Social networking web sites are taking away your message control—but you do have ways to cope with this phenomenon.

A few months ago, we talked with Charlene Li, the Forrester Research analyst who co-authored Groundswell, for our Spring 2008 issue of The Lawlor Review (incidentally, this means we scooped Fast Company magazine, which featured an interview with Li in its June 2008 issue). She says colleges and universities should view social media as an opportunity rather than as a threat, and we agree completely.

Consider this chart, developed by Pete Blackshaw of The ClickZ Network:

Social technologies give colleges and universities the “enormous potential to drive deep, sustainable bonds” (as Blackshaw puts it) with all of their constituents. Just as that terminology suggests, it’s a communal exchange—one that requires you to give up on top-down messaging and instead join the conversational fray. It may be worth giving up some control so you can become part of the groundswell.