As March Madness is off to a start, University of Wisconsin has earned the national title in a vaguely similar competition.
UW gained the top spot yesterday in the “Influencer Insanity” competition run by Klout, a site measuring online influence, according to a UW statement.
For the competition, which measured universities’ influence based on social media usage, UW went up against universities across the country in the bracket-based, line-up style of the NCAA basketball tournament, the statement said.
The final four remaining universities, UW, Marquette University, Indiana University and Harvard University, all battled one another until UW was left standing with the most “Klout+” points at 3,745, according to the statement.
Against neighboring rival Marquette University in the final round, UW took the title with 1,005 more points than Marquette. This meant that of all participating universities, UW had the most influential social media accounts after Klout reviewed activity on both Facebook and Twitter, according to the statement.
UW spokesperson John Lucas said he was not surprised with this victory.
“We have had great response in the past and continue to be one of the most engaging communities in higher education,” he said.
Aside from the recent Influencer Insanity national award, UW has continued to increase its social media usage through an initiative called #UWSocial on campus.
#UWSocial provides resources, best practices and assistance to schools, colleges and departments across campus, according to a UW statement.
Lucas also said social media is a way for people to connect with others in a new way, whether it be those still on campus or with UW alumni from years past.
“”[#UWSocial] is feeding social media everywhere because it is a powerful tool,” Lucas said.
Along with UW, universities across the nation are joining the growing trend of social media usage, Lucas added.
“The majority of students use Facebook and Twitter to get information and get plugged into what is happening,” Lucas said.
With this recent attention for UW, the university has displayed its own “klout” in addition to partaking in a growing national trend, he said.
