Participation increasing on new Auburn Family Web site

Participation in Auburn University’s online social network site has nearly doubled to more than 1,000 since Monday.

Auburn Family, the site launched last week for students, prospective students, faculty, alumni and fans, had 1,080 members Wednesday afternoon, up from approximately 500 at the beginning of the week, Director of University Communications Mike Clardy said.

The site pairs Auburn-related feature stories with pictures and comments posted by registered users.

The social network site, a collaboration between the Office of Communications and Marketing and a course taught by public relations instructor Robert French, hopes to successfully market the university to prospective students and find a way to tell Auburn’s stories, Clardy said.

“This really seems like a perfect match,” Clardy said.

Students in French’s “Style and Design in Public Relations Messages” produce videos, articles and other content about the university’s 13 schools and colleges weekly.

“That is going to be a document that lives and breathes,” French said.

For the students, the collaboration is a chance to showcase their work and get valuable experience.

“I think it’s a feather in their caps,” French said.

French said the ability to manage and produce online content is almost a requirement for new graduates entering the workplace.

“We know our future students need to be able to write and produce video,” French said.

Part of that is making editorial decisions like what comments and content are appropriate for the site.

While French and the Office of Communications and Marketing have some oversight, administration of the network is the responsibility of the students, French said.

The site is open to anyone, but to post comments, pictures or other content, users must set up accounts, Clardy said.

“We ask people to use their real name. We believe in transparency,” Clardy said. “This is about Auburn we want them to be respectful and keep it clean.”

Online: http://family.auburn.edu/