Greetings from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina! I’m on vacation this week but couldn’t leave my loyal readers stranded without a tip;)

Preparing to write this tip today (versus hanging by the pool) has the issue of “hyperconnectivity” on my mind. Most of us are trying to find a better balance of being “plugged in” and being fully present with friends and family while not on the clock.

While I can’t solve that riddle for us, I can point to one group that is not wrestling with being too connected: our beloved Millennials. They simply don’t see the same divide between the “online” and “offline” world the way we do. To them, it’s all one big happy universe with broadband access;)

For Millennials, balance comes naturally because these technologies (for the most part) have always been part of their lives. They don’t view “signing on” or checking email as a chore, and logging on to their social network du jour both rejuvenates and refreshes them. It’s not work, it’s socialization — and they don’t wanna miss a thing.

I’m seeing it first-hand with the teenagers I’m on vacation with. In between trips to the beach and the ice cream parlor, they’re stopping at the Internet Cafe because our condo (GASP! HORROR!) has no Internet access. To them, being disconnected is the equivalent of social suicide. So imagine the confusion when they visit your website and can’t figure out how to IM someone with a question, post a comment or connect with others for inside information.

The reason I mention all of this is to set the stage for a series of XpertTips on social networking. If you haven’t heard already, TargetX recently released a social networking tool just for higher education. This medium has completely changed the communication landscape for teens and certainly warrants our attention.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at this issue more closely as it relates to admissions marketing. I welcome your comments as usual!

Read more about our authors.  To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box.