Blog
Twitter bootcamp
Nov. 5, 2013—“I know I need to be on Twitter, but I just don’t know where to begin. So, I haven’t.” Does this describe you, your co-workers, your students or your professor? Help is here. I was recently lucky enough to contribute to Twitter Bootcamp, a 28-day crash course for people new to Twitter. Even if you’ve been...
Library system launches new websites
Aug. 13, 2013—The Jean and Alexander Heard Library at Vanderbilt University has launched its new website. The redesign takes into account library user feedback while capturing advances in Web design to create a robust user-centered experience. This two-year project is the culmination of a huge collective effort, involving staff from across the Heard Library and University Web...
Welcome our new team members!
Jul. 15, 2013—Did you notice our avatars are missing from the Web Comm homepage? Oh…. and the ELEVEN new names listed as part of the team now? Wondering what’s going on? I’m here to give you the 411. As you may have already heard, a significant outcome of the IT Transformation Initiative was the July 1 launch...
OmniUpdate Dependency Manager now enabled for binary files
May. 9, 2013—Now that we’ve enabled the Dependency Manager for binary files, images and documents will be uploaded to the staging server instead of going straight to production. The restore feature will now work for images and documents and additionally, it will keep track of file names, their locations, and revisions. Binary files: Non-text based files such...
We’re looking for an awesome web developer… is that you?
Apr. 22, 2013—UPDATE: We found our awesome person! Welcome aboard, Bo Link. We are seeking a Web developer to provide programming and Web development support for our office, University Web Communications, which is the central Web development office for Vanderbilt University. We are a growing team of very awesome people that works closely together on all projects....
Off our nut: Squirrelcast
Apr. 2, 2013— UPDATE: Apparently the week of April 8 is Squirrel Week, and our furry foray into the world of squirrels was recognized by the Washington Post. We’re doing important work here, people. Every year, universities around the country take great pleasure in April Fool’s pranks. And every year, we sit back and watch the madness...
Telling the Vanderbilt Story
Mar. 19, 2013—This was one of those A-HA! projects that come out of nowhere and then takes over your life—but in a good way. Lacy and I were brainstorming about something or other when we had the idea to create a site that focuses on the people at Vanderbilt. Faculty. Staff. Students. Alumni. Not the research they’re...
Provost’s presence peps up
Mar. 19, 2013—When the Provost’s Office approached us about a redesign for their website – one that would be a vibrant academic hub for the university – we were on board. After all, their previous site was a little staid. And the chief academic officer of the university deserves a website that showcases our research and faculty...
Spring cleaning for Nashville
Mar. 19, 2013—Ok, not the city of Nashville – it’s great the way it is. But our website that brags about how great Nashville is was in need of some sprucing up. Fun fact: Vanderbilt’s Nashville site was the very first site we moved into our content management system, OmniUpdate, in June of 2010. We’ve come a...
We need a website TODAY: The beauty of my.vanderbilt.edu
Jan. 17, 2013—“I know you guys are really busy, but – I need a website right away. Like, TODAY.” They’re the words that every project manager dreads, and hears about once a week. We understand: Work piles up, deadlines sneak up on you, you plan an entire publication around a website and then forget to ask someone...
Kudos to us!
Jan. 10, 2013—Pardon us while we take a moment to toot our own horn. Our weekly project, “Our Favorite Tweets of the Week” has been recognized in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) district competition (along with some of our outstanding colleagues in Public Affairs). “Tweets” was recognized in the social media strategy and execution category. Each...
Web Communications presents: Open office hours
Jan. 10, 2013—Beginning this month — each Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. — Web Communications will be offering in-person assistance with any questions/issues you may be having with your Web Communications supported website. You can drop by our offices in Baker Building and a member of our office will assist you with your questions. No appointments necessary —...
2012 with Web Communications
Dec. 20, 2012—2012 has been a busy year in Web Communications! We’ve launched projects, trained users, answered hundreds of help desk tickets, tweeted, facebooked, flickr’d and youtube’d—and had a pretty good time through it all. Here’s our year in review—as an infographic, what else?!? :)
Anchoring Down with BOWL CENTRAL
Nov. 28, 2012—Anyone who follows me on twitter knows I am a HUGE Vanderbilt football fan. I paint my nails black and gold for home games, am a season ticket holder, and bleed black and gold. During home games, I also post for Vanderbilt on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sooo… when we get to the point in the season...
Blair School of Music moves from Drupal to Omni and WordPress
Nov. 26, 2012—In September, the Blair School of Music migrated their website from Drupal into OmniUpdate and WordPress. Alongside the migration to a new content management system, we also redesigned the site — streamlining navigation and adding in some standard Vanderbilt theme elements to the design (a modified brand bar and footer section — which tie in...