The value of blogging

Susan,
I agree with what you say about our general apprehension with blogging. This is my second semester having Robert as a professor and I really have come to enjoy blogging in the sense of putting something out there in cyberspace and being able to receive feedback and/or comments in a short amount of time. Robert made a good point last week in class — he said that we can all have the fancy tools at our disposal for blogging and adding videos, pictures and all that jazz, but if our basic fundamentals of writing aren’t there, the bells and whistles do us no good. I think that’s one of the best pieces of advice for any form of social media. Although I still consider myself very terrible at blogging, I can only go up from here!

Susan-
It is comforting to hear your confidence in our blogging. This is my first semester of blogging and I am one of the students that is terrified about this new form of writing. In our classes we are told that good writing skills are essential to be successful in PR. Hopefully by reading blogs and posting our thoughts, we will learn how to put our thoughts together in a clear and concise manner that will only benefit us in other forms of writing.

Susan,
I completely agree with the value you place on writing. I originally became interested in public relations because of its emphasis on writing. While I enjoy writing, I also associate a certain amount of fear with it. I think my fear is that the few writing classes I’ve taken have not adequately prepared me to write in a professional world. After reading your blog, I realized that the caliber of writing in public relations was not what I expected. I think this is a devastating loss in a profession that relies heavily on the impact of the written word. I hope that my generation will start to reverse this trend by excercising our writing muscles in places such as blogs. I know that being a good writer is a skill that takes time and effort to perfect, and I hope that blogging will push me to dedicate myself to fully developing this skill.

Susan,
What a relief to hear that my future doesn’t rely on my blogging ability, particularly this soon into my blogging career. This info also helps me realize why we have to take the dreaded journalism classes and maybe for the first time actually appreciate having taken the classes.
I am also more comfortable looking at the blogging experience as a process to better my writing skills, not become a good blogger. Thanks for reducing a bit of the uncertainty I had about blogging and helping me see it from another perspective.

Susan,
It is so true that writing isn’t always my first priority mostly, because unless there is a reason I have to be doing it, my time is usually devoted to something else. While I love to write, it seems there is never enough time to enjoy or practice it.

I am strangely excited about being “forced” to write in my blog every week. I will hopefully be getting the practice I need to become a better writer so that I do not become one of those PR professionals who does not put enough effort into writing well.

I think that it is easy to forget how to write well, and constant practice is as you said extremely important. Thanks for the reminder of just how important it is, and how blogging can be a great help in improving my writing skills.

Susan,
As I read your post I was reminded of my high school English teacher who emphasized the importance or necessity rather of practice, practice, practice in order to improve our writing skills. I would hope that my writing skills have improved after the countless writing assignments I have encountered in my journalism and public relations courses. However, I am afraid that I have been so preoccupied with finishing an assignment for a grade or deadline that I have missed the point entirely. Your post reemphasized how important strong writing is, especially in the pr field.

As a new blogger, I am looking forward to being able to use this new tool as a way to practice and improve my writing skills. Originally, I was a little scared of the idea of blogging, aware that the “whole world” could read what I wrote. Now I see this as an opportunity to gain confidence as a writer. I appreciate your encouragement and helpful reminder about the importance of strong writing skills.

Susan,
I completely agree with you about the value of writing. The fact that press releases may, or may not, be disappearing, is not a big issue. The fact that some people can’t write a simple press release is an issue and it is a little bit scary. We are being trained in a lot of different areas of PR right now, from blogging to writing to desigining surveys and websites, and all of these fields require a higher level of writing. Just commenting on these posts helps immensely in writing and developing our skills better. Thanks for keeping up with us and giving us a little more encouragement.

Susan,
Thanks for the encouragement with our blogging and I also completely agree with what you said about writing. I think the important thing to consider when talking about PR is realzing that PR stands for Public Relations. When trying to relate with someone who is not near you, writing is the best tool you have. Whether that writing be via press release or writing or commenting on someone’s blog. We don’t always have control over everything in our lives, but our words, especially the written ones, can always be well-thought out and concise. So again, thank you for your words of encouragement.

Susan,
Just as everyone before me, I agree with your stance on writing skills. I have found that being a good writer is key to being successful in PR. At times when I was placed in a group atmosphere, I shy away from writing assignments. I delegate them to a friend, who jokingly we say she is better on paper, and I am better in person. However, I need to sharpen my writing skills since I can’t always depend on someone else to be able to cover for me. Thank you for your encouragment and support.

Susan,
As PR students the importance of writing is pounded into our brains on a daily basis. However many of us don’t realize how vital writing will be in our careers. I am currently working as a public relations assistant and I have written numerous press releases and other things and when you realize that hundreds or more people will be reading what you’ve written it’s a little intimidating. So, to have these skills is an essential part of what PR is all about. It is extrememly encouraging to hear advice from someone who is in the field. Thanks!

Susan,
Discipline. This is one word that I wouldn’t normally associate with blogging, but you have a great point. Other than perfecting our writing skills, discipline is something that I know I need to work on. I guess it’s time that I admit that I am thankful for Robert making us blog several times a week. Although I am “assigned” to blog now, I am confident that by the end of the semester I will be blogging for more than a grade. Thanks for helping us understand this new world.

Susan,
I agree that practice makes perfect, in anything you do. With writing, I believe that practice helps, but I also think people need constructive criticism along the way. I think that is why I have valued my journalism classes so much here at Auburn. I can write all day long, but if it wasn’t good to begin with, it probably won’t be good at the end of the day either. I think a big problem with the lack of intelligent writing is that some people lack direction and training.

However, I also love to read someone’s work that is completely outside of the box. Creative thinking is something I think press releases, pitch letters, etc. need, and I don’t think they are dead. I think they need more flare.

If I practice my baseball swing all day and I practice it wrong, at the end of the day, my swing isn’t going to get better. In fact, it might be worse. So with practice, I think we would all agree, we need help.

Susan,

Thank you for your faith in us as new pr practitioners. I, along with my fellow classmates, am excited and nervous about entering the world of blogging.

I agree that the best way to improve my writing is by writing. Blogging will help me learn the meaning of conciseness. Spitting my words out clearly and effectively without rambling, which I tend to do from time to time.

It will be a process. One that I simply cannot achieve and perfect on the first try. As with anything I set my mind to, I will give 100%. Mr. French has been very patient and a great teacher in leading us from week to week. I have gained more knowledge in social media in the last three weeks, then I have in the last three years of my life.

I enjoy reading your blogs and thank you again for sharing wise words to follow as beginners in this field.

Someone once told me if you can write, you can do anything. I have never forgotten that because it just made sense. To learn almost anything in this world you have to be able to understand things you read and write the things you think so that others can understand you. The blogging exercises that Robert is having us do are valuable to us, I know. I know this because I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for having to write my own blog, I would not read near as much as I do about PR. At least two or three times a week I sit down and go through the contributing bloggers sites (on Marcom), Google “PR in the news”, and read Odwyer’s site. On top of that, I am always watching Fox News and CNN to see if anything’s happening in the world that I can write about and relate to PR. All this writing is a lot of work, but I know that we will be better informed and more prepared than many other graduates when we are competing for jobs in the PR world.

The field of public relations is definitely evolving, but that doesn’t make the traditional way of practicing PR dead. Using new technologies can only enhance and add to traditional practices. Social media press releases contain a wealth of knowledge that hard, paper news releases cannot; but the knowledge and skill required to produce each remain the same.

Writing well seems to be the most desired asset of public relations professionals. Several professionals told me to join the university paper or submit articles to my local newspaper. They say writing is the most important task in practicing effective public relations. Knowing how to craft a message and communicate to a selected audience proves helpful in new media and traditional public relations practices.

Susan,

I enjoyed reading this post. In my first years of college, I was always nervous that after graduation I would not be prepared for the real world. As I approach graduation now I’m not as afraid. Robert’s class and similar classes are teaching us things we can really use in our future careers. I have also completed two internships that provided me with great learning opportunities.

I particularly liked your advice about learning how to become a better writer. Although I believe that my classes and internships have given me experience, I feel that I could improve as a writer. One of my professors gave us the same advice about becoming a better writer. She also said that we should read good writing. Even if I don’t use blogging in my future career, I believe that it could improve my writing. Thanks for the advice!

I understand your connection with writing in blogs and writing for press releases. I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but I have always felt that any writing I do in my blog is much more informal than any writing I would hopefully do in a press release. Do you agree?
However, I think writing is writing and that any practice we can get is good practice.

Through writing in blogs, not only have I become more aware of what is going on in the pr/social media world, but I have become a better writer. At first it was very annoying and I didn’t enjoy it all. Now I actually love doing it and do it out of hobby at various blog sites.

Although, I do have a question for you: how do you judge the validity of a blog site? I know there are several factors that go into it, such as the writing, the source, the information, and so on. How do you yourself judge and critique a blog site? What methods/steps do you use?

Blogging has instilled within me an incentive to write that otherwise would not be there. Writing used to only be “busy work” to me - I never thought it would be something I would enjoy and want to do everyday. There are several times that I am not sure what to write/blog about though. What are your suggestions for when someone is lost on what to write about?

I appreciate all of your input and help through Marcom! Thanks and hope you have a great day! Yay for writing.

I am understanding blogging so much more and actually just wrote about successful blogging in my blog site. Not only is it helping me in understanding P.R. but I am getting writing practice which i need.

Even though work is work I am enjoying writing more each day. The main thing that I am enjoying the most from this class is my interest in the news. I find myself turning on the news almost everytime I get by my tv.(specially if nothing is on ESPN). The other thing I learned about blogging is that the writing dosn’t have to long as long as it is interesting. I am looking foward to more blogging, not only for P.R. class but to better my writing skills. Thank you for your blog through Marcom and have a good day.

Going into my senior year taking all PR classes, I have noticed that my writing skills are the key component when it comes to achieving success in both my classes and my future career. Society becomes more and more reliant on written communication as Internet development continues to progress at a rapid pace. We have come a long way from dial-up and the only means of sending messages being our AOL email. The world-wide Web now hosts numerous social networking Web sites that appeal to all types of individuals from teenagers to elderly businessmen. There is the use of online instant messaging and the growing popularity of the gchat application. Also, we can’t forget blogging! No matter how many communication mediums already exist on the Web, new innovations are going to continue to steadily appear.

Whether we are writing an email, a blog or even a Facebook message, we are constantly communicating with others through a written medium and thats why we need to hone our skills so that we can become confident in our writing. Your writing is a clear indication of your thoughts, who you are and how you would like to portray yourself to others. I hope over the next few months I can further develop my writing skills so that I can reach a point at which I can produce something that I am confident and proud to post or send.

I know that this post was meant for last spring semester, but I feel that it applies to me just as well. I have really enjoyed blogging. I do appreciate the acknowledgement that traditional forms of public relations, such as writing and pitching, are not practiced nearly enough. Blogging definitely is a double-edged sword. It allows people to practice writing, but in the same instance, it allows any and everyone the opportunity to be an author. In addition to that, the published material goes global just by clicking a mouse. I agree, blogging is a must!!

Though this post was written for the spring semester, I feel that it was a good refresher for me. I have always heard that the way to become a good writer is to read good writing. But I agree to actually progress and enhance writing skills, you must write. One thing that has helped me throughout this semester the most is having to write when I don’t feel like it. When I am not in the mood to write, but I have to because of a fast approaching due date is when I feel I progress. It is the pushing through and forcing myself to do that has made me feel more comfortable. I have somehow gained the confidence that I could sit down and write anything that is needed whenever it is needed. So, even though at times I absolutely having to sit down and blog I know that in the end it will be beneficial.