Boston Colorado townsite.  all the time. In fact today it is just the intersection of two country roads.  See me (Grey Shirt) and my cousins standing at the main intersection of what was Boston Colorado 1886-1889. Note the Colorado prairie of my youth behind us.

My cousin tells me a few years prior when you were moving farm equipment and got a flat tire with a square nail you knew it was from one of the buildings which made up Boston. I have the good fortune of being able to compile a story hidden in my hometown library for the past 100 years.
The top picture on the cover is, “A Cowboy Funeral” and my grandma taught in a one-room school about a mile and a half from that location.  The bottom picture is the intersection of the two main streets in Boston. Yep, I get to tell a New Tale of the Old West.
As for tweeting at @aacc 2018 below is the list of newcomers to my list followed by the entire list.  If you are not sure what to think about conference tweeting I would encourage you to read my blog “10 Reasons to Tweet at a Conference.”  I hope this helps you in knowing which community college presidents to follow on Twitter. Happy tweeting to all of you.  I have learned so much from each of you.
P.S. Let me know who is missing from this list and whose name I spelled wrong!