1. Great questions, Gaby. I think this is definitely something people should weigh in on.

2. I’m not sure I would call it secretive. There’s a section on our Admissions home page that with a link to this. I think it’s definitely exploring a new media — good — but I wouldn’t say UMBC is just like, secretly uploading movies to YouTube.

3. I really, really like the idea of this, and I really applaud Adam for putting in the time and everything to do something like this. I know as a senior, there are lots of options open for how to spend time and not much of it, so the fact that he’s doing this with the goal of helping UMBC is definitely cool. I think the more that prospective students can see of actual students and student opinions about UMBC instead of just the standard “We’re really cool and you should come here” in pamphlets the better.

4. I like the laid back aspect of the video(s), and I think they’ve definitely got some inherent appeal to new students just looking to watch something from a UMBC student, but I wish they were a little bit more organized. Well, let me rephrase that: I know that’s sort of the point, for it to be whatever and improv, but I think if part of the episode was whatever, walking around seeing whatever, talking to people, and part of it was asking students legit questions like… Why did you come here, what do you love most about this place, what do you hate most, what do you study and how’s the program… that would be cool. And you could tie it into the other parts of the episode. I don’t know. I guess a good question to ask is: is UMBC trying to use this as serious advertising. If so, I think it’s already got a lot of really good stuff (video of the campus, video of actual students, video of students doing things outside of the classroom), but I think it should also realize prospective students have a lot to think about when picking a school, and are asking some tough questions in their own minds. When videos like this just talk about all the great stuff and none of the negatives, I could see prospective students seeing it as just another pitch, just another pamphlet, when what I think we want is for it to come across as authentic — from the source. If videos like this could walk through some of those tough questions with them, I think there’s a better chance they’d be able to see themselves at UMBC.

wait… umbc has parties??

and yeah i mean, im on my own love-list too

1) green tea
2) the retriever weekly
3) me

i like the videos, i think theyre pretty funny. i feel like highschoolers might find them a bit corny though… no, i see it as less of a pamphlet and more of a creative endeavor, and i dont think that negatives are necessary, but it does seem a bit… staged almost; this kid lloovveess his school a little too much. but im definetly glad they dont go around quizzing random students about their umbc faves, that would just be too contrived and absolutely unenjoyable to watch. i think the randomness and the diy feel of these videos is what makes them successful

well done umbc/ adam
(im beginning to begin to confuse the line where one ends and the other begins these days)

Isn’t there a video on collegehumor.com where the punchline is “if our college didn’t suck, we wouldn’t need commercials!”? Yeah.

treeveins raised the most important question: Is this a serious advertisement for UMBC?

are the videos a serious advertisement?

no they are not. they are not being emailed to prospective students. they are not being sent on DVDs. they are exactly what they appear to be, stupid youtube videos. it is just a single part in a unique advertising campaign organized by an independent advertising agency working with UMBC. the hope is that people will stumble across these videos while doing their own searches for info on UMBC and realize that there are just lots of different people on campus.

to make my point, there is a shitty quality video of me doing karaoke at my welcome week (fall 2006). it currently has over 21,000 views, and i certainly haven’t been watching it, or telling anyone about it. still, it’s tagged as “UMBC” and i have had a fellow UMBC student tell me they saw me in it before, not to mention, again, it has 21,000+ views!

prospective students aren’t being asked to watch these videos and use them to make a decision. they aren’t being told that these videos are an accurate depiction of everyone’s UMBC experience and that this is all there is.

the video series is a small piece of a much larger marketing campaign that involves many different people and departments, from the ad agency, to the office of institutional advancement, to admissions, to the office of student life that puts on large events that get us great word of mouth, to this blog and the retriever in general, to the students of this university themselves, who are the best advertisement UMBC has (as president hrabowski loves to remind us when he gets the chance, haha).

the same people who are going to find that video might very well be reading these comments. prospective students are a lot like you and me… they know how to use the internet, and they’re going to use it to the best of their ability to find additional information about the university. all my videos are doing is providing an additional source.

and you know what? if you don’t like my videos, or just have a personal bias against me, etc, feel free to do your own videos! i shot everything with a basic video camera and it’s pieced together in final cut, though it could just as easily have been windows movie maker or imovie. grab a camera, take some footage, pick a song, and throw it up on youtube.

thanks for your time, and don’t forget – everyone should be on their own “love list.”

-adam

This is such malarkey. After seeing this video, I’m starting to think of transferring. Honestly, that clown doesn’t speak for any of us.

Jesus Christ if I wanted to listen to a narcissistic freak talk about how he doesn’t shave for five minutes I’d return my mother-in-law’s phone calls.

These videos do not represent UMBC whatsoever. I hope Mr. Adam will enjoy the cease and desist letter he’ll be getting shortly in the mail.

he is not a narcissistic clown freak. Not to sound too much like a first grade teacher but seriously, be nice! As Adam or anyone would tell you in regards to SEB events or his own creative endeavors, if you don’t like it, do something about it! (ie make your own youtube videos/help plan events, not whine on the retriever blog). I think his videos are cute. They obviously represent his life, so I can see how if you are not a part of his life, or your life is different from his, how you wouldn’t like his videos. If that’s the case…don’t watch them? I think even prospective students would be capable of understanding that Adam does not represent everyone at UMBC. If they’re not smart enough to figure that out, maybe they shouldn’t come to UMBC in the first place.