Educational Programs in Social Networking

• Educational Programs in Social Networking
  
  Columbia University is currently enrolling for a degree, which I find very interesting for how it might be applied in today's business environment. The degree is a Master of Science in Strategic Communications. According to the advertised blurb, those enrolling for the program can expect to gain the following skill set:
  
  Learn how to manage communications strategically to achieve an organization's mission.
  
  Study relevant skills applicable to the workplace.
  
  Engage in rigorous study that emphasizes real-world problem solving using current industry cases.
  
  Network with industry experts and career-focused peers.
  
  Learn how to use critical analysis to identify and articulate a core problem or opportunity.
  
  Gain comprehensive knowledge of today’s communications tools.
  
  Choose study depending on individual areas of interest and professional goals.
  
  I wonder how much of the material will focus on social networking and Web based communication? They have several suggested concentrations, but nothing directly slanted towards Web 2.0 and beyond that I could see.
  
  Suggested Concentrations
  
  The elective sequence allows students to pursue a concentrated discipline in the field by choosing from a wide variety of specialized courses. Students may choose an elective sequence in a particular concentration or devise their own elective sequence to meet their individual interests and goals.
  
  Below are suggested concentrations and appropriate electives:
  
  Advertising
  
  COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4150. Strategy and Creativity in Today’s Marketplace COMM K4180. Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy COMM K4201. Advertising and Integrated Communications COMM K4210. Communication and Global Brands COMM K4215. Communications Case Analysis COMM K4250. Direct Response
  
  Communications Branding
  
  COMM K4121. Internal Communications COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4150. Strategy and Creativity in Today’s Marketplace COMM K4180. Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy COMM K4202. Communications for Social Change COMM K4210. Communication and Global Brands COMM K4215. Communications Case Analysis COMM K4220. Learning to Lead: Effective Communications COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4250. Direct Response Communications
  
  Public Relations
  
  COMM K4130. Working with the Media COMM K4131. Corporate Communications COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4160. Political Communications COMM K4170. Crisis Communications COMM K4205. Advanced Writing Workshop COMM K4220. Learning to Lead: Effective Communications COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4235. The Power of Opinion COMM K4245. Global Communications: The Business of Issues COMM K4240. Analysis for General Managers in Corporate Communications
  
  Corporate Communications
  
  COMM K4121. Internal Communications COMM K4130. Working with the Media COMM K4131. Corporate Communications COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4170. Crisis Communications COMM K4205. Advanced Writing Workshop COMM K4220. Learning to Lead: Effective Communications COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4235. The Power of Opinion COMM K4245. Global Communications: The Business of Issues COMM K4240. Analysis for General Managers in Corporate Communications
  
  Writing for the Media
  
  COMM K4130. Working with the Media COMM K4160. Political Communications COMM K4170. Crisis Communications COMM K4205. Advanced Writing Workshop COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4235. The Power of Opinion
  
  Nonprofit Communications
  
  COMM K4130. Working with the Media COMM K4131. Corporate Communications COMM K4121. Internal Communications COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4150. Strategy and Creativity in Today’s Marketplace COMM K4170. Crisis Communications COMM K4202. Communications for Social Change COMM K4205. Advanced Writing Workshop COMM K4210. Communication and Global Brands COMM K4220. Learning to Lead: Effective Communications COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4235. The Power of Opinion COMM K4245. Global Communications: The Business of Issues COMM K4250. Direct Response Communications
  
  Political Communications
  
  COMM K4130. Working with the Media COMM K4140. Communications 3.0: Best Practices in a Networked Society COMM K4150. Strategy and Creativity in Today’s Marketplace COMM K4160. Political Communications COMM K4170. Crisis Communications COMM K4202. Communications for Social Change COMM K4205. Advanced Writing Workshop COMM K4220. Learning to Lead: Effective Communications COMM K4225. Delivering the Strategic Message COMM K4235. The Power of Opinion COMM K4250. Direct Response Communications
  
  UC-Irvine is offering the following program, which looks at Social Network Analysis. (But this isn't what I am thinking of):
  
  The Program in Mathematical Behavioral Science offers a PhD in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Social Network Analysis. The focus of study is on the patterns or forms of relations that link persons or other social actors together into coherent wholes. Thus, Social Networks stresses the structural interests of several disciplines including sociology, anthropology and cognitive science. It is concerned with problems of representing such structures, both statically and dynamically, and with exploring the implications of structural form for individual and collective behavior. In addition, the networks perspective has important applications in the study of international relations, institutional change, organizational behavior, cooperation and conflict, health and mental health, and human communications research. Social Networks ... and Dynamics (a possible change of title) reflects an intensified interest of a number of the networks faculty and graduate students, especially within the broader faculty of the MBS program, in the dynamic aspects of human interactions, groups and social systems, including network aspects of complexity theory.
  
  My Alma mater, the University of Michigan is offering a Master of Science in Information with an emphasis in something called Social Computing. Again, I am not sure this is what I would be looking for, but it comes nearer the mark:
  
  Social Computing (SC) Specialization http://www.si.umich.edu/msi/sc.htm
  
  - Social computing -- including online communities, social networking, and user contributed content -- has been the darling of Silicon Valley for the past several years and is the force behind Web 2.0 applications.
  
  - Social computing has also gained currency in library circles, as venues such as library Web sites incorporate blogging features and sites such as LibraryThing bring recommended technologies to personal book collections.
  
  - SI faculty have invented and analyzed many of the underlying techniques that have powered the rise of social computing, including recommender systems, reputation systems, prediction markets, social network analysis, online communities, and computer-supported cooperative work.
  
  - Students pursuing a specialization in Social Computing learn to analyze online social interactions, both in online communities and in more diffuse social networks.
  
  - They learn about features of social computing technologies so they can recognize opportunities to put them to use in new settings and make good choices about alternative implementations.
  
  - Social Computing specialists will be highly qualified to step into positions such as these:
  
  
  Online community manager
  
  E-marketing associate
  
  Product manager
  
  Social network analyst
  
  Community organizer
  
  Management consultant
  
  User-experience analyst
  
  Web analyst
  
  Blog links for thoughtful discussion:
  
  http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2007/04/tech_enhanced_l.html
  http://weblogg-ed.com/2007/a-degree-in-social-computing-ohthe-irony/