Saw this article via a Tweet from the really cool folks at Socialcast,
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is creating a major in social networking. The course of study, expected to launch in 2010, is meant to provide students both the technical and 'business' perspectives on the use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Program designers are trying to attract students to Oshkosh that might not have previously considered the school.
The full article can be found on the Badger Herald site.
Most every college has elements of social networking interspersed among various programs. Public Relations, Internet Marketing, Graphic Design, Journalism, and Advertising programs all typically include aspects of social networking. Curiously, most courses of study in Human Resources have not incorporated much social networking content. My HR Technology class does include some discussion of internal and external social networking in the contexts of recruiting, performance management, and workforce collaboration, but truly even my class does not spend nearly enough time on the topic.
I have wondered in the past if I should try and create an entire class in the HR program to concentrate completely on social networking and so-called Enterprise 2.0 technologies, and now that Oshkosh is pioneering with an entire major in the subject, I think it is time to re-visit my idea and try to get such a course created and delivered. I had a guest post last week on the Fistful of Talent where I took the position that current and future HR leaders have to get educated in this area in order to be in position to leverage these emerging technologies effectively.
What do you think, should a Human Resources program have a dedicated Social Networking course?
And if so, what specific topics should be included?