If Not Here, Where? How InsideTrack Innovates

The "MOOC Revolution" has been a long and quiet one. New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman deemed it a good idea in a discussion of Andrew Ng's Coursera (#40 on Fast Company's list of 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2013) in his article "Come the Revolution" from May 2012. Of course, "online education" is nothing new—even when I was in college in the early 2000s, lectures were streamed and assignments submitted online, much to the delight of pajama-clad undergrads. So it's no surprise that companies like Coursera, Udacity, and EdX occupy the Top 3 positions for the 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2013 in the Education Industry. But what makes InsideTrack (#8 in Education Top 10) "innovative" is the company's aim itself: "motivating 350,000 students...to complete their education".

InsideTrack isn't a sexy company. You'll know that if you look at their homepage. Its use of social media tools isn't extensive, either—they have a blog (hosted on their own domain), a Twitter account, and a LinkedIn company page. (Their Twitter account follows 1,610 accounts, while only 735 accounts follow it in return.) So how does this 12-year-old company based in San Francisco manage to make it into the Top 10 in its industry in terms of innovation?

The answer is simple: The social media that it does use, it uses well—and appropriately for the goals of the company.

Their Twitter feed is comprised of links to articles related to education and professionalization. Its LinkedIn feed is pretty much the same. But InsideTrack isn't here to make friends with you or share cat photos online. Its goal is to get more people through college, so that they can have a college education under their belt. If the InsideTrack brand had a voice, it would be that of your supportive but stern guidance counselor. This, in fact, would be a case in point of a "boring" company benefiting from the use of social media by using it "well".

If you want a company that is innovative, have a goal and a vision and stick to them. InsideTrack offers one-on-one college counseling through its online platform to motivate students to finish their degrees and find employment. Not innovative enough for you? Try naming three people in your life who are actively engaged in doing that for you. Even with policies like the California DREAM Act, a college education is an unattainable goal for many, with a hefty price tag to boot—and the increase in the number of for-profit universities isn't making the situation any better, especially for student debt. MOOCs are great for making courses from elite universities accessible to more people around the world—and with projects like One Laptop Per Child, there is more value in that each day. Even without the $1,000 MBA, MOOCs and online courses offer flexibility to people with busy schedules or restrictions that make traditional universities inconvenient. But if your goal is to make a difference from the ground up, you might achieve more by getting coaches and counselors to listen to and talk with students, to help students achieve their goals—even if you don't set a up a Facebook page for your company.