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April 27, 2007
Got iTunes?
Officials launch Texas Tech on iTunes University.
Written by Michael Castellon
YouTube. Digg. Facebook. Several years ago, not many trend analysts suspected that user-generated Web content would explode in the way that it has. Homebrew videos, podcasts and musings have become the epicenter of content that exists on the Web. Now, iPod-toting Texas Tech University students, staff and faculty have a place to call their own.
“For several months, Texas Tech has been working with Apple Inc. to launch its own branded page within the iTunes Music Store,” said Texas Tech President Jon Whitmore. “It’s my pleasure to announce that our store is live and we can position ourselves to begin accepting content generated by the Texas Tech Community.”
iTunes U at Texas Tech University includes content related to academics, research, campus life and athletics.
Putting the "You" in University
In keeping with tradition of user-generated content, university officials is marketing the iTunesU launch using new media, including posting teasers on the wildly popular social networking site Facebook, which boasts membership of more than 30,000 people in the Texas Tech community.
“Not only will iTunes U at Texas Tech University allow our students and faculty to submit their own video and audio tracks to a medium that our students and potential students use extensively, but it also gives us the opportunity to show the world what's going on at this dynamic university,” Whitmore said. “This major project allows us to use new media to better market ourselves and our events.”
Unlike many iTunes U projects at other campuses, Texas Tech’s storefront will not just feature academic and lecture content.
Launch productions currently include a short student-made video that tells the tale of a starved student enduring class long enough to make it to a campus eatery. Users can watch and download a video that outlines the effort it takes to host a Texas Tech football game, including interviews with food vending staff, P.A. announcers and security personnel. The store also features content related to job hunting and resume writing, movie reviews, poetry and literature readings and a video tribute to Men’s Basketball coach Bob Knight’s 880 career win.
For information on how to submit content for iTunes U at Texas Tech University, contact Michael Castellon in the Office of Communications and Marketing.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136.
Web layout by Gretchen Pressley