People sharing information with each other through “word of mouth” is nothing new, but the rapid growth of social media technology in recent years is changing how we relate to one another personally, professionally, and politically. This course introduces the student to the practical use of social media for achieving the goals of a business or other organization. We will begin this weekend seminar with concepts and examples, but the majority of class time will focus on students completing social media experiments in the real world and presenting their results back to the class. Students with any degree of experience in using social networks are welcome.

Please come prepared with a business or organization you want (and have permission) to represent, even if it is an idea of a business or organization you are just starting to create. As we will apply lessons from the book The Lean Startup in how we experiment with social media, this class will be a great opportunity to test new, unproven ideas.

Overall, we will pack a lot of learning and experimenting into a short amount of time, with more value placed on getting things done than getting things perfect.