Higher Ed Solo: For those who feel alone, but aren’t

“One is the loneliest number,” Three Dog Night sang (video) many, many years ago. But that was long before the Internet and social media helped all those lonely hearts connect via cyberspace.

Now, folks in higher ed who work in small shops — even those who are An Army of One, as Ron Bronson puts it — have a new resource to help them connect. Ron and Tonya Oaks Smith have created Higher Ed Solo, a blog dedicated to “helping solo practitioners find resources and encouragement” (as Ron and Tonya’s “introduction of sorts” post puts it).

In the site’s About section, Tonya and Ron further describe the genesis of Higher Ed Solo as developing “from a conversation about one-person shops in higher education. With much of the conversations geared towards larger/bigger/faster/better, we thought it made sense to create a resource that focused on the challenges and opportunities, as well as the successes and struggles, of the ‘one (wo)man bands’ in the .edu world.”

I welcome Ron and Tonya’s project to the higher ed blogosphere and to my blogroll here. I’m excited to see this initiative, because it really fills a niche. There are many people who fly solo in the world of higher ed marketing, and having a niche community they can call their own should be valuable. Some of us who are fortunate to have others to work with may also sneak a peek at the blog from time to time (I know I will) and likely will glean some insight. Their latest post, an interview with Delta State’s Kim Cooley, is a good example of the kind of insightful content we’ll soon come to expect from Higher Ed Solo.

Follow their effort on Twitter, too: @higheredsolo. And while you’re at it, follow Ron (@ronbronson) and Tonya (@marleysmom) if you aren’t already.