[civsa] BEWARE! Virtual tour request

[Alyssa Gunderman]

Thank you for sharing everyone !  I had this set up for our tour guides and
just canceled.  Thank you thank you!

On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 1:57 PM, Boehm, Andrew <boehmaj2 at miamioh.edu> wrote:

> Thank you for sharing Brandi,
>
> We got this request as well.  I am obviously familiar with Georama and
> their products being sent several sales pitches in the past.  They told me
> this was not a sales pitch and that they didn't know of me receiving any
> marketed offers in the past.  But when I looked back through my inbox and
> saw several sales emails from the same individual who was asking for this
> "virtual group visit".
>
> I had all the same concerns that you did Brandi and am very glad that we
> passed based on the findings of your research.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Andrew
>
> *Andrew Boehm*
>
> Associate Director - Campus Visits and Events
>
> Miami University Office of Admission
>
> 301 S. Campus Avenue - 41 CAB
>
> Oxford, OH 45056
>
> 513-529-2580
>
> On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 12:54 PM, Brandi Underwood <bunderw3 at mail.wvu.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi, all:
>>
>>
>>
>> I just wanted to make everyone aware of a company, Georama, who recently
>> submitted a request with us to do a virtual group tour of our campus. They
>> indicated that the virtual tour would be a way to connect out-of-state and
>> international students to our campus who do not have the means to travel to
>> campus themselves, but neglected to mention that Georama was a tech company
>> who currently has patent-pending software and a business model to charge
>> for the “virtual campus tour” experience. Essentially, they want to send
>> college Visitor Centers video technology they created (the rep I spoke to
>> one the phone said that the college campus would be able to keep the
>> technology ‘for free’ after the first tour) and use our tour guides to
>> provide a virtual tour experience to prospective students who would in turn
>> PAY GEORAMA for providing the virtual tour.
>>
>>
>>
>> Here’s the text they used in their request:
>>
>>
>>
>> I would like to set up a tour for 10-12 out-of-state and international
>> students interested in WVU that cannot physically visit the campus due to
>> financial and visa reasons. The tour would be done via live video where the
>> students can interact with the tour guide. We will provide the technology
>> to you free of charge so the student guide can deliver the tour.
>>
>> We would like to schedule the tour in early/mid June based on your
>> availability. Please let me know when you have a chance to talk to your
>> team so we can discuss to coordinate.
>>
>> Thank you for your help!
>>
>>
>>
>> I’m sure that most of you would agree that allowing others to use our
>> tour guides and campus to profit for “virtual campus tours” is an unfair
>> business model and a risky road to go down. Also, their language in the
>> request was very innocuously worded and certainly wasn’t a fair explanation
>> of what the company was ultimately trying to accomplish. I just wanted to
>> make everyone aware of it to be on the lookout for future requests from
>> Georama.
>>
>>
>>
>> */ **Brandi Underwood *
>>
>> Admissions Counselor, University Relations
>> West Virginia University
>> (304) 293-8446 office
>> (304) 573-3609 mobile
>>
>> Brandi.underwood at mail.wvu.edu
>>
>>
>>
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>
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-- 


*Alyssa B. Bleakney (Gunderman)Assistant Director Campus Visit Programs*
*Temple University Welcome Center*


*1101 West Montgomery AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19122Phone: 215.204.7415*
*GO OWLS!! *
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