Laura Smithers
LightNews LightNews
banner
laurida.bsky.social
Laura Smithers
@laurida.bsky.social
530 followers 1.2K following 61 posts
in no particular order: virgo, bagel aficionado, coffee addict, private nerd, professional nerd, pleasant enough curmudgeon, keeper of random and rarely useful facts. #content: laurasmithers.net, sunypress.edu/Books/I/Impact-Impasse
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Laura Smithers
tressiemcphd.bsky.social
You can add up all the enjoyable pursuits of LLMs and the work productivity hacks and none of them, separately or together, will be more important than AI’s ecological costs or political disruption.

“We” is more important here.
August 23, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Laura Smithers
michae.lv
I can't quite believe it, but, it appears that the person responsible for this at the University of Warwick has had a Vogue photoshoot about the rebrand, explaining his 'journey from the world of luxury [goods marketing] into higher education' vogue.sg/university-o...
Universities aren’t often spoken of as ‘brands,’ but Warwick leans into that idea. What does thinking of a university as a brand unlock—and what can it achieve when done well? Seeing a university as a brand unlocks coherence and confidence. A brand is about more than design, it’s about identity and consistency. When you align your values, your story and your impact, you become more than a place, you become a movement. At Warwick, brand isn’t just a communications tool, it’s a strategic asset. It helps us attract brilliant minds, forge global partnerships and create a distinctive space in a competitive world. When done well, a brand doesn’t limit, it liberates. What drew you to the world of higher education, and how do you see its role evolving in society today? My journey from the world of luxury into higher education has been one of purpose and transformation. After years of working with global brands, I was drawn to higher education as the next frontier of influence, a space where knowledge, identity, and opportunity intersect. Universities aren’t just places of learning, they are platforms for societal impact. Their role today is to be both anchor and catalyst: rooted in rigorous teaching and research, yet agile enough to respond to global challenges and cultural shifts. How has your background in the luxury sector shaped the way you approach storytelling and brand building at the University of Warwick? Working across premium and luxury sectors—fashion, real estate, travel and beyond—taught me the value of emotion, detail, and differentiation. In those worlds, a brand isn’t just a badge, it’s an experience, a feeling, a story that lives in people’s hearts. At the University of Warwick, I’ve brought that same mindset to higher education: crafting narratives that are both strategic and human.
July 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Laura Smithers
mattaklap.bsky.social
what if you could just lie down in a box and have your best friends slowly lower it into the earth
July 11, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Laura Smithers
lainenooney.bsky.social
This is an idea as vastly dumb as every person needing to learn to code. University admin so uniformly lack the intellectual and moral courage required of this moment, incapable of making an argument for their own existence.
June 8, 2025 at 8:44 PM
laurida.bsky.social
EMPHATICALLY AGREE
June 6, 2025 at 3:48 AM
laurida.bsky.social
...Read connects the dots brilliantly; she demonstrates how many people involved in MLMs, people like Leonard Read, were free enterprise radicals: rabidly anti-communist & fanatically convinced that everyone should be participating in capitalism and its 'wealth crusade.' And Americans fell for it."
June 2, 2025 at 11:14 PM