The Chronicle’s Wired Campus: News of the Obvious
For nearly two years, The Chronicle of Higher Education has been posting small technology-related news stories, commentary, and observation in “The Wired Campus.” Like the Chronicle’s employment section, the content in The Wired Campus is free to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. If you’re really plugged into technology news then it’s not very often that you’ll read something brand new on The Wired Campus. But for those who are not technology news junkies, it’s a good service. They usually do a good job of catching things and putting their own, unique higher ed spin on news. I’m subscribed to their RSS feed and read new stories as they are published and I’m a more knowledgeable professional for doing so. And they allow readers to comment on each story – how cool!
But I’d like to take a minute to poke lighthearted fun at Brock Read, Andrea Foster, and the rest of the Chronicle staff for some of the stories they publish in The Wired Campus. Two relatively-recent stories have made me chuckle and ask myself, “This is news?” The first story tells us that students are unhappy when the campus or residence hall wireless network when it doesn’t work. The second story lets us know that students like free music (one could actually read a lot more into this particular story but that would ruin our fun right now). Now you know why I subtitled this post “News of the Obvious.” :)
(Lest someone take this post too seriously: Yes, I completely understand and embrace the value of research or news that validates commonly-held conceptions and ideas. I also know that not every news story is going to win a Pulitzer. Sheesh – let a man have some fun on a Sunday night!)