Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56539
The MBA That Delivers The part-time MBA landscape is fundamentally changing—location and duration, cost and content. LEADS THE FIELD in creating innovative solutions for part-time students: BABSON ® Fast Track MBA Portland, OR campus • Nationally ranked MBA taught in 24 months Wellesley, MA campus • Collaborative, team-based learning environment • Unique combination of Web-based and classroom learning Evening MBA Wellesley, MA campus • Nationally ranked MBA taught in 36 months • Team-taught "cluster courses" encourage learning from multiple perspectives • Career Contexts help students design their electives with a career focus The MBA That Delivers® www.babson.edu/mba Ranked #1 in entrepreneurship by U.S.News & World Report. Ranked Top 10 Best Opportunity for Women by The Princeton Review. These mini-blogs, called "tweets," are designed to facilitate quick, easy con- nections between people. "With Twitter, I can DATABIT quickly tell people that an article is on the Web site, that I'm at a meeting at PETCO Park with the San Diego Padres, or that I'm at a soccer conference in South Africa," says Minto. Those short messages, he emphasizes, can In January, the popular social networking site Facebook announced that it now had 150 million users. Of those users, nearly half use the network daily. speak volumes to pro- spective students about the school's partnerships and reach. Followers of Minto's Twitter feed are primar- ily sports enthusiasts who found him through their sports-oriented social networks. Among Minto's followers? None other than Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns. Now that he has the Twitter page started, Minto plans to enlist stu- dents in the MBA program to send quick tweets about their classroom experiences. "Prospective students want to hear from current students," he says. "Our statistics students can let people know that they're working on a ticketing issue for the Padres, or our finance students can send a message about their project with the Boston Celtics." Minto says that it takes effort to keep the feed updated—especially when he's in a meeting or on the road—but the effort is worth it if it sparks interest in the school. The messages are an opportunity for viral marketing that can be valuable to any school, says Minto. "It's a great tool for marketers on a budget. It has an effect that can multiply quick- ly. It helps keep our programs on people's minds and visible, without being too intrusive." Minto's Twitter page can be found at twitter.com/SDSU sportsMBA. n z BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2009 61