10/29/2010,
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, & University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
On one side the screen, a dark windowless room, on the other, a view of a sunny and bustling, yet still very wet University of Oregon campus. “Is that a real window behind you with real trees from Oregon,” asks Kristin Congdon, leader of the ChinaVine’s University of Central Florida team. “Yes,” says ChinaVine UO team leader Doug Blandy joking, “we did that for you.” Across two screens, two beige tables, and a little over 3,000 miles, ChinaVine’s two US teams, representing twelve individuals met via video conference to discuss their recent developments and future plans for ChinaVine.
The UO team in Eugene and the UCF team in Orlando have both been busy. Conversation during the conference revolved around the two teams’ latest activities, with both groups bringing new developments to the table. ChinaVine’s US cohort also discussed their recent trip to China.
“It was astonishing, the kind the connections we were able to make,” said Blandy about the latest trip. Condon reiterated saying, “On this trip the connections were the big surprise.” Condon said the project’s new and expanded relationship with the Chinese government was the biggest surprise of all, noting that this new relationship will, “move [us] onto a whole new level.”
So what are the US teams cooking up?
The UO team discussed the development of a new social media strategy, one that would employ blogging, and the social media forums, Vimeo, Flickr, Twitter, SoundCloud, and Facebook. The UO team also announced it will be unrolling the new ChinaVine website toward the end of this year. In Orlando, UCF’s team is working on copyrighting “Vine Online,” as a unique trademark. UCF’s team is also drafting a business plan that will allow ChinaVine to locate corporate patrons.
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