Myra Norton to Discuss the Role of Social Networking on Program Development, Marketing, and Fundraising.
Baltimore, January 2008 – Community Analytics, a research organization that applies the principles of social networking to drive organizational performance, will present at the Academic Impressions’ Alumni Affinity Conference on March 26, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. Academic Impressions is an organization that helps to advance higher education strategies by fostering meaningful dialogue. Myra Norton, CEO of Community Analytics, will lead three sessions on alumni social networks, data gathering and tracking, and linking affinity and interest to annual funds.
“We plan to discuss how networks of advice‐seeking among alumni can be leveraged to improve university events, increase participation, and drive donations,” said Norton. “I think the attendees will gain an interesting perspective on the dynamics of social networking through our research and implementation with a variety of colleges and universities.”

In the first workshop, Norton will focus on systems of influence and show how networks can be used to better engage alumni and boost fundraising. Norton will demonstrate how academic professionals can reach major gift prospects through an understanding of the peer‐to‐peer connections that exist among alumni.
In the second session, Norton will educate attendees on the ways to gather and track affinity data, as ...