Social Media, Social Intelligence, and Emerging Trends in Higher Education Communication

Social media has transformed the way in which individuals, groups, businesses, and organizations communicate with each other. The modes and manners in which social media are utilized heavily influence the potential outreach to friends, family members, clients, and other peers within our personal and professional networks. Social media has swept across the higher education landscape on several layers. The way social media is used by higher education stakeholders seems to grow at an exponential rate as time and technology progress. Social media is used for personal interactions and communications, and is increasingly part of the professional repertoire we are expecting higher education graduates to have as an essential skill for employment and networking needs. It is also increasingly used as a means by which higher education curriculum can be and is delivered. Students, faculty members, and administrators are relying more than ever on social media to disseminate their instruction, learning, scholarship, research findings, and outreach initiatives.