NPC launches sororityIQ.com site

[KSUViolet06]

INDIANAPOLIS—The National Panhellenic Conference launched the second in a series of Web sites to better inform students and parents about the “real” sorority experience.

www.SororityIQ.com is a sister site to TheSororityLife.com, which launched in November. The online project is planned through the end of 2009.
“Our next evolution Web sites are better geared to telling parents and even high school students about the real facts,” said Julie Cain Burkhard, chairman of the NPC based in Indianapolis. “The goal is to crack the stereotypes and push out the truth.”

Much like TheSororityLife.com Web site, the newest resource-rich site will evolve into a more interactive tool for others to use and share—including posting comments, subscribing to new and timely e-newsletters that both parents and students should find valuable, and creating the most trusted online source for accurate information.

Visitors are also invited to take a quick online quiz to get more accurate information.

“As parents shop online for colleges along with their children, we want to be front and center as a resource—and as a myth buster,” said Burkhard.
The opportunity to work online also gives the NPC the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of students, many who rely on instant messaging, texting, shared video and social networking sites, to stay in touch and on top of the news.

“NPC will have a strong presence online with a quicker way to reach our target audiences,” she said.

The first two phases of the project, completed by MediaSauce in Carmel, Ind., will eventually include three new sites that will include information and interactive capabilities for parents, alumnae and unaffiliated women who are looking for specific information about sorority life.

[UGAalum94]

Personally, I'm not a fan of doing this so much and think that if we have to market ourselves to this degree that maybe we've strayed too far from our roots as organizations.

(I'm not really the person who complains about people or bands "selling out" all the time, but sometimes we tip too far to the corporate marketing/corporate public relations side of things, IMO. I'm pretty cool with stuff done to appeal to the media that young members want to use but not with selling organizations to parents and high schoolers with superficial boosterism. It ought to be clear from what we do as organizations what sorority life is all about, and if it's not, are slick NPC sites going to help?)


Thanks for posting the links. Sorry for being a raincloud, especially if any folks from here worked on the site or participated in its design.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Personally, I'm not a fan of doing this so much and think that if we have to market ourselves to this degree that maybe we've strayed too far from our roots as organizations.

(I'm not really the person who complains about people or bands "selling out" all the time, but sometimes we tip too far to the corporate marketing/corporate public relations side of things, IMO. I'm pretty cool with stuff done to appeal to the media that young members want to use but not with selling organizations to parents and high schoolers with superficial boosterism. It ought to be clear from what we do as organizations what sorority life is all about, and if it's not, are slick NPC sites going to help?)

Thanks for posting the links. Sorry for being a raincloud, especially if any folks from here worked on the site or participated in its design.

I don't see this as marketing. I see this as a way to keep people informed.

I'm not going to make assumptions about you or your experience, but if you were in an environment where people don't know much about Greek life, and where a lot of students don't get involved because their parents are against it (for no other reason than they believe all the stereotypes), then I would assume you would see all of this differently.

I only wish there were sites like this for me to look at when I entered college, as I knew next to nothing about Greek life. If I had sites like this presented to me, then I might have joined sooner than I did.

[phisiglindsey]

The site seems to definitely bust the myths of sorority women being only interested in partying, but it does seem a bit too commercial. I think it fails to show the true beauty of being in a sorority. It makes sororities seem like clubs that you just sign up for. I do like how it shows the wonderful aspects of being in a sorority, but you can't honestly explain the greatness of sororities to a non-Greek. They just need to experience it for themselves.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I don't see this as marketing. I see this as a way to keep people informed.

I'm not going to make assumptions about you or your experience, but if you were in an environment where people don't know much about Greek life, and where a lot of students don't get involved because their parents are against it (for no other reason than they believe all the stereotypes), then I would assume you would see all of this differently.

I only wish there were sites like this for me to look at when I entered college, as I knew next to nothing about Greek life. If I had sites like this presented to me, then I might have joined sooner than I did.

Is a pro-sorority website made by sororities really going to work for that?

Originally Posted by phisiglindsey

The site seems to definitely bust the myths of sorority women being only interested in partying, but it does seem a bit too commercial. I think it fails to show the true beauty of being in a sorority. It makes sororities seem like clubs that you just sign up for. I do like how it shows the wonderful aspects of being in a sorority, but you can't honestly explain the greatness of sororities to a non-Greek. They just need to experience it for themselves.

Yep.

And you can do more to promote the actual individual events that sororities participate in. More individual sorority women can promote or mention their experiences.

[KSUViolet06]

I think the idea of these websites is to introduce the *idea* of joining a sorority. Just to get girls thinking about it without totally overwhelming them with "how to" info like recommendations, mutual selection, bid matching, etc.

[tld221]

I have a question: has NPC interest/desire decreased significantly to the point of needing a website to spark the interest of incoming freshwomen? Or is this a matter of using the power of the internet and how far it reaches?

The upside, as I see it, is that its controlled/mainted by NPC so there's no room for it to get out of control like JC (or other 3rd party/informational websites). And while (as of know, who knows it could change) this website may present a narrow or specific image of what NPC sorority life is like, I think, to a degree, that's OK, because part of researching sororities (or anything) is finding sources that support many sides/arguments of its issues.

Btw, I think its FABULOUS how this is done for NPC and not for fraternities. Men don't need to be sold to like women, and this is case in point. Do we really need to drive the point home to our daughters/sisters/nieces/friends/mentees that its essential for a woman to socially associate herself with a group and be identified as XYZ?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by tld221

I have a question: has NPC interest/desire decreased significantly to the point of needing a website to spark the interest of incoming freshwomen? Or is this a matter of using the power of the internet and how far it reaches?

Probably the latter. I think (just from looking at the most recent annual reports and just seeing the # of schools expanding) that NPC membership has remained reasonably constant.

Originally Posted by tld221

Do we really need to drive the point home to our daughters/sisters/nieces/friends/mentees that its essential for a woman to socially associate herself with a group and be identified as XYZ?

I don't think this website gives off the vibe of "it is essential for you to be associated with a sorority when you go to college." I see ity as more of a "hey, we know you're looking at colleges and things to do at college, and this is defintely something you want to look into."

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by phisiglindsey

The site seems to definitely bust the myths of sorority women being only interested in partying, but it does seem a bit too commercial. I think it fails to show the true beauty of being in a sorority. It makes sororities seem like clubs that you just sign up for. I do like how it shows the wonderful aspects of being in a sorority, but you can't honestly explain the greatness of sororities to a non-Greek. They just need to experience it for themselves.

I can agree with this.

I wish the site was more.. descriptive? I definitely like the idea of it, but if it was more extensive, I think it might be more beneficial. The point is, I didn't really know what a sorority was, or what they did, until after my first ceremony, so to have something (a book, a website, a person... anything!) describing to me what it was all about would have helped immensely.

[AnatraAmore]

I think this website is great for someone who knows nothing about Greek Life, but I'd really like see a website for women who know they want to go Greek and want more honest information about how it works. Creating a web site goes over the reality of recommendations, bid matching, etc. and how it looks at different types of schools so that girls know what to be prepared for when they enter UGA v. UMass. That's where PNMs and parents are really at a loss for information. Just my thoughts...

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AnatraAmore

I think this website is great for someone who knows nothing about Greek Life, but I'd really like see a website for women who know they want to go Greek and want more honest information about how it works. Creating a web site goes over the reality of recommendations, bid matching, etc. and how it looks at different types of schools so that girls know what to be prepared for when they enter UGA v. UMass. That's where PNMs and parents are really at a loss for information. Just my thoughts...

Yes, and this is one think that site completely fails to do.

And we know that some parts of the "myths" listed are kind of true at some campuses. Your physical appearance will matter some places, for instance.

Sure, something needs to be out there to balance the enduring bad press the whole system gets whenever one chapter or a few Greek individuals do something stupid/evil. But I'd prefer this be more authentic somehow, rather than a like of slick pre-packaged site.

[SWTXBelle]

I assume the target audience is the majority of women who are interested in sorority membership but know nothing about them.

For others, there is GreekChat.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AnatraAmore

I think this website is great for someone who knows nothing about Greek Life, but I'd really like see a website for women who know they want to go Greek and want more honest information about how it works. Creating a web site goes over the reality of recommendations, bid matching, etc. and how it looks at different types of schools so that girls know what to be prepared for when they enter UGA v. UMass. That's where PNMs and parents are really at a loss for information. Just my thoughts...

The problem with providing very specific information pertaining to recs, for example, is that not all schools require them. I think to have a very brief description of what they are, but then to say "Contact the Greek Life office at your school for more information" would be ok. Because a lot of schools don't require them, to have someone freak out and get recs for nothing probably wouldn't help.

On the other hand... if the website went into detail concerning academics (minimum GPA requirements, scholarship opportunities, individual chapter programs), philanthropy (national projects, local endeavors), tradition (history, ritual, without giving away specific info), etc., it might also help people to understand what it is ALL sororities do.

And rather than list hundreds and hundreds of famous sorority members, I would rather see news articles about positive sorority experiences and stories.

The idea is great, but I do think it needs some work.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by AnatraAmore

I think this website is great for someone who knows nothing about Greek Life, but I'd really like see a website for women who know they want to go Greek and want more honest information about how it works. Creating a web site goes over the reality of recommendations, bid matching, etc. and how it looks at different types of schools so that girls know what to be prepared for when they enter UGA v. UMass. That's where PNMs and parents are really at a loss for information. Just my thoughts...

I think that's really essential. I think that's why GC is important because there are so many different views of what greek life can look like.

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Personally, I'm not a fan of doing this so much and think that if we have to market ourselves to this degree that maybe we've strayed too far from our roots as organizations.

(I'm not really the person who complains about people or bands "selling out" all the time, but sometimes we tip too far to the corporate marketing/corporate public relations side of things, IMO. I'm pretty cool with stuff done to appeal to the media that young members want to use but not with selling organizations to parents and high schoolers with superficial boosterism. It ought to be clear from what we do as organizations what sorority life is all about, and if it's not, are slick NPC sites going to help?)


Thanks for posting the links. Sorry for being a raincloud, especially if any folks from here worked on the site or participated in its design.

I don't say this too often, but I agree with UGAAlum94 100%.