Baylor Facebook Page Hits 25,000 Fans

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The Official Baylor University Facebook page, the place for celebrating the good news about Baylor University and the entire Baylor family, hit 25,000 fans this month, giving the Baylor family even more reason to celebrate.

The Baylor page, which was launched in September 2009, is a place for Baylor alums, faculty, staff, students and Baylor fans to connect through regular updates linking fans to events and news about Baylor through videos, photo albums, news releases and more. Baylor fans have the opportunity to comment on these posts and status updates, many of which are automatic feeds from Baylor Proud, a blog featuring all the good news about Baylor.

"It's all about the Baylor family," said Randy Woodruff, assistant vice president for video and electronic communications at Baylor, about the Facebook page. "It is a chance for Baylor fans from the past, present and future to connect to celebrate Baylor traditions that live on as well as the exciting new developments and growth of Baylor today."

The growth of the page is evident in more than just the fan total. People are commenting and clicking 'like' on status updates, media posts and events in huge numbers.

"Before the end of the Baylor v. Old Dominion (men's basketball) game, I already typed the post that Baylor had advanced to the Sweet 16. As soon as the game was over I clicked 'post,' then 'like' and already eight other people had clicked 'like' too. Within a minute there were 300 responses. It is incredible to celebrate with the Baylor family that quickly," Woodruff said.

The page connects the Baylor family with more than just status updates and comments. The page features 64 photo albums showcasing the diverse events on the Baylor campus, including photos from Habitat for Humanity, Snow Day 2010 and the Physics Circus. The page even featured photographs from Baylor Homecomings through the decades dating back to before the 1950s all the way to Baylor's 100th Homecoming celebration in 2009.

The page also has posted 47 video clips from Baylor baseball, football and the women and men's basketball games. Students and alums voice their opinions in Snapshots, video clips featuring students answering questions, such as "Why Did You Choose Baylor?" "What's Your Favorite Baylor Tradition?" and "What's the Christian Atmosphere Like?"

"Around 100 to 200 fans are joining the Baylor page each day," Woodruff said. "It is more than Baylor alums and students who are joining the page. Baylor has an appeal beyond those who attend the university. Our fans include parents, athletic fans and those who love and admire what Baylor represents."

The Baylor page features information on Baylor athletics, events and news going on around campus. Some of the events include the Beall Poetry Festival, how Baylor business students had an opportunity to have a question and answer session with national business leader Warren Buffet and how the Baylor Law School May commencement ceremony will feature John Lee Hancock, the writer and director for the Oscar- nominated movie, The Blind Side.

"Our goal is for the Baylor Facebook page to be fun and informative for the entire Baylor family and the numbers indicate that we are having some success," Woodruff said. "Baylor is a university where people are incredibly passionate about their experience. We have simply provided a place for alums to remember that their Baylor is still here and for students, faculty and staff to continue to create a Baylor that no one will ever forget."

The Baylor Facebook page can be found at www.baylor.edu/facebook.

by Lillyan Baker, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805