New blog keeps dorm residents in the know

Residents of Peabody Hall, Temple’s oldest dorm, will be informed via its WordPress blog.

With new technology constantly propelling us into the not-too-distant future, it’s becoming easier to keep up, especially with blog Web sites.

Peabody’s Palette, a blog about Temple’s Peabody residence hall, keeps residents up to date on Temple goings-on and anything and everything Peabody-related.

“We were originally going to do a Web site, but instead of doing that, it was easier to do a blog,” said Peabody’s Resident Director, Nu’ Rodney Prad. “We know that’s something that’s very trendy nowadays, so we decided to go with a blog.”

Used for communication within the residence and to spread word of building programs, the blog is designed to keep people involved and informed. Prad said the site is maintained and updated by the staff of residence assistants, adding that the site is intended for students to communicate with each other.

Students Cindy Rau and Rachel Green, both freshmen, said they find this new blog helpful and plan to use it more in the future.

“I heard it’s a new concept, and I think it’s really helpful because it lets people know what’s going on in the dorm,” said Green, an international business major who has visited the blog a few times already. “And we can meet other people.”

Others said the blog might be a way to improve the image of one of the oldest residence halls on Main Campus.

“I know Peabody is one of the oldest dorms here,” Green said, “but I don’t think me and Cindy have had a problem with that.”

Peabody is showing versatility and a willingness to explore new ways of connecting with its residents.
“We’re trying to stay up with technology,” said Prad. Peabody may be a pioneer of this new university trend.

“So many people are on Facebook and other places, and that’s just how we get our information faster,” said art history major Rau, who said she checks the blog every other day. “Having a blog [that’s specifically for Peabody] is really great.”

After an extensive hunt on Google, Yahoo and other search engines, it seems Temple may be one of few schools diving into the online world of blogging and micro-blogging.

Peabody, 1300 residence halls and the Triangle Apartments are the only residences to boast blogs, Twitter sites or both.

As for Peabody’s Palette, Prad said they’re “just trying to see how this is going to impact the hall and get people more involved on campus, as well as in the building.”

Kali Wyrosdic can be reached at kali.wyrosdic@temple.edu.