Should PR Students Blog?

I have to agree with this post. Now is a good time to be studying public relations. While I am not quite as sure that my blogging is as important as Tiger golfing, I do think it is important. I dread it every week and think it is time consuming, but I still realize its importance. In one of the many blog posts I have read over the past month, I found an interesting take on the advantages of blogging. It said that blogging was a great way for people to connect and learn from experts in their field who might live thousands of miles away. I think this is a big perk of blogging. I get to read what industry leaders are thinking and doing right now. Everyone should be taking advantage of this new technology. A person can get insight, advice and sometimes even feedback from the people in the know. Without blogging, we would not have as many opportunities to do this.

There is also something to be said about getting in on the new technology from the start. Blogging is still relatively new for some people (me). I like that I am learning now instead of having to catch up later. And while it scares me a little to know that professional PR practitioners are reading what I write, I think it is helpful to the overall learning experience. I definitely feel more informed and prepared since I started blogging.

I think aside from the technological advances, it is a great time to be studying Public Relations because never before have there been so many socially aware and diverse publics.

It seems to me that almost EVERY company, business, or public figure is putting some thought into how they appear to their publics. Every company is a part of some kind of charity, saves animals or helps decrease pollution. We’re not just talking about multinational companies like McDonalds or prominent figures like the President now… it is spreading to small engineering groups, family practice doctors, you name it. Their publics are skeptical, smart and have louder and louder voices.

The cool thing is, that these new tools like blogging are the things that will help us control messages to our publics in the future. It’s definitely an even more interesting time to study PR because with all of the new publics and issues to manage, we are being given more and more resources to help us. It’s a good thing we’re learning it now.

Wow! and so many channels for communication to master. I have a list here… and if you can add to it - Great
http://leverwealth.blogspot.com/2005/12/pr-communications-channels.html

This sounds redundant, but I agree that PR students should blog. I was reading an interesting post last week, where it talked about a PR blogger being a canary for the company or organization.
The canary gave a warning to coal miners that too much carbon monoxide was being released. The canary would sing all day, but if too much carbon monoxide was in the air the bird would die. The canary told the miners to get out!
This person was saying that a blogger has the ability to be the canary for its organization if it communicates correctly with the right publics. Becoming a canary will not happen over night. That is where I think student blogging comes in. If we blog now as students then we can become the canaries of our organizations much sooner than we had ever expected. And I can’t help but see that as a good thing. So I’m going to keep on posting.

It is so reasssuring to hear from seasoned and experienced public relations professionals that now is a good time to be a PR student! Being one about to graduate, it’s hard to not fear the unknown and not feel very unstable. I have heard from many elders that the most fearful time in one’s life is your early 20’s because so many once stable things are now changing.

However, it is exciting for many of us graduating in PR because like many have been saying, now is a good time to break into the PR world. Since the tragedies of 9/11, the economy has seen a major upswing and many corporations are beginning to see the value in having a public relations department.

Along with all said above, I feel very confident going into my first PR job having the experience this semester of blogging. Prior to taking two of Robert’s classes I was extremely unaware of the impact blogging was making on the PR world. One thing students about to graduate often worry about, is what makes them (and their resume) stick out from the thousands of other ones out there. Well, for me and many of Robert’s other students, blogging has become that one thing that separates and differentiates me from the others out there.

Octavio referred to blogs as “pure communication” and I couldn’t agree more. Like blogging or not, you have to admit that for PR professionals blogging is the new wave of communicating with other professionals.

We’ve learned over and over in our classes that to be a successful PR professional you must be a news junkie. You have to follow what’s going on in the world because anything that happens “out there” could have an affect on your organization. All systems are open with respect to the media. If an organization denies or doesn’t recognize how aware publics have become, they are only hurting themselves. Because of this, not following the news can prove disastrous.

If the news media informs practitioners about what is going on outside of the PR perspective, blogs tell practitioners what is going on from within.

I think that blogging is becoming the industry standard of communication between professionals. You find out through other practitioner’s blogs about the most current challenges their organizations are facing and what they are doing to keep up in the industry.

If you don’t read these blogs and participate in them, you aren’t keeping up with the latest in the field and as a result you will fall behind.

I must say that blogging has definitely been a learning experience for me, as well as most of the rest of our class! I knew what blogging was before the class started, but I am shocked at the students that I ask and they have never even heard of blogging. So far, after only three weeks, it is not my favorite thing in the world, but I have enjoyed the class discussions we have had pertaining to blogging. It interests me to hear the students who have received “blogging jobs” from major companies. It’s interesting that companies hire people to blog for them now. Blogging IS a great way to communicate with others. I can see where companies could benefit from providing ANOTHER form of communication with consumers, viewers, or anyone else involved with the company. The blogging that we have to do for class seems to be a little different than what a company would ask someone to do, but it is probably pretty similar.
With that said, I look forward to learning more about blogging this semester and I hope to graduate with an extensive knowledge about this knew form of communication!

Being a rookie in blogging, it definitely takes some time and concentration to actually sit down and blog. But with PR professionals telling me that right now is the best time to learn how to blog allows me to have more dedication and determination to finish and to continue with my blogging. The more and more I read into it, the more I know that after college I will be more advanced than others because I understand, or at least am familiar with, this new technological communication and that makes me feel really good.

The part of this entry where Octavio says that “right now in the university is the best time to learn about the changes of the PR industry,” made me feel more relaxed and eager to learn more and glad that I am in the university right now. As much as learning can stress me out and sometimes make me want to just give up, I’m glad that I am able to acquire all this knowledge before going out into the “real world” and hope to be able to put it all to use correctly soon.

Another part of this entry that helped me to realize just how important the work that I am doing now is the part where he compared students blogging to Alicia Keys needing a piano to play. At first I thought it was funny, but now that I know that all the skills that I am learning will put me ahead in the PR field I realize just how detrimental and important my knowledge will be to future employers…at least I hope it will be.

Thanks for your comments!

Enjoy your time at the university.
It is the best of times…
I can tell.

Best regards,

I agree that while reading our PR textbooks can be informative, it is even more beneficial to practice what we are learning and actually be a part of new practices in PR. I am not sure how beneficial my blogging experience will be, because I am constantly reading contradicting articles or blog posts. Some PR professionals swear that bogs are rapidly becoming unavoidable in the PR world, and some think it is just another fad. I have yet to experience anything that solidifies my beliefs either way. If blogging turns out to be a fad, I still think that getting involved with blogs and posting regularly will improve communication and technology skills, both of which will always be necessary in PR.

While you clearly feel blogging is here to stay, I have to think that you might be a bit biased because you are experienced and active in blogging. It seems the majority of people that are “pro-blogs” are very involved in blogging for either personal or professional reasons. My guess is that the people who aren’t involved in blogging are the people that view this as a fad.

No one knows for sure what the future of blogging will be; but while its popularity is on the rise it can only benefit those who chose to blog.

I agree! At first when I started blogging for my class I did not even really honestly understand what I was doing, much less why. The more that I blog and read blogs, the more that I learn about PR right now. I had never even heard of a Pod Cast until I read about it in a blog. I did not know the questions that I ask in my blogs actually have the chance of getting an answer either. Another thing is that, from what I have heard, blogs can be used to get me a job.
My online resume actually has a link to my blogs which is a risky thing to do because, in my opinion, they can make or break me. Another great thing about blogs is the simple idea of communicating. Communicating about things such as PR is great because like I said earlier, we as students can learn a lot about what is going on in the real world of PR. But its not just PR that we can talk about. I have written blogs on marketing, the Super Bowl and internships.
Overall, I still hope to get a little more used to the blogging thing but for now I see how helpful it is and I do appreciate it.

Yes, we should definitely be blogging. However, professors should understand this as well. I’m a professional with 5 years experience and a grad student at the University of Central Florida, but I seem to be one of only a handful of graduate communications students at my school that even understand blogging. When I make comments related to the blogosphere in class, some of my teachers stare at me with blank eyes. Sad. Very sad.

I didn’t initially realize or understand the important role blogging plays in the public relations industry. My thoughts were that blogging was a communication channel used to express personal thoughts and opinions, but boy was I wrong!

I never considered this to be a great way to communicate in the business world, specifically public relations, until I took Robert’s Style and Design class this summer. I now feel very differently about social media and the benefits it provides. It’s a learning experience and an essential communication tool.

Without, blogging, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to communicate with and learn from this multitude of professionals. I feel fortunate that I’m going to be a part of this ever-excelling industry.

More and more everyday I realize how important blogging is to public relations. It is not only a way to communicate with people within the realm of public relations professionals but also to communicate with businesses that you represent. The most important thing about blogs is the communication it allows between your clients and their customers. Without blogs there would not be as easy to immediately reach an audience about an issue.

It is so important that we blog! We are learning more and more about this everyday. It is a great way to link ourselves all over the world and to influence and learn from others. People are teaching themselves and actually knowing more about how to interact with people on blogs than people in the actual office/business do. It is amazing to me how many people are bettering themselves in the workplace with the use of blogging. People in my generation are teaching older people and co workers the importance of blogging and how effective and successful it can lead their company to be. We are teaching others as we are teaching ourselves and it is a GREAT way to communicate! Blogging is something that will become very big and useful for everyone to know how to do. It is becoming the NEW thing for the future.

Good call Octavio.

We PR students are opened up to an entirely new atmosphere in the world of blogging. The opportunity that we have to learn about this wonderful communication tool is great.

Think about the ways PR students could interact with professionals before blogging. There were not that many options aside from showing them a resume. And even then we wouldn’t be able to obtain the professional advice that we do from blogging.

Just 10 minutes ago, I was reading Kami Huyse blog about PR 2.0. If not for that blog, I would never have ran across it until after graduation. These blogs are definately giving students the advantage they need to compete in the work force.

PR students that are not blogging are at a serious disadvantage these days. From what we have learned so far, blogging and social media is the way of the future for our field. As I scour blogs of PR practitioners, I am learning helpful tidbits of real world information and advice. These are things that cannot be learned in the classroom and are made available through the blogs of people actually working in the industry right now. Blogs are an exceptional way for us to get an inside look at what is happening in our field and, so far, my blogging experience has equipped me with knowledge and understanding that could not have been attained if it weren’t for my exposure to the world of social media.

I have recently discovered that these classes we’ve had concerning blogging will actually be helpful in the real world! Surprise surprise, that’s what Robert has been telling us this whole time!
I had an interview with a company and they were very interested in what I have learned in Robert’s classes. It was pretty cool to hear first-hand from someone other than a teacher that my experience in school will help me in the future.
So yes, I agree with everyone that students should be blogging!

It is vital that public relations students blog and become familiar with internet blogging sites. In fact, public relations students who don’t blog are a step behind their peers who are familiar with blogging.

When my class first began to blog, it was difficult for me to understand the true importance of the communication tool. But as I continue to blog, I realize how useful blogging can be and how it is an asset to public relations practitioners.

Most importantly, blogging creates conversations and allows for feedback and the sharing of opinions. I usually write comments on public relations blogs, but as I’ve become more and more interested in blog sites, I have looked to other blog topics.

Recently, I discovered sports blogs, entertainment blogs and simply blogs about my favorite television shows. I now find myself simply blogging for fun.

But, the fundamental point is even common interest blog sites allow people to share their thoughts and allow them to hear new ideas. All around, blogs are an excellent communication tool. All public relations practitioners need to be knowledgeable with the technology.

Even though I shouldn’t say this, thank goodness Robert makes us blog! I have learned so much in these last two semesters. I’m an Auburn University student, and I have been in two public relations classes that have required me to blog. Even though it’s a lot of work, I have learned some things that are sure to be valuable to my career. I had no clue about blogs, podcasts, html coding or any of the other skills we have developed through this blogging experience. I have also become a much better editor. We have to edit ourselves online; we have to catch our errors so that they aren’t online for our future employers to see. I think that by blogging in my public relations classes, I’ll be more prepared than a lot of other graduates seeking jobs. Blogging is great preparation for a career in public relations, especially with social media becoming so important to businesses and campaigns. I definitely think that PR students should be blogging.