Hello.

The purpose of this blog is to examine this question:

Within the framework of changing demographics and technology, what does advancement need to do to maintain its relevance in the future and increase its effectiveness?

Advancement faces huge challenges in the coming years. To name just a few:

* Cell phones: a National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) showed that more than 20 percent of homes had only wireless telephones. Adults in the 25-29 age segment were even higher - 41.5 percent of that group had wireless phones only. How do we engage this highly mobile group? How do we maintain a relationship with them? How do we contact them for fundraising or alumni events? Better yet, how do we prepare for new technological challenges, such as Google Voice?

* Interactive media: it seems like every organization is trying to figure out how to use Facebook, Twitter, and other so-called 'social' media to engage their constituents. Higher education's approach to this method has been very experimental; best practices and standards are difficult to find. What are the answers? How do we *engage* with our constituencies in a meaningful way?

*Message exhaustion: how many times can we say “your gift makes all the difference” before our constituencies stop believing it? Haven’t we all seen the same messages stated over and over? Where are the new ideas?

We’ll take a look at these subjects and others as we work together to analyze the New Advancement.