CollegeBlender Blog

Calling all Musicians

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:40:00 -0400

We want to extend an invitation to all members of CollegeBlender to sign up for one of the many contests going on with BreakoutBand, an online social musical creation platform.

To celebrate the start of NCAA basketball’s Sweet 16, BreakoutBand is calling out students to create songs to show their school spirit and fan love. Favorites will be posted on the BreakoutBand website and published across a handful of on-campus college publications.

Create your song on BreakoutBand.com and tweet it to @Breakoutband with #MarchMadness included to enter!

For other opportunities to win check out BreakoutBand’s website.

Site Updates on CollegeBlender.com

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:34:42 -0500

Just wanted to spread the work that a minor site update was made last night that addressed some major bugs on CollegeBlender. First off, the forums are now all working again, both at the “All Schools” level and on individual school subpages.

Another big fix posted last night is that school subpages no longer fail to load. So if you visit your school page at http://collegeblender.com/schools/RIT [RIT school subpage] you can now browse content posted solely from people at your school. Not sure how to find your school’s subpage? Click the “All Schools” label in the top right gray bar and it will switch to a text box. Type in the name of your school and it should come up in the list, if you do not see your school in the list it’s because no one has posted any content to it yet.

You will need to clear your browser’s cache to ensure you see all the new fixes correctly. For tips on clearing your browser cache check out this post: http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser’s-Cache

More new stuff is on the way soon! Stay tuned!

CollegeBlender in the news!

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:07:48 -0400

It’s always humbling and exciting to be featured in the news and honored as a top resource for students.

AOL’s WalletPop recently featured an article on mobile blogging among college students; and the chance for students to win a free iPhone 4 from blogging platform Posterous just to blog from their phone for a year. CollegeBlender was interviewed to weigh in on the growing trend of mobile blogging.

eCollege recently recognized us with their eCollege Freshman Advisor Award as a resource “needed to succeed with their academic aspirations.”

Check out the other award winners for some other helpful content aimed at students who have just made the transition into college life.

We were also recently listed among the Top 100 Education Advice Blogs (even though we’re not a blog :D), by CollegeScholarships.org

Social Media: Critical Tools in Enhancing the Collegiate Experience

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:53:00 -0400

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who writes on the topics of online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email: blauren99@gmail.com

It’s that time of year again. Whether you are a returning student or are new to the college life, fall is quickly approaching, and it’s important to gear yourself for another year of school. For those new to the college scene, you should know that the university environment is just as importantly about hitting the books as it is about developing the social animal in you that is inherent in all of us.

The best way to approach both these goals is to make full use of tools that are at your disposal. And that’s where social media comes in. Sure, many criticize the rising tide of Facebook, Twitter, and the like, but the fact still stands—as a college student, these tools are critical to making the most of your three to four years of higher education, whether you like it or not.

First, let’s cover the “hitting the books” bit, since that’s ostensibly what we are all here for in the first place. Many will say that there is an undeniable strength in numbers. And this is true of studying. Study groups will be one of your most powerful tools in getting the most out of your classes in an efficient manner. One way to do this through social media is to create a Wiki group and encourage others in your class to use it. The best part about wikis is that they’re easy to learn to use, and they enables everyone to take a leadership role in the discussion and learning process. For more info on how Wikis enhance collaborative learning, see this Educause article.

Social media is also an indispensable tool in developing your extra-curricular interests. Through Twitter and Facebook newsfeed, for example, you can stay abreast of issues that matter to you from an incredibly wide variety of sources. This can’t be said of newspapers or even news websites. If you read only the New York Times, for example, you won’t be encouraged to get other perspectives. Going through Facebook’s newsfeed, you can view news articles that others have posted, and you’d be surprised at the breadth of sources that others have found. Same goes for Twitter.

Aside from keeping up with current events, social media enables you to find like-minded groups of people who share your passion for an activity or cause. A prime example of this is the popular social website MeetUp.com. MeetUp enables you to find groups virtually anywhere who meet in person to participate in an activity together. Popular MeetUp groups get together to practice foreign languages, for example, or to organize events geared to a specific cause. If your university tends to be insular in its social and extra-curricular activities, then MeetUp is a great way to get to know the community at large better, beyond the confines of your school.

Lastly, if you want to have an enhanced social life, then social media is the way to go. While Facebook is by far the most popular way to organize a cohesive social life, there are other social media venues that you can check out, too. Just to give you an indication of how enmeshed social media is to an enjoyable collegiate social life, I knew a few people who refused to get a Facebook profile (or any other similar social media tool). These handful had a very small, limited group of friends, and more often than not, relied on those who did use social media tools to keep up with social functions going on throughout the year.

So, as you head off back to school, remember: Social media is not just a passing fad. It’s a serious group of tools that will doubtlessly enhance your college experience, if you use them carefully and knowledgeably. If you haven’t yet started, be sure to surf these tools and become acquainted with their logistics before the year starts. It’s still summer, and you probably don’t have much else going on. It’s best to prepare yourself now

Upcoming changes to blog.collegeblender.com!

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:23:00 -0400

We’ve realized this space has long since gone neglected.

Being one of the web’s biggest networks of student-powered content, we’ve run into a lot of interesting stories and characters.

It’s time we put this space to better use!

Over the next few days, expect to see some regular features on student businesses, emerging student bloggers, posts on education issues, intriguing campus happenings, and more (in addition to the regularly scheduled programming of feature updates.)

If you have any story ideas, cool news items, or have a business or website you want featured, email us! contact [at] collegeblender [dot] com

Ride to School like a Rock Star this Semester

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:06:16 -0400

College is right around the corner. Most of you that are going back to school are probably thinking about what to pack, what to leave behind, and how you are getting your stuff to college.

We now have a new question to ask:

What limo do you want and who do you want to take in it…as you roll onto campus this semester!

Ship2School is an international college shipping service for students that launched a limo contest on Facebook dubbed “Ride to School like Rock Star”.

Last month, one lucky winner won a limo ride to school and their college shipping service for free. Pretty awesome, we think.

Since the contest was so well received by students, they have opened up the red carpet to CollegeBlender.com to offer one more winner this August to our fans.

It is easy to enter. Visit their site www.ship2school.com and enter their Ride to School like a Rock Star contest page. That’s it. Moving to college just got that much easier.

Partner Program: Boost your blog's visibility

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:15:57 -0400

As part of our mission to enhance digital college life, we’ve recently kicked off a partner program to help bring some of the web’s most useful and insightful college advice and commentary to you.

Maybe you’re looking for money advice. Or you’re having trouble studying. Perhaps the post-graduation adjustment is a bit hard to handle.

Among the 400+ student-powered blogs on CollegeBlender, you can certainly find some guidance, but how do you find the best of the best? Now, it’s as easy as navigating to CollegeBlender.com and looking at our partner list!

Do you run a college blog and are passionate about helping students? Apply to be a partner today.

While we’re interested in all types of blogs, we’re especially looking for blogs covering the political and fashion worlds from student perspectives. As a partner, you’d be promoted on our homepage, get added to our partners page and become eligible for special benefits and features as we continue to build out the site. All we ask in return is that you place a small badge on your site linking back to us:

Current Partners

We’re proud to announce our partnership program with some of the finest college content providers out there and look forward to growing our partner network with more valuable blogs that help students. All of these blogs are backed by real college students or alumni—a tradition we plan to uphold—you won’t find any syndicated content on these blogs.

CampusByte
Helps college students develop study skills by using new technology.
CollegeThrive
A site filled with study hacks, productivity tips, freshman advice, and even the occaisional party tip.
HackCollege
A student powered life hacking site. Work smarter, not harder.
NewGradLife
The only blog solely dedicated to providing free resources to recent college graduates.
Poorer Than You
A personal finance blog for college students and twenty-somethings.

New Feature: Activity Stream

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:09:38 -0400

The new activity stream is one of the first major social features to be added to CollegeBlender. It helps popular content spread quickly and also allows you to keep up to date with what your friends are doing- both on CollegeBlender and elsewhere.

The filters located at the top of the stream let you quickly sort through the noise and get to exactly what you want.

To get started you’ll need to find some interesting users and/or blogs on CollegeBlender. There are a few good places to look, but the blogs page, blogwire, and search are the fastest ways to find awesome content quickly.

If you find a user you like, you can “follow” them to keep up to date with what they find interesting on CollegeBlender. If they are already following you the button will say “friend”. Friends are people who are mutually following each other on CollegeBlender. Some users choose to keep their information private. These users will have to add you as a friend before you can view their profile or activities.

If you find a blog that’s interesting you can “favorite” it to get its posts delivered right to your stream. Below is a picture that describes how to follow users and favorite blogs from the blog’s profile page, but the user profile page shares similar controls.

Once you have built up a small group of friends and favorites activities will start to appear in your activity stream. These activities appear as they occur, so you’ll know when your friends are right there with you on CollegeBlender or when a new post pops up on your favorite blog. Activity entries are grouped by article and can show a variety of activities from one or more of your friends.

The stream is the first in a long list of new features coming to CollegeBlender. We hope it will help you to share items with friends as well as discover ones you would have otherwise missed. Check your stream often to see what’s new and hot on CollegeBlender!

TFLN Book Giveaway Winners

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:37:41 -0500

Thanks to all who participated. Out of all the entries, we picked the 3 winners at random.

Congrats to:

We’ll contact you via direct message on Twitter for your details.

Keep your eye out for more contests at CollegeBlender coming soon!

Giveaway: Win a Free Copy of Texts From Last Night!

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:52:51 -0500

If you’re a college student, you’ve no doubt had first-hand experience with (or at least heard of) waking up with obscene sharpie marker drawings on your skin. Or finding yourself in a strange place the next morning with mismatched clothing and people you don’t know. A pounding headache clouds your memory, but your text messages from the night before slowly reveal what actually happened.

Texts from Last Night can help you clear up some of the foggy details. Texts from Last Night is packed with some of the best one-liners and inebriated remarks, sourced from the hugely popular website of the same name started by two Michigan State University undergrads.

CollegeBlender has teamed up with Gotham Books to give away 3 free copies of this awesome book! All you have to do is send a tweet to @CollegeBlender or post on our Facebook wall.

The giveaway officially starts today, Monday, February 1 and runs through Sunday night, February 7. At the end of the contest, we’ll count up all of the tweets and Facebook wall posts we received and select three winners at random. Gotham Books will send the winners their copies directly.

Here’s How You Win:

- Tweet “@collegeblender I want to win a free copy of the TFLN book! RT to win! #college” or visit our Facebook page, become a fan, and post “I want to win a free copy of the TFLN book”

- You can tweet and/or post to our Facebook wall no more than once per day, each post or tweet counts as 1 entry (max 2 entries per day between Facebook and Twitter)

- We’ll direct message you on Twitter or send you a message on Facebook if you are selected as a winner.

- The more days you vote, the higher your chances of winning.

Good Luck!

The Small Print - Terms and Conditions:
Participants may submit one entry per day via Twitter and one entry per day via Facebook for the duration of the contest. CollegeBlender reserves the right to request additional information to validate winners. Winners will be contacted via direct message on Twitter or via Facebook within 15 days of the contest’s end. If users are found submitting more than one entry per day or otherwise manipulating the contest, CollegeBlender reserves the right to disqualify them from the contest. Submissions made past 11:59PM EST on February 7, 2010 will not be counted. Winners must provide name and mailing address to receive their book. For additional information, email contact@collegeblender.com.

CollegeBlender nominated for a Shorty Award!

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:03:46 -0500

Do you follow us on twitter? You should! We tweet out all kinds of juicy college gossip, news and info using our twitter account.

Recently we were nominated for a Shorty Award. Shorty Awards recognize twitter users that help share valuable and useful information on a category by category basis. We have been nominated for the #education category.

If you enjoy CollegeBlender, either via the site directly, via our facebook page, or via our twitter feed, we encourage you to vote for us on Shorty Awards. It’s quick and easy, all it takes is a tweet!

Thanks for the help, and stay tuned, we have some cool new features slated to roll out soon!

Have You Seen the New Talk Section?

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:12:00 -0500

Now you can get the real dirt on college and a host of other topics in the new “Talk” section.

In the talk section, you can post your most candid thoughts on college life, professors, day to day rants, and anything else you can imagine. The community decides which talk is the juiciest by “confirming” or “denying” them. Members can also tag and comment on talk as well to stir the pot.

All talk posts are organized by school and a variety of categories to make finding what you want a snap. You can choose to view the latest and most popular talk across the whole site at once, or filter by school or category to go right for what interests you most. Also, because people can only post talk to the school they joined with, you can be sure the posts are really from your school.

Got something you want to post but afraid of how some people may react? That’s ok. Just check the anonymous box and post as candidly as you like.

Don’t worry about outsiders reading your talk posts, because the talk section is members only. If you aren’t a CollegeBlender member you can’t add new talk, or view talk posts.

Got something to say? Get to it! Join now to start posting! If you’re already a member head to the talk section!

Important Note for Bloggers: New FTC Guidelines

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:41:00 -0500

Because a large portion of CollegeBlender members are active bloggers I just wanted to pop onto the blog and share a new FTC regulation that will go into effect starting today. Basically it states bloggers must disclose when they accept cash or freebies for posts.

Not really a big deal but definitely something good to know about if you are an active blogger and want to stay out of [potentially] hot water!

Read the full FTC release here.

We are go.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:47:00 -0500

We are happy to announce that CollegeBlender is officially open to the public today! This is technically the continuation of The College Blog Network - we’re still the same team from TCBN, just with a new name and look, and quite a few new features.

CollegeBlender is a place where you can connect with people on your campus and from other colleges around the world. Discover what’s happening on campus and read and share experiences with other people who are stuck on the same tiny island as you for the rest of their academic lives.

We’ll let you discover the cool little things you can do with CollegeBlender, but here are a few of the big new additions:

- All users now have profiles!

- There is a new Talk section that allows you to discuss whatever is on your mind, and see what other people on campus are talking about.

- Blogwire and the Blogs pages are now powered by more complex algorithms to help surface the best and most highly discussed content.

- We have a new url shortener for easier sharing: http://cblend.it - using this to spread your content will help it move up the ranks.

There’s lots more cool stuff to come, but for now check out everything you can do on the new CollegeBlender, Invite your friends, and keep an eye out for what’s next!

You may have noticed...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:17:52 -0500

Hi friends!

You may have noticed that The College Blog Network is now officially CollegeBlender!

The site is in “soft launch” state right now, which means we are still running around behind the scenes fixing bugs, improving performance and other things of that nature. The site is basically ready-to-roll but we are just making sure everything is tip-top before we start making public announcements.

If you’re already using blender, keep it up! Make sure to checkout our new talk section for questions, news and gossip around your campus! Stay tuned, the “public launch” is coming up soon, so you should see alot more of your friends popping up on blender once we publicly announce the new site!

In the meantime, enjoy! Tell your friends! And keep up the awesome posting!